Our Destin Vacation

Oh my! I guess I didn't really understand how much I missed the beach until we went back! If you don't know, or you aren't a "friend" on FB, we just returned from Destin. It was a wonderful week with a few sad moments.

From early on in my life, summers were spent on the beach. We would pack up as much as we could fit in our maroon mini van and drive from Arkansas to North Carolina. We would meet up with my older brothers and sisters, and we would spend a blissful week in paradise. There were many nights of Jenga. There were also many night spent at the local arcade on the beach (I think it was named Breakers). I think of those summers with love and laughter. I loved all of the time together, and I laugh at the fact that when I grew older I would make "friends". Each year going back, we would see some of the same people. My family would joke, "So Hillary, how old are you this year." It became such a tradition to go to the beach that when I turned into a real adult, summer didn't seem the same without sand and waves.

We tried a couple of years ago to plan a trip to Destin. Obviously BP had a different plan for us. I watched in horror, praying that our beach would be saved from the nastiness while I prayed for the poor souls that lost so much more. We probably could have gone that year, but we decided to head north to St. Louis to be safe. We spent another week in St. Louis last year enjoying all of the sights and museums.

Finally this year it worked out for us. I researched the places trying to find a perfect fit for the 10 of us. We needed a pool (just in case), laundry, and enough places to sleep everyone. We wanted to be on the beach (or at least in short walking distance). Allison picked the place after much research and discussion.

I can't tell you the excitement I felt knowing we would be seeing and smelling the familiar and memory invoking sights and sounds from my childhood. Granted it is a different beach, but same idea. I was so ready to introduce my boys to all of the fun that can be had! I started list making, laying out everything we might need, and planning meals/dinners out WAY TOO EARLY!

Two days before hand I started annoying everyone in the house.

"Hey Boys"
"Yes mom"
"Guess what"
"What Mom"
"We are going to the beach, and we leave tomorrow!!"
This refrain would repeat itself every few hours until they were groaning and laughing at how excited I was!

By Friday morning they were tired of me :). The drive really wasn't that bad, but that probably had to do with the fact that Justin wouldn't let me behind the wheel. What is a girl to do with that much time on her hands you might ask. I read, napped, and generally chilled!

I won't bore you with all of the day to day details. We arrived, we hugged family, we played on the beach, we swam, we ate good seafood, we played.
I woke up earlier than I would normally so I could enjoy the mornings. I took walks when I would normally sit. I took in as much as I could because I really didn't want to miss anything.

We all were really sad when the Archers had to leave early. Due to a family emergency back in Las Vegas, they flew home on Wednesday morning. Those of us that stayed missed them and prayed for safe returns and healing in the difficult days that faced them. It was hard to see them go knowing what they would face when they got home. After they left it was a little quieter around the condo.

The White family (from OKC, but originally from FSM) came down to spend a couple of days with us on the beach. It was fun to watch the kids play together, and they caught LOTS of crabs. They also attempted to build a village of sand castles. The waves were rough, but that didn't keep us from trying our best to get out there and conquer them.

We enjoyed our week. We enjoyed each other, the atmosphere, the food, the place, everything really. We would have enjoyed it more with everyone there, but there is always NEXT YEAR! I really hope I can convince everyone that we need to go back.