Destin BABY

I've said it before and will say it again and again, there is NOTHING like the beach in the fall. I cannot imagine spending Fall Break anywhere else, and there is no place more beautiful than Destin, Florida.

WE LOVE THE BEACH!!!!!!!!!!!

SATURDAY, there are going to be some "sidenotes" throughout this blog. In fact I will begin with one. SIDENOTE: Saturday was monumental for Isaac. On the drive to the beach, he was munching on a banana Laffy Taffy and hurt his tooth. Now up until this point, he hasn't lost ANY teeth. I think Karson had lost half her baby teeth before 1st grade =). His teeth are growing in exactly like Karson's--in a row right behind the baby teeth. Isaac already has two permanent teeth growing in, and the tooth he hurt was right in front of one. I knew it was just a matter of time before it came out. The tooth bothered him all day/night when he was eating. Before bed, I decided to yank it on out. It was bloody and tender around his gums and came out. Isaac went NUT-ZO. He was so MAD about losing a tooth and said he wanted to keep ALL his teeth. He was so hysterical--Matt said, "buddy, you're acting like you lost your best friend." After he finally calmed down, he climbed into bed with my mom. We told him that the Destin tooth fairy pays better than the Bowling Green one. As well she should, you should've seen the POSH digs we stayed in this year.
Isaac and Evan texted for about an hour on the way down. You can imagine the "texts" that came through.

Here was the VIEW from our porch. WOW!!!

Back to Saturday, after a long 9-hour excursion, we arrived at Villa Coyaba, our home away from home. Actually V.C. is NOTHING like my home. It was one of the most gorgeous places I've ever been. Our condo looked like something off MTV Cribs.

Ground Floor, room 106
The first day we arrived, the kids immediately stripped down and got in their swim suits and headed straight for the beach. The weather couldn't have been more perfect this week. Matt and Shannon tackled the groceries later that evening. I think we ate almost every single thing they purchased in about a day and a half. What is it about being at the beach that makes you HUNGRY ALL THE TIME? While they were gone, I took the kids crab hunting. Last year they covered the sand as far as the eye could see, but Saturday night, they were M.I.A. We may have gone to early in the evening???



SUNDAY, I promised Isaac I would take him to Build-A-Bear, and Shannon had a great coupon that expired THAT day. Isaac has never gone to B.A.B.W. but has always wanted to build his own bear. Since the other two kids have bears and have had the experience (Karson, more than once), I wanted him to have his OWN special day doing that. Me, Shannon, Evan and Isaac went, and the boys had a great time making their bears. Evan chose a dog which Isaac kept referring to as a Build-A-Dog. Isaac picked a black bear and named him Josh. He's all about the "formal" names for his stuffed animals. He picked out a Darth Vadar outfit and light saber for his bear.

BOYS DAY!!!

We spent the rest of day at the beach and pool. Our friends the Vernon's came over and hung out. All of our kids get along so well.

Family Photo shoot before dinner.

We went to The Backporch for dinner. It always a good time. I don't think the food is the greatest but the atmosphere is fun. The kids can play on the beach playground while the adults can visit and enjoy a peaceful conversation.


We took some wonderful sunset pictures.

MONDAY, Shannon and I went for a nice, long walk. Afterwards, me, Mom and Shannon did some outlet mall shopping. My goal was to try and find Karson some size 9's from Gymboree, the ONLY store that carries that size. SIDENOTE: Really, who in the world dictates sizes for kids. I'd like to have a little chat with them. It goes straight from 7/8 to 10/12? Do they really think girls that are 9 years old can wear clothes for girls who are 12? They need an 8x like the 6x. It's been so hard finding Karson a wardrobe for this winter. Size 8's are small and Size 10's are BIG. I had no luck at Gymboree with sz. 9's but did find some cute buys. The more outlet mall shop, the more I realize, the deals aren't all that--they really aren't much different from regular retail store sales. I think they are feeling the "recession" like everyone else. At any rate, we did walk away with a few deals. We spent the rest of the day beaching it up.
We met some friends at Pompano Joe's for dinner. Since our party was large, we decided to sit outside on the patio. Our kids aren't designed for long amounts of time at restaurants, and since our party consisted of 22, dinners are long. The cool thing about sitting out on the patio was that there was a guy there singing and playing some great music.
The kids had a blast dancing ESPECIALLY Ansley V. and Miles. They danced the night away. We were waiting for A.J. to plant a wet one on Miles.


