Destin Family Vacay 2011

Once again, we headed down South to Destin for our weekly family vacation. This was the first year in many years, that my mom had all three of her children able to make the trip for atleast part of the week. David and Michelle had to leave early, neither one had much time off of work since they used a lot of time off for the honeymoon back in the spring. This was also the first time ever that we lost 2 days to rain (boo!). We just kept reminding ourselves, that although we were stuck inside watching TV and relaxing, atleast we are NOT at work! However, the week ended with lots of sun, I even got sunburned. All in all, it was a fun trip. The kids had fun swimming in the pool, the beach is not as popular to the young ones. We ate at some of our favorite restaurants, played a little putt-putt, and even got to ride some go-carts. A lot of fun was had and plenty of relaxing occured as well.

This picture doesn't do justice. We constantly joked that Alex almost looked like a different nationality. The kid is BROWN!!! I kept reapplying sunscreen and got him to wear a t-shirt one day. The kid LOVES the water, and it can be the ocean or the pool. I had to keep my eye on him, the second we would sit our towels and bags down on the sand, Alex grabbed his noodle and was heading toward the waves. I love that he was so into the beach this year. The kid is not afraid of much.
I worked hard to get this half-smile from Marisa. She only wanted to spend ~30 mins. at the beach and then she was ready for the pool. As annoying as this is for a parent, because we didn't drive 6 hours from home to play in a pool, I can relate to her. I believe I was exactly the same as a child. Atleast I know that now I love the beach and the ocean, so hopefully she will too one day.

Last year, Wes was only 2 months old and the beach was stinky and nasty (thanks BP), so this was really his first experience at the beach. The picture says it all. He was really not sure about the sand, although he wasn't upset by it, he just had no clue what he was dealing with. As expected, he ate the sand and had it all over his face. He loved walking up and down the coast and getting his feet wet. The first few days, the waves were minimal and calm. Carlos was holding him while we were all floating in the water, and Wes actually fell asleep. I would say that he had a postive experience at the beach.

I was able to get Wes to nap a few days at the beach, so we could stay longer and not have to make the trek back to the house. He actually went to sleep fairly easily. I think the sun and heat wore him out. Part 1 - get the baby to fall asleep with me and then...Part 2 - very carefully move him to the shade in our vented tent on the beach. DONE! Atleast, 2 days I was able to make this happen, which was nice because as long as someone was nearby sitting by the tent, I was able to go "play" too! One afternoon, Carlos and I got to walk down to the Crab Trap Restaurant to get a "refreshment." Another time, I was able to go play in the waves!!

Family vacay, always seems to take forever to get here and then it is gone like that. I look forward to getting together with my whole family in Destin each year. We always seem to have such a good time together!!