Wednesday was a BIG day full of LOTS of vacay fun! We set out to knock a bunch of things off of our Beach Bucket List - feed the alligators, ride go carts, go crabbing, find seashells, take pictures on the beach, and glow stick dance party. We had a fun day in store!
We started our day at Fuddpuckers to feed the alligators. We were there when they opened at 11:00 to make sure that the gators would be hungry. :)
He thinks he is so funny....
And a trend started...
They have a spot where you can pay to hold an alligator and have your picture taken. The boys were all over that, of course! That sucker was huge! I started to question whether this was a good move and decided to just pray that the tape was as strong as it should be. Yowsers!
Next we went to The Track to ride some go karts on their wooden path.
Good times. :)
We went home for lunch and naps x 5 before family pictures on the beach. Yay! Only one of us was actually excited about this event, though. I bet you'll never guess which one. ;)
We used the same photographer that we used last year (Olive Gray Photography - she is wonderful!), and we got some good shots. I'll treasure them forever!
The boys humored me because they knew that we had fun events planned for post-photo session. We had all of the supplies for crabbing and a glow dance party. ;) My bestie's family goes to Galveston every year. They bring glow sticks and the kids have a beach dance party while they are there. My boys asked if we could do the same. Sure - why not!
On Thursday, we had a chill day at the beach. Then we went to dinner that night at Harbor Docks. Mmmm...
Every time that we go to Destin, Wade goes deep sea fishing with the same charter boat. That is one of his favorite parts of the trip. Last year, he took Clayton on a 4 hour trip and went on an 8 hour trip solo. This year, he took Clayton with him on a 10 hour trip! I was worried about my little fella, as he tend to get carsick. He did great the year before, so Wade assured me that he would be fine. Sure enough, he did awesome and they had a wonderful time together!
While they were fishing, I got to spend some sweet one on two time with my littles. We had the best day! We spent the morning at the wharf. We explored Jolee Island and found an awesome treehouse that I remembered from our trip when Clayton was 3.
These two are so sweet! They love each other. :)
We went to the marina and saw Maryann the talking parrot. She said, "hello!" if you said hi to her. She also mimicked your movements. The little boys thought she was pretty fun!
We also went to the arcade - again. Their choice, not mine. ;)
After a pizza lunch and a nap for Owie, we went to the pool. The pool was right outside of our front door, and we went pretty much daily. :)
While Drew, Owen, and I were having a good ole time, Wade and Clayton were doing some serious fishing. Wade caught the whopper of the day - a huge wahoo! It was the first one that this boat had caught all Summer, so the deckhands were pretty excited. :)
This is the lure that he was using - it's as big as his head. Ha!
Clayton reeled in quite a catch as well - a grouper, red snapper, and amberine.
The deckhand, Brock, was super nice and helped Clayton out while Wade videoed. Such a nice guy!
The littles and I went to the dock promptly at 4:00 to see the boys return. It was pretty toasty, so we got snowcones to cool off. ;)
Wade has a customer in Destin, Mike, that is really fun. He went on the fishing trip as well (far right).
The cutest fishermen ever!
They measured Wade's fish and estimated it to weigh 40 pounds!
Wade shared with the deckhands and several of the other fishermen on the boat. We still ended up with gobs of fish for our freezer. Yum!
Owen did his part to clean up the mess. ;)
Saturday was our last day of vacation. :( I told Wade that if it wasn't for the fact that almost everyone that I love lives in Texas, I would never go home. I love the Emerald Coast so much!
We spent our last day of vacay at the beach. It was heavenly!
Beach naps are the best... I wish he would stay a baby forever!
We went to the wharf one last time that evening - dinner, the arcade, the candy store, and a few last pictures.
So long, Destin! We'll miss you!
A vacation by the sea always does my heart some good! We came home well-rested, rejuvenated, and ready to tackle a new school year. :)
