Vacation in Destin

We were blessed again this summer to be able to go on a family vacation to the beach. Nana planned a trip to Destin, FL for our family and Tracy's family (and Nana, of course). We had an amazing fun-filled week. The condo that was chosen had the perfect amenities for our family's needs. It was beachfront so we didn't have to lug tons of stuff very far, it had 3 pools (one of them perfect for the twins), a playground, and drumroll please..........a basketball court. If you know our family very well you realize that we can never be too far from a basketball goal. The yard next to it was perfect for baseball, soccer, kickball, etc. Needless to say, we never got bored (exhausted, but not bored). One thing that was really nice was that the condo was a gated community. Check out the view from our room:

A typical day began with one of the younger children getting folks up first. Nana & Corbyn slept in the living room (where there were no drapes) so they were early risers as well. Tracy & I took turns preparing a smorgasbord of breakfasts while Nana, David, Randy entertained children or packed up stuff for the pool/beach. We were usually on the beach or at the pool by 9:00 am. Corbyn and Elijah split their time between the pools and beach. I'd say the majority of the time was spent poolside because the boys could swim there and shade was available for Matthew & Nana. We played "monkey in the middle" everyday and even had a "chicken fight" between Elijah/Tracy vs. Corbyn/me. Needless to say, the children LOVED this concept but the battle ended in a draw (basically Tracy and I got tired of carrying them around and we knew a "winner" wouldn't bode well so we dunked them simultaneously). Here is a slideshow of fun spent at the pool:

By lunch time, we were all ready to come in and eat a bite (except for Corbyn who got nachos daily at the poolside grill). The boys took naps and the big kids usually got to go on a shopping adventure with Nana or Tracy for souvenirs, groceries, or ice-cream. Once the twins got up from nap we would head back outside for round 2 of outdoor fun. We would go swimming again or play on the playground (if it was in the shade yet). The boys learned that we couldn't (or wouldn't) go to the playground/basketball court until it was in the shade. Here are pics from the condo & playground:

Each day had a few hours of time on the beach but we didn't haul toys out after day 1 since no one really stayed there for an extended amount of time. We would head out for a quick dip and splash around in the waves. The big kids and dads spent the most time since they were the most fearless. Tracy, mom, and I weren't interested in getting in past our knees even though we could see through the water. On day 4 there was a shark sighting about 10 feet off of shore which meant even less time spent in the ocean by me. Corbyn and Elijah were really good at riding their boogie boards and they fished a little each day with their little nets as well. Micah was pretty fearless when it came to the waves but Carson stuck to the shore. He would let Randy or me carry him out but didn't want to walk out into the water himself. One of Micah and Carson's favorite pasttimes was playing in the foot showers between the beach and the pools. They could have easily spent all day playing with shower heads and water hoses. Beach fun pics are below:

We took turns each evening going out to dinner while someone stayed home with the boys or took them to McDonalds which had a super indoor playplace. We all decided to be bold and venture out to Fudpuckers as a group one evening and it didn't go very well. Randy and I were given an opportunity to go out one evening by ourselves to Chili's and it was great.

Corbyn and Elijah got to go play miniature golf a couple of times (no score was kept). Everyone's a winner on vacation!!! Another fun event in the evening was hunting for frogs out in the yard. The kids found and caught (in their fish nets) 18 frogs one night. Big fun!!

Overall the trip was a success. As expected, it had its rough patches and stressful moments but we lived to tell about each one. Randy and I chose to drive through the night coming and going to avoid listening to our twin backseat drivers who tell you which direction to go as well as give permission to drive through green lights or demand that you stop at red ones (no right turns on red allowed unless you want a serious meltdown).

Thank you so much Nana for the amazing trip and for all of the babysitting hours that you put in to make sure everyone had some down time.

I also want to acknowledge Randy for being a trooper and taking the kids swimming most afternoons to allow me some time to read, rest, or take Corbyn shopping. He made a lot of sacrifices and I appreciate it.