Our vacation to Destin, FL was EXACTLY what I needed during this busy time of year. Ok…it was EXACTLY what my wife and my kids needed also and I think I can say that it was perfect for us in every way. We got a chance to lay at the beach, do a lot of swimming, spent some time with friends, hit the links and do a little outlet mall shoppin’. Here are some photos of our trip and I think you can tell by the smiles that everyone had a really good time!
Nothing like a little Florida sunshine for spring break! This year, like last, we find ourselves in Destin, Florida, soaking up a lot of sun, enjoying the beach and getting a lot of much needed R&R. We are here with a bunch of our friends and yesterday, 12 of us headed out to do some golfing at a nice little par 3 course called The Golf Garden. This was the first time I have taken Christopher out for a round of golf and I am proud to say he did really well! He was getting under the ball and managed to hit it up on the green from the tee a couple times! A couple things he will need to work on before he hits the grown-up course though…his putting (which can ALWAYS be difficult) and his driving skills. I let him drive the cart most of the way but he managed to roll it over a wood path guide on the 7th hole, effectively freaking him out a little bit. But we rolled it off and got back on course without any issues! Here are some pictures of our day with our friends Jax & his dad, Doug. We had a great time and then went out for some wings after. It was an afternoon I will never forget!
On their own!
Jax is lining up his shot…
Wings & pretty girls after (it was like going to a 6th grade dance…LOL)
AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!! He’s DRIVING?!?!?!
The best part about spring break is my kids get to recharge their batteries and enjoy a little downtime from homework and school. The bad part? Spring break falls on a week during a little event called The Masters. This, in turn, is an issue because I make some pretty good bank working in Augusta, so for me to NOT work it would mean a pretty hefty financial loss. This year though, I was able to get to go on vacation for a couple days and enjoy some quality time with my family AND several of our friends and their kids! Needless to say, if you have kids and are looking for a good place to hang your hat for a few days, the Edgewater Condos in Miramar Beach ain’t a bad place to go. I only got to go for a couple days but managed to see the Kentucky Wildcats win the NCAA National Championship (which made my fellow Kentuckians very happy. I was rooting for the Buckeyes but Kansas knocked them off in the semifinal), got a case of sunburned feet AND enjoyed searching for seashells with Ava. All in all, it was 48 hours worth the trip. I set my phone/camera down (for the most part) so I could relax however I did take a couple pics and my friends sent me a couple from a luau they had later in the week that I was unable to attend that I HAD to share! Enjoy!
Vacation time! And the kids didn’t know. Yes…that’s right…we didn’t tell the kids. There were 2 reasons for this…1) We wanted it to be a surprise. And 2) We didn’t want to have to answer “When are we going to Disney” every 10 minutes for the preceeding 2 months.
Anyway, the kids were totally surprised! We had told them they were taking me to the airport to go to work and once we got there, Steph handed them some goodie bags with sunglasses and stuff and away we went!
For once the plane ride was an easy experience. No delays, no hassle. The way it should be. Nicely done Delta! Once we arrived in Orlando, we took the Disney bus over to our hotel…New Orleans Riverside!
Riverside
Last time, we stayed at one of the “kiddie” hotels here in Disney. This time, Steph upgraded (I say Steph because she planned almost all of this. I was just too busy and it gave her something fun to do!) and we went with a little nicer hotel. And what was nicer? Well…the pool was heated, the room was slightly bigger (with a fridge) and our room was as far from anything as you can possibly get. And that includes the lobby, food, the pool and the luggage dropoff point. But more on that later! For now…this was a much nicer hotel and we really liked it!
But it was a HEALTHY chocolate ice cream sundae…
Dining at Riverside
Once we got settled, we hit the pool for the rest of the afternoon and then decided to head over to Downtown Disney for some dinner. Needless to say, so did everyone else. If you enjoy crowds and getting knocked around, then THIS is the place for you! With all kinds of stores and places to eat (with an hour wait minimum), this place gives new meaning to the word “chaos”.
Boatride to Downtown Disney
A few friends were in Downtown
After an hour of swimming upstream, our names were called at the latest dining experience, “T-Rex”. The place reminds me of “Rainforest Cafe”, except with louder creatures…namely dinosaurs. And lots of them! Once we got seated, it was non-stop entertainment with roaring stegolasaurs and triceratops and lightning sound effects and such. Very cool! And the food wasn’t bad either! Just be aware…it IS expensive! And it wasn’t covered on our Disney dining plan. So there was something I didn’t expect…
Dino bones
T-Rex is COOL!
Fist bump & BOOM!
After a large meal and a boat trip back to our hotel, we eventually got to bed around 10:30. The kids were still hoppin’, but me & mom were about to drop! So tomorrow…Walt Disney World!
Vacations are always so much fun and I know the kids really enjoyed the 12 hour drive down and back. As I’ve documented in the other blogs, that probably wasn’t the best choice, but whatever. We got down and back in one piece, so I’m all good with it! I’m not going to go into all the little details like what we ate (twice at The Outer Banks Brewery…they got KILLER crab bisque and beer there!) or how much time we really spent in the sun (suprisingly not that much. Ava doesn’t like the water yet and she got bored easily, so we only spent maybe a total of 4 hours in the sand). Here are the sites of Kill Devil Hills, NC as presented by me and my family!
Monday Highlights
Putt Putt at Captain Hackers (0 Holes In One) & NAP TIME!
Tuesday Highlights
Couple of hours at the beach
A visit to The Wright Brothers Memorial
Wednesday Highlights
A trip to The Dunes (Hot Foot & Sand EVERYWHERE!)
A trip to the Body’s Island Lighthouse
Watched the sunset
Thursday Highlights
More fun at the beach (and we helped a jellyfish get home!)
Watching the Outer Banks Daredevils (Ava loved the mascot, Homer the Horse, and the kids got to stand on the field for the National Anthem!)
Friday Highlights
Christopher and I went to the beach one more time by ourselves.
I hope we get to go back sometime. It really is a wonderful vacation spot! Thanks to Uncle Wayne and Aunt Anita for loaning us their home for a week! You guys are the best!!! 
We’re on vacation. Relaxing after a great day. Steph has made us dinner which consists of leftovers and some pasta that she’s made. Right in the middle of dinner, without any type of warning, Christopher decides he needs to know something…
“How are babies made?”
Now our normal response is that the mommy gets pregnant and the baby is born…right? But not this time. This time, he wants answers, and he has obviously thought deeply about the questions because he’s using his hands and articulating very clearly what he needs to know.
“I know they’re in the mommy’s belly (hands rounding off his belly)…but how do they get there?” (hands in the air, raised in futility)
Ooookay…mom? Whatcha got?
Well…she looks at me, and I look at her and then we both tell Christopher that if he really wants to know how this all goes down, we have to tell him without his sister being present because she is only 3 and might not understand. That being said, Ava was a little shocked when she discovered that she was in her mommy’s vagina…so our worries are not unwarranted! So we put it off for a little bit.
Once both kids were away from the table, Steph and I discussed how to approach this dilemma. Should we call a friend who has already been through this? Should we call a hospital and ask a nurse to give a long-winded response? Or should we just wing it and see what his response is?
Still undecided, Steph went to give Ava a bath and I was stuck.
“Okay Dad…how does a mommy get pregnant?”
Crap. Okay…so I went with it and told him. Surprisingly he took it pretty well! I told him about the “seed” and the “egg” and he seemed to understand everything as I went along. He also now seems to understand why I don’t want him running headfirst into my “boys” anymore (which is a good thing!). So it all went well!
Then Steph came in and talked to him while I got Ava dressed and we played with some play figures. Once Steph and Christopher were done, we all got together in the living room and got ready for bed. Oddly enough, I haven’t really heard anything about it since!
So I ask…is 6 too early for this kind of conversation? I have no idea why this was such a conversation piece for him, but he really wanted to know! And he seems to be handling it very well for someone his age. So…that was kind of a strange little bump in our vacation plans, but it all went smoothly. Now let’s see how long it takes before he’s talking smack to kids in the 1st grade…”I know where YOU came from!”
That will be another nice surprise, I’m sure…
