Destin 2013: Days 6-9

By this point, I am sure that you are starting to feel like you are sitting on your Maw-maw's plastic covered couch watching their vacation photo slides on a pull down screen, right?  Click.  Click.  Click.  Ha!  I'll try to wrap this up...  ;)

On Wednesday morning, Wade woke up Clayton bright and early to go on a fishing trip together.  They were both super excited about their father/son morning.  The trip was a shorter expedition - 6am-10am.  I was worried about my little fella because he tends to get a woozy tummy pretty frequently in the car.  I was sooo nervous that he would get seasick.  We bought him motion bands, and he did great!

 Somebody's 4:30am wake up call caught up with him.  ;)

When the boys got back to the condo, they got cleaned up and we headed to a late lunch/early dinner.  We ate most of our meals in the condo, but enjoyed a few meals out.  We went to Pompano Joes for lunch and it was delicious!  

Our condo had a sunroom that overlooked the pond.  Clayton spent many hours searching for lizards around the water.  He was in hog heaven!

On Thursday morning, Wade went on a deep sea fishing trip by himself.  This trip was longer - 6am to 2pm.  I took the boys to the pool that morning for a swim.  We were the only ones there for awhile, and the boys loved it!

We were at the boat docks right at 2 to see our Daddy's catch of the day.  

Wade met some guys from Kentucky on the trip.  One of them was a pastor, so he and Wade talked religion and such.  I think they had a great time and caught a bunch of fish.

We went back to the condo for Wade to clean up and then went to Fudpuckers to eat and feed the gators.  The boys loved every minute, as you can imagine.  ;)

That evening, we took the boys to the beach hoping to find more crabs. 

Friday was our last day of vacation.  :(  We surprised the boys with tickets to a pirate cruise.  It was fun!  They had water guns, foam swords, face painting, tattoos, and even found a treasure chest. 

The Buccaneer

We spent the rest of the afternoon doing the activities down by the boat docks.  Drew wanted to do the inflatable human beach ball thingy.

Clayton had his heart set on America's largest floating trampoline.  After watching for awhile, Drew joined him.  They jumped their little hearts out for hours.

Clayton met some sweet girls while jumping - no surprise there.  The part that was a surprise was that the girls were actually from our town.  Crazy!  Wade and I chatted with their parents for a bit and realized that we have some mutual friends.  It's a big, huge, small world, I tell ya!

 The kids got to see a dolphin jumping out in the bay.  So cool!

On Saturday morning, we packed up and headed west.  We were all sad to see our fun week come to an end.  :(  We amused ourselves in the car by using the timer function and propping the camera up on the dash board.  

 I love my bunch of crazies.  ;)

The Trifecta - it didn't last long, but it was glorious while it lasted.

We had such a fun time away with just the 5 of us!  There was a sign in our condo that said, "Memories of Vacations by the Sea Stay With You Forever."  I couldn't agree more - these precious memories will stay tucked away in my mind forever.  :)

Destin 2013: Day 5

Day 5 may have been my favorite day of vacation.  It was the perfect beach day!  We had heard about a nearby beach that is less crowded than the beaches in Sandestin, so we decided to check it out.  It was so nice!

This boy was so stinkin' cute at the beach!  He never stopped smiling.  :)

 I've been told that your beach experience is completely dependent on having the right gear.  If you are prepared it is awesome, but if not you may be miserable.  Our kind friends from church let us borrow their pavilion, their beach chairs, and their boogie boards.  We were so grateful for their generosity!

 I bought the brightest rash guards that I could find for C & D - neon orange.  I wanted to be able to spot them from a mile away.  ;)

 Clayton found a big crab - it made his day.

 There was a really sweet lady that was sitting in a beach chair next to us.  She made a point of coming up to me and telling me that watching our kids play was the highlight of her day.  She said that her kids are teenagers now, and she misses them being little.  She had the sweetest look in her eyes.  It was a good reminder to me to soak in every minute of their childhood.  :)

 Wade and Clayton tossed the frisbee around.  C caught it spinning on one finger.

 The highlight of the day was holding my little punkin while he slept under the canopy.  The beautiful scenery, watching my kids have the time of their life playing with their Daddy, snuggling a sleeping babe - life just doesn't get any better in my book.  :)

 C found a friend wherever we went - no surprise there.  I'm so glad that he is such a friendly kid.  :)

He met Jordan from Georgia at the beach and they had a great time with her metal detector.  I so wish that we would have brought Clayton's as well.  Next time...  They just happened to find a ton of change right behind her parents beach chairs.  What are the odds???  ;)

We topped the day off with fireworks over the bay right outside of our condo.  Such a fun night!