8.06.2012

beach 2012:part 1

we just got back from the best, most needed vacation. we spent the week in perdido key, florida at my mimi's friend's condo. it was beautiful and super kind! the boys had been so excited for months and were beyond ecstatic that the time had finally come. we left on thursday night at 8pm (7/26). we had decided driving through the night with the guys would be best. our hopes were that they would fall asleep after a couple of hours and sleep most of the night then after stopping for breakfast in the am, we would only be a couple hours out. they did so well and the trip down went very smooth and we made great time! at one point, around 2am, the big boys woke up and ledger started whining to get out of his seat. i put a movie on and handed out snacks and they were golden once again! knox did the best on the trip down. so thankful!
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our only hiccup on the way down was about an hour outside of tulsa, we ran into a storm. it was raining so hard for a good 30 minutes. right as it was getting dark, too. once we got out of it, i kept checking the radar. the whole drive to little rock, we stayed in this little rain-free pocket with rain all around us. thank you, jesus! 
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lane drove the whole 14 hours except 1.5 hours. he loves to drive. i hate it. we stopped at a starbucks at 5:30 and i took over the wheel. at 7 we stopped in mobile for some breakfast. the boys were crazy excited to get out of the car and eat chick-fil-a in their jammies! i fed knox and pumped in the car before we joined them. we took our time eating. once we had diapers changed, we got back in our seats for the last, what should've been hour, but we took the 1.5 hour scenic route!
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once we arrived and unpacked, mimi gave us the grand tour. she was there for a total of 3 weeks! she kindly gave us the master bedroom, complete with a king-sized tempurpedic... glorious sleep! the boys couldn't wait to get down to the beach. this is their first time touching the ocean. our beach was awesome. there's not any buildings on either side of the condo tower so the beach is very uncrowded. when we would look down the beach a ways, peoples tents were 3 rows deep. 
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after a quick lunch, we all laid down for some much needed rest. at one point, lane came in and couldn't find ledger. after looking around, he found him asleep on the bathroom floor. sweet boy.
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friday night, mimi and i went to wal-mart to stock up for the week. we did breakfast, lunches and snacks in the condo and went out each night for dinner. my mom and chloe were supposed to be flying into fort walton beach which was a good 1.5 hours drive away, but after sitting in tulsa several hours, their flights got changed around. they were supposed to fly into atlanta at 11pm with the slim possibility of catching the last flight out to pensacola for the night. when they got to atlanta, they called and said they were 12 and 13 on standby. we had resolved that they wouldn't make it in that night. 5 minutes later they texted saying they were on the flight and would be in pensacola in an hour (closer airport). mimi and i headed out to fetch them. unfortunately, their bags didn't make it, but we were grateful they didn't have to stay the night in the airport! we crawled into bed at 1:45...and slept really good!

the next morning, mom, knox, and i headed back to the airport to get their suitcase while mimi and lane took the boys to the pool. of course, it was a beautiful morning, but by the time we got back for lunch, a storm was blowing in. while lane and the boys napped, i laid on a chaise on the balcony and drifted in and out of blissful sleep. the oceans, the wind, the thunder-they all made for the most peaceful afternoon.
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by suppertime, it had turned into a beautiful evening. we got dressed and headed out for dinner at the shrimp basket. it was perfect patio sitting weather!
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one of my new fav pics!
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seriously, i've been craving shrimp and hushpuppies all this weekend.
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after dinner, we went for a walk on the beach. it was the perfect evening!
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this is where my morning started each day. nothing better than coffee and quiet time with the creator of that big 'ol ocean!
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sunday morning, we headed to the pool. sweet mimi was kind to stay with knox during his morning naps all week! at some point while we were down there, we got a surprise that lauren and kyle had gotten their flight changed and would be in at noon versus 10pm that night. we were so excited that we got an extra afternoon/evening with them! mimi and i made yet another trek to pensacola and came back to grilled hot dogs. we woke the boys early from their naps in order for everyone to go play on the beach. 
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there are way more pics of ledger than canon due to a certain 4 year old refusing pics. *sigh*
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where's canon?
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chicken fights.
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just chillaxin'.
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knox was fascinated with looking at the baby in the closet doors!
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my heart.
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every time i would take my camera outside, the humidity made it fog up. i stayed frustrated at it!
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after supper at a mediocre place at best, we headed back to the condo where my cousin katie and her boyfriend had just arrived to stay a few days. we didn't bring knox's bumbo for space-saving reasons. we figured there would be lots of willing hands to help feed/hold him!
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now that everyone had arrived, the best parts of the week were still to come!

2 comments:

Julie Rogers said...

Your boys are SOOO cute---new reader and as a mom of two boys, love to see other boy moms out there! Have a great trip!

-Julie
http://www.thechirpingmoms.com

Lindsey said...

I love the triple decker shoulder pool thing. so cute!