Mardi Gras Beach Trip

We just got back from Destin...yes Destin in February. A while back when we saw the kids had a week off for Mardi Gras we decided to go to the beach then. We went this summer and weren't sure if it would work out this coming summer for us to go. We are taking a trip to Tennessee and just can't see us doing 2 big trips. We will probably wait and do an early fall trip if possible. 
So we left Mardi Gras morning. We planned to stop at the Battle Ship. We have said for 7 years we were going to stop and do that on the way to the beach but never have. The kids were excited about stopping especially Colby. We got there around 11. We did one tour which took us a little over an hour. I think Colby really enjoyed all the climbing and looking around. Lindsay had fun but she definitely wasn't as in to it as her brother. We ate lunch around 12:30. I think everyone was starving. It worked out great b/c I had packed a picnic lunch for us. We then went to tour the planes and Submarine. My mom, Lindsay, and I found some chairs and waited for the rest of the crew to finish the submarine. I wasn't really in the mood for anymore climbing or crawling. Once they finished that we got back on the road for the beach! 
We got to the Condo I think around 4:00. We unpacked and rested a short bit before going out to dinner that night. We usually stay in on the first day but since it was already so late we decided going out would be easiest. We went to our usual Back Porch. The food was ofcourse delicious. We went back to my parents condo that evening for kingcake. It was Mardi Gras afterall! 
Thursday we got up and our traditional pancake and sausage breakfast. It was a nice leisurely morning.We woke up to a pretty chilly day though so we knew the beach would be out. We knew we had to get the kids out though. We decided to take them to the outdoor mall. We usually go there at night but since it was so cold this trip we figured going during the day might be best. The kids love going in Bass Pro Shop. They love looking at the boats and little sporty 4-wheelers and such. We walked around for awhile then stopped to get coffee. We even got the kids a special drink. We enjoyed the beautiful but chilly day for awhile. We then had to stop at Target for a few items before going back to the condo. We went back and had lunch. After lunch we decided to go check out the Native American Burial Mounds in Ft. Walton. It was interesting and something we had never done before. They had a small Civil War Museum, a one room school house which we all loved, and a Native American Museum. It was interesting and fun doing something different. My fav was the one room school house. It was fun showing the kids what school was like 100 years ago. 
We got back to the condo about 4. We decided to rest for awhile. We let the kids watch a movie and we just hung out. That night we had dinner at my parent's condo. It was nice to stay in and not have to get back out. We enjoyed visiting with everyone and we got the kids to bed early that night.  
Friday we had made plans to drive out to Seaside after breakfast. We had another delicious breakfast of bacon, biscuits, eggs, and grits. As soon as we finished breakfast we left to go to Seaside. It took us about an hour to get there. Lindsay actually took a nap on the ride there which was nice. She got a few car naps on this trip since there were never any real naps. We arrived about 11:00. The kids were really wanting to go to the beach so that is what we did first. They loved playing in the sand for about 30 minutes. It was a beautiful day! Afterwards we did some walking around Seaside. The kids enjoyed looking at the houses. We then went to the park/playground and let them play for another 30 minutes. They really enjoyed that! We all worked up an appetite by then and walked to eat lunch at a Hamburger place by the beach. It was really delicious and eating outside was neat. It was a nice relaxing time. After that we walked around a little more before stopping for icecream! Vacation should be about treats right?!? The kids loved it and again we just enjoyed the beautiful weather and hanging out. We headed home after that. We got back into the condo and much to our surprise they had come in to do major renovations while we were gone. They had taken down our blinds and moved furniture around. We had to go down to the office and try to figure everything out. We ended up staying in the room and they put our bedroom blinds back up. We were ok for just one more night. Finally we were able to rest a bit after a VERY Busy day! We went back to my parent's condo that night for leftovers and pizza. Honestly it was nice to eat in 2 of the nights. It was a break from having to get dressed up and head out. I think the kids enjoyed it too. I also feel like we were all able to visit more. That night we had more excitement though. We got a knock on our door about 9 that night saying our van alarm was going off. Austin went down there to find out van dead! We knew it stemmed from the broken window incident b/c it had done funny things since then. They couldn't get it to stop so they had to unplug the battery. The next morning we got it started but then it died at the gas station. Come to find out it just wasn't plugged in well! We were really worried though and anxious to get it to the shop ASAP! We got home and tried to bring it to the Honda Dealership. They were busy and couldn't take it. We brought it to the glass place and they took the door apart but weren't exactly sure what might be wrong? We think though them taking it apart fixed it! 
We had a great week at the beach and enjoyed the break!