Goodbye Navarre :(

 We left Navarre this morning.  It was great to have my Dad to help us pack up the car - he did a much better job than I did on the way down!  My mom, the kids and I left around 10 am and we had an uneventful trip other than the kids being sad to leave and Declan being more mobile and less happy about being in the carseat than he had been on the way down.  We didn't get in until pretty late - 9:30 or so and the kids were so happy to be home.  Aoife went right upstairs and pulled all of her dress ups out and got all princessed up.  She kept saying, "Oh!  I remember these toys!"  Poor kid - it was like she had been away for a year instead of two weeks!!
It was a great vacation.  It was nice to get away from reality for a while and to have so much help and adults to talk to.  It was just what I needed.  We are 1/3 of the way through this deployment and only 2 more months until R&R.  I think we are going to make it.

Dinner at Peg Leg Pete's AGAIN!

 Woohoo!!!  We got to go to Peg Leg's again.  Ahhhh - I can still taste the fried oysters.  So amazing!!!  Emmy wasn't feeling great but she was a trooper and Aoife wouldn't stay still so there aren't any pictures of her!  Declan is a great subject - he is a captive!!!  Aidan still humors me which is really sweet of him because I know he doesn't like it. Declan decided to swipe Aoife's pickle off of her plate and he seemed to really enjoy it!  Weirdo!!
It was a nice way to spend our last evening in Florida.  Boy do I NOT want to get back in the car tomorrow. 

Aoife the Fisherwoman

 Aoife discovered the secret to catching the tiny fish that live in the surf and she kept herself busy all morning!  She must have caught 100 fish and at some point she stopped putting them in the bucket and just started throwing them back!  She had a great time and she loved that she got to show Aidan and Emmy how to do it.  I managed to get Declan to take a nap in my arms - probably for the last time - and we got to spend a nice long morning at the beach.  The water was the best it had been all week and Aidan and Emmy spent lots of time out in the water.  It was so much fun - a perfect morning at the beach.

Hanging Out

 The weather hasn't been completely perfect and we have had to spend a little time inside so everyone doesn't get totally burned!  The girls have been playing together so nicely and Declan is trying his hardest to learn to crawl!!  Aidan mostly hangs out with the iPad or watches TV in the kids' room.  It is like the best thing ever to have a TV in your ROOM!!

Evening Swim at the Pool

 Since it's a bit of a drive to Pensacola Beach, the kids needed to run around a bit when we got back from dinner.  They chose to go to the pool - big surprise!  I can't believe how much things have changed in the water department!  A week and a half ago Emmy would barely get in the water and now she is diving to the bottom and swimming underwater!  I'm so proud of her!!!  Aidan is getting to be quite a strong swimmer as well and I know he'll do great when they do swimming lessons next month!  Aoife is getting more comfortable in the water too.  As long as she has her floaty she is fine!  Her favorite thing to do is float around the hot tub with her floaty!

Dinner at Peg Leg Pete's

 On Monday night, we had dinner at our favorite place in Pensacola Beach - Peg Leg Pete's!!  The food is delicious and we got to sit right next to the playground.  It was perfect - the kids played until their food came, ate and then played while we ate.  I was starving and so I had fried oysters, fried shrimp, fried scallops and fried grouper.  OK - I didn't finish it all but I came close!!  The kids all had fried grouper nuggets which, by all accounts, were delicious and a special treat of Sprite.  I am a stick in the mud and usually make them have milk at restaurants - terrible, I know - but it was a special treat and they were SOOOOO excited!  We had a great time!  I wish we had even one decent seafood restaurant near us!

Shelling

 My Mom and Dad found a great shelling spot on a walk.  The shells are in the dunes and the storm had washed away a bunch of sand and the shells were just sticking right out of the side of the dune!  It was pretty cool that you could just pull them right out.  Neat to think about how long those shells might have been there!
It was a 15 minute walk down the beach and it was hot.  Aoife was not happy so she and I walked back ahead of the others.  So fun to have a little one on one time with my Fa!

Just Another Day at the Beach

 Laurie brought these kites with her and they worked great!!  It was perfect kite flying weather but now the kids think that kites always fly like that!  Oops!!  The water was clear and perfect today!  Declan loved it and we had a great time body surfing.  Even Emmy is getting up the courage to go out and enjoy the waves!

Clouds

 My Dad took these pictures and they are just gorgeous!  This is how it really looks - perfection.

Family Pictures

 The kids are really good at this by now!  I am constantly forcing them to take a group picture - I'm sure they will rebel at some point but for now I'll take it!!!!
Here I am trying to direct Aoife while she tries to get Declan's attention.

 This one shows Aoife's personality so much - I love it!

 My sweet baby boy!

A Walk on the Beach

 We went for a walk on the beach tonight because the light is just gorgeous and I wanted to take a family picture - even if we are missing Brendan.  It was really nice and the kids had fun running and jumping off of the dropoffs on the beach. We did the same thing two years ago and the kids were so little!