livin' the good life...

in my opinion...it just doesn't get any better than the beach. sooo...it was no surprise that we hit it early on our third day! by this day, the kiddos wanted to spend part of their time at the pool and part of their time playing in the surf and the sand!!!! thanks to candace (our a.M.a.Z.i.n.G babysitter) that was completely possible!!! we just divided and conquered...and i'll have to admit...my "office" was beachfront!!!!

searching for shells, feeling the sand on my fingers and toes, listening to the waves crash on the shore, building castles, watching the seagulls, soaking in the shade of an umbrella...just a few of the reasons i. heart. the. beach. it was so great to see my little girls loving it as well...sMiLe!!!

after our day of "play", it was time for "business"! another round of pics! the adults were going out to dinner (thank you, "candath"), but we got the girls dressed again and headed back to the beach! i am SO happy we did...because we caught some treasured moments!

after we got the kids settled for their "nighttime" swim...all the "big people" headed to grayton beach to "the red bar"! we had such a great time and enjoyed such a delicious meal! it was nice to have some relaxed adult conversation in such a fun place!

we headed back to catch a few zzzz's...because we were planning to set up shop early for our last day of vacation...man, the days fly by...

***even though it doesn't seem like it...i truly left off LOTS of pics that i love...sigh***

sun, sand, & surf...

we all couldn't wait to hit the beach on wednesday morning...and that's just what we did!

the kids absolutely LoVeD the beach...every. one. of. them! i was oh so happy! they had the best time riding the waves on "shelly" (the lovely "sea turtle" raft) and building sand castle after sand castle!

our smallest beach bum, ava, was a trooper! she wasn't phased by the gritty sand or the big waves...although i think her favorite part of the beach was the snacks!!! :) baby "lukey" loved the beach too...and found it quite hard to keep his little eyes open while he listened to the waves!!!

after soaking up all the rays we could possibly take...and desperately needing to give our big kiddo's eyes a chance to heal (you seriously should have seen them!)...we got dressed for our first round of photos!!!! even though my husband would strongly disagree with me, this is my favorite thing to do at the beach! i don't think there is a more beautiful backdrop & i just love letting the girls have fun...while snapping LOTS of pics!!!!

after our family photo shoot, we headed out to a new restaurant, stinky's fish camp, for dinner! it was so yummy and lots of fun!

it seemed like we had so much vacation left...but we all knew that it was going to fly by...so we nestled in for the night...and rested up for our next day of "beach bumming"!!!! :)

we got our toes in the water...

the price family could not get to destin fast enough on tuesday...and we were so excited to meet up with the tucker family, along with "aunt cookie" and ben! as soon as we arrived at our condo...the kiddos started asking to head to the beach...and i'll have to say that the adults were ready as well!

the emerald water and white sands of destin don't ever disappoint...and even though we battled gobs of seaweed this time...it was still fantastic!

ava had never been to the beach (other than in mommy's tummy!), so i was excited to see how she would do...of course, she l.o.V.e.D every second and even enjoyed riding the waves! she is such a fearless little girl!

the "bigs" had a ball and couldn't get enough of the waves and water either!

after an amazing first afternoon...and almost outlasting the sunset...we all headed out to a yummy dinner at the original dewey destins! such a fun place to eat! our children soon learned to keep up a "vacation pace"...and even ava rallied with the rest of us adopting "teenager" hours of sleep - you only live once, right!?!?!

our trip was off a wonderful start...and it felt soooo good to know that we had three more FULL days of sun and sand...which of course, is never long enough!!! i think i would always want "one more day" no matter how long i was visiting the beach...it is truly just what the doctor ordered for me!

after getting everyone tucked in...we anxiously awaited morning...so we could sink our toes in the sand again!!!!

testing out this thing called "the beach" for the first time...gosh i love this baby!!!

at least someone could make good use of the seaweed!!

"mere mere" loves this fella...such a cutie!

diggin'...

every girl loves a castle! getting started on their masterpiece!

cutie patootie!

sweet, sandy maddie boo boo!

adorable "k-love" searching for "she shells"

just can't get enough of this baby...

sweet lukey...whom ava just couldn't get enough of!!!

besties!

oh. my. word. how did my "baby" get so big...love her so...

such sweet friends...

our fun family of five

precious tucker fam...

beloved "aunt cookie" & ben...aren't they "pertty"?!?!

friends turned family...

"mere mere" with my latest hunk of burning love...doesn't get any sweeter!!!!

beach bums at dolphin view...

i'm completely overwhelmed...how do you possibly blog about a fabulous beach vacation...and choose pics to illustrate the fun...

when you took 1,449 photographs...

and you like just about every single one of them!!!!

i wish i were exaggerating...but i'm not!!!

i think i'm going to have to break it down by days...and try to just choose my absolute favs!!!

we had such an amazing time with our family and extended family and the days flew by - isn't that the way it always goes when you're having fun - time just flies!!!

i can't think of many more places on earth that i would rather spend my time...or leave my footprints. hearing the sound of the waves and the sound of the little's giggles warms my heart like the florida sun!

it just makes my soul say "aaaahhhhh"...

'til next year, destin...i'll just browse through my many pics...and smile at all of them!