A Long Walk on a Long Pier

 We went out to the Navarre Beach Pier to take a walk and see if there was anything to see!  Two years ago when we were here we never saw anyone catch anything but there are always tons of fisherpeople so someone must catch something! We saw this mackerel hauled up but nothing else.  We did see two sea turtles over the edge so that was cool!!

Room with a View

 Our condo is on the 6th floor of Belle Mer Condos in Navarre, FL.  We have a beautiful view of the beach!  I love waking up and seeing the ocean.  I could live here forever!!  We also have a view right down to the pool.  The kids all LOVE the pool and would spend all day in it if we let them!

 

First Few Days at the Beach

 We are here in Navarre for 2 weeks!!  My parents are extremely generous and not only did they invite us along on their only vacation but they spoiled us and paid for it too!  I hope that Brendan and I will be able to do that for our kids when they have their own families.  What a treat that we really enjoyed!!  The first day or two were really windy but it was warm and beautiful and the water was so nice!  My dad, Laurie and Jeff will join us on Thursday but until then it's just us and my mom!  We are NOT being as lazy as you'd think!  The first morning Emmy and Aoife woke me up at 5:45 all dressed in swim suits and ready to go!  I had to make them go back to bed for a little while!  So far Aidan will go in the ocean but Emmy and Aoife are not fans.  Declan is just happy to be along for the ride and since he's not crawling yet it's pretty easy!  He actually learned to sit up from lying down the second day of vacation!

Driving Down to Florida!

 We got up and got out of town early Saturday morning.  I knew it was going to take longer than the 81/2 hours that Google maps was telling us - mostly because of bathroom breaks and nursing breaks.  We actually did a really good job minimizing stops but when we stopped it took a while.  We also hit traffic in Birmingham and that added an hour or more to the trip.  We stopped at the welcome center just over the border into Alabama and got to see this cool rocket.  It was fun to stretch our legs and have something to look at!

Blueberry Picking

 We went blueberry picking on the morning before we left for vacation. I knew that if we waited then they would be gone and I really wanted to freeze a bunch!  We ended up picking 6 quarts and freezing most of them!  It'll be so nice to have blueberries in the middle of winter!!  It was hot and sticky and buggy but we made the most of it!  I hope we're here to go picking next year but there's a good chance we'll already be gone.  Just when I think I'm ready to move on something like that makes me a little sad. 

Emmy's 6th Birthday!

 How can she be 6 already?  Emmy has grown into quite a wonderful young lady!  She is so fun to be with and is so smart and funny!  She is going to be in first grade next year which seems totally unbelievable! 
On her birthday we Skyped with Brendan during present opening and then we had pancakes for breakfast!  We went bowling which Emmy has been dying to do.  She was super excited until she realized that she had to wear ugly bowling shoes.  It was almost a no-go but she got over it and we had a fun time!  Gramma was here too which always makes birthdays extra special!  We had chocolate birthday cake that night after dinner at the Chinese Restaurant.  She informed me that when we are on vacation she wants to have a cake from the grocery store that SHE picks out.  Goodness!  She doesn't even know how good she's got it!!

Sliding Practice

 The last day of Clarksville Academy Baseball Camp they always pull out the tarp and the hose to practice sliding/cool off and have fun!  It's great to watch!!