Monday, November 29: Day 3
So….my motivation to get up early was thwarted by a.) the Colts game and b.) CNN heroes. Amanda was up with Reed around 5 and the rest of the kids were up around 6:30. My sweet wife did her best to let me sleep in. I drifted in and out of consciousness until about 7:30. I literally stumbled out of bed with another reminder of why running on the beach is a bad idea. I was SO sore. With the kids all ready, we headed to the The Donut Hole. Let the adventure begin.
When we first entered Destin on Saturday, we past The Donut Hole just a few miles east of the resort. Despite having seen one location we decided to trust the GPS to take us to what appeared to be a second location about 12 miles west of the resort. Initially, the GPS led us to a Dead End street in a residential area. Between our iPhones and the TomTom, we finally found the The Donut Hole not too far from the initial, wrong location. As we approached the restaurant, we noticed the marquee with the message “Re Opening Dec. 18th.” Awesome! So, at this point, it was about 8:30am and we had been driving for over 30 minutes with some very hungry children. So, we headed back east. We decided to go back to the Baytowne Wharf (part of our resort north of Highway 98, see day 2) to have breakfast at Another Broken Egg. Several people had suggested we try Another Broken Egg and we completely agree with all the reviews. Amanda fell in love with their coffee AND their coffee mugs. Apparently there was something about the lip of the mug that made it comfortable to drink out of. Anyway, the kids all got pancakes and I got something truly unbelievable. I ordered the cinnamon roll french toast. So, take a cinnamon, stand it on its side and bread slice it. Fry the sliced cinnamon as if you were doing french toast. Finally, add icing, fresh strawberry, blackberry, blueberry, and raspberry and whipped cream. Yeah…it was awesome.
The weather today was the warmest yet but rain was looming. Knowing that time on the beach or at the pool wasn’t likely to happen today, it was nice that breakfast was right next to the playground where we took the kids yesterday. The kids had the place to themselves for most of the time we were there. At one point Cooper and I took a little walk by ourselves. It was short but nice to have a little time just her and I. As rain drops began to fall, we packed the kids up and headed back to the condo. It was around 11am at this point and time to put Cooper and Reed down for naps. While they slept, Amanda went down to the exercise room and I read on the couch. Avin and Parker were, once again, perfectly satisfied to play with their toys and games. Amanda’s workout was short due to a lousy treadmill. While reading on the couch, I began to doze off. Sinus pressure was back I was feeling pretty miserable so a nap, although short, was welcome.
After naps, we decided to hit the road in search of one of our favorite eateries when traveling, Five Guys burgers and fries. Once again, there appeared to one fairly close to us, but rather than take the easy way, we decided to take a trip about 30 miles east to Panama City. Having never been, I was curious to see what the hype was all about. One the way to Panama City, we took a detour through Grayton Beach and Seaside. Grayton Beach was quaint and unique. Compared to most of the surrounding, commercialized areas, Grayton was a little more humble but lovely. Seaside was definitely impressive. This area is so clean and consistent. The landscaping and building all appeared to be perfectly maintained. Further east on Highway 30A, we were surprised by the Rosemary Beach area. This stretch screamed high class. The buildings and home were beautiful and there were a few beachfront properties that had unbelievable homes on them.
Back on Highway 98, entering Panama City we were less than impressed. We found 5 guys located in a large, very nice shopping area. We enjoyed our burgers, hot dogs, fries and peanuts and needed to walk them off. We walked back toward an area filled with carnival rides. As we walked through, nothing appeared to be open so we kept going. The kids were antsy and needed entertainment. We came back through the rides and found the guys running them. Turns out they were open, we just had the place to ourselves. Avin and Parker flew the airplanes (Avin had to watch Parker ride first to help him overcome his fear) and Amanda and Cooper rode the carousel. After the rides, we went to back to Marble Slab Creamery, conveniently located right next to 5 guys. Avin got Birthday Cake ice cream, Cooper had Banana and Parker had Cinnamon. I had trouble deciding and ask for a suggestion from the Romanian gal helping us. Her response was, “I don’t eat much ice cream, but more people get the Cookie’s ‘n Fudge.”
