Vacation 2013: Santa Rosa Beach, FL!

I kind of dropped the ball on this one. Ok, really dropped the ball. We got back on the 20th and I am just now sitting down to write this wrap-up post about our Vacation.   Never in my life has a family trip been so chaotic. It all started the morning we were leaving. As we were packing the truck with suitcases, Madi started puking. This lasted the entire drive there (12 hours with all the stops) and until Tuesday. She did NOT feel good. The ride there was pretty smooth, Madi just slept when she wasn't sick. We got to the room, and settled in. Madi's spirits were high, considering, and she was really excited to "get to bacation." She loved our balcony and she really loved running all around the condo.  

Kylie missed her parents- a lot. Her being upset plus Madi being sick definitely added some stress to the whole situation. But family vacations usually aren't that relaxing, right? ;) Kylie was only upset at night for the first few days, then she got into the swing of things. Plus, by Tuesday night or so, Madi had kicked whatever bug she had and was ready to roll. We spent a lot of time at the beach, and at the pool. Madi loved playing in the sand and getting in the "warm bathtub" as she called the hottub. She was scared of the ocean though. She kept saying that the waves were going to get her. Kylie had a lot of fun in the waves though. She wore Papaw out in the ocean. Daddy and I had to take turns with her. But Madi was content to sit in the sand and play with the sand toys. Though Kylie and I did find a sand crab one day. I saw it poking its head out of a hole in the sand, so I stuck a toy shovel right behind it to block it and pitched it up. It landed on the ground with it's pincher's up. You should have heard the squeal that came out of Madi. (and Kylie & I...)  

 

 

 

 

  We spent one day at the Gulfarium, which we do every year. It was especially cool this year because Madi was old enough to really know what was going on. She loved the sea otters, who she said were just like puppies. One of them put their face right up to the glass where Madi was, and Madi loved it. We saw the dolphin show and Madi clapped the whole way through. It was a lot of fun. We picked out some cool toys at the gift shop (highlight of the trip for both of the girls, lol) for family. Madi picked out a sand toy thing that was an ice cream making kit. It had scoops, a half gallon bucket, a sprinkle shaker, etc. Both the girls played for hours in the sand with it.  

 

  We also had dinner at the Boardwalk, something else we do every year. Madi played on a playground on the beach at sunset, we walked the pier, had a nice dinner, and got Italian ice cream. Also, that was an "unplugged" night. Meaning, I had my phone off. So, no pictures. But turning it off was definitely worth it. You can't enjoy a sunset on the beach if you can't quit staring at your phone screen...   We visited the Baytowne Wharf again this year also. Madi rode the carousel and played on the playground. Our festivities got cancelled though when giant black stormclouds began to form overhead. Everyone was running back to their cars. Luckily, we got back to the truck before the sky fell out.  

 

 

   

 

 

We left early (3am) Saturday morning hoping for an uneventful ride home. That wasn't what happened though. We got rear-ended in Louisiana. No one was hurt but it did some damage to the truck. This vacation had quite a bit more twists and turns to it than normal, but I know one thing to be true. We'll definitely look back on it and laugh later on. ;)   More pictures...