Vacation - Part 2

Saturday morning, we got up & got ready. We went shopping at Alvin's Island. We were in there for I know 2 hours! That store is huge & has so much stuff for everyone. We went to find mom & Debbie a swimsuit but ended up with so much more than that. Terry got a new pair of swim shorts & a t-shirt. I got a pair of shorts, a t-shirt & a new pair of sunglasses and Natalee got a tank top & an airbrushed shirt with "nemo" on it. We tried to get her to get the one with polka dots & a dolphin on it but she wasn't having it! Nemo was cute too though. We went back to the condo & got ready to go to the beach!

Natalee LOVED the beach! She didn't want to leave! She could have stayed out there the whole 5 days we were there!


Playing with Aunt Debbie!


This sand dollar was still alive when we found it, well when Dustin stepped on it.


It would bury itself back in the sand. So cool to watch!


Having fun with BB!


Granny was even having fun!

Natalee buried her daddy & when he got up, she tried to bury herself. I have pics but for some reason they turned out way too light. When we were sitting at the edge of the water where the waves rolled in, there were some little white fish that came swimming up. Granny & Katie Lauren kept trying to catch them, but those little boogers were hard to catch! The boys played with Katie Lauren's boogie board & had a blast!

We finally went back to the condos & got in the pool for a little while. We decided to get cleaned up & go grab some supper. On the way to eat, we had to stop by Alvin's again to pick up Natalee's shirt. She was worn out and fell asleep before we even got to the store which was like 5 miles from the condo.


Can't you tell?

We ended up at Joe's Crab Shack. While we waited on a table, Natalee enjoyed the play area. We finally got a table. Our waitress was really sweet (she had to be to put up with all of us!). When she was handing out the "bibs" to every one that ordered crabs, Natalee had to have one too! She was too cute! I don't do crabs, so I ordered the shrimp pasta & it was delish!


Going down the slide in the play area


Having fun while waitin on our food!


Getting her bib!


The whole gang!


Jeremy, Adam & Dustin

After supper, we went to The Track. The guys rode go-carts & Jeremy bungee jumped. We watched the guys ride the go-carts then we went to the other side of the track & let Natalee ride some rides & feed the goldfish. She really enjoyed herself. She loved the swing & the airplane. She also rode the train & the carousel. Katie Lauren & I rode the bumper boats & got each other soaking wet!


The goldfish Natalee fed...they were HUGE!


Just a swingin'


Riding the zebra!


Airplane fun!


Getting wet!

We finally went back to the hotel & went to sleep! It had been a long day!

Vacation - Part 1

Since I have so many pictures, I'm gonna divide this up into several different posts.

Friday, July 22, we all piled up & left out for Destin, Florida. The whole family went, except for Henry, Hope & Carter. They were already in Ft. Walton. Since there was 14 of us, we had to take 3 different vehicles. Terry, me, Natalee, Mom & Callaway rode in our truck, Debbie, her family, & granny rode in hers, & Brandi, Dustin, Jeremy & Adam rode in Brandi's. We left Debbie's about 5:45. We stopped just south of Jackson because there was a really bad wreck, so we decided to use that time for a bathroom break.


This car had been hit by an 18 wheeler.

We made 2 more stops, one about an hour or so later then one right after the Florida line, for lunch. We made it to Destin around 2:00.


The gang, minus Callaway (he took the pic)

After arriving, we found where we were supposed to check in then went to the condo. We got the one that slept 8. Mom & Callaway got the queen bed & Brandi slept on an air mattress on their floore (she didn't want to sleep on the cot that was provided). Dustin, Adam & Jeremy got the twin beds & the closet bunk beds in the other room & Terry, Natalee & I got the queen sleeper sofa. Everyone else, got the other condo. The condos were really nice, minus the decor in ours. It was ok, just not something I would have in my house. The first floor was the living area, dining area, super nice half bath with washer/dryer & kitchen. The back was a nice little back porch with a grill & table/chair set. They also had a table/chair set on the front porch. The upstairs was the two bedrooms, two full baths & two balconies. The rooms were a really nice size too, especially the "master".

After we all got settled in, we went to the Harborwalk. It was a great area with restaurants, shops & lots of things for little kids. It was also where the boats came in from fishing, so we got to see some really big fish! We ate at Lucky Snapper. All of the walls were actually "half walls" so the top part opened up & you could have a great view of the bay. The food was good. They had this thing like the stuffed animal machines at Wal-Mart that you could play, but instead of playing for stuffed animals, you tried to win a lobster. It cost $2 to play & if you grabbed one, they would cook it for your meal. Shane ended up winning one!


Coloring with BB while waiting on food!


The view of the boats from inside the restaurant.

After we ate, Katie Lauren & Ryan wanted to "bungee jump". It wasn't actually a bungee jump, but was a trampoline with some bungee ropes attached.


Katie Lauren getting harnessed up!


& jumping!


Ryan's turn!



When they got finished, we walked on down the Harborwalk. We ran into this guy who had several different parrots. He would play music & they danced to the music. It was really cool!





Natalee & Katie Lauren rode the train.


Ringing the bell



We went back to the condos & decided to go to the beach. We went looking for crabs & shells. We didn't find any. The boys did decide to bury Jeremy though.

Happy 4th!

Hope everyone had a great 4th! I know we certainly did. On the 2nd, Carol & Brandi brought Madison over to play with Natalee. They had a blast playing in Natalee's room & actually got a long quite well! They played on the swingset for a little while & jumped on the trampoline. When they left, they took Natalee with them. Since Natalee wasn't here, I made cupcakes & went to granny's to work on her outfit that I FINALLY got time to work on! That night, we ate fish at moms.

On the 3rd, we went to Stewart to church. They had a luncheon after church, so we stuck around for a while. After church, we went to the Mitchell's to visit for a while. Natalee checked on her sunflowers she had planted a couple weeks before & got her building kit out. She loves going to Mamaw & Papaw Mitchell's & playing!

I was selected to host a Budweiser Backyard BBQ Bash from House Party. It was to be held July 2, 3, or 4. Since we had a big get together planned for the 4th at Andy & Kerry's, I decided to hold it then. I got a ton of free stuff to help me throw the party. It consisted of 24 huggies, 20 reuseable plastic cups, 3 frisbees, 3 t-shirts, Budweiser bbq sauce, tray, apron, beach ball & coupons & mail in rebates.



All the goodies to help have a great time!

The morning of the 4th, we were at the Tackett's around 9:30. I helped Kerry get things ready while the "men" (Terry, Callaway, Andy & Dustin) went to get another grill. Once everyone got there, we had so much fun! We went swimming, played water volleyball, the guys cooked, some played frisbee, some played bean bag toss, some played badminton. We even "launched" water balloons! Natalee & Madison actually took a nap around noon so they were rested up for the rest of the afternoon. They didn't get along so well this day!



WELCOME!



The Favors



Natalee & BB





Let's go swimming!



Chicken Fight!



Volleyball!

Around 3:00 or so, we dined on 5 racks of ribs, 6 drunk chickens, 20 chicken leg quarters, baked beans, 2 different potato salads & bread. Not to mention the chips & dips we had to snack on all day & the 2 strawberry pies, chocolate & vanilla homemade ice cream, cupcakes, apple pineapple salad, watermelon & cake! That was plenty of food for all 20 of us plus some!




mmmmmmmmmmmm..............









After eating, we enjoyed the outdoors some more..well until it started to rain anyways. It decided to storm right before dark, so we were unable to shoot fireworks, which everyone was looking forward to, but oh well!



More chicken fighting!!



The girls enjoying a snack with Mamaw Joyce



The whole gang (except Andy...he was taking the picture!)