Hey y'all,
Welcome to the longest post EVER! We had a fabulous time at the beach last week. Michael had a conference for work in Destin. The kids and I tagged along, of course! Of all the conferences Michael has been too, this one is my favorite! He only had meetings in the morning, so we were able to explore in the afternoons and have lots of family time. A few of the evenings, he had "social" events, but the families of attendees were encouraged to participate. The beach was gorgeous! The water in Destin has so many shades. I took a ton of pictures because who knows how long it will stay that pretty and if it will ever be that beautiful again. The oil situation down here is devestating to so many people. I have seen footage of "our" beaches - the Alabama beaches - and it is enough to make a person cry. There seems to be oil everywhere. We have a friend that spent last week in Orange Beach. Most of the week, the oil wasn't an issue. They saw a few tar balls, but that was it. By the end of their week, the beach was covered in oil. It's awful. We were so thankful that we could enjoy our trip and the beach without any oil sitings.
The view from our balcony - Ahhhh....
We walked on the beach almost as soon as we arrived. We wanted to soak it all in! The only disappointing thing was all the seaweed. Apparently, there were some strong storms that churned it all up and it was washing up with the tide. It was kind of gross!
My gorgeous family!
Our room was a Jr. Suite. (We think they gave it to us because they haven't been able to sell all the rooms with the oil scare.) Anyway, the kids had bunk beds and thought it was the coolest thing EVER!
Colin conquered the top bunk. He was so proud! If only he had conquered getting down...
This was taken from the pool area. We spent most of our time at the pool, though the kids and I would have loved to have been down at beach. I wasn't comfortable taking the kids down to the beach by myself in the mornings, and we spent most of the afternoons exploring and doing other fun things. (Side note: I think I have discovered that though Michael loves the beach, he doesn't really like it! He wasn't all that interested in taking the kids down and playing in the water and sand with them.)
Colin longingly looking at the beach. We really did have fun in the pool though. It was very satisfying and quite honestly, this way we didn't have to battle with all the seaweed.
Aren't the colors beautiful?
Is she not absolutely gorgeous? I mean really!
This shark was hanging out in front of the Bass Pro Shops in Destin. Colin begged to go see it every time we drove by it. He was so funny. He kept saying he wanted to put his hand it its mouth. And, that is just what he did!
Molly wasn't so sure about it.
I decided to show them just how it was done. ;)
We did make it down to the beach a few times to walk and play. Molly wasn't too crazy about the seaweed sticking to her skin. Thankfully, that took away some of my mommy guilt. She enjoyed the pool better this week.
They really did have fun at the pool. Molly is getting braver and braver and even worked on some swimming skills with me.
Colin spent most of his time in the pool spinning. He loves to spin. In fact, when he "dances" at home, he just spins around and around and around. That is just what he did in the pool too.
Molly Hot Dog
Colin Hot Dog
One evening, the conference had a luau for everyone. There was dinner and music and face painting (or hand painting in our case) for the kids. They also had a bonfire on the beach and they kids made smores.
This picture just happened, so we tried again and again for a good one, but Colin thought this was so funny, he kept pushing his face against mine to get goofy pictures. He's a hoot!
I finally had to tickle him to get a good one of him smiling.
Molly's pink flower
Colin's green car
I had to get a few beachy/ sea oat pictures... This was the best I could do with the two of them together. Why can't they ever look and smile at the same time? I guess I will have to get photoshop and splice a few together!
My beautiful big girl!
My handsome little man!
Roasting marshmallows
Daddy to the rescue! Of course, Colin's marshmallows caught fire within seconds!
The kids enjoyed their s'mores. I rushed them off the beach as fast as I could herd those sticky bodies! We had enough sand everywhere, we didn't need to get anymore stuck all over!!
After the luau, there were fireworks. They set them off from the beach and we had a perfect view from our balcony. Colin was SO excited about seeing them.
Molly was pretty excited too.
This was Molly throughout the entire show! She loved them, but thought they were a bit too loud.
Super Star!
Still spinning.... and lovin' it!
We took the kids to "The Track." We all rode go-karts. Colin couldn't have been more excited!
Team Michael and Molly
Okay, do you see the distress on his face? He was so upset because he couldn't reach to steer. Mom to the rescue... I loosened the straps a bit and voila, he was able to reach and ready for speed!
Oh, and Team Mom and Colin WON!! ;)
This is the face that accompanied the question, "Can we do that again?"
The kids were able to ride one more ride of their choosing. Colin knew right away that he wanted to fly.
Pilot Colin
Molly, after much deliberation (and seeing Colin having fun riding the planes), decided to fly as well. First she wanted to do the ferris wheel, then the merry-go-round, then the ferris wheel, then... You get the idea. :)
My kids have a weird fascination with gators!
This is so typical of what I get when I try to get a family pictures.
Which is why I am completely satisfied with this one!
We had a blast and wish we could go back already!
Until next time...