After ice cream, we loaded up and made one quick pass by the main be strip in Panama City. In an effort to get something that would keep my sinuses from exploding, we found the nearest Target (for the 3rd night in a row). I got my medicine and we headed back west. We took the same route back that we had taken there and saw some lovely Christmas lights. We made it back to the condo by about 6:00pm.
The next hour ended up being the most fun part of the day. As we got the kids ready for bed, we all cuddled on the couch and took turns getting Reed to laugh and just had a fun time with each other. On our way to the kids bedroom, Avin, Parker, Cooper and I stopped at the mirrored wall in the dining room to make silly faces. Avin struggled to make faces because he couldn’t stop laughing at mine. From there it was off to bed. With the kids on snug, I read them Napoleon Goes to the Ballpark and it was lights out.
Today was really the first day that we felt as though we’ve got Destin to ourselves. We’ve pretty well determined that this is the time of the year to come. The weather could stand to be a bit warmer and there are a few places that we would like to see closed for the season, but ultimately, we’re loving not having to fight crowds. Especially considering we’re traveling with 4 young children.
The forecast looks grim tomorrow but we plan to make the most of our time together here.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
vacation day 2
Sunday, November 28: Day 2
It seemed to be a good, restful night for everyone. Reed did wake up around 2am but a session with mommy pacified him and he went back to sleep. It was a little after 6am when the whole crew woke up and got out of bed. I did my best to sleep in a little longer but by 6:30, we were all up and at 'em. Mommy was up early enough to experience the most beautiful part of the sunrise but I got to see just enough to motivate me to get up for tomorrow's.
For breakfast, Amanda made cinnamon rolls and her infamous fruit and veggie smoothies. While the kids finished breakfast, Amanda left for a run. It was around 8:30 and Cooper and Reed were ready for their morning naps. While those two slept and mommy ran, Avin and Parker seemed to enjoy just having a few hours to watch TV, play Leapster, play Yegos (Legos) and just hang out in the condo. After her 45 minute run that took her through most of the resort, on both sides of the highway, Amanda called from the beach and told me to bring Avin and Parker out to the balcony. The boys saw her waiving from the beach and got excited, wanting to go to the beach themselves. We were able long enough for me to get a quick run in. I decide to run barefoot on the beach. I headed west for 2 miles and turned around and ran one mile back and walked the last mile. I learned that running on the beach barefoot is all novelty. It's pretty exhausting and you really can't enjoy the surrounding simply because you really can't ever safely take your eye off of the path directly in front of you.
After the run, we got Cooper up (she took a 3 hour nap; awesome!), we ate an early lunch (10:30) and we got our "play in the sand" clothes on and headed to the beach. Avin & Parker were pumped and took to the sand like it was just a giant sandbox. Cooper, not so much. Any effort to put her in the sand resulted and screaming and crying. So, Amanda, Reed and Cooper spent the time on a blanket or in the beach chairs while Avin, Parker and I played in the sand. Cooper, at one point, did figure out a way to play in the sand without leaving her spot on the blanket and she would hold her shovel in the air and say "I did it!"
It didn't take long for Avin & Parker to discover the water. Not content to simply get their feet wet, their "play in the sand" clothes soon became their swim suits. Parker enjoyed getting just far enough to sit and let the water wash over him, Avin, however, just crept farther and farther until we had to tell him to come back. At one point, while Avin was in and Parker was out, I noticed a jellyfish about the size of a football washing up. Everyone's interest in the jellyfish was short lived and Avin went right back in the water saying, "Tell me if you see anymore jellyfish dad!"
