If you really wanna know, where you can find me...

I'll be unwinding, down in the islands down in the islands...

That is my new favorite song by Zac Brown Band.  It's called "Island Song".  It came out a couple weeks ago, just in time for us to take our week long vacation to Destin Beach. 

Since we went on vacation, our "Summer Chain of Events" was put on pause for a few days.  Going to Destin each summer has become a tradition I look forward to all year.  We usually make it there at least three or four times a year for a night or two but during the summer we try to spend a week there.  Fortunately, I have some friends I make a trade with and they let us use their condo at the Luau in the Sandestin Beach Resort.  I must say, it's really nice to have a nice and familiar place to stay at when we go. 

We left town on Monday and we had a surprise for the kids.  They knew we were going to Destin, but what they didn't know was that Justin and I had purchased season passes to the water park there, Big Kahuna's.  When we passed the condo they started to get impatient.  We told them we had to go buy groceries and such for the condo and they were really bummed.  They were both dying to get there and jump in the pool.  As we pulled into Big Kahuna's they both got really excited and decided that this detour was worth waiting on the pool.  I didn't take the camera in and since Justin and I had to trade off watching Huck, we only got a few pictures. 

On our way to Destin, Seth lost his second tooth for

the summer bringing his total up to four.

Sleeping while the big kids play.

She absolutely adores her baby brother!!!

Happy to be at the park!

After the water park we really did head to get groceries and get settled into the condo.  We also made sure to make it to the condos pool that night.  The kids have both had goggles for awhile but they each had a new snorkel and mask to try out.  I don't think they've gotten a hang of the snorkel yet but I think they'll love it once they do.

Tuesday morning Justin and the kids got up early and headed to the beach to do some fishing. They hooked two fish but lost both of them.  After breakfast we all headed to the beach.  Seth and McKayla have recently gotten into boogie boarding so they were excited to show us their moves. We were only there a couple hours before the weather got pretty bad so we headed back to the condo, ate lunch, and we all took naps before heading to Baytowne for dinner. 

Early morning fishing with dad.

 Short beach nap.

Getting a boogie boarding lesson.

Working up the nerve to give it a try.

Roberto's Pizzeria in Baytowne.



Our third day in Destin was a relaxing pool day followed by some shopping at the outlet malls and Destin Commons.  It was a pretty calm and easy day.    

Ready for the pool. 

Pool time.

Loving their new masks.

Being silly at the condo.

Three of my four kids :)

On Thursday Justin and I decided to give Huck a break from being outside so much so we switched off on taking Seth and McKayla to the pool. That night we headed back to Baytowne for dinner.

We found this when we got back from the pool. 

Eating dinner at the Village Door. 

This is one of our favorite Destin restaurants. 

Relaxing and watching a movie. 

Friday was a pretty rainy and nasty day.  We went back to the water park again but it was pretty cloudy and chilly this time.  After a few hours we headed back to the condo for a late lunch.  Late that afternoon we went to the pool for awhile but it was pretty cold and wet out still so we didn't last long.  Since it was our last day in Destin, we decided to take a long walk on the beach that night.

McKayla body boarding at the water park.

Make sure to watch both videos, they're pretty funny.



Headed down to the beach.

Looking for shells.

Walking with Mommy.  

Walking back to the condo.

Happy baby boy!

Saturday was the sad end to our beach vacation.  We all had a blast and I'm already looking forward to going back again next summer.  Justin and I get to go back to Destin again in August (for his work) and September (with friends).  Now we just have to figure out how to get our own beach house/condo there.  









Red, White, & Blue

I very rarely put the kids in matching outfits, but for some reason red, white, and blue clothes for the 4th is so cute to me.  Last year they had coordinating outfits and my SIL took pictures of them and their cousins.  They were so cute I wanted to take pictures again this year. Unfortunately we didn't have my SIL this time so we were on our own. Wow! Taking pictures is difficult when you throw in a newborn and bad weather.  Huck ruined his outfit twice.  Yes twice! I washed it after the first time and he did it again almost immediately so I put him in something else entirely. Then there was bad weather to work around and Huck's naps.  We did get lots of cute pictures but we didn't get all the shots I wanted to. 

Here's what we got.

Can't forget Fenway :)

This last one I took with my cell phone

while we watched the firework show at Summerbrooke.

Quality isn't great but I really liked it.

Outside of all the picture taking we also had a great time celebrating the fourth.  Justin's parents came over for dinner and we set off our own fireworks before going to watch the ones at Summerbrooke.  The kids did party poppers, snap dragons, and sparklers too.  I think sending off their lanterns was their favorite. 

Hope you all had a happy 4th!

Summer Chain of Events, Week 3

I planned some pretty fun stuff this week for the chain of events.  Friday ended up being one of my favorites we've ever done and we'll definitely have to repeat it next summer.  Without further ado...

Monday, July 2nd: Monday we did something I've never done before.  We made homemade chalk.  This was actually a pretty easy activity and it worked really well.  Here are the directions I used.

 Before

 After

Tuesday, July 3rd: When my mom came up for Huck's birth, she brought each of the kids a chinese flying lantern.  We did these last summer for the 4th and we all loved them.  This year I had the kids decorate theirs and we set them off on 4th of July after making a wish.

 Decorating their lanterns.

 Seth's is above and McKayla's is below.

 One of the lanterns flying away.



Wednesday, July 4th: The kids really enjoyed this activity.  We made an American flag cake.  I know everyone under the sun has seen some version of this cake, but here's ours.

Thursday, July 5th: Playing at the park.  This one is pretty unoriginal, I know, but sometimes I just need a break.  I took so much of a break though that I forgot to take pictures. :(

Friday, July 6th: This might be my all time favorite on the chain of events.  The kids absolutely loved it and it was super easy for me.  I made an obstacle course and the kids completed it while we timed them.  They each did it 3 times.  Can you guess who had the best 2 out of 3?

1. Throw the balls in the buckets. 

 2. Bunny hop over the cones.

 3. Run a circle around the hula hoop.

 4. Ziz-zag jump over the jump rope.

 5. Jump on the sprinkler soaked trampoline 5 times.

 6. Zig-zag run around the cones.

 7. Hit the golf ball past the jump rope.

 8. Kick the soccer ball down the length of the house.

 9. Shoot and make the basket to stop the clock.

Saturday, July 7th: Thanks to my friend Betsy posting about swimming at Maclay Gardens, I got the idea to take the kids there.  I had never been before so I was pretty excited.  Maclay Gardens is a state park that has property on Lake Hall.  They have an area designated for swimming so we headed there on Saturday.  We got rained out about an hour after getting there so I never got around to taking pictures.  I'm sure we'll make it back there again this summer.  

Sunday, July 8th: This was my day to take a break from the summer chain of events and put Justin in charge.  He took the kids shooting at a public shooting range in the Appalachicola National Forest.  We borrowed a friends .22 rifle for the kids.  They both did really well shooting from 25 yards and 50 yards.  Here are some videos:

That's it for week three! Only 5 more weeks of summer for me and 6 more weeks for the kids:-( Next time we have the kids we'll be headed out of town.  Check back for a post about our vacation.