Summer Vacation: The Remainder!

Day 5

 

1. Wednesday was messy and rainy all day long. Boohoo!

 

2. We decided to get out and ride around for a little while before going out to lunch at Pier Park. We scouted out potential houses/condos for future beach trips. =)

 

3. After lunch and getting wet we did a little grocery shopping before coming home and gettting ready to make our annual Chocolate Chip Delight.

 

4. I've made this dessert with the boys every year for the 4th of July since Garrison was a baby. Austin was very involved this year and consumed several M&M's.

 

5. We went out to eat at Hammerhead Fred's Wednesday night. It was still rainy and yucky but our food was delicious and we were thankful to get out again.

 

6. Austin was a big ole handful at the restaurant. Again. He's fine as long as he's hungry and has food in front of him, but once he's done, he's DONE. Ready to be out of the highchair. Ready to do what he wants to do. Ready for freedom. It was SO stressful that he decided to exhibit all these new behaviors while we were on vacation. Sigh.

 

7. Wednesday wasn't very exciting but we made the most of it and had a pretty good day anyway. 

Day 6:

 

 1. Thursday morning everyone slept really late. Yay! But we woke up to a monsoon. Boo!

 

2. It turned out to be a loooong day. We avoided getting out simply because the wind and rain were SO bad that it wouldn't be any fun to get out.

 

3. Instead we ate a really big, late breakfast. Soooo yummy. (We were definitely spoiled by Granna's cooking all week.) Then we played inside, watched any and everything that came on Disney Junior, tried to keep the kids entertained, and then eventually ate lunch. After lunch we had naptime... and after that things sort of fell apart. So sad.

 

4. The boys were stir crazy from being inside all day (just like mama and daddy), we were feeling depressed from being inside all day, and then we were paranoid that the boys were driving everybody crazy... because they'd been inside a small condo all day. Ugh. Not a good combination. I felt sorry for my kids because they were just being kids... who had been couped up inside for almost 2 days straight without their toys and their rooms and their routine! But I also felt sorry for everybody else who had to deal with my wild, crazy, loud kids!

 

5. Finally Terrell and I decided to brave the wind and rain with the boys still in their pj's and we got out. We were DESPERATE. Terrell took me to Pier Park so I could buy another pair of sunglasses and then we just rode around. The boys got to see the amusement park and people watch and we all enjoyed a change in scenary. It was much needed.

 

6. When we got back home it finally felt a little like the 4th of July. We had hamburgers, baked beans, and french fries for supper... on our patriotic paper plates. Then we had our festive Chocolate Chip Delight for dessert. Austin loved it. Garrison did too.

7. The grown-ups watched the Braves game and a movie after the kiddos went to bed.

8. Even though the 4th was nothing like we wanted (they even had to cancel fireworks), and I may have had a little afternoon pity party over it, we enjoyed yummy food throughout the day and were definitely thankful... for family, freedom, and the USA. =)

Day 7:

 

1. We were sooooo thankful to be back on the beach on Friday!

 

2. The boys loved playing in the sand and their buckets of water again AND daddy made them a little pond/hole to play in just like last year. They had so much fun and that made me super happy.

 

3. We stayed out all morning long and went in for a late lunch. Then Garrison and daddy made one more trip to the pool.

 

4. Friday afternoon we decided to skip naps and take the boys to Miracle Strip at Pier Park. It was our last chance to go and Garrison had been loving the rides from a distance everytime we rode through.

 

5. Austin fell asleep in the car on the way and it rained a little off and on while we were there so Terrell and Garrison did the amusement park together while I stayed in the car with Austin and let him nap. 

 

6. I'm thinking Austin was okay with that since he doesn't even really love the rides at Chuck E. Cheese.

 

7. My big boy rode several rides, including the ferris wheel, and loved every second.

 

8. After our amusement park fun we were off to dinner at Captain Anderson's. We had a really good experience while we waited... Austin played in the gift shop for like 30 minutes and Garrison played on Terrell or AnAn's phone. But after that it went downhill. Garrison felt sick and Terrell ended up having to stay in the bathroom with him for what felt like forever while Austin was refusing to sit down and throwing fits and stressing me out. Our food was great but Terrell and I felt like we couldn't get out of there fast enough and like we may never go out to eat with family again. It's one thing to deal with it on our own, it's another thing to make additional family members suffer through a stressful meal at a nice restaurant. Gracious.

 

9. After our wild and crazy dining experience Garrison fell asleep in the car and didn't wake up until the next morning. He slept in his clothes all night long. He was worn out from our busy week of vacation fun.

 

10. Austin on the otherhand had a hard time going to sleep because of the fireworks. We were glad to see fireworks but not so glad that they terrified our baby and kept him up. A baby really does change everything. =) Thank goodness Granna finally got him to sleep.

 

 11. To sum it up, Friday was a wild one. BUT, we were extremely grateful for better weather, beach time, and amusement park fun!

After eating fast food for breakfast (with Austin sitting beside me in a chair and NOT in a highchair), we made good time getting home late Saturday afternoon and had another really good road trip. Praise the Lord!

While the weather wasn't perfect throughout  the week (and neither was restaurant behavior) we had a really fun and memorable vacation. We enjoyed my mom's good cooking all week. We had sooo much fun on our beach days. We laughed with family... a LOT. We played a game! We enjoyed Thomas's famous dough-nuts twice. We had a blast on our double date. And most of all we enjoyed a week long break with family at one of our favorite places. This year was definitely an adventure and we are thankful. =)