Our Destin Trip

Our trip to Destin was a blast, but it started off a little shaky thanks to Tropical Storm Debby. The forecast called for winds and rain during our entire trip due to the uncertainty of Debby's path, but thank goodness Debby decided to leave Destin alone! Our first day in Destin was a bit rainy and windy, but that didn't stop the fun. The kids were so excited to be together that they enjoyed playing inside our rented home. Their game of choice for the week was "Spy" and throughout the week we kept hearing about some dude named Nicholas that they were all hunting for, ha! Later on the first day, most of the group decided to swim in the light rain and cool wind. No tropical storm was going to bring our group down! It was so nice having a private pool at the house we were renting.

Jeff and Kaitlynn swimming in the rain.

Connor with his buddies Jacob and Luke.

Take that, Debby! haha!

By Monday morning, the weather was overcast but the sun was trying to peak through. Most of the state of Florida was being inundated with rain, but thank goodness Debby spared Destin. Our group went down to the beach thinking we didn't need any sunscreen, but it turned out to be quite sunny by the end of the day. The water wasn't quite as pretty those first few days due to all the stuff that Debby had churned up in the water, and the surf and rip tides were extremely dangerous. At one point, Kaitlynn was standing in ankle-deep water and a rough wave knocked her down, flipped her on her back, and carried her out of reach of Jeff and I. Thankfully we chased her down safely but it took her a few days to gain back her confidence in the ocean waves.

Venturing into the water, but she didn't want to stay for long.

It was a bit chilly that first day on the beach with all the Debby winds.

The water was darker than normal due to all the churning waters from Debby.

The surf was crazy strong the first couple of days we were there.

Kaitlynn preferred to play in the sand for the first few days.

Jeff and Connor tackled a project in the sand.

Their mission: building the perfect Houston Texans bull in the sand.

Kaitlynn buried Jeff's feet in the sand. In the background you can see the double red flags flying, indicating dangerous surf conditions!

Jacob and Connor are such sweet buddies, the oldest of our group.

Kaitlynn and Sarah really bonded on this trip.

Connor's head injury with staples required special attention all week. We put the waterproof bandages to the test!

We continued the beach fun the rest of the week. The weather was sunny and perfect, and the water continued to change into a more beautiful color with each day of our stay.

Beach family photo.

Connor and Jacob enjoying the surf.

Jeff had to spend some time coaxing Kaitlynn back into the ocean.

This kid LOVED the water!

I loved my beach braid, until I realized it gave me a terrible sunburn on my scalp, ouch!

The four of us at the beach.

Kids love the sand.

Jeff at his 2nd attempt for his Texans bull in the sand.

Mission accomplished! Ready for football season!

In addition to the private pool in the backyard of our rented Destin home, we also enjoyed the larger neighborhood pool several times during the week. It was fun to have the entire place to ourselves most days, and it's always nice to have a change of scenery. The only downside was the tropical plants that gave Connor a foot full of splinters!

Favorite pool activity: being thrown up in the sky by Dad.

Love this one. She was posing for me :-)

Connor is pretty good at that, too!

Connor and Jeff enjoyed a poolside nap.

Me and my exhausted pool rats.

As much as we enjoyed the outdoors during our Destin vacation, we actually spent a lot of time indoors, too. The kids loved our rental house because it had lots of room to run around and play "Spy." Most days the kids ended up taking afternoon naps at various times, and of course mealtimes each day required lots of time in the kitchen. At any given time, you'd also see several of the kids on multiple electronic devices. Ipads, Iphones, and Ipods were very popular during down times!

Love this picture of Kaitlynn and Jeff goofing around.

Kaitlynn and Sarah, such sweet girls!

Me and my high school besties. Love these girls so much!

We managed to eat out one night and take a picture at the restaurant.

Next up: the biggest project of our entire trip. Family and group color-coordinated photos!! Hopefully I can post those soon, there are some great ones!