Destin, FL

Two weeks ago today Lane and I drove to Florida for a relaxing few days at the beach.  We went back to the same location as last fall--we're really grateful that Lane's parents' friend allowed us to stay at his beautiful place and also SO grateful for L's parents coming here to stay with the kids!  The kids had a great time while we were gone!  (Thank you, thank you, thank you!)

Driving through south Arkansas was slow at times.

We got there about 7:30 Tuesday evening, ate a quick dinner at Bubba Gump's then went grocery shopping.  It had been a long day of driving, but it was definitely worth it to wake up to this scenery on Wednesday morning!  We went for a walk on the beach, had breakfast on the balcony then spent the day sitting under the beach umbrella reading and listening to the waves.  Last year when we went (November), it was chilly and we had to bundle up to be comfortable on the beach, but this year it was 75-80 degrees and just perfect.  

The second evening, before dinner and a movie

Fall pumpkin display at the shopping center/movie theater

A storm moved in on Thursday morning.  I went for an early walk on the beach, but then it started raining so we went out for lunch at Cantina Laredo.  It was neat to watch the dark clouds roll in over the water while we ate breakfast.

The weather cleared off late that afternoon, and we watched a beautiful sunset from the beach.

(There never seemed to be anyone around to take our picture together so we only have self-portraits.)  :)

We did FaceTime with the kids, which was fun and I loved getting to see their sweet faces while we were away.  Crosby was too busy playing to want to talk most of the time, but once when we called they were eating lunch and C popped his head onto the screen and yelled, "We are drinking Dr. Pepper!!" haha!  He makes us laugh.  Rhett and Alexee had their school Boosterthon fun run while we were gone, so Grammy and Bobba were able to go to the school for that.  Both R & A were happy to report that they ran all 35 possible laps!

Our third and final beach day was 75 degrees again--WONDERFUL!  It was basically a repeat of the first amazing day...early walk on the beach, breakfast on the balcony and then hours of sitting under the umbrella reading and watching the ocean...with an occasional stroll to stretch our legs.  It was so so SO nice to just sit still for a while and not have to be anywhere, no laundry or dishes waiting on me, no meals to think about, no lunches to pack, etc.  Lane had had an extra crazy schedule leading up to his vacation, so he was in major need of some time off too.  This time together was such a blessing.

We didn't build this sand crab, but we watched as the family worked on it for hours.  It was really good!

Last evening there

(Sad to leave, but also anxious to see the kids!)

It wouldn't be a road trip for us without some sort of little car issue. It's usually a flat tire, but thankfully this time it was just the "add engine oil" warning light.  It came on right as we were leaving the gas station in Tallulah, Mississippi, so Lane was able to get it taken care of and get us back on the road in about 20 minutes.  

Home sweet home!