Beach Days

WTF. I apparently did not hit "publish" when I wrote this Monday. Sigh. Here it is now. 

A few weeks ago the mini and I got to go on a girls weekend where we met up with Miss Mel and her mom!

Destination: Fort Walton Beach/Destin/Miramar Beach...I'm not sure I know the difference :)

Mel and her mom were down for a Florida getaway (much needed break from the horrible winter weather they endured!) and they were kind (and brave) enough to invite me and Mak to stay with them for a few nights!

They even tolerated my craziness and allowed me to do THIS to my room to ensure that Makaela would nap. Florida sun is NO JOKE, haha. 

Yes, I'm really that crazy. I brought tacks and extra blankets for this reason. Mama loves when baby naps. 

Gosh, it was so nice to see those lovely ladies. We enjoyed lots of girl talk, movies (along with drinks, chocolate and kettle corn, of course), tasty meals, REAL STARBUCKS, shopping, and the AMAZING pool and gorgeous beach. Sounds perfect, right? It was. 

Mak warmed right up to Mel and her mom (who wouldn't?!). Makaela loved having tea parties (especially when British accents were involved), playing on the balcony with her buddies, splashing them in the pool (when not fixated on that darn abandoned football) and haming it up at restaurants - anything for a laugh. 

The beach was perfect and it was the first time Makaela truly warmed up to the whole walking-in-the-sand thing. By the end of the day she was unstoppable - she practically inserted herself into some drunkin' yuppies game of frisbie. I believe they slurred an offer to build sandcastles with her. She threw a tantrum when I made her pick different friends to hang with ;-)

Although we missed Daddy, it was just the girls getaway that we needed. Thank you so much Mel and Mrs. D - can we do it again soon?!

In fact, we loved the beach SO much we decided to drag Daddy down there the following weekend. It's a pretty fantastic day trip!

She was so excited to play at the beach and chase "duck duck duck"s (birds actually) she skipped her nap. That was okay though because she got to kick back in her stroller when we roamed the outlet mall. 

Daddy probably could have used a nap though after all the running around he did chasing Makaela up and down the beach. She would have liked to walk directly into the Gulf if we let her. No fear of the waves, none at all. Also, no fear of strangers - she sat right down to a nice lady reading a book. She was ready for story time ;-)

We hit up a yummy pizza spot (I think our pizza weighed 10 pounds) before hitting the road.  Mikmak rocked some awesome beach hair. The telltale sign of a successful beach trip, no?

Sensory Sunday Funday: At the Beach!

This weekend we took a little day trip down to Destin, FL (which is right on the Gulf) to enjoy the sun and the beach. It was one of those last minute trips where you wake up in the morning and decide to go for it. See you can still be spontaneous with a kid, hahah.

I do love that we are only 1.5-2 hours away from some really great beaches. The drive is just the right length for a Makaela car nap :)

Last week we played in fake sand (brown sugar) and this week she got to play with the real deal. Man did she love it. She picked it up, dumped it, pushed it around and ate it, of course. 

The weather was great. Warm water, a nice breeze, quite sunny but not too hot. We rented an umbrella so we could seek refuge from the hot rays. We didn't explore the area TOO much because it was just a quick trip, but we'll definitely be heading down there again. I did notice lots of places that cleverly had "destin" incorporated into their name. "Destin-y's Landing" "Destin-y Villas" etc. Har har har. 

We tried going to a restaurant that had been recommended by several people but that was a total fail. Wah Wah. Apparently on Saturdays they don't serve food? Bummer! So it was basically a bar and people looked at me awkwardly as I fed Makaela applesauce while Daddy finished his beer, lol. 

So...we ended up elsewhere for dinner. When in Rome Florida....

I mean, if you're going to go to Hooters you may as well do it in Florida where it all began. Notice how Makaela is not looking at the camera....just like Daddy she was checking out the umm hooters. And can I just say I don't think this will be Mak's last time here. Those Hooters girls swarmed the table like flies to play with my girl! Daddy was in heaven. I must say, they all were really sweet and the food was actually quite delicious.

Destin, I can't wait till we meet again. I want to get to know you inside and out.