Seagrove Beach Trip

Boy am I behind in my blog posts! Whew!  Better late than never though, right?  And I certainly don't mind going through these pictures - makes me feel like I'm at the beach again :) And speaking of pictures...be warned.  This post has quite the picture overload.  I was going to break it down into a series of posts but opted to just do one big one!  So here we go!

We had a window of a couple of weeks where we decided we wanted to go to the beach!   Brad started a new job (that's a whole different subject - we are SO excited about this opportunity...and he is really enjoying what he is doing...plus less travel!  definitely an answer to prayers!) and had a couple weeks before, so we started searching VRBO.  We had looked at this particular place a while back but it didn't work out for us to go then (I think it was for Katie's Spring Break).  We lucked out and the week we wanted to go was the only week this place was available through August!  AND we got a last minute booking special - yay!  We have stayed in condos at the beach, but we wanted to try to stay somewhere that is literally on the beach - you walk out the backdoor and there you are.  And this place was it!  We hopped in the car on a Saturday morning and started the adventure.  The kids did great on the drive and were so excited to get there (well, Katie was...Jack was just excited to get out of his carseat)!

Here they are on the deck looking over the beach for the first time!

We brought all the luggage in and into the right rooms - Katie got all her buddies situated on her bed!  (She ended up sleeping in this bed two nights and then switched to the bottom bunk of the bunk beds in this same room for the rest of the time!  Oh, and she and Jack shared a room while we were there - and it worked out nicely!)

And then we needed to feel that sand between our toes!  So we walked out on the beach.  

Katie was SO excited!

And this is where we stayed...this is a big building with four separate townhomes.  Ours was the one on the far right!

I love pretty beach pictures...the sun's reflection on the ocean is always amazing to me!

After getting back inside, we went down the street and ate a quick bite of dinner before getting back and settling in.

Day two (Sunday) of our trip was the rainiest beach day I think I've ever had.  It rained - like REALLY rained - all day!  Starting the day like this was so sweet though!  They woke up early and snuggled on our bed to watch some cartoons! 

That morning I did run to the grocery store and get the things we needed that we didn't bring (mainly cold things) and then we got ready and drove to Destin to the outlet mall!  Here are the kids before we left!

I love that smocked flamingo outfit!  And dots, of course!

Me with my babies - so fun!

And a self portrait :)

We shopped at the Osh Kosh outlet, Ann Taylor Loft outlet, and Gap outlet before heading to one of my favorites there - The Back Porch!  It was so nice to be there when it wasn't spring break - there were hardly any people in the restaurant!  Usually, there's like a 1-2 hour wait!  Katie had fish for the first time (fried fish, of course...but fish nonetheless) and Jack was super happy!

And then we saw some sunshine peeking out!

I love that they serve the kids meals on a frisbee and the kids can take it home with them.  We definitely played with that frisbee a lot on the beach!

When we got back, Katie and I went out to the beach...and it was definitely clearing off!

It was really windy, so we had to have our jackets on....I love this sweet picture of her!

One of my favorites...SO beautiful!

Love this picture too!  

And a self portrait...I had to have my had on backwards so it wouldn't blow off my head!

Goodnight sun - what a special night.  I will always remember watching that sunset with my little lady!

Look at those colors in the sky!

And the clouds looked so neat too - like a bunch of cotton balls in the sky!

Day three (Monday) of the trip was great!  This was the way it started....

I sat out on the balcony off the master and drank my coffee...perfection!  It started a little cloudy but the sun did come out!  And holy moly...I wore a TWO PIECE bathing suit for the first time in probably 5 or 6 years!

Katie had so much fun playing and digging in the sand!

And then she ran in and out of the ocean too!

We love the beach!

And then daddy came down too!  Jack was napping and we were right there close so we could all enjoy the beach and be close to him too! Nice!

Here is an action shot of Katie stomping on Brad's castle - she has the most evil laugh when she does this....

Can't you just hear that laugh when you look at this picture?? :)

She was hard at work again!

When Jack woke up, we got him lathered up and out to the beach.  I love this picture!

Of course he tried to eat the sand, but other than that he had a good time out there I think!

We sat him where the waves barely came up to the sand - it was the perfect spot!  He loved watching the water come in and go out!

I think I may have gotten a little bit too much sun the first day...oops!

Day three of the beach trip (Tuesday) was super fun! Most of the time we were there, I started the day with a run.  I didn't run on the beach - I stuck to the sidewalks!

Since I got a bit too much sun the day before (note to self: SPF 12 that goes on like baby oil is not a good idea), we headed to see a friend of mine from college!  Here we are before heading out.

We went to the beach with Wyspr and Jason and their friends - I stayed under the tent and played with Katie the majority of the time!  But it was SO great to catch up...I hadn't seen Wyspr since my baby shower for Katie!

Katie and I headed back and we all got ready for dinner and did a few pictures before heading out!

The kids actually kind of coordinated :) And Brad got them to smile just a little bit for a picture together!

Here is a better, sweet picture of them before walking into the restaurant.

And a picture of me with both of them :)

We ate at The Great Southern Cafe - and it was DELICIOUS!!!!

And a family picture!  Silly Katie didn't smile :)

On day four of the trip (Wednesday) we relaxed and then headed back to Wyspr and Jason's house to swim and visit and then go to dinner with them.  I didn't even ask Katie to do this and am amazed that I caught it on camera! SO sweet!

They were ready to swim :) 

Here is Jack after swimming for a while - love those swim trunks!

We got ready and did some pictures on their deck - it is so pretty!

I honestly didn't mean to coordinate all of us, but it happened!  The kids looked so cute!

And we all matched pretty well!

Then we walked around the corner to Red Bar for dinner - it never disappoints!  Here is a picture of me and Wyspr and Katie before we left.  What a fun day we had!

On day five of the trip (Thursday) we decided a walk to the pool we could use was necessary!  Katie was excited to swim!  I love this picture of her on the walkway to the pool...

And then our two together - love them!

I was so glad Jack was going to swim!  Since he naps twice a day still, he missed out on a lot of the fun!

Such a cute bathing suit - glad he got to wear it!  He's our little monkey for sure!

A picture of me and Katie - she clearly wanted nothing to do with a picture - she was ready to swim!

In the water at last!  See that big grin? :)

And a few more pictures of the kiddos on our last night there...

Daddy can get them to smile in a heartbeat!

We ate dinner at Stinky's Fish Camp - it was great!  Love this family picture too :)

Day six (Friday) of the trip was departure day.  We actually had the place til Saturday, so we took our time getting out.  Here is Jack finishing breakfast - what a mess!

And we wanted to make sure Katie had a final romp on the beach to get some energy out and play a little more.  

She also liked using the hose on the deck to wash the sand off!

Soaking in a few more rays before changing clothes and packing the car!

I'd say they love eachother...I sure hope they smile and hug eachother like this for forever!

I love them so much!

After trying for a self portrait, Brad took a picture of us before we loaded into the car!

The name of the townhome was "Sea Y'all" - so perfect!

My favorite - love that pillow and that rocking chair!  We actually moved it upstairs while we were there to have a place to sit and feed Jack his bottles :)  Life is good at the beach for sure!

What a fantastic beach trip!  Can't wait to go back :)  Here are a few pictures from the drive back home!  I sat in the backseat to feed Jack a bottle and watch a movie with Katie!

It is always nice to go on a trip, but it is also so nice to get home and sleep in my own bed :)