Our condo was on Okaloosa Island near Destin and was steps away from the beach. The water wasn't as blue as usual but the view was still amazing. The condo was so homey and the perfect size for our family. We had a great week of shopping, eating, beaching and spending lots of time together. It was awesome.
Both girls are quite the beach bums. Leighton wanted to stay at the pool 24/7 but tolerated the beach for a little while each day too. She made friends to play and swim with and just enjoyed herself so much. One day she stayed out from 10 until after 4 and I had to drag her in to shower for dinner. She was a total water bug! She is also so good about letting us reapply sunscreen, wearing sun hats and playing in the shade so we don't have to worry about her getting a sunburn. Leighton is a cautious little girl like her Mama ;)
Gracen, on the other hand, is the complete opposite of cautious! The child has no fear! She would walk straight into the ocean and would jump right into the pool if we would let her. She basically stayed covered in sand as long as we were at the beach. She loved digging in the sand and letting the waves splash her in the face! She is not a fan of sun hats but she is good about letting us put lots of sunscreen on her. Totally our little wild woman!
We went to Fudpucker's in Destin one night for dinner because they have live alligators and Leighton is obsessed with alligators at the moment. She loves to watch Gator Boys on A&E and talks about Paul and Jimmy (from the show) like she actually knows them haha. Toby did a handstand in the pool and Leighton said, "Hey Dad, Paul can do that too!" She is crazy. She loved looking at the baby alligators and was pretty much on cloud nine the entire time. They let you hold an alligator and take your picture with one and she was so excited and kept talking about how she was going to hold it all by herself! Once they brought "Mr. Sprinkles" into the room she changed her tune lol! This picture cracks me up. The girls look so much alike here I think :) Well, besides the fact that Gracen refuses to keep a bow in. Holding out hope that someday she will turn a corner ;)
On Tuesday it rained all day long so it was the perfect day to head to Destin for some shopping. We had lunch at Cheeseburger in Paradise and shopped the girls until they dropped...literally :) Once we realized they were both asleep we really started shopping haha! We were racing around going back to all the stores we didn't get to browse in very long. Luckily I am married to a man who doesn't mind to shop (even if it is for tennis shoes, jordan shirts and hats lol).
When we got back to the condo that night we realized we had been gone for over 8 hours! Both girls were a little slap happy that night and definitely not ready for bed :)
We had some really good dinners but I think I've decided one of the (if not THE) most stressful parts of vacation is dining with two little kids. Leighton is at an age where she is super easy to take out but lil sis...not so much. Luckily every place we went was open and breezy so at least they had stuff to look at. The one more expensive place we went we made sure to go really early so it was pretty empty while we were there. This trip was by far the easiest we've ever had as a family of four and I think we could have made it even easier if we stayed in more for dinner. Maybe next trip (if I still remember this feeling haha).
All of our dining did lead to some pretty cute photo ops :) There was a playground at the boardwalk that was the perfect bribe for Leighton during dinner and picture taking!
I have a ton more pictures from the week but I will leave you with just a few more of my favorites that capture the fun we had...
It really was a wonderful week full of family time and the perfect farewell to our summer.
AWWWWW I can not wait until we can go on combined family vacays like we used to, Mandy :) Leighton is looking more like a little woman every picture I see!! And Gracen is looking more like Lei! Love and miss you all constantly. XOXO
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