Travel Day Home and Final Thoughts

The picture above was taken very early the morning we left four our long trek home. This was a view from our room balcony. We loved our vacation and were quite sad to leave. We left at 7 am and pulled into our driveway right at 9:30 pm. It was a long day home but the girls did well considering we were stuck in the car all day! The only real eventful thing was when Katie stuck a small foamy up her nose and we had to pull over to try to get it. We did not but guess it made its way out somehow! The girls slept great on vacation. They didn't wake up before 8:30 and Kylee mostly would have slept until after 9 most days but we wanted to get up and get moving. I really think that swimming and hot sun is really exhausting. This was our first vacation that we took with just the 4 of us and it was really great. I am so glad we did this. We had no choice but to spend every moment together and Charley and I had no reason to not play with the girls all the time. We also loved watching Kylee and Katie spend time together. We always tell them that they are best friends for life and this is a great way for them to bond. Kylee has told us many times that she loved our vacation. Her favorite thing was the beach and Pirate Cruise. Katie's favorite things were the hot tub and playing in the sand. This was a great vacation and I am thankful I got to spend it with my 3 favorite people:)

Day 6 and 7 of Vacation

Day 6 of our vacation was the last day we would be going to the beach so we got up and started our day strong with a trip back to Shell Island and it was so fun. The boogie board Kylee bought the day before was all she wanted to do in the waves. The waves were great for the boogie board and fun for Kylee. Katie was getting really comfortable in the waves but still wanted her hands on me or Charley the whole time which was fine with me. The girls were in the sand building things. Katie loved for Kylee to run water to her and she would wet the sand and fill buckets. They did this over and over. Kylee really spent most the time in the water. Katie loved to sit in by me and eat chips or crackers. Then pretty close to time when we were about to leave they both wanted us to bury them in the sand. So we did and they loved it and they were full of sand for days. It was so fun. Then on the boat ride home Katie had fun dancing to all the beach type music they played. We had a quick trip to the pool when we got back and then went to rest and get ready for our night. This night was our picture night with a photographer in Destin. So we ate at The Crab Trap on the beach and our pictures were right there. The food was good and we really like our photographer. I have seen a sneak peek at the pics and I am very pleased. The lady that did them takes them and then you get the CD to do with the pics as you please. If you are ever in the Destin area I would recommend her. You can look her up at www.boldandsassyphotography.com. There is even a peak on her blog at our pictures. I was pleased and hoping to use these as our Christmas cards pics.

On Day 7 of our vacation we got up and ate a yummy breakfast at our hotel. Kylee had begged us all week to eat breakfast here so we finally did. Then we headed to Destin to see one of my best friends from high school, Sara and her girls. Her sister and her daughter joined us too so it was a fun reunion with a whole bunch of girls and Charley. Her husband did join us for lunch. We met them at a Dolphin Cruise. It was a fun cruise and we actually saw a lot of dolphins. It was also very choppy water and Kylee even got green and almost lost her breakfast! It was so fun visiting with Sara and seeing her girls visit with my girls. Both her girls are a year older than both mine so close enough in age to really enjoy time together. After the cruise we went and ate lunch at a fun little cafe and just visited and caught up. It was great! Then we left and went shopping. Destin has some great shopping. Then we went back to our hotel and the girls and Charley went swimming while I packed up our stuff because we were leaving early the next day!

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!!