At one point, while the kids all played, I noticed seagulls flying right past us, one right after the other. It seemed very odd until I noticed just west of us someone was throwing bread to them. What amazed me (and why I consider it noteworthy) was the fact that one guy throwing crumbs of bread drew what seemed like hundreds of these birds to him as if the first group got on their little seagull cell phones and called all of their seagull friends to come join the party. Ok, enough with the ode to the albatross.
Seeing that the kids obviously wanted to swim, we decided that Amanda and Reed would run up to the condo and get actually swim suits while I got Avin, Parker and Cooper gathered and cleaned up. Amanda's trip was made a little longer when she realized I had the key but she was quick to get everything and meet us at the pool. We decided to let them swim in the adult pool as it's heated and the kidding was definitely not. For the most part, the three of them just hung around the steps which we encouraged since neither Amanda or I really had a desire to get in. There was one little incident when Cooper slipped and little and ended up with her head under water. she struggled a little and Amanda panicked. We reached down and puller her out. She was a little shaken up but I praised her saying, "You went under water like a big girl." I could tell Amanda didn't care for my casual reaction to the incident but, in hind-sight, we both probably should have reacted a little differently. All is well though, and that's what really matters.
While at the pool, Grandma Reen called. When I told her we were at the pool, she said "where are you that you're swimming." I told her she needed to do a better job of keeping up on Facebook. After a brief chat, we gathered up the kids and headed up to room to clean up.
After cleaning up and changing clothes, we headed across the highway to the Baytown Warf. This area is part of our same resort complex but located on the north side of highway 20 on the shores of a large intercoastal. We drove through the area for a little while seeing what Amanda had seen earlier on her morning run. After a quick tour, we parked at the warf and unloaded the kids. From the car, it was a quick walk acrossed a wooden bridge to a large playground much like the kids kingdom playground back home. The kids loved it but Parker had some issues. First, he slowly walked out of the playground towards us saying, "I went poopy!" After a punishment and a cleaning, it was back to playing. All was going well until Amanda & I looked over at Parker as he proceeded to completely saturate his jeans with pee while staring right back at us. Needless to say, we were pretty frustrated with him at this point. Parker has been potty trained for a long time now and this was just completely out of character for him. So, it was time to leave. Avin was upset to have to leave in such a hurry but he understood his brother had made a bad choice. While walking to the car, I did my absolute best to block Parker and his pee-soaked pants from anyone we walked by. Fortunately, we weren't far from the condo so we headed there to get a change of pants (a and backup pair).
It was about 3:30 at this point and we decided to head west for an early dinner. We decided to go to Fudpucker's as it appeared to be a fun place to eat. The kids got really excited as we pulled in because they could tell from the exterior of the restaurant that it was going to be a fun place. We made our way up the stairs and past the alligator pit to the main level. You could really tell this was a fun place. From the friendly staff to the guest signatures that covered every square in of the interior and exterior, it certainly was a unique restaurant. The manager Keith sat us and really engaged with each of the kids. From their, Mike waited on us and was awesome. He interacted with the kids and even made small comments that gave me a good sense that he was a believer. I learned that Mike was from the Tampa area and has lived several places including Tennessee.
At one point, we asked Mike where the best place to get ice cream was in Destin. He answered just as I thought he would, "Well, your at one of the best spots." He then proceed to list several, including a place called the Marble Stone Creamery. It was then that he mentioned the "great Christian people" that owned the shop.
After dinner, we left the main dinning room of the restaurant and went out to the patio that contained a playground (also covered in signatures) and a gator pit. The pit had about 10 very small alligators in it. Along the walk way, there were small, alligator related exhibits. One of these exhibits was a large aquarium housing an albino gator. After the tour, we left and head to Target for the second night in a row.
We decided Target was a necessary stop tonight because we failed to bring any of the kids floaties for swimming. With floaties, and several other things, purchase, it was time for ice cream.
