Deep sea fishing trip......

Yesterday was another low key, relaxing day. We hung out around the pool, then Brad and the girls and I went to lunch at a place called Dewey Destin for some good fried seafood. Then Brad and Ella, Jamie and Isaac headed out on a deep sea fishing excursion (of course, none of the other kids cared anything about going fishing). The wind was pretty strong so we were worried about the waves and them getting sick. They all took dramamine before they left, but Brad and Ella still threw up. She was fine though, once she did. She loved the fishing, she was so into it and her telling me the story about it all was priceless. I should have videoed her talking about it. Tonight we are going to cook the fish they caught for dinner (red snapper, mahi mahi). She is very excited about eating the fish she caught. While they were gone, we took the other kids across the street to the boardwalk to eat and shop a little. We walked out to the beach and didn't see hardly any jellyfish. Today we are going to do some "real" shopping and then try the beach out again.

More pictures......

Parasailing.........

We did it. We parasailed. I am very afraid of heights, but Brad assured me that it was not scary. He said it was tranquil and relaxing and blah, blah, blah. Not! I did not love it, at all. I was scared the entire time. The good thing was that the four of us got to go up together, that was neat. Then Evan and Ella got to go up again with the next group, which was Lorelei's niece Jill and another girl we didn't know. Evan and Ella loved it!!! The had a great time.

Good Times......lazy days.........

We ended up not doing a whole lot yesterday, which was fine with everyone. Jamie and Brad took the kids over to the fishing pier while Lorelei and I went to the grocery store. When we all got back here, we hit the lazy river for a while, then the pool. It was a fun relaxing day. Lorelei snapped a shot of a fool chasing some ducks! (me!!!) Evan wanted to bring the music outside so they could do the "cha cha slide" in the pool. Sunrise from our deck.

Life's a Beach.....and it's full of Jellyfish......

Well, I planned to post everynight but I was so tired last night....had to sleep. We are all having such a great time. The kids are nonstop, going from the pool, to the lazy river, lounge on the deck and have a snack, then out into the bay. When we arrived, we were a little sad that our condo was on the bayside rather than the beach side. We have to cross a catwalk over the street, then walk out to the beach (it's not a bad walk, can't complain). But after we got in here and saw how close we are to the lazy river and one of the pools, not to mention that the steps off our deck lead right to the bay, we decided we are better off here than on the other side. We headed out to the beach yesterday morning to find it thick with Jellyfish. Ugh! So the beach trip was over pretty quick and we came back and hit the lazy river. The layout of this place is so nice. We can watch the kids in the lazy river and in the pool from our deck. Perfect! The kids got out in the bay and played for a while, they find seashells and hermit crabs everywhere out there. Jamie and Brad have two shadows named Isaac and Ella. They are so into the fishing and crab catching. Everyone is having a great time, the kids are all getting along great! So far, I would say this is the perfect vacation! Today we are going to look into a fishing trip and parasailing. Should be exciting!!!!!

More pictures......

I meant to post these last night, as well. The first one is all the treasures the guys caught in the bay. (3 crabs, 4 hermit crabs, 2 fish {dead,now}). The family picture is one Lorelei took with her phone. (note the crab Brad is holding)..........-h.

We have arrived.....

So.....we made it to our condo in Okaloosa Island today about 4pm, after driving through a horrible rain storm and bumper to bumper trafic. Todays trip was longer than we expected, but boy, was it worth it. There was lots of squealing and running all around the condo when we got here. This place is fabulous....even better than we expected. There is a deck that is over 1000 square feet that overlooks the bay and the pool and lazy river. It really is amazing. Anyway, the kids immediately put on swim suits and headed first to the hot tub (which is on the deck), then to the pool that is just off of our deck. Brad and Ella got right into the bay and started hunting for shells in the water. They found two hermit crabs. Amazing. To just find them out in the water like that, all tucked up in a shell, was so neat. Then we ate and decided to walk over to the beach. What a fun time. It was sprinkling and dark by this time, but nobody cared. They all ran right out into the water. So much fun!!! The big event of the night was all the crab catching going on. Brad and Jamie are really into catching crabs to use as bait for the big fish (they brought poles to fish out in the bay and off the pier). They caught several crabs and ended up keeping three of them in a cooler to use as bait when they fish tomorrow. This was big fun for the kids. It seems like the only pictures I took tonight are of the crabs. This is going to be a great week! I am soooooo tired, so I am off to bed. I plan to post again tomorrow so be sure to check back and see what tomorrows adventures bring. Goodness, it's so great to be on vacation!!!! We are so blessed......-h.

Halfway there......

We made it to Vicksburg, MS at about 6pm. We had been driving since 11am so we were definitely ready to get out of the car. The girls did great, except for asking "how much longer" about every hour, they pretty much occupied their time watching movies and listening to the ipod. We will leave out of here in the morning and have about 6 more hours in the car before arriving "at the beach"!!!!! We cannot wait. We have big plans to hunt for sea shells, fish for big ocean fish, parasail, eat good seafood and play, play, play! Be back tomorrow night for the big arrival post!!! Here are random pictures from our drive today......-h.

Piggies......

Tomorrow we are leaving for Destin, and these piggies are ready for the beach. We are going with Jamie and Lorelei and their crew. Oh....not to worry....I will be taking my laptop and blogging the whole trip. Should be interesting and definitely loads of fun....this is Ella's first trip to the beach and Evan's second (but she doesn't remember the trip). They are sooooo excited!!! We had to do a little preparation today....pedicures...shopping for sunglasses...all the necessities.......-h.

Lazy days of Summer.........

I love summer time and it just occured to me today that we have less than a month until school starts...ugh!!! The days we spend laying around the pool are so nice. I hate to think of the whole bedtime, up early, lunch packing days that are going to be here so soon. Here are some pictures of our day at the pool today. Thanks to nanny for their precious new swimsuits. Here is video of Evan's dive today. It has impoved greatly since the beginning of the summer.