Destin, Day 6 (Thursday, August 25)

Day 6 in Destin started out just like the previous... But then we had an incident.  The crazy boys (ie: Ben and Jackson) decided it would be fun to jump from one bed to the other... they were enjoying their jumping and playing but then Anna decided to give it a try.  Oops.  Anna fell and hit her head on the bed.  She had a pretty nasty gash in her head, but lucky for all of us, we had a doctor in the room!  After checking it out, Jim decided it did need some stitches so he went out and grabbed his medical bag and within a few minutes, Anna had 3 stitches in her little head and was good as new!  She was thrilled to get some stickers from the whole ordeal.  :)  After that was over, we headed out to visit "Seaside" - a super swanky shopping/dining area close by where we were staying.

Anna was obviously feeling better! She was SUCH a trooper!!

When we got back, we put the kids down for naps and Ryan, Bonnie and I went out to the beach with a purposeful mission! We were going to build an awesome sand castle and then when the boys woke up, we were going to let them destroy it.  While we were building it, Ryan spotted what could have been a disaster in the ocean... So he pulled out this huge jellyfish from the ocean and buried it.

Then we were back to castle building.  Ry put the finishing touch on it...

Inside, Ethan was enjoying his playtime with Noel and Jeremy.

Sandcastle COMPLETE!

When the boys woke up, you could not erase those smiles as they could barely hold themselves back from complete demolition.  We convinced them to wait ONE minute so we could snap some pictures... but then, they took off.

Proud of their work!

Go Hogs!

Our neighbors - Jim and Emily - have this awesome theater room. It's VERY awesome. And on Saturday night, we went over with the kids to watch the Hog Game. I love parties over there - they are always so relaxed and fun. Boys get to drink and watch the game. Girls get to catch up. Kids get to play and laugh and get nice&tired. I love getting the opportunity to dress up the boys in cool Razorback gear and remind them how to call those Hogs! It's always just a fun time. Here are some pics from Saturday.

Motorcycle Date Night!

When Ryan got his motorcycle, I agreed based on 2 tiny "rules" that he promised to follow:  first, that he never ride without his helmet. second - that he never bug me to ride it with him. On Friday, Ryan and I had date night scheduled. Right before our sitter got there, he started joking about us riding to the restaurant on the bike.  I rolled my eyes - and said what I always say "I don't want to leave my kids without ANY parent.  No thanks."  I am scared to death of motorcycles.  In fact, I'm scared of anything that goes really fast.  I worry because on a bike, you have nothing protecting your body at all if something happens... It's a very scary thought for me!  But I saw the look on his face.  I've heard him tell people when he thought I wasnt' listening - how I never ride w/ him.  arg...  So I said FINE.  He was like a little kid - so excited.  So off we went.  Mellow Mushroom.  We made it.  We ate, we drank.  We left.  I made it home alive and safe.  It wasn't that bad - when he wasn't going fast.  It WAS still scary.  And I'm not saying I want to do again very soon.  But I think Ryan was happy.  And that makes me happy.

Destin, Day 5 (Wednesday, Aug 24)

By this point in our trip, we had really gotten spoiled.  We were comfy in our big ol' house with our big ol' beach outside.. the kids were all still playing really well with each other - which was a complete shock and blessing at the same time and us adults had been partaking in some "after the kids are in bed" adult board game laughter and fun!  Itwas perfection.  I took a TON of pics on Day 5 for some reason...  I guess I knew there were only 2 days left.  Sunsets at the beach with Ryan might be one of my absolute favorite things - or 2 things?

My boy learned to pose - from somewhere?

 Talk about feeling that baby fever.  Watching this every single day definitely didn't help my fever.

 The weather was perfect and Destin was perfect.  I loved every bit.

 Emily's BFF Bonnie might be one of the coolest chicks on the planet.  I totally love her.  Between her, Crystal and Emily, I was really enjoying my girl time!  These are some amazing chicks.

We may have buried ourselves in the sand.

Ethan may have too!

And after shower #1 of the day, and a good restful nap, it was time to get back out on the beach!  This time we explored it just the 4 of us and really enjoyed watching our boys play together with the sun setting in the background.  It's memories like this that I want to lock up in my treasure box.

Jackson and "Friend" Ethan

Jackson has really developed a very close relationship with his "friend" Ethan - that's what he calls him.  "mommy, i want to play with my FRIEND Ethan today."  I hear that almost daily.  So cute.  They met at Mothers Day Out and Ethan's sweet mommy Jennifer and I got to talking and we actually go to the same church too!  Jennifer has 3 children and her youngest - Eli and (my) Ethan are only about 4 mos apart.  We so enjoy playing with them and on Friday morning, we did just that!  My neighbor gave us permission to play in her pool so we let the boys go crazy!  So much fun!

Yep, I know I feed my kids healthy stuff.  :-)

Destin, Day 4 (Tuesday, August 23)

Tuesday was "Fishing Day" for the boys so after a leisurely morning, we took the kids to the pool.  Of course, my camera was never far from my reach - and neither was Emily's.  :)

 

 That evening while Crystal and I were out shopping, Emily and Bonnie took Jackson and Ben out to put their feet in the sand... in their underwear.  I think it was such a great representation of how innocent and beautiful our kids are at this age.  They don't care about being out there in their underwear, or if their hair is messed up, or if someone is taking a thousand pictures of them... they are just sweet precious boys who are able to enjoy the simple things in life - the things that are most important... playing in the sand, having fun with your best friend and soaking up this beautiful world that the good Lord has given us.

The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched - 

they must be felt with the heart.  

Helen Keller