Beach Bums

We just got back from Destin last night and it was wonderful! We got to stay for almost 2 weeks and it was the first time I have ever unpacked all the bags, hung clothes in the closet, bought laundry detergent and really settled in.

Yes, I broke the cardinal rule and actually did laundry on vacation but wet beach towels, ketchup stains and spilled milk happens in paradise just as often as it happens at home, I had no choice.

The plan was for the 3 of us (excuse me Ginger, the 4 of us) to go down for a few days and then Jimmy's mom and dad would join us. Towards the end of our trip, my parents were going to come down for a long weekend but they both ended up getting sick and couldn't come. We were really disappointed and I know it was hard for them to be away from Trace that long. (They are very spoiled grandparents :)

Can you tell someone else who may have gotten a little rotten on the trip???
One of the first nights we were there, we met up with some friends from home. We all happened to be in Destin at the same time and went to the Back Porch for dinner. While we waited on our food, we let the kids play on the beach and playground. This is Brooklynn and Trace flirting! The pictures speak for themselves.

The chase begins...
The catch... against her will.
The black eye... her daddy taught her well!
Oh, how quickly they forgive and forget...
Dancing after dinner... all is well!
Wouldn't that be a cute story if those two ever got married. But... it isn't true. The real story went like this...

Trace and Brooklynn refused to cooperate and even stand close enough to one another to get their pictures made on the beach, then, after a brief chase, Trace fell on the monkey bars trying to get to the slide and got a black eye (on mommy's watch, Jimmy loves to remind me). Then after wiping a lot of sand, tears, and snot off his sweet face, we went in and had dinner.

I think the first story is much better, don't you?
Staying true to our roots... on game day even though we were in Florida and playing Florida, Trace sported his Tennessee jersey to the pool!! I figured, he already had a black eye, what could it hurt?
Beach time...
Trace had NO fear of the ocean. I, however, had enough for the both of us! He ran in completely unfazed by the water, waves, sharks, undercurrent, jelly fish, seaweed, blah, blah, blah.

He stood totally upright while waves crashed over his head and managed to stay vertical the entire time (something I haven't managed to do in 34 years). You can tell by the grimace on Jimmy's face, just how hard it was to let him be his little 2- year-old independent self!

At the Fun Park



His new favorite phrase... "I GOT you!"
We ate at Hammerheads on the Wharf one night and Trace danced up a storm to the band.
Trace loved sleeping in his "big boy bed" with his new Thomas the Train sheets (thank you Sisty).

He did great, most of the time...
Sometimes I would find him there, or at the foot of the bed I slept in, but mostly, he would lay at the door going into the bathroom. I nearly stepped on him several times when I would come to bed later in the dark without my "eyes" in. I would just pick him up and put him back in his bed without even a flinch. When you play hard, you sleep hard!
The last night, we tried to get some family pictures on the point. The setting was perfect for a beautiful family portrait...the golf course, the bay, the Wharf behind us and the beautiful sunset. Take out the 2 sweaty, frazzled parents, the extremely squirmy toddler and the dog that refused to look at the camera and you have a perfect, postcard picture! ha!

Bless Granddaddy and Sisty's hearts, it was truly a lesson in patience and perserverance... but we managed to get a few good ones. Don't think any will make the Christmas card cut though!It was such a great, relaxing trip and we can't wait to go back... but it's always nice to come home to you own bed, or in Trace's case, his own floor! ha!

Summertime

I can pretty much sum up our summer in 3 words... popsicles, watermelons, and choo-choo trains. (OK, maybe that was 5 words)

Trace has literally eaten his weight this summer in popsicles (preferably purple or orange) and watermelon. My new coupon/ bi-lo bonus card savings fetish (thank you Claire) has been long forgotten in the produce and frozen treats department.

Jimmy informed me halfway through the summer that he didn't care if the watermelons were $10.99 each, DO NOT come home from the grocery store without one. So... I gave up my cost saving theory of "we will only eat watermelon when they are on the 'bonus card special plan' and against my better judgement, reluctantly threw one in the buggy every week.
Trace decided he wanted to eat his "Ginger style". All of you moms may notice that he is shirtless and eating it on the back deck. Yeah... learned that lesson quickly.
Love those two! I'll give you one guess what Miss Ginger is chowing down on!
He figured out real fast that mommy can't bite into her popsicles like him and daddy can, so I am much slower at eating mine. So after he gets his 3/4 of the way down, he wants to "share" and trade mine for his (even when we're eating the same flavor). He's quite the strategist!
His other great love this summer has become... trains. Boy, I wish I owned some stock in the Thomas the Train franchise. We now own Thomas pj's (footless, I am sad to say), sheets, underwear, ABC flashcards, more motorized choo-choos than K-Mart, books, puzzles, DVD's and a half dozen sippy cups.
Thomas and Rusty a.k.a. "Wusty" have races in the kitchen. Amazingly Thomas beats him everytime. (Thomas has the Duracells and Wusty has the Dollar General batteries... poor Wusty!) ha!
We have built tunnels and bridges out of shoe boxes because... honestly, one could go broke buying all the accessories. And who has that kind of money to throw around when your spending your life savings buying watermelons that aren't on sale every week?
Imagine my surprise when I walked into Nana's to get him the other day and he was using a Woodbridge wine box left over from my brother's wedding as a "station" for his choo-choos!! ha! Maybe we need to rethink the whole "homemade" accessories thing.

I'm ashamed to say, he loved it so much that when Nana offered me an extra one to bring home, I snapped it up. It is sitting in my living room right now with Thomas, Rusty, and the caboose napping peacefully inside! We kiss the choo-choos good night and put them in their station/shed before bed. Good thing he can't read yet!
We are finishing up our "flip" house and are hoping to list it this week! Then, we are heading to the beach for more popsicles, watermelons, choo-choos, and sand!! I can't wait :)