National Seashore

We drove down the island a bit to a National Seashore beach. It was just beautiful! The sand is so white that Aidan said that it looked like snow! The water is blue and green and makes you feel like you are in the Caribbean! My sister, Laurie, brother, Jeff and my Mom and Dad were all there. We had a great time alternating adults in the water and making sandcastles with the kids!

An evening walk on the beach

Laurie and my Dad came down halfway through our 2 weeks to join us. Dad stayed the rest of the time but Laurie could only stay for a day and a half. We made the most of the time we had but it wasn't enough. The kids loved having her around and were constantly pestering her to play. They were heartbroken when she had to leave so quickly - hopefully we'll see her again soon! The evening that they arrived we went for a walk on the beach. It was a lot of fun and the kids got totally soaked and sandy!!

Navarre Beach Fishing Pier

One evening we went to the Fishing Pier to walk and burn off some energy. The kids had a great time running around and looking over the edge - it was a long way down! We didn't see anyone catching any fish that time but the next time we went back we saw a few fish which the kids thought was AWESOME - except then Aidan realized that fish lived in the ocean and refused to swim in the sea after that.

the view from the pierAoife and Emmy heading down to the end of the pier - 1500 feet away!All the fishermen - it was really windy so they were all on the downwind side!

Navarre Beach

We spent a lot of time on the beach. Everyday we got up, had breakfast and then went down to the beach. Most days we would follow the beach with the pool and then go in for lunch. I didn't bring my camera with me most days because most beach pictures look pretty much the same. Here are a few I took over the first few days:

Emmy's 4th Birthday

Emmy turned 4 while we were in Florida. We had celebrated the day of her party and she had opened a lot of her presents but I packed a few of the smaller ones to bring in the car with us so she could open them on her actual birthday. I also brought all the ingredients to make a birthday cake for her. The oven cooperated and it turned out well - so well, in fact, that I made another one at the end of the week so my dad, Laurie and Jeff could also have some when they arrived. Aoife was upset that it was not HER birthday!Opening presents is always a team event in our house:Emmy and her cake in the adorable fish dress that Mimi bought her:

First Day in Florida

We drove down to Florida in two days even though it was only a 9 hour drive. We picked my mom up at the airport on Friday afternoon and drove down to Birmingham, AL the first day. We got up in the morning and drove the rest of the way down to Navarre Beach, FL. After a quick dinner we got the kids into their bathing suits and went for a walk on the beach. It was beautiful and so nice to be out of the stifling heat of Tennessee.
The kids ran down to the beach and Emmy and Aidan ran over the sand to the water. As soon as Aoife's toes touched the sand she started crying and wouldn't even take a step. The sand was kind of soft and I think she was scared that she sank in a little bit. She kept saying the the ocean was noisy and she wouldn't go near it - just kept giving the waves dirty looks every time one crashed on the beach. It's funny because by the end of the vacation she was completely in love with the ocean - it just wasn't love at first sight!

We're home!

The kids and I made it home today. We were very sad to leave the beach and come home to reality. Aidan wanted to live in Florida forever! We had a fantastic 2 weeks and I'll be posting pictures as I have time. Here is one picture of the kids and me at Fort Pickens near Pensacola Beach. It was really fun!

Fun in the sun!

We are having a great time here in Florida! We spend our days at the beach and the pool and the kids have been sleeping really well at night! The weather has a been nice - hot and sunny - great for the beach! We have seen sea turtles, lots of fish and birds and even a few dolphins that swam within a few feet of shore the morning of Emmy's birthday. She was convinced that they stopped by to wish her a Happy Birthday.
I'm blogging from my iPad here and haven't figured out exactly how to upload any pictures but I'll try to take a few with my phone and get them up if I can!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Florida

We are going to be in Florida for the next 2 weeks!! We are going with my parents to a condo on Navarre Beach, near Pensacola. We have been counting down to this for months and I am so excited it's finally here! We miss Brendan and wish so much that he was here - although he hates the sand...

Emmy's Birthday Party

Emmy turns 4 on Tuesday but since we'll be on vacation, we had a little birthday party for her on Wednesday. It turned out that only 1 of her friends could come - good thing it was Charlee! The girls had a great time splashing around in the pool and slide and playing with Aidan and Aoife. We had cupcakes, cookies and rice crispie treats for dessert after a nice lunch. Aoife was a little put out that the party and cupcakes weren't for her birthday. After we sang to Emmy and she blew out the candle Aoife asked for the candle. I thought she just wanted to look at it but she stuck it right into her cupcake and looked around at us like - OK - let's go! I want some singing! We sang to her and she blew out the candle and was very happy. Emmy was a very good sport and didn't put up any fuss at all!
Here they are in the morning. Since it wasn't Emmy's actual birthday, she wasn't expecting presents and was really surprised and delighted! She loved the Swan Lake Castle from Grama and Daddy Jim and all of her personalized Tangled items from Aunt Siobhan! Emmy with her new Littlest Pet Shop toys - she found these in my closet a month or so ago and has been waiting anxiously to get them for her birthday!
Desserts!
Mmmmm - coconut cupcakes with pink vanilla buttercream!
Singing Happy Birthday!
Aoife, very happy with the large amount of frosting on the cupcake:Aidan, enjoying his cupcake:Charlee:Emmy actually ate all of her cupcake - usually she only eats the frosting!