Day 5 of Vacation

Our day 5 of vacation was so fun!! It was the first day we didn't go to the beach. We had researched (we meaning really Charley found this super cool thing for kids to do and I agreed to do it) and found a Pirate Cruise for the kiddos to do. It was rated as the best thing for kids to do in Panama City Beach and it was great. It was a true pirate adventure for children. If you ever vacation close to this area you have to try it out. It was great for kids ages 3-9 and boys and girls would love it. My girls LOVED it!! The only negative about the cruise was the heat. It was so hot. We went on a noon cruise thinking it would be cooler but it was a rare heat wave and it was unusually hot. The cruise was put on by "real" pirates dressed up and all. The kids had a blast with a water gun fight to start it off. They got really wet which was great because it was so hot. Katie just shot Charley in the leg with the water gun and Kylee played with the kids. Then they had the girls get their faces painted while the boys mopped the deck. Then they had a sword fight, shot a cannon with balls, heard a pirate story, pulled in a pirate treasure from sea, saw lots of dolphins, did the chicken dance, danced in a congo line, limbo, got a pirate tattoo, and Katie's favorite got a ring pop. It was really fun. It was a 2 hour boat cruise and they stayed busy the entire time. It was really easy on the parents as we just watched and took pictures. The girls still talk about this cruise!!

We also did the souvenir shopping and Kylee bought a boogie board and Katie a squirrel stuffed animal. That night we ate at a yummy restaurant called Hunts Oyster Bar. They had the best oysters and seafood platter. That night we also ordered room service dessert and played sorry together. We played a game every night UNO, Sorry, Go Fish and watched TV later than normal. It was great family time.

Days 3 and 4 of Vacation

The start of day 3 was Sunday, Father's Day and we started the day with fun celebration with daddy. Then we were finally going to the beach. The question asked for weeks ahead of that, "When are we going to the beach? " We were finally able to say today!! Our hotel was the Bay Point Marriott Resort in Panama City Beach. It was beautiful. It sat in a quiet bay to the gulf so we had to take a short boat ride out to Shell Island. The boat ride was fun and the girls loved it. The beach was the most beautiful white sand and crystal clear water. It was so clear you could see all the fishies swim on your toes, (a little scary for me). Katie enjoyed hanging out on the beach for most of this day, playing in the sand. Kylee was ready to hit the water. Katie's first attempt at the water was a mouthful and the salt water was quite a surprise with lots of spitting and I need some water comments. We stayed for a couple hours then went back to the hotel for lunch and swimming pool fun. Then we cleaned up and had a wonderful, yummy dinner at The Shrimp Boat. They had the best fried green tomatoes with lump crab meat on them. Charley enjoyed his father's day dinner. Then we went back to the hotel for a night swim!

Then on day 4 we pretty much did the same exact thing in the morning: beach, lunch, pool, and rest. Then that night we went to what we thought would be a great dinner but it was the only meal all week we didn't like. Then it was off to ride go carts and play putt putt! Another fun day!!

Day 1 and 2 of our Vacation

On the first two days of our vacation we did a little side trip to my home town I grew up in to show the girls some things about where I grew up. We left midday Friday and got on the rode. Everything was going well until about 5 pm and Kylee started looking pale, crying, and complaining about her ear hurting. I found the thermometer and she had a low grade fever so we quickly called our doc to see if they would give us something for an ear infection, no luck! So thanks to my new iphone (love that thing) we were able to find an urgent care after hours clinic in Baton Rouge. So we got there at 8 pm and of course Kylee did have an ear infection, uugghh!! We got medicine and made it to our hotel in New Orleans after 11pm. Our hotel in New Orleans was in the middle of the downtown area. It had a huge balcony with the iron railing. It was classic New Orleans. The noise that night was also classic New Orleans. I thought it was hard to sleep. We all were exhausted and slept till 9 the next morning. We had planned on going to get beignets but we headed out to Picayune, my home town.

So Day 2, we got to Picayune and went to my home I grew up in. My parents moved here 4 years ago and we haven't been back since. It was good to go back home and the girls thought it was neat. We actually got to meet the man that lives there now and he just went on and on about how much he liked it there. I wanted to convince him to let me in and look around but I wasn't brave enough. So we just took a picture outside. We also cruised by my elementary school, high school, dad's work place, and my favorite bakery. We got lots of cookies that we enjoyed at the beach for the week. Yummy!! I can taste them as I type. We had planned to go to my favorite seafood place but Kylee wasn't 100% and we still had a 5 hour drive to to beach so we went ahead and got to the beach at 8 pm so I was glad we didn't wait around.

When I was busy packing....

When I was busy packing...

I found Katie in the sink with a tiny bit of water and two little princess having a great time.

Vacation post coming soon!!

Summer Spectacular 2009

Another year of Summer Spectacular has gone by and it was spectacular. This year was the story of Esther. This year I lead a class of 4 year olds for the first time and I loved it! I had a fun time through the whole process. I did manage to break 2 fingers in the decorating process but they feel much better now. My kids love everything about our SS. This year Kylee invited our neighbor, Kayla, to come and she really enjoyed that and so did our neighbor. My sister always comes over to go to it with us and Katie got to have her cousin Ethan in class with her and she loved that. One of the nights of the musical Katie got out in the aisle and started dancing like crazy to the music, we were loving it! One of the favorites is after the musical getting your shirt signed by the performers. The lines are so long and all the kids get the signature and then get a special prize. Yea for another great year of Summer Spectacular.