Destin, Florida 2014

We ventured off to the beach a couple weeks ago.  We drove, but decided to get a hotel halfway there and halfway back.  That was a very wise decision.  Marlee doesn't sleep well in the car.  And since she doesn't sleep well in the car, neither does her sister.  Each stretch of our trip took us about 8 hours and I think they each napped about 30 minutes each stretch.  Here is Marlee close to our pit stop on the way home.  So tired, but will not sleep.

That said, the drive for the most part was not that bad.  Marlee watched movies the entire way there (Frozen on the way to the beach and Bug's Life on the way home) and Laynie watched Baby Einstein.  I packed so many toys and activities for the car, but they just wanted to watch movies, so I let them.

I think the hotels on the way to and from the beach were the highlights of the girls trip.  They loved all of us in one room, stretching their legs after a long drive, and I know Marlee loved sleeping in between her Momma and Dada. :)

Once we got to the beach, Marlee wasn't sure how she felt about the "snow" (sand)

We had a good first day at the beach.  Laynie hung out in a baby pool on the beach and even took a nap on the beach.  Marlee played in the sand and swam in the pool.  She did not want to get in the ocean.

 What I did not realize is that hanging out in a baby pool all day can cause a really bad diaper rash.  Poor Laynie couldn't get back in the water the rest of the trip. I don't think she minded, though.  She would rather hang out in the air conditioning anyway.

After spending the first night in a room all together (with each child waking up the other child all night long), we realized that the couch had a pull-out bed.  Dada and Marlee slept in the living room the rest of the trip.  It was much better. 

There was a little recreational area across from our condo that had fair rides and go-carts.  This was a big highlight of Marlee's trip.  She had been talking about going on the "spinning wheel" (ferris wheel) since she saw it the first day.  Here she is on the "spinning wheel".  Once she rode it, she never mentioned it again.  I'm sure it wasn't as cool as she thought. 

 It takes a lot to impress her, obviously.

Sweet girl

We took the girls to the aquarium one morning and saw dolphins, sea turtles, seals, sharks, sting rays, etc.  Marlee thought that was pretty neat.  We failed to take any pictures at the aquarium, but here is a family shot right before we left. ;)

Some of our friends had condos at the same place, so we spent a lot of time with them while we were there.  Marlee loved playing with Hudson every day.

 Laynie's actual birthday was while we were at the beach, so we had a little birthday celebration with cupcakes.

 We attempted family pictures on the beach.  Marlee did not want to smile.  So, I started with some pictures of Laynie.

Here is Marlee spinning and being ornery and telling me that she was not going to smile.

 She wasn't lying.  We took about 50 family pictures and she never did smile or even look at the camera.  Finally, she said "I am going to smile real big."  So, she did, and this is what we got.

 Then, we then tried to take a few more by the water.  Laynie was over it.  And it looks like Marlee is trying to figure out what she is going to do next. 

 We told Marlee to stand still and hold on to Dada's leg.  Laynie noticed my hair blowing in the wind and decided she needed to try to get a hold of it since she loves to hold my hair. 

 We gave up on family shots and tried to get a picture of just the girls.  Laynie was terrified.

 So, we didn't get the best family pictures, but I wouldn't trade them for anything.  When I look back on these, I will remember what it was really like...and how hard it is to get a 1 year old and a 2 year old to cooperate for pictures!

I decided to actually take my camera out on the beach on the last day.  Marlee started to really like the beach and the ocean on the last day.  She loved getting in the water and jumping over the waves.

 I tried a little photo shoot with Laynie in the same sun hat that Marlee wore at the beach when she was 7 months old. 

 A few randoms of the girls with their Dada

This trip would not have been near as successful without the help of our babysitter, Alex.  She was a lifesaver that allowed us to actually relax some on the beach and go on a date!  We love Alex and so do my girls!

 Overall, we had a really good time and none of us wanted to leave.  It was so good to hang out together for an entire week.  We can't wait to do it again!!