Destin- Part 2

 Our second full day in Destin was a tad bit warmer, and the beach was calling our name!  Stephen and I started our morning off with a walk on the beach.

The front of our house!

We all did our own things... some went out to breakfast, some went to the beach, some chilled at home.

The kids and grandkids ended up heading to the beach... which led to most of the kiddos actually going in.  They swore that the water was warm, but it was COLD getting out!

Parker joined in on some random girls' beach yoga, ;)

We went shopping, then my brother, sis-in-law, niece, Olivia, Taylor and Sydney went out to lunch.

That evening, my niece, Madeline, took pics at sunset!

That night, we played games and chatted until we hit the hay.  We left the next morning.  It was a perfect little getaway!

Destin - Part 1

We decided to screw tradition this year and go to Florida on Christmas Day.  The first Christmas without my dad was going to suck regardless, so we thought we'd go for a change of scenery.  And, let's face it... you can't go wrong with the beach!  My family, my mom, my sister and her family, my brother and his family, and my aunt (my dad's sister) all rented a 22 sleeper house, about a block from the beach in Destin. 

We left mid-morning on Christmas Day, after all the presents were opened and the car was packed up.  It was a fairly easy drive until we were about 45 minutes past Montgomery, AL.  That's when my brother called me, and his transmission completely blew up on him in Montgomery.  We turned around, met them at the hotel they had stayed at the night before, and waited for my sister to arrive in Montgomery. Since everything was closed on Christmas Day, we just combined their minivan's worth of stuff (and people!) and split everything into our car and my sister's car, leaving his car in Montgomery.  It was tight, but we were able to continue the trek pretty easily.  The normal 5.5 hour trip was about 8+ hours when all was said and done, so we were all chomping at the bit to get out of the car!

That night, we all settled in, ate a yummy Christmas meal, and the kids went swimming in the heated pool.  It was COLD that night, but when in Rome, I guess? 

The next morning, my brother and I went for a walk on the beach.  It was still realllllly cold, but beautiful!

We headed to the Destin Harbor Boardwalk, a cool spot with restaurants, shops, and touristy fun.

We went back to the house for a bit, and then the older girl grandkids, my sister and I went to the outdoor mall nearby.  

That night, we played games and chilled out!

Awkward Family Photos game... hilarious!

Part 2 coming soon!

Christmas Eve/Christmas Morning!

 Christmas is here!  

We spent Christmas Eve baking, packing (for our trip the next AM), church, driving through a light show, snuggling on the couch, and opening a few presents early.  

We tracked Santa online:

Parker put Santa's cookies and milk out:

And... Santa came!

Christmas morning!

They always come down the stairs in this order, chanting "Christmas! Christmas!"

Santa left a note!

Heading to the basement.

It was a great Christmas!  Later that morning, we picked my mom up and headed down to Florida!  More on that soon.