We initially passed Marble Stone in route to another shop called Bruster's. We decided not to get ice cream there, however, because it only had outdoor seating and it was just a little too chilly for that. In the end, we landed at Marble Stone. I'm convinced it was all part of God's great ice cream plan for us because this place was AWESOME. The kids each got a small cup of ice cream and I got blend of sweet ice cream, chocolate chips, butterfinger, and caramel served in a homemade waffle bowl. Needless to say, it was amazing.
After ice cream, it was time to call it a night. It was about 5:45pm when we got back to the condo. We decided to let the kids watch Bee Movie while straightened up and got everything ready for bed and for tomorrow morning. The kids were all great and you could see them growing more and more tired (especially Avin). At about 7:30pm, with their new vacation pj's on, we put the kids to bed. Avin was a little upset that I didn't let them have any time to read before bed, but I did let them all stay up later than usually to watch a movie. Anyway, they all went down easily and all was quiet. The rest of our evening was spent talking about the day and cleaning things up a bit more. Now, it a little before 10pm and I'm watching the colts play and listening to Reed cry. I guess I should go see if he's alright.
Until tomorrow...goodnight!
It seemed to be a good, restful night for everyone. Reed did wake up around 2am but a session with mommy pacified him and he went back to sleep. It was a little after 6am when the whole crew woke up and got out of bed. I did my best to sleep in a little longer but by 6:30, we were all up and at 'em. Mommy was up early enough to experience the most beautiful part of the sunrise but I got to see just enough to motivate me to get up for tomorrow's.
For breakfast, Amanda made cinnamon rolls and her infamous fruit and veggie smoothies. While the kids finished breakfast, Amanda left for a run. It was around 8:30 and Cooper and Reed were ready for their morning naps. While those two slept and mommy ran, Avin and Parker seemed to enjoy just having a few hours to watch TV, play Leapster, play Yegos (Legos) and just hang out in the condo. After her 45 minute run that took her through most of the resort, on both sides of the highway, Amanda called from the beach and told me to bring Avin and Parker out to the balcony. The boys saw her waiving from the beach and got excited, wanting to go to the beach themselves. We were able long enough for me to get a quick run in. I decide to run barefoot on the beach. I headed west for 2 miles and turned around and ran one mile back and walked the last mile. I learned that running on the beach barefoot is all novelty. It's pretty exhausting and you really can't enjoy the surrounding simply because you really can't ever safely take your eye off of the path directly in front of you.
After the run, we got Cooper up (she took a 3 hour nap; awesome!), we ate an early lunch (10:30) and we got our "play in the sand" clothes on and headed to the beach. Avin & Parker were pumped and took to the sand like it was just a giant sandbox. Cooper, not so much. Any effort to put her in the sand resulted and screaming and crying. So, Amanda, Reed and Cooper spent the time on a blanket or in the beach chairs while Avin, Parker and I played in the sand. Cooper, at one point, did figure out a way to play in the sand without leaving her spot on the blanket and she would hold her shovel in the air and say "I did it!"
It didn't take long for Avin & Parker to discover the water. Not content to simply get their feet wet, their "play in the sand" clothes soon became their swim suits. Parker enjoyed getting just far enough to sit and let the water wash over him, Avin, however, just crept farther and farther until we had to tell him to come back. At one point, while Avin was in and Parker was out, I noticed a jellyfish about the size of a football washing up. Everyone's interest in the jellyfish was short lived and Avin went right back in the water saying, "Tell me if you see anymore jellyfish dad!"
At one point, while the kids all played, I noticed seagulls flying right past us, one right after the other. It seemed very odd until I noticed just west of us someone was throwing bread to them. What amazed me (and why I consider it noteworthy) was the fact that one guy throwing crumbs of bread drew what seemed like hundreds of these birds to him as if the first group got on their little seagull cell phones and called all of their seagull friends to come join the party. Ok, enough with the ode to the albatross.
