Destin Part I

So, bright and early on Saturday morning, we loaded all eight of us up and headed east! We went with the Tucker Family and managed to say sane while all riding together on the 12 hour car ride!! Thankfully, the trip there wasn't too bad. The "big" kids were great and kept themselves busy with their Leapsters and movie watching. About halfway through, they all fell asleep (with some help from yours truly!) but I am not sharing my secret! ha ha

Do you see Allie behind the pillow?

Oh, and all the kids went to sleep except for this one! She did eventually pass out, but it wasn't an easy task!

Finally, 5 states, 3 stops and a gazillion hours later, we arrived!!!
We had a 3 story condo that was 4 doors down from the beach! It was a really great location. However, they failed to mention that the condo had 2 long staircases and we had no baby gates! It was a bit of a challenge to keep Olivia off the stairs, but we managed.

Everyone crashed that first night but not before taking a quick trip to the beach! We just couldn't resist after such a long day in the car!!
The next day we were up early and ready for our first full day of vacation!!

The water was amazingly crystal clear! Hard to believe we were still in the Gulf!

Jacob instantly fell in love with the ocean!

Olivia, on the other hand....Look at the top of the pic Wasn't too sure....
She didn't care for the waves at all, but would sit in the sand and play (most of the time)...

And then there's Craig.... He didn't have any problems enjoying himself! Gosh, that looks like a redneck picture! hee hee

Unfortunately, that evening Olivia started running a fever and was pretty darn crabby the next few days. I think it was her teeth bothering her. Two eyeteeth were coming in at the same time. Ouch!

Monday we woke up and headed to the beach again! Here are some shots from that day.

That night, Craig stayed home with Olivia since she still wasn't feeling well. The rest of us went out to do some sight seeing. We ended up at Harbor Walk Village and enjoyed walking on the marina and taking in the atmosphere. We found out while we there, that they would be doing a special July 4th celebration on Thursday night so we made plans to go back!

On Tuesday, the guys left at the crack of dawn for a fishing trip! Courtney and I were left to brave the beach with 4 kids! Olivia was particularly crabby this day and wanted nothing but for me to hold her! So, I didn't get a chance to take many pictures that day, but that evening we made up for it!

We got all dressed up and headed to the beach for family pictures! I am so happy with how they turned out and definitely will need to frame a few of these!!!

I really wanted to get one of just the two kids together, but "you know who" was having none of that! She was D-O-N-E!

Here are some candids and a few scenery shots..

And that my friends is where I am going to stop for tonight. Next post will include parasailing and Fudpucker pix. Stay tuned.....!