TUESDAY: The guys planned a golf outing for early afternoon so us girls had a "morning out" at the fabulous DONUT HOLE. Afterwards, we took the little girls to the mall for some shopping.

GIRLS DAY!!!
We headed out to the beach when we got back and hung out with our friends the Caffey's (who arrived the night before).

That afternoon/evening, mom, Shannon and I we did a little more shopping at the Destin Commons. It's so much fun shopping at a "ritzy" mall. I think we had the most fun at Sephora having make-up applied. SIDENOTE: we just got an ULTA in Bowling Green. I can't wait to go there for a "free" makeover and to do their Dermalogica Flash Exfoliant facial.



We went to see "What's Your Number?" with Anna Faris.

WEDNESDAY, we (me, Matt, Paul, Shannon and dad) did a BIG breakfast sans kids at Another Broken Egg Cafe. The pancake I got was about as big as a whole pizza. When we got back home, Shannon and I took a nice, long walk to burn off some calories. The guys took the kids to the park up the road. We spent most of the day at the beach/pool getting crispier by the minute. I had gotten some facial sunscreen at the Life is Good store for 1/2 price the day before and decided I needed to make another trip to the Destin Commons for more. It's good stuff and CHEAP. I took my uncle Mike with me so we could do some birthday shopping for my mom. I also needed to swing into the outlet mall and RETURN a dress I bought for Karson--remember I suffer from buyer's remorse.

Mom, Dad and Mike wanted to have an early dinner so they went to Outback. When they returned, we did a dinner date with Paul and Shannon at P.F. Chang's, the outlet mall and The Track.

I managed to get the slowest car on the wooden track, go figure. I guess they knew my nickname in high school was "chicken."

Game Playing. SIDENOTE: Karson has been asked to join the chess team at Plano. She informed that it's only for 4th-6th graders but her teacher felt she is smart enough to be on the team. All we need is ONE MORE THING to do, ya know =). She called Pops and asked if he'd teach her how to play. He brought a set to Destin with him and taught her the basics. Isaac is also playing.
The kids also came up with a "bowling game" with empty coke bottles/cans and a volleyball. They played that almost daily.

THURSDAY, I did some working out that morning (I've tried to keep up with some kind of work out routine this week but feel it's been effortless with all the EATING). After the work out I got in the pool with Karson. Have I mentioned that our pool is most definitely the ICY-est on the beach! It's a beautiful infinity pool that is NOT heated and quite chilly. I didn't stay in long, and since we don't have a hot tub at our place, swimming is limited. Karson and Isaac were ready to head over to Brad and Millie's place (next door) and get in their pool/hot tub. Matt took them, and I relaxed on the beach with my mom.

Meme and her girls!

Thursday is a BIG night for us. All of us B.G. peeps go out on a group date.

Me and my smokin' hot man!

The night begins with a trip to our favorite resturant Louisianna Laginappe, followed by Krispy Kreme donuts...

and ending with a trip to Hurricane Lanes.

FRIDAY, we spent the morning at The Track. I had been wanting to take Miles mini-golfing all week. He LUVS it. SIDENOTE: I wanted to score a nice "golfing" picture for Miles's birthday cake. Apparently, there are NO GOLF THEMED cakes available in Bowling Green. I am stuck with an edible image cake which is fine, but I needed an image to put in it. And, I wanted that image to be of my almost 5-year-old golfing.

Matt wanted an action shot.

I wanted a great big CHEESY picture.

Isaac had ZERO interest in golfing but did some quality time with his bear Josh--they were inseparable this week.

A boy and his bear.

Isaac wanted to take a picture with the large giraffe. He sleeps with a small giraffe-like horse (wierd combo, I know) that he likes to call Jerry. In the picture, he said, "Mom take a picture with me and BIG Jerry."

Friday evening is also the "dreaded" family pictures event. I say dreaded but thought the kids did really well this year, especially in the goofy photo.

Fortunately, Paul's camera had a timer on it for our group picture. I'm thinking this may be mom and dad's Christmas card this year. It definitely depicts us WELL!

This is the first year that I have NOT been ready to come back home. Don't misundertand, I love being at the beach but am usually winding down towards the end and ready to get "back in the saddle" so to speak. NOT THIS YEAR! The weather was exceptional and the beach was more beautiful than ever. A month trip may have been enough, not sure? The week was superb! I can't wait to make Destin my permanent HOME, one day....