Seeing that the kids obviously wanted to swim, we decided that Amanda and Reed would run up to the condo and get actually swim suits while I got Avin, Parker and Cooper gathered and cleaned up. Amanda's trip was made a little longer when she realized I had the key but she was quick to get everything and meet us at the pool. We decided to let them swim in the adult pool as it's heated and the kidding was definitely not. For the most part, the three of them just hung around the steps which we encouraged since neither Amanda or I really had a desire to get in. There was one little incident when Cooper slipped and little and ended up with her head under water. she struggled a little and Amanda panicked. We reached down and puller her out. She was a little shaken up but I praised her saying, "You went under water like a big girl." I could tell Amanda didn't care for my casual reaction to the incident but, in hind-sight, we both probably should have reacted a little differently. All is well though, and that's what really matters.
While at the pool, Grandma Reen called. When I told her we were at the pool, she said "where are you that you're swimming." I told her she needed to do a better job of keeping up on Facebook. After a brief chat, we gathered up the kids and headed up to room to clean up.
After cleaning up and changing clothes, we headed across the highway to the Baytown Warf. This area is part of our same resort complex but located on the north side of highway 20 on the shores of a large intercoastal. We drove through the area for a little while seeing what Amanda had seen earlier on her morning run. After a quick tour, we parked at the warf and unloaded the kids. From the car, it was a quick walk acrossed a wooden bridge to a large playground much like the kids kingdom playground back home. The kids loved it but Parker had some issues. First, he slowly walked out of the playground towards us saying, "I went poopy!" After a punishment and a cleaning, it was back to playing. All was going well until Amanda & I looked over at Parker as he proceeded to completely saturate his jeans with pee while staring right back at us. Needless to say, we were pretty frustrated with him at this point. Parker has been potty trained for a long time now and this was just completely out of character for him. So, it was time to leave. Avin was upset to have to leave in such a hurry but he understood his brother had made a bad choice. While walking to the car, I did my absolute best to block Parker and his pee-soaked pants from anyone we walked by. Fortunately, we weren't far from the condo so we headed there to get a change of pants (a and backup pair).
It was about 3:30 at this point and we decided to head west for an early dinner. We decided to go to Fudpucker's as it appeared to be a fun place to eat. The kids got really excited as we pulled in because they could tell from the exterior of the restaurant that it was going to be a fun place. We made our way up the stairs and past the alligator pit to the main level. You could really tell this was a fun place. From the friendly staff to the guest signatures that covered every square in of the interior and exterior, it certainly was a unique restaurant. The manager Keith sat us and really engaged with each of the kids. From their, Mike waited on us and was awesome. He interacted with the kids and even made small comments that gave me a good sense that he was a believer. I learned that Mike was from the Tampa area and has lived several places including Tennessee.
At one point, we asked Mike where the best place to get ice cream was in Destin. He answered just as I thought he would, "Well, your at one of the best spots." He then proceed to list several, including a place called the Marble Stone Creamery. It was then that he mentioned the "great Christian people" that owned the shop.
After dinner, we left the main dinning room of the restaurant and went out to the patio that contained a playground (also covered in signatures) and a gator pit. The pit had about 10 very small alligators in it. Along the walk way, there were small, alligator related exhibits. One of these exhibits was a large aquarium housing an albino gator. After the tour, we left and head to Target for the second night in a row.
We decided Target was a necessary stop tonight because we failed to bring any of the kids floaties for swimming. With floaties, and several other things, purchase, it was time for ice cream.
We initially passed Marble Stone in route to another shop called Bruster's. We decided not to get ice cream there, however, because it only had outdoor seating and it was just a little too chilly for that. In the end, we landed at Marble Stone. I'm convinced it was all part of God's great ice cream plan for us because this place was AWESOME. The kids each got a small cup of ice cream and I got blend of sweet ice cream, chocolate chips, butterfinger, and caramel served in a homemade waffle bowl. Needless to say, it was amazing.
