Summer Vacation 2014

Last October when my parents (Dad and Chris) and family friends, The Ohman's, came for a visit there was some discussion about how fun our Labor Day Week at the beach looked in the blog post the month before and we told them that they should join us on our next beach trip. A couple more months went by and in January it was time to book a place for this summer. So, a few emails went around confirming that they really did want to join us at the beach and we chose a week that would work for everyone. I found a house with five bedrooms in Perdido Key and booked the place (I was literally watching the snow fall outside as I booked the beach house). Then, we just had to wait and wait and wait and wait and then FINALLY the time had come and I was prepping and packing and Keith loaded and then... we were OFF TO THE BEACH! Huzzah!

We knew there was a *possibility* that Jason and Rene may join us, but they didn't confirm until about a week before the trip that they would be joining us for four days. Yay! Everyone arrived at the house within about an hour of each other. We got there at about 4:30 in the afternoon. Lots of excited hugs and quick greetings, and I went into babyproofing mode. All of the door handles in the place are lever style, which made them very easy to open and difficult to childproof. We needed a gate at the bottom of the stairs AND at the top of the stairs leading to the garage- pronto! I think people thought I was being a little over-protective and unnecessarily stressed-out about the situation... And then, in the fray, Etta grabbed a pot of boiling water on the unsupervised stove. We don't think she really burned herself. No one actually saw. Her arm was a little red for a little while and she cried, but we may have scared her when everyone started yelling. She was fine not long after, but it was a perfect example of her impulsivity and disregard for danger and why Keith and I are so over-protective.

Anyway, we got the place semi-childproofed and I was able to relax... a little. But not really, because I still had three kids' beds to set up (which took a good 40 minutes) and then I needed to feed the kids dinner. I was pretty relieved when bed time rolled around that night (shit, who are we kidding... I'm pretty relieved when bed time rolls around EVERY night!). Basically, once you have kids, a "vacation" is never really a vacation. But, it is a change of scenery and I got a beautiful shot of our first sunset and we enjoyed pizza from the local joint, Lillian's, that we like to go to (we ordered take-out).

We hit the ground running on our first day with a trip to the beach! Having so many extra hands while we were at the beach was a WELCOME change! I actually ENJOYED being there and we were able to stay longer than 30 minutes. Daniel kept calling the ocean the "pool" no matter how many times you tried to correct him ("Well, Daniel, that's the BIGGEST pool I have ever seen") and I could not convince him that the sand was called sand- he insisted that it was "grass" ("Okay, Daniel, it's grass").

Alice was pretty fussy from the minute we got there. She was sleepy and she was not happy with the sensation of walking on sand and she was still in "stranger danger" mode and didn't want to be passed off to anyone. So, I held her for a while and then I passed her off to her Abuelito and I walked away. I heard her crying for a while, but I wanted to enjoy the beach with the bigger kids

Eventually Alice's crying stopped and when I went to check on her, I found this:

After she woke from her nap, I went and dipped her toes in the ocean before we headed off to lunch at Sunset Grille.

We spent the rest of the afternoon hanging around the house.

The sunset that night was beautiful and we spent some time down at the end of the dock where we spotted some VERY close dolphins (I literally *squealed* when one surfaced just feet from the end of the dock where we were sitting.  Joan captured a blurry shot of one of their dorsal fins.)

See the dolphin fin below? :)

On Monday we celebrated my dad's 65th birthday! It was special that we were able to spend the day together. That morning we spent some time at the pool and took it easy around the beach house.

a.) I don't want to know what she had to do to earn all of those beads.

b.) She ran into a wall corner that morning

c.) That was only 1 of 2 bruises she gave herself on her forehead that week.

After the kids got up from nap, we headed over to Joe Patti's seafood market in Pensacola and then had dinner at The Oar House (Todd met us over there after he got off work).

Later, after we got home and just before everyone slinked off to bed, I made sure we lit candles for my dad (and BOY did we light them! That lighter was set to "flame-thrower" mode).

(It was so late that no one wanted to eat that cake, but let me tell you, when we did finally cut it up a couple nights later, I wanted to be the one to lick the little circular platter it came on! Key Lime Cheesecake from Joe Patti's- FOR THE WIN!)

That night, after my shower, I came back to the room that Etta and I were sharing to find her crying and covered in puke. :( This was Monday night. She had thrown up once on Thursday night before we left for the trip, but had been fine on Friday and Saturday and Sunday. I bathed her and changed her sheets and she threw up one more time before going back to bed for the night (thankfully, I got her to the toilet for that one).

I slept in just a *bit* the next morning so I missed Keith's reaction when he came out of his room to see the decorations Rene and I put up the night before for his 40th Birthday!

(Keith has been really into hot sauces lately. lol.)

Etta never threw up again, but she was definitely SICK and she spent about two entire days sleeping.

So, as you can imagine, we took it easy around the house. We gave Keith a few gifts and I spent a little time at the pool.

We also had the opportunity to take Daniel for his first boat ride when some of my parents' friends- who live in the area- stopped by for a visit  (We spotted a dolphin while on our boat ride- no pics)

Keith cooked up the delicious shrimp we bought at Joe Patti the day before and my dad grilled some swordfish and tuna (I think those were the types of fish he grilled?)

After dinner, we celebrated with some cake!

Sleepy little Bee off to bed...

Wednesday we said goodbye to Jason and Rene, Uncle Ed took Etta out on the kayak, and Alice and I joined my dad and Chris on a trip into Pensacola to take care of a few errands (things they can only get done while in the States). I knew we were probably pushing it with Alice since it was getting close to lunch and nap time, but she was a trooper and handled the errands and lunch well. She even stayed awake for the long drive back to the house and I was able to put her down for a nice long nap!

Our friend Dee came over that day! She currently lives in Mississippi, but she is a Panama friend. We grew up together and we keep up on Facebook, but it had been about five years since I had seen her (I have seen her dad in Panama more often in recent years.) It was easy to pick up with her and we spent some time catching up after every one else had gone off to bed.

That evening's sunset:

Thursday morning's sunrise:

Thursday was the day that Keith and Daniel had planned to join Dad, Chris, Joan, and Ed on the Air Museum tour, but Daniel had been sick in the night on Tuesday night (threw up once, several episodes of diarrhea, and another fun puke episode following a breakfast of strawberries that morning) so they stayed home. Dee headed back to Mississippi. Her visit was short, but I am so thankful she made the trip over to see us!.

(After the air museum, they joined my sisters Kimi and Deanne for lunch in Pensacola)

Brothers-in-law. They really *heart* each other.

Etta was pretty lethargic for most of the day (I was actually contemplating a trip to the ER early that morning because she was showing signs of dehydration, but I managed to get a bunch of fluids in her and she perked up a little around lunch time). Daniel acted completely normal during his bout with the tummy bug. Keith and Uncle Todd took him out in the kayak a few times and he seemed to like that.

Thursday's Supper:

Thursday's Sunset:

Thursday's Sunset Shenanigans:

Friday was our last day and everyone rallied! Etta and Daniel both woke up ready to hit the beach and so we did!

After a quick stop at the house to change, we went over to The Crab Trap for our final lunch. Alice tore up a hush puppy.

We spent the rest of the afternoon hanging around the house soaking up our final day.

On Saturday we said our goodbyes and we loaded up and headed up to my Mom and Bill's house in Alabama to spend a couple of nights and visit with them and my Nana.

Final Sunrise:

(This is us- NOT sharing our candy with the kids)

(For some reason, I only have pictures of my kids in the pool and my Nana, but my Mom and Bill were there and so were my aunts Tammie and Jeanne. We also saw Aunt Becky for a few minutes as she was in town- staying at my parents' house- for a funeral)

On Monday we packed up again and we were back on the road to Tennessee. But first we had to make a stop to buy some boiled peanuts from a guy selling them on the side of the road!

Despite the kids being sick part of the time, we still had a great vacation this year! It was wonderful spending time with so many friends and family members! Hopefully we didn't scare them off with our three-ring circus and they will want to do it again soon! ;)