Beach Week Review & Hanging Out with Fellow Bloggers!

We really, truly had a wonderful vacation the week before last. We stayed in Fort Walton Beach, right outside of Destin, FL for a week and made the most of it. Daniel was extremely well behaved all week and we spent our days exhausting him so he didn't even complain when we mentioned the words "nap time" or "bed time"!!

Daniel seemed to prefer the sand initially on the beach, but by the last day we were able to set him on the boogie board and send him to shore by himself riding a wave! He was also a major fish in the pool. Jumping, belly flopping, somersaulting, face in the water just to name a few of the stunts he pulled. We spent a lot of time laughing.

In order to keep things short and sweet and get right to the pictures, a recap of our week was 4 days at the beach, every day at the pool, Daniel and I visit the Science Center, lots of family, a visit to the Airforce Armament Museum, fishing, good food and great fun!!

Finally, before I start posting pictures, on the way home we stopped at Lake Lanier in Atlanta, GA and met up with Becky, Keith and Andrew and Carey, Norm and their two children (private blog). Becky had been kind enough to find a lake house for rent that we all shared. We finally arrived Saturday afternoon and once all the kiddos were awake Becky and Keith took us all out on the boat and for a swim. Carey tubed with her two children and then Troy braved taking Daniel and Andrew out together on the tube!

After dinner and a fun birthday celebration for Andrew with yummy cupcakes, the children played a while, went to bed and the grown ups got to hang out. The men made it to about 1 am but the girls made it to 2 am talking it up. I have to say, I haven't been up that late in eons, and I think we all paid for it, but it was so worth it.

Enjoy the photos!!

How cool am I?

Boogie boarding? Really - I like surfing!

Family Shot

Where are our son's legs??

Granny with two grandsons!

Neat fish Troy caught!

He caught that one too (LOL!)

The belly flop!

The sideways jump!

We found a store with silly hats and sunglasses.

Aren't I adorable?

Check out Troy with hair!

Love the flamingo!

Birthday celebration! Can you tell who's who?
Lake fun!
Andrew and Daniel taking turns with the ladder.
Look in the background -

Troy is taking the pic,

but Keith is jumping around like a madman

trying to get all the kids to look!!

What a treat to hang out with these wonderful families and their wonderful children!

Relaxation!!!!

I know, I know...I should so not be blogging while on vacation, but in my defense we're having an afternoon thunderstorm, Daniel is sound asleep and Troy went motorcycle riding a couple of hours away for the day with his dad and 2 uncles.


On Saturday we drove 14 hours to Florida and Daniel made not one single complaint. I couldn't believe it. He was excellent on the drive. We drove straight to Troy granny's house for a quick hello before continuing on to our condo. Our condo is small but nice and we've had fun sharing it with Troy's mom, one of his sisters and one of our nephews. We have our own room and bathroom and a kitchen for cooking. Last night we grabbed a grill on the patio and grilled out grouper, shrimp, chicken and pineapple. It was delicious.


So far we've spent 2 days at the beach, every day at the pool, a day visiting with so much of Troy's family that I can't remember all their names, and then today Daniel and I have spent by ourselves. After everyone left to shop and Troy left to go motorcycle riding, Daniel and I walked to a children's science center. It's all hands on and although it was small, we had a good time. Then we found a nice playground on the way back overlooking the water and stopped to play. Shortly after, we were so hot that we walked to a little shop and bought fudge and green tea to drink. Daniel loved the fudge but surprisingly enough after about 3 bites he gave it back to me. What kid won't devour fudge?! Mine, of course!

So now he's resting and in a sense, I am too. I can't wait to head back to the beach tomorrow!!
Here's a few pictures from so far...