After ice cream, it was time to call it a night. It was about 5:45pm when we got back to the condo. We decided to let the kids watch Bee Movie while straightened up and got everything ready for bed and for tomorrow morning. The kids were all great and you could see them growing more and more tired (especially Avin). At about 7:30pm, with their new vacation pj's on, we put the kids to bed. Avin was a little upset that I didn't let them have any time to read before bed, but I did let them all stay up later than usually to watch a movie. Anyway, they all went down easily and all was quiet. The rest of our evening was spent talking about the day and cleaning things up a bit more. Now, it a little before 10pm and I'm watching the colts play and listening to Reed cry. I guess I should go see if he's alright.
Until tomorrow...goodnight!
vacation day 1
Vacation 2010 by Jeff
Saturday, November 27: Day 1
After celebrating Thanksgiving #4 with the Robert's family, we hit the road. It was about 3pm and about 30 degrees in Evansville. We said ours goodbyes to the family and to Chaco and were off.
The drive to Birmingham was pleasantly non-eventful. We stopped in Hopkinsville, for gas, potty, and $.99 spicy chicken nuggets. From there it was straight through to Bama. We arrived at our hotel around 8:30pm. Generally, we try to avoid the "standard" hotel rooms with 4 kids, but, in this case we gave it a shot. 3 of the 4 did great. Poor Reed wasn't really havin' it. He was pretty much inconsolable for a few hours but finally gave in. Aside from falling asleep late and waking up early, I slept pretty good. Apparently, Amanda didn't have as good of a sleeping experience. She's in the beginning stages of the cold that I thought I was over but seems to be creeping back up.
So...up and at 'em at 6:30 this morning, we hit the road for the last 4.5 hour stretch. But not without stopping to grab Starbucks and McD's breakfast first. Most of today's drive was spent on the quaint, 2-lane highways of Southern Alabama and NorthWestern Florida. Everyone that had been here warned me of the "backroads" but I loved it. We saw everything from beautiful countryside to smalltown shopping blocks to the storybook cabin with a Bassett Hound laying on the front porch next to the rocking chair.
As we entered Florida, we wondered when we would catch our first glimpse of the Ocean. Unfortunately there was no view of the ocean. This disappointment would, however, be short lived. As we entered the resort, just beyond the guard gate we saw people riding bikes with their kids and others walking and just all around enjoying life and a beautiful day in beautiful surroundings. We made our way to our building, driving through a beautiful community that seemed a bit like a different world. After I spent a few minutes fighting the automated parking garage barracade until I realized the importance of that pesky # sign at the end of the code, we unloaded and made our way the floor #4 room #4732. As we opened the door we were wowed by the Condo and reminded of the blessing it is to have the opportunity to enjoy such a "perk." Then came the best part. As we drew the curtains blinding us from the patio, there it was, our very first view of the ocean. The kids went nuts (particularly Avin). Amanda appeared to be near tears at the grandeur of it all. Definitely the vacation we've grown accustomed to (primarily because there is no tent involved).
So, we settled in. It was about 1:00pm...ish and we were all hungry. Being that food is an extremely high priority on the Seymore vacationing agenda, we did some a quick search to find a pizzeria nearby (Amanda promised Parker Pizza). We found one called Fat Clemenza's but, after a quick drive by, we decided to try again. We ended up at a place called Ciao Bella's. It was part of a shopping area that was still bussling with post Thanksgiving shoppers. My take on Ciao Bella's was much different than my wife's. I was simply satisfied, but she loved it.
From Ciao Bella's we went to the grocery. We found a Publix just down the street from the hotel in a very high class shopping area (high class=driving through behind a Maserati). After a brief altercation learning moment determining which of the 3 kids I was managing would occupy and operate the two steering wheels in the race car shopping cart, we gathered our groceries for the week.
We ran back by the condo to deliver the groceries. Amanda took them up while I waited in the car with the kids working on finding the nearest Target on the TomTom. As we made our way to Target, each of the kids fell asleep. It really had been an exhausting day for us all. We picked up a few things at Target including what we thought was a Leapster 2 for Parker. As we made our way back to the condo, we considered the start of our nightly ice cream routine but the kids really just needed to get out of the car and settle in for the night.
At about 5:30, we came back into the condo and gave the kids some time to roam and play games. Parker was so excited to play his new Leapster so I got it out, only to realize that I had grabbed the wrong thing. I didn't actually grab a leapster but rather picked up a rechargeable Leapster battery pack. So, there I was, left to explain my mistake to Parker. Hoping for the best but expecting the worst, Parker did what only Parker does. He simply said, "Ok, I wanna play with my Yegos (Legos)." Crisis overted!
At about 6:15, the kids were all put to bed for some quiet time in their room. At about 6:45, we said our prayers and it was lights out. After 2 quick reminders that it was bedtime, it was peaceful in the condo. Amanda spent some time trying to locate the resort fitness building and I just vegged on the couch.
We called it an early night and look forward to the beginning of a relaxing vacation tomorrow.
I have to praise my kids for being so awesome on the trip here today. With the exception of a few moments, they were extremely well behaved and made for a great trip.
Saturday, November 27: Day 1
After celebrating Thanksgiving #4 with the Robert's family, we hit the road. It was about 3pm and about 30 degrees in Evansville. We said ours goodbyes to the family and to Chaco and were off.
The drive to Birmingham was pleasantly non-eventful. We stopped in Hopkinsville, for gas, potty, and $.99 spicy chicken nuggets. From there it was straight through to Bama. We arrived at our hotel around 8:30pm. Generally, we try to avoid the "standard" hotel rooms with 4 kids, but, in this case we gave it a shot. 3 of the 4 did great. Poor Reed wasn't really havin' it. He was pretty much inconsolable for a few hours but finally gave in. Aside from falling asleep late and waking up early, I slept pretty good. Apparently, Amanda didn't have as good of a sleeping experience. She's in the beginning stages of the cold that I thought I was over but seems to be creeping back up.
So...up and at 'em at 6:30 this morning, we hit the road for the last 4.5 hour stretch. But not without stopping to grab Starbucks and McD's breakfast first. Most of today's drive was spent on the quaint, 2-lane highways of Southern Alabama and NorthWestern Florida. Everyone that had been here warned me of the "backroads" but I loved it. We saw everything from beautiful countryside to smalltown shopping blocks to the storybook cabin with a Bassett Hound laying on the front porch next to the rocking chair.
As we entered Florida, we wondered when we would catch our first glimpse of the Ocean. Unfortunately there was no view of the ocean. This disappointment would, however, be short lived. As we entered the resort, just beyond the guard gate we saw people riding bikes with their kids and others walking and just all around enjoying life and a beautiful day in beautiful surroundings. We made our way to our building, driving through a beautiful community that seemed a bit like a different world. After I spent a few minutes fighting the automated parking garage barracade until I realized the importance of that pesky # sign at the end of the code, we unloaded and made our way the floor #4 room #4732. As we opened the door we were wowed by the Condo and reminded of the blessing it is to have the opportunity to enjoy such a "perk." Then came the best part. As we drew the curtains blinding us from the patio, there it was, our very first view of the ocean. The kids went nuts (particularly Avin). Amanda appeared to be near tears at the grandeur of it all. Definitely the vacation we've grown accustomed to (primarily because there is no tent involved).
So, we settled in. It was about 1:00pm...ish and we were all hungry. Being that food is an extremely high priority on the Seymore vacationing agenda, we did some a quick search to find a pizzeria nearby (Amanda promised Parker Pizza). We found one called Fat Clemenza's but, after a quick drive by, we decided to try again. We ended up at a place called Ciao Bella's. It was part of a shopping area that was still bussling with post Thanksgiving shoppers. My take on Ciao Bella's was much different than my wife's. I was simply satisfied, but she loved it.
From Ciao Bella's we went to the grocery. We found a Publix just down the street from the hotel in a very high class shopping area (high class=driving through behind a Maserati). After a brief altercation learning moment determining which of the 3 kids I was managing would occupy and operate the two steering wheels in the race car shopping cart, we gathered our groceries for the week.
We ran back by the condo to deliver the groceries. Amanda took them up while I waited in the car with the kids working on finding the nearest Target on the TomTom. As we made our way to Target, each of the kids fell asleep. It really had been an exhausting day for us all. We picked up a few things at Target including what we thought was a Leapster 2 for Parker. As we made our way back to the condo, we considered the start of our nightly ice cream routine but the kids really just needed to get out of the car and settle in for the night.
At about 5:30, we came back into the condo and gave the kids some time to roam and play games. Parker was so excited to play his new Leapster so I got it out, only to realize that I had grabbed the wrong thing. I didn't actually grab a leapster but rather picked up a rechargeable Leapster battery pack. So, there I was, left to explain my mistake to Parker. Hoping for the best but expecting the worst, Parker did what only Parker does. He simply said, "Ok, I wanna play with my Yegos (Legos)." Crisis overted!
At about 6:15, the kids were all put to bed for some quiet time in their room. At about 6:45, we said our prayers and it was lights out. After 2 quick reminders that it was bedtime, it was peaceful in the condo. Amanda spent some time trying to locate the resort fitness building and I just vegged on the couch.
We called it an early night and look forward to the beginning of a relaxing vacation tomorrow.
I have to praise my kids for being so awesome on the trip here today. With the exception of a few moments, they were extremely well behaved and made for a great trip.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Reed's 6 months
Reed's 6 month well baby check up
13lbs 14 oz (2.5%)
25.25 in lon
44.25 cm head
Posted 12 days late
I know I say this every month but I really can't believe how fast time is going. It just doesn't seem possible for Reed to be 6 months old. As you can see in most of his pictures he is a happy baby!!! He smiles so easily and laughs even more!! But I will have to say these last two weeks he has been off his normal schedule. And I blame myself for it!!! I've gotten really relaxed with feeding him on demand and holding him a lot more. Not that none of those things are bad it's just not how we usually work in the Seymore house! I think he was going through a growth spurt and was hungry more. In that time I fed him more which is fine if you only do it for 2-3 day not two weeks!!! For about a week has been waking up crying at 4:00am, we've let him cry for about 45 mins then I finally get up and feed him. Part of that reason in the evening I've been letting him take a short nap around 5:00 because it's sometime just easier to deal with the other kids when he is napping. Well on Friday started making him stay up but it took 3 nights for him to finally sleep until morning (6:30am.) It's just so crazy because just one short month ago he was working like clock work sleeping 12 straight hours and then I got relaxed on his schedule and in just a few days he got all screwed up!! So my goal is to get him back on schedule before we leave for vacation in a week! YICKES!!!!
Reed is still on breastfeeding. I plan on started homemade baby food in January when he is 8 months old.
Reed's first time in a shopping cart! (Nov 20,2010)
Reed's first time at the table (Nov 22, 2010)
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Family Fall Pictures
Click here to see all the pictures for last weekend. Fall fall pictures and Reed's 6 months session with daddy!
Cooper's breakfast date with nanna
My mom picked Cooper up last week and took her on a breakfast date. They went to Panera then to Target! Two of Coopers favorite places, mother like daughter! LOL!!!!! Cooper had such a great time!O I just want to point out Cooper and her cute little skinny jeans and her baby carrier!
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
halloween
We always go visit Jeff at work and go trick or treating! The kids dad a blast even though Cooper's face doesn't show it in this picture!
Decorating Cookies at Grandma and PaPaw Seymore's house
Monday, November 8, 2010
Daddy Backpacking Trip
Jeff will be adding more pictures and telling more about the trip so check back later for more details!
Avin's on a billboard
Do you remember a post a couple months ago with Jeff on a billboard. Well that's right Avin's on one now! It's a billboard advertising our kids ministry at OneLife Church!
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