Vacation Thursday

We were pumped and ready to go to beach at 8 a.m. until it started raining...again.  So we stayed inside for a while and then decided to try to head to the beach.  We were there 10 minutes when it started raining again so we packed everything back up and decided to tough out the possible storms at the pool until we knew they were passed us.   While the kids played in the pool, I sat on our porch (right next to pool) updating the blog (hence all the updates below).  Then after lunch, Jay stayed back with Lucy for her to take a nap and I took the big kids back to the beach.  We enjoyed a couple of hours of sunshine before we had to head back in.  We played in the water, threw frisbee, and made several sand castles too.  :)

And here is proof I have been here too haha!

 Not sure what this was...but it looks like a dance move haha!  We'll just call it the "seahorse!"

The waves were CRAZY big today and there was a red flag.  So we just stayed close to the shore.

While I showered (and Lucy STILL napping), Jay watched the kids swim at the pool once more.  Then we all headed to the Crab Trap to eat dinner....yum!

 Then we drove to the fishing pier (a must for us when we come to Destin).  We knew Brayden would love it.

We did see several fish and someone had even caught a shark 30 minutes before we got there.  We saw LOTS of dolphins out in the water.  Brayden kept screaming, "SHARK!" 

I know this isn't the greatest pic but it's as good as I could get...

Sweet :)  She told me tonight, "Mom, my daddy...MR. daddy!  I love him!"

We let them play on the playground at Angler's for a few minutes and then we got to see fireworks over the bridge...so neat!  We also looked for crabs but didn't find any.  :(

On our way back, we stopped by the Krispy Kreme store for a late night snack...and they were GOOOOOD!

The kids loved watching the donuts being made.  :)

The kids were so sleepy they barely made it home before they CRASHED!  After this load of towels finishes, I won't be much behind them!

My 32nd Birthday

Our first day at the beach happened to be my 32nd birthday.  We planned to spend the whole day at the beach but that all changed when we woke up to rain/thunderstorms.  My sweet hubby cooked us a big breakfast and then took the kids out to the store to give me some time to myself (it's a treat these days!).  While they were gone I had a sweet time with the Lord...one of those days I will take with me for years to come.  You can view it here.  Maybe I will share more at a later time with you guys.

Then Jay and the kids came home and presented me with my cards and gift.  Part of my bday gift was I got to pick out my new running shoes I bought last week before I left.  The other part was a watch that he picked out himself.  I have been wanting a running watch so I could time myself/my laps/miles etc.  Without me telling him which one I wanted, he picked out the exact one I wanted.   He's a keeper!

Then since it was raining, we all got ready for the day and headed into Destin to eat lunch out and see what all there was to do on a rainy day.  We ended up spending time at the marina and looking at the fishing boats and fish.  Brayden was in hog fish heaven!

Funny story....Jay told Brayden that if you spit into the water, the fish will come to it.  OH Brayden LOVED that one and practiced it thoroughly.  We were laughing watching him!

Practicing the art...he is such a boy!!!

We ate lunch right off the marina at AJ's!  My fav part of the lunch was the fried pickles...yum!

These guys had just come in off of a fishing boat and were cleaning the fish...Brayden LOVED watching them!  

After lunch, the sun started to come out and we headed back to change clothes, gather our beach stuff and head to the ocean.  It ended up being a beautiful afternoon in the lower 80's and the water was pretty clear.  I remembered why I love the beach so much!

It was Lucy's first time at the beach and she loved it!!!  She also loved going out into the water but only if we were holding her.  We would jump when the waves would come and with every crashing wave, she would say, "Whoa!  That was a BIG one!"  haha

Karis and Brayden immediately jumped into the water!

Daddy helped the kids build me a surprise while I relaxed! :)

And this was my surprise...a birthday cake made out of sand.  It had a 3 "candles" on top and 2 on bottom for 32.  It made my heart smile!

The kids each found one jellyfish...

They made friends and built some sandcastles...

Brayden loved to pick up and sand and toss it over his shoulder ha!

Karis caught a little fish!

Lucy came up to me and said, "Mom, I be right back.  K?!"  Then she took off!

Since we ended up getting down to the beach late, Lucy totally missed her nap.  So instead of napping late and eating late, we decided to go until dinner and then just come in and everybody go to bed early.  So we stayed at the beach until dinner and walked over to Pompano Joe's which is right on the beach where we were.

And this was our view over dinner...jealous?!  It was AMAZING!

Yep we had been at the beach all day and were icky but that is what coming to the beach is all about.  Do what you feel like even if it is not ideal.  The kids and I shared some jerk chicken that was so good!  Oh and the family that we asked to take this picture ended up being from our county and the husband was an associate pastor at one of the churches in our association.  They recognized Jay after we asked them to take our picture...it's a small world!

It wasn't quite bedtime yet so we came back to our condo and swam at the pool.  :)

When the kids came in for baths, I went for a 3 mile run at sunset and it was sooo fun.  It was an EASY run (not normal these days) and it was so refreshing to run alongside the beach.  It was a great way to end my 32nd birthday.  It was an amazing day and I realize tonight that I am beyond blessed.  I received calls, texts, email messages and over 250 facebook birthday wishes...I felt very loved.   The Lord has been very gracious to me and I hope I don't ever take it for granted.  

Thank you Lord for another year. I pray that in the year to come I love Him more than ever before and that I will closer to the woman He desires for me to be.