Destin 2017

Well we just got home a couple days ago from our annual beach trip. We chose once again to go in October since the kids had a 3 day fall break. This year Randall and Elizabeth couldn't go due to a wedding they had to attend. We decided to invite Austin's mom to go with us since we would have extra space in the condos. 
So Tuesday Austin drove to Picayune to meet his sister and mom and bring his mom down to NOLA to go with us on our trip. They got in about 3:00. I was pretty much running out the door to go pick up the kids when they arrived. I got the kids and got home and we were able to visit a bit. It was a pretty busy afternoon/evening though with all the packing and trip prep. We ordered pizza for dinner though and were able to visit then and we even took a walk. Those parts of the evening were nice and I think Linda enjoyed herself. 
Wednesday we were off bright and early! We had a light breakfast and left about 8:45 for the beach. We drove and stopped at the Mississippi Rest Stop to get up with my parents. As always the kids were great travelers. We also stopped again at the Alabama stop. It was nice breaking the trip up and having time to stretch our legs. We also stopped at the Florida stop and at this point we let Colby ride with my parents the rest of the way. He was sitting in between Mawmaw and Lindsay and I think he just felt cramped plus he and Lindsay had started to squabble some. We stopped for our usual lunch at Ruby Tuesday. The lunch was yummy and we were then set to get to the beach. We got to the condo around 3. There were a few mishaps though with checking in but we were finally all settled and unpacked about 4. Ofcourse the kids were dying to get out to the beach so we dressed in our swimsuits and headed out there. We were smart this year and brought along our camping chairs so Austin and I set those out and we were able to sit and read while the kids played in the sand/water. From there we took them to the pool and then went upstairs to get cleaned up and ready for dinner. My mom made us another amazing meal. We had honey baked ham, mac n cheese, and green beans. I think everyone enjoyed it. It was nice to sit around and visit and spend that time together. By about 8 the kids were super tired so we brought them back and got them ready for bed. 
Thursday we were up bright and early and ready for another day! Well actually Austin was up early...I slept until 7:45! I think that's the latest I have slept at the beach since having kids! We all got up and got dressed and went over to my parent's condo for our infamous breakfast. We had a big breakfast of pancakes and omelets. It was so yummy! After helping clean up we got in our swimsuits and hit the beach. It was interesting this year b/c the entire family came down. Austin's mom joined us along with my parents. It was nice visiting with everyone. The kids were so happy and content playing in the sand. We stayed out about 2 hours before heading to the pool. We all swam for about 30 min then we went up for lunch. We had lunch out on the patio. After lunch Austin had to run an errand so I took the kids back to the condo. Colby had some homework to do so he and I worked on that while Lindsay did some crafts. After they watched tv and I took a nap. Once Austin got back he and Colby went back down to the beach. Lindsay relaxed and I showered. That evening we decided to try something new and went to LuLu's for dinner. I was happy we tried a new place. It was really yummy too! We all loved it! It was a nice evening of good food and visiting! After dinner we decided to take the kids to The Track. It was mostly Colby that wanted to go and drive race cars. Lindsay wanted to go to the mall...I was with her. We at this point started hearing reports that NOLA was going to get hit with a hurricane over the weekend so we decided we would go home a day early. I was glad Colby got to drive his cars before we left. He drove the rookie car and also rode with Austin on the Wild Woody. Lindsay wasn't really interested in anything there but we finally convinced her to ride the carousel. That night we stopped by my parent's condo for cookies before bed. It was an exhausting much later night as we were trying to figure out our game plan for the next day. 
Friday we got up and ate breakfast with my parent's as usual. We had a yummy breakfast of sausage biscuits and eggs. After breakfast we went on down to the beach. We had promised the kids we would spend half a day out there before heading home. We spent 2+ hours out there. The weather was just amazing and the kids were having the best time! I so hated to leave! Finally around 11:30 we decided to go on up. Austin stopped with them at the pool to cool and rinse off and I went upstairs to start getting our things together. We all got dressed and got our stuff loaded up. We ate a quick lunch at my parent's condo then headed out. We stopped in Alabama at a Starbucks. With traveling in the afternoon like that after lunch and a full morning we were all dragging. It was a nice refresher and kept us going until Picayune. Yes, Picayune...we had to drive Austin's mom back to meet up with his sister on the way home. Originally they were supposed to come to NOLA and stay at these cabins but their reservations got cancelled due to the hurricane. We got in to Picayune right about 4:45. We visited briefly with Wendi, Shelbi, and Maggie then hit the road. We decided we were all hungry that we would stop in Slidell and eat dinner in hopes that the traffic would also die down. We stopped at Red Robin. We enjoyed it! It was nice to get out the car and have a little downtime. Once we got back in the car it took us way longer then expected to get home due to crazy NOLA traffic. We were so happy when we finally got home around 7:30. We quickly unpacked and got the kids bathed. We let them unwind and play though until about 9. I think we were all happy to see our beds that night! 
It was once again a great trip! A different trip but still great nonetheless! Can't wait to go back!