Pensacola Trip!

We got back from Florida on Sunday night. It was a great trip! It was relaxing and fun for all of us. Here are some of the pictures:

Loaded up in the van. 

I was surprised at how smooth the traveling was. I guess all our kids were old enough to entertain themselves and we just had to be patient with all the bathroom stops. It was about an 8 hour drive (including lunch, dinner, and bathroom stops), not too shabby. Of course, it helps to have the Wii set up in the van, our boys thought that was amazing! 

 The view from the back patio of the condo. 

Our condo was so nice! It was located on the ground floor and just steps away from the beach access and both pools. This little grassy area was right outside the door and a perfect place for the kids to hang out. Having the patio in the back meant that we didn't have to bring sandy, wet beach and pool things in the house! Everything just got dumped on the patio. Perfect!

The swing was a popular place to hang out. 

You can see our condo behind the kids, to the left. 

One of the pools. 

Our set up on the beach. 

We decided to just leave our chairs and toys on the beach for the week. In the evenings we would fold up the chairs, consolidate the toys and move everything beyond the tide line. It was never disturbed. It was so nice not to have to haul all the sandy stuff back up to the condo every night! 

(Behind the chairs you can see the beach access, wooden walkway on the right, and our condo, to the left.) 

 Jeremiah made up a game in which they all had to jump the "poisonous" waves. 

 I call this Jeremiah's Baywatch pose. 

He looked like a little surfer! 

 My friend Kendal. 

 With my boys on the beach. 

The beach in the evening. My favorite time. 

Unfortunately we only went down there once. By the time we were done with dinner the kids were usually pretty worn out so we did a quick swim in the warm pool before bed. 

Our little routine was to go down to the beach in the morning before it got too hot. The kids would play in the waves while Summer and I sat in our chairs with our feet in the water finishing our morning coffee. We would head back up to the condo for lunch and then do some swimming. At some point in the afternoon we would have rest time. Then dinner, more swimming, and bed. 

One of my favorite parts of the week was getting up in the morning (our kids all woke early, go figure) and taking my coffee out to the patio. It was so relaxing to start the day with the sound of water and the sights of the beach waking up. Sigh....

One evening we went out to dinner at the Crab Trap. A seafood restