The newest posts are always first, but I always hate to have it that way because it's out of order. To quench my OCD like tendencies, I got strategic when I posted them so that the first is first and the rest follow nicely in order. I can sleep tonight knowing that I gave you a heads up that there is more here to see. You get 3 for the price of one. :) Whew!
The details of our time in Destin have blurred a little in the wake of Ellie's reunification, but what sticks in my mind is that it was beautiful, peaceful, simple and perfect. Not too shabby!
Every year since Brooke (now 10) was a baby, my parents and our family have gone in early May to stay at my in-laws oceanfront beach house in the Outer Banks of NC. It's a wonderful place for families, but last year they sold it so this May we had to make a new plan which took us to Destin. Outer Banks...who?? The white sand and clear 80 degree water has nothing on the freezing Atlantic! I. LOVE. DESTIN!
We started off our trip driving 8 hours and meeting up with my parents in Alabama at the La Quinta. On the "Welcome to Alabama" sign it actually said below that "Sweet Home Alabama" which only made me think of Reese Witherspoon, Josh Lucas and Patrick Dempsey. Such a cute movie! Once upon a time I heard jokingly that "La Quinta" was Spanish for "next to Denny's" since nearly all of the hotel chains are in fact, next to a Denny's restaurant. This one was one of the few that was not. :)
Ellie was an angel in the car as were all the kids really. Luke sat in between Nash and Ellie and was so sweet to both of them. Luke helped feed Ellie and entertained her when she wasn't playing with her toes, gazing out the window or taking a nap. TWO dvd players, headphones, and a bag of movies from the library helps on a road trip tremendously . We crossed into the Central time zone so we went to bed around 7:30 local which felt pretty funny. We had a girls' room and a boys' room and of course, my parents had their own room. One can only love their grandchildren so much you know. :)
Ellie slept fitfully and the squeaky bathroom door didn't help the situation any. Also, Stella kicking me in the back added to the misery. I was texting Mark in the other room telling him how much it was sucking and because he's so loving, he made a new plan for the way home that involved a two room suite for the ladies so I could get more rest and so could Ellie. Who needs roses?
It was the kind of night where you lay awake and hope for dawn to come soon. Of course, as dawn did approach, that's when I finally got a few consecutive hours of sleep to the point that the boys and my parents were waiting patiently for us to get out of bed. You win some, you lose some.
We drove the last 4 hours to arrive at the beach house which is owned by friends of my mom. We were able to stay here for a week for a nominal fee that just covered costs and the cleaning lady! Many people have asked me if they rent it out and the answer is nope. Sorry! They were just very generous to let us use their place which is ridiculously fabulous.
It's a 4 bedroom/ 3 bath house (with a GOLF CART!!) located in a gated community minutes from the beach. Mark's parents owned a wonderful 3 story beach house for over a decade, but I have to say it didn't hold a candle to the convenience of this RANCH home. Everything was so easy because it was all on one level, bedrooms, kitchen and pool.
Oh, the tiny, perfect pool! This pool was possibly the smallest I've ever seen, but it was wonderfully suited to our age kids. I loved that Nash wore a life jacket and if I needed to get something from the kitchen, I could just go get it knowing that in a few steps, I'd be back out the door. It was shady in the morning and then in the late afternoon so a lot of sunscreen was not required.
It had a wonderful lanai where we spent a lot of our time.
I am going to be bold here and go out on a limb and say that probably the favorite thing about our vacation was riding on the golf cart. I knew the kids would enjoy it, but I seriously underestimated the popularity and the fun we would have getting to and from the beach or the clubhouse in this small but mighty open air vehicle. I wondered at the time if we broke several laws by transporting a foster baby without a car seat. I saw several other toddlers/babies riding on an adult's lap so I figured that just what "everyone" does. For the record, Elles loved the air on her face, so I say as long as the police didn't pull us over..."When in Rome..." or technically, when in Destin. We were just going with the flow!
This was the inaugural spin where Mark took my dad and Brooke to find the way to the beach. Then he came back to take the rest of us in shifts.
Oh, my goodness!! Back in March we went on a Caribbean cruise with Mark's family and it was lovely, but we traveled by plane, boat for many days, and a taxi to get to those incredible beaches. The beach in Destin took 12 hours driving by car and then 1.5 minutes by golf cart. So everyday we savored that minute and a half ride in the golf cart to get to this beautiful white sand paradise.
The water was 80 degrees!! The Atlantic at the end of June will probably be around 70 degrees which is darn cold even on a hot day. Gulf of Mexico, I love you.
Not only was the house awesome, but the Clubhouse that came with it was pretty impressive too.
There was a pool, a playground, tennis courts, a workout facility (I can't tell you what that was like because I didn't even lay eyes on it let alone USE it, but my parents did everyday because they are go-getters like that.) AND there was...
a movie theater! Seriously. You could reserve a time and then you had private use of the roughly 20 seat theater. One day we rented
Paddington from the Redbox at Walgreens, but you could watch one of the numerous titles they had on hand.
It was like being at the real movies without the sky high ticket prices and over priced snacks. We brought popcorn and bottled water from our stash and loved every entertaining minute of this luxurious treat.
Paddington was a cute family movie as well. We had so much fun that we wanted to do it again, but we couldn't tear ourselves away from the beach. We just ran out of time. Boo!
Obviously, Ellie is not our biological child, but if there was ever a question, it was answered at the beach. If you're new around here, I've been blogging since 2008 and every spring and summer I would chronicle our beach misery. Our kids from birth to age 3 have HATED the beach. I have endless pictures of kids crying, insisting that we leave if they were toddlers. That makes for a
great not so fun beach vacation which we did at least twice a year. Apparently, we like to torture ourselves because we could have tried another destination that did not involved sand or surf. Good thing we always had the pool to fall back on.
Anyway, we could tell right away that Ellie was going to be different from our biological kids. She loved everything about the beach from the first minute. The wind in her face, the sand, and the ocean. She not only tolerated it, but really, truly enjoyed herself! I'm pretty sure she could be happy anywhere.
The only problem is that she loved the sand so much, she tried to eat it. Even after it got in her mouth, she kept going back for more. Crazy baby!
Stella was so worn out from all the swimming she did that she took a nap everyday along with Nash. That NEVER happens.
The only drawback (I know I said it was perfect, but...) to the beach was that the sand is so fine, it's hard to get an umbrella placed deeply enough in the sand that it doesn't blow away. On the last day, we saw a tool specifically made to help with that in the grocery store. Oops, better luck next time!
In reality, we didn't do a lot of sitting so that didn't really make or break our trip after all. Hello, 4 kids that wanted to constantly swim in the 80 degree water! See they did get over their phobia, it just took a collective decade to get there.
Happy, easy going, sweet, perfect Ellie. She really is the easiest baby I've ever had the pleasure of knowing.
It was so warm, even my mom swam!
What I liked about Destin is that it's just a classy place. It kind of reminds me of The Woodlands, TX where Mark and I made our home the first 4 years of our marriage. Everything seems new and quality. I suppose it's the look and feel that money can buy. :) This place also seemed much more residential than Nags Head which I think added to the niceness. Is "niceness" a word?
See how clear it is??!! There was some sea weed that was a little bothersome on the last day, but I'm not sure if that is a regular occurrence or if it was caused by the rough water and strong current. The red warning flag was flying most of our vacation. I'm not sure if that was typical either, but we didn't care because we were too busy appreciating the temperature of the water.
Brooke was so brave. She came out of the water once saying that it felt like something stung her on the leg and after talking with a life guard, it seems to have been a jellyfish. It was a very small spot almost like a mosquito bite except, according to Brooke, it was very, very painful. I took her back to the house and put some lavender and peppermint essential oil on it and within 10 minutes the pain was completely gone! My Internet research said that typically they are so painful because venom is released well after the initial sting. Mark said we should have peed on it like that episode of Friends. Riiiight.... I said Brooke was brave because after the stinging subsided, she wanted to go back to the beach and got right back in the water. If you know Brooke, that is pretty amazing.
We ate dinner on the Lanai every night. Somehow it just seemed to make everything about dinner easier and more enjoyable. The table for 8 was so handy.
The laundry room right off the garage was the place I bathed Ellie. I called it the "Baby Spa". It was a real back saver and so convenient to blast the sand off her with the hose. Obviously, Nash thought it was pretty handy too. :)
This laundry room also doubled as Ellie's night time sleeping place. She napped in the huge master closet in my parents' room by day and then at night we put her in here. Everyone got better sleep that way!
Ellie was happy watching the kids in the pool or swimming herself because she is just happy.all.the.time. I know I keep saying that ad nauseum, but it's so true!
Nash has a thing for guns. Luke was never like that so it's very amusing to me.
Nash kind of had a vacation from his glasses while we were away. Water and sand don't exactly go well with glasses. Not to mention that he napped for almost 2 hours everyday, so he really didn't wear them much at all. He doesn't care either way, but it was nice to not have to keep cleaning them.
This is where the magic happened. ;) I cook everyday at home, but I hardly touched the food unless I was putting it in my mouth thanks to Mark making breakfast everyday, my mom cooking dinner each evening, and my dad doing the dinner dishes most nights. Hallelujah! We had fish/shrimp, ribs, chicken wings, steaks, and a turkey. Hello, Thanksgiving in May! Yum!
Nash and Brooke shared a room and through the Jack-n-Jill bathroom were Luke and Stella sharing a queen bed. It was a perfect set up!
This vacation was such a blessing! I loved everything about it and even getting the news that Ellie was going back to her parents after we got back home did nothing to diminish our joy. My mom's friend said that we are welcome to use their house again next year so that is something we will definitely be looking forward too! Plan B turned out to be A-list. :)
