Beach Trip 2016

So I decided to try a little something new this year.... I booked our beach vacation in September instead of mid-summer.  Let me just say, this was the BEST time to go.  Moving forward, this will be the time we book our trips to the beach.  The weather was amazing (80-90's), there were zero crowds at the restaurants, we paid "off-season" prices for our beachfront condo, and the beaches weren't busy at all. We really lucked out and the kiddos did an AMAZING job traveling. Of course, we broke the trip up and stayed in Monroe on the way there and on the way back home...that helped tremendously. Overall, it was a wonderful trip and our little family of 4 had a FABULOUS time.

Sunday night, we stocked up on groceries and just ate at the condo.  Mama and Daddy enjoyed a beverage while the kiddos played. Monday, we spent our entire day on the beach. We played in the sand, waded in the ocean, and swam in the pool.  That evening we went to Fudpucker's for dinner. 

Tuesday, we pretty much repeated the same thing.  Our days were full of beach, pool, beach, NAP, pool, beach. We walked down to the Back Porch for a light lunch and margs for the parents too. ;)  I have to admit, one thing I always miss from vacations is naps.  Every day we all 4 would lay down for 1-2 hours and sleep with the back doors open, listening to the ocean.  *PARADISE*

We picked up Chick-fil-A for dinner and spent our evening on the beach watching the sunset.

Wednesday, we got up and decided to go to the Gulfarium in Ft. Walton beach.  Out of all the years I have been to Destin, I had never set foot in this thing.  It was pretty cool.  The kids got to see sharks, sting rays, otters, a sea lion show, and the highlight for Reese...the dolphin show.  They were exhausted after being on the go all morning, so we went back to our condo, ate lunch and took a long nap.  That evening, we went to eat at Louisiana Lagniappe. (OUR FAVORITE) It worked out well because while Matt and I enjoyed a fabulous dinner, the kids were entertained by feeding the ducks below the deck between bites.

Thursday, we were back on the beach! We were up bright and early at the pool, because it was our last day before heading home. We had so much fun and topped our day off with going to dinner on the beach at Lulu's. This was a new place for us, and the atmosphere was great...Live music, a beach for the kids to play on, good food, and great margaritas. When we got back to our condo, we decided to go night swimming.  The kids loved it and we had the pools to ourselves.

As I said before, it was a wonderful vacation for our little family of 4. We had a great time and can't wait to go back.