Vacation Part 3

For the second half of our Florida trip, we went over to the Seaside area to stay with some of Steven's friends from high school/college. We packed up and left our condo Thursday morning. It was about a 20 minute drive to where we were going, so we didn't have to embark on another long car ride with an infant.

We met up with Nic and Jenn, Dan and Julie, and Mickey and Katie. They all had their kids with them, so between us all, we had 8 adults and 7 kids in one beach house!

We spent quite a bit of time on the beach, of course. It was so fun to watch all of the older kids play on the beach and to think that Caroline would be doing that in a couple years.

Here is Miss Hollywood relaxing under the beach umbrella

Relaxing with Daddy

On Friday night, we hired 2 babysitters to watch the kids and the adults went out to a really nice dinner (Don't worry-we didn't just hire them off the street. Nic and Jenn have a house down there and vacation there very often, so they had 2 babysitters that they have used and have been very happy with. They were both retired school teachers, so I was comfortable with them staying with Caroline).

We went to a restaurant in Alys Beach called Caliza. It was AMAZING! The food, the atmosphere, everything. It is a poolside restaurant, so it has a really chic, Mediterranean vibe. We walked in, and I felt like we were in Greece. BEAUTIFUL! It was such a treat for us, especially after being in Wichita Falls.

Caliza

Beautiful!

The whole group before dinner:
From left to right: Mickey and Katie, Nic and Jenn, Dan and Julie, Steven and I

The ladies: Jenn, Me, Julie, and Katie

Another group pic AFTER dinner... I have no idea what is all over my husband's shirt...

After dinner, we went to a really fun outdoor bar where there was a band playing. We had a couple drinks, danced and just enjoyed ourselves. It was such a treat to be able to enjoy adult company.

When we got back to the house, we ran into a problem. Earlier Friday afternoon, when we all came back from the beach, we noticed that the AC in the house wasn't working too well. The men toyed with it and determined that a repair man was needed. So, a call was made and supposedly, some one would come out that evening. Well, when we got back, it was obvious that the AC had not been fixed. It was about 90 degrees in the house and the poor babysitters were drenched in sweat. I felt so bad for them. They were so nice about it, but needless to say, we tipped them well.

The kids were all asleep, but they were also covered in sweat. Mickey and Katie were staying on the bottom floor of the house, so they still had AC. But the rest of us were staying in the part without AC. We decided to go over to another section of the house that had two sets of bunk beds and a full-size bed. Long story short, we all piled in that room, kids and all. There were 6 adults, 4 kids, and 1 baby (Caroline) in there. All night long it was a symphony of snoring and other bodily noises. It was less than ideal at the time, but it was definitely a memory that we will all laugh about in years to come!

The last night we were there (Saturday), we decided to go into Seaside and go down to the beach to watch the sunset and then grab dinner afterwards. The kids ran around and played on the beach, and we were able to get some great pics in the beautiful light. (Steven let me take the good camera, so FINALLY, we have some quality pictures)

The group

All of the kids, minus Camille with Steven

From left to right: Nicholas, Ellie, Braxton, Caroline, Audrey, and Owen

Caroline and Daddy-I love they way she is holding his face here. So sweet :)

Family picture. Kinda dark because we had the sun behind us, but we wanted at least one pic of the beautiful sunset

This was about the best we could get of the three of us. Caroline was fascinated with Steven's watch, so she would not look up for anything.

The whole group

From left to right: Dan, Julie, Ellie and Owen; Jenn, Nic, Braxton and Nicholas; Mickey, Katie, Camille and Audrey; Steven, Dallas and Caroline

Doesn't this just make you happy???

Eskimo Kisses!

We had a great time with Steven's friends. It was so fun to have all of the kids together and I can't wait until Caroline is old enough to join in the fun. We hope to see them all a lot more often now that we are closer!