What an incredibly fun, long weekend we just enjoyed down in Destin with Mimi & Grandpa and our three little punkins! We had hoped it would work out to make a trip down there this summer and time was running out, but we were so grateful to Kendall's uncle for sharing his beach house with us once again! What a gift it is to not have to worry about renting somewhere and be able to jump in the car and travel a few hours for some fun family memories! This was also Ashton Kate's first trip to the beach (if you don't count Costa Rica in there!) Not sure we can say her life was changed because of it or that she developed a love for the beautiful white sand, but she has officially been inaugurated into the "I've been to Destin..." group. =) We seriously had SO MUCH FUN and went nonstop from the time we arrived until we packed up the car! Mimi can make things happen when we've got a plan so we didn't waste a single non-napping minute =) The twins had a blast and have been asking when they can go back to the beach on a pretty regular basis...hard to explain to them this is slightly different than just running to Publix anytime we want, ha!
So here's how the weekend unfolded...daddy got home even earlier than expected so we hit the road right after lunch and arrived at our very favorite dinner spot just in time to not bother anyone hoping to actually enjoy a peaceful meal! We did the unthinkable and let them watch a short show while we enjoyed our meal. The things we said we would never do...so of course we documented it to remind us to show grace to others always...=) I'm sure everyone was thankful for that decision as well..and sure enough Tommy Bahama lived up to our expectations and enjoyment once again!
By the time we finished dinner, Mimi & Grandpa were almost to Destin so we headed over to Baytowne to wait for their arrival! Boy were the girls excited to see them and hurriedly show them the nearest carousel ride! Sweet Grandpa even volunteered to ride along with them! (the things they do for their grandchildren =) And then it was off to find some ice cream to finish off our first night down at the beach! (For the record, to little ones, it's not the beach if you are not on the sand...=)
All the kiddos slept really well which was a blessing if you know anything about the way our nights go typically...and they woke up excited to go pick out their donuts...
When AK woke up from her nap, we headed straight to the beach and barely survived two hours in the blazing heat (hottest weekend ever-hitting 99 and higher!) and attempted to eat our picnic lunch without mixing any sand into it. The twins had an absolute ball jumping waves and building sand castles with daddy and Grandpa. Good thing daddy got the creative/artistic gene in the family and is capable of impressing the girls with his building abilities! They loved his dolphin, turtle, whale, and Mickey just to name a few...
Nothing like the sun to wear some little ones out! It takes a lot to say that about Baby B in our house but safe to say she was out cold! So daddy had a little fun...=)
Nap time worked its wonders on our three girls (as much as naps can help toddlerhood =) and we headed to the Back Porch for dinner! We wanted to give Grandpa a good taste of all the fun spots in Destin as it was his first trip! Besides our clothes sticking to us because of the extremely high humidity, we had a great time!
And remember when I mentioned nothing could help "toddlerhood..." well this would be one of those times. Is it too much to ask to get one family picture?! We settled for the best we could get and threatened to take away her ice cream if she didn't smile...didn't seem to matter in her three year old world. =)
And of course no night is complete without dessert in Mimi's world. Good thing we had her along! =0)
And this little cutie pie? Well she is usually up for anything and just along for the ride! SO thankful for her joyful disposition! The Lord knew just what we needed! =)
The next day we decided to venture into Seaside to enjoy lunch at the Great Southern Cafe! The food was fantastic and it's always fun to get out and see a new area at the beach! Especially a charming place like Seaside.
We decided to spend the afternoon at the pool after naps rather than brave the beach again and no one objected to that decision! The water felt great and it was a whole lot less to haul with us and a much shorter walk too! Lots of little kids=Lot of little people gear! And a pool is much easier to contain non-swimmers I might add as well!
And to wrap up a wonderful weekend, we made our way to McGuire's for lunch before heading out of town! All three kids behaved wonderfully which was just icing on the cake from an already full and fun weekend! We even managed to sneak in a little adult conversation!
We can't put into words how blessed and fortunate we feel to have families to share life with! What joy it is for us to spend time with Mimi & Grandpa and let our girls enjoy making such fun memories with their grandparents! We definitely don't take it for granted and are so thankful for this time to soak up Mimi and Grandpa all to ourselves! Thanks Mom and Dad for making the trip down and for loving us so well!
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