Beach Trip 2018 -Okaloosa Island, Florida!!

We have spent the past week in beautiful Okaloosa Island!  The weather was not exactly cooperative, but we still managed to have fun!  We spent a lot of time as a family

We drove down on Saturday, leaving at about 6:30am, getting stuck in traffic in Atlanta, M taking the wrong interstate and then, to make up for some of the lost time, we crossed into Central Time Zone(surprise!!  I hadn't even thought about what time zone we were going to be in!), stopped at the grocery, shoved the groceries in between the kids and finally got to our room about 4:30pm!!  After putting everything away, we walked around down to the beach and secured an umbrella and chairs for the week, let the kids get their feet wet, checked out the pools and then walked across the street for dinner!  We then raced back to the condo, got swimsuits and boogie boards and played until dark at the beach and pool!

Barely room for the groceries!!

Beyond ready to get out to the beach!

Let's do this!

Sunday we woke up to storms in the morning, so we lazied around and waited for them to pass.  Then spent the rest of the day at the beach and pool and grilled out hamburgers by the pool for dinner!

Moon jellies were EVERYWHERE on Sunday!  They didn't
sting, but they were kinda yucko when they slid along
your leg in the ocean!

We had buckets full!

Many hours over the week were spent on the lilly pads!

Monday, again, we woke up to storms in the morning.  We took the time to go to Walmart and get the kids some gloves for the lilly pads at the pool and to stock up on a few groceries we forgot!  We made our way into Destin for an early lunch at McGuire's Pub where they had money($1.9million!!!!) on the walls and ceiling, $.18 soup and the best and largest shepherd's pie ever!  We came back and spent the afternoon at the beach, ate leftovers for dinner and then stayed at the pool late for a movie!

McGuire's and the $1.9million!

C leaving his $1!

S and her $1!

Tuesday the weather was pretty good!  A few times we had to run in out of the rain, but for the most part it was a beautiful day!  We went to the Boardwalk for dinner at the Crab Trap and got the requisite family pictures on the beach!!

Early morning beauty!

Dinner craziness!

Wednesday it rained pretty much all day so we went to the outlets for most of the day!  We bought some fresh fish and shrimp on the way home for dinner - delicious!  While we waited for the rest of the rain to clear, M and I went to the gym that overlooks the pool and let the kids play on the lily pads in the rain while we worked out!  After dinner the rain had finally cleared and we took a walk on the beach!  The sunset was gorgeous!!

Fun at the outlets;)

Sporting new clothes to go to the pool!

New clothes to go to the gym:)

Keeping our eyes on the kids while at the gym!

Evening walk with pina coladas!

Pretty sunset!

Thursday it was raining, again, when we woke up... are we seeing a trend here!?!?  We walked across the street for breakfast.  Afterwards, M was dying to go to the Air Force Museum to see all the fighter jets, so him and C went while S and I held down the fort at the condo - in other words, we were lazy and watched TV and read!!  When the boys returned and the rain had stopped by mid afternoon, we made our way out to a very rough, red flag ocean!  M and C thought it was fantastic, S didn't really venture out too much for too long, and I stood at the edge of the surf like all the other mothers out there and watched to make sure the kids were safe!  We went to eat at a restaurant in Destin, The Back Porch, recommended by some friends that S made!  It was amazing delicious with the best views ever!  It did not disappoint!

At the Air Force museum!

Kids enjoyed looking over the ledge while waiting on dinner to arrive!

View from the restaurant!

Finally, Friday, the weather cleared up and were on the beach in the morning with the sun shining - and another red flag(double red flag, meaning the beach was closed, about 20 yards from us!  yikes! And, a child had died the evening before due to the rip currents)!  We stayed out all morning, took a lunch break, M and I hit the gym while the kids played on the lily pads and then we ate dinner and back to the pool for a movie night before saying goodbye to our lovely Florida beach vacation!

Late nights started catching up with them!

Our condo in the background!

Last romp on the beach for 2018!

Movie night at the pool:)

This morning we were up, a little later than we'd liked, but it was a late night packing after the movie, and home we drove, without too much traffic!

We were sad to leave, but also so glad to be home sweet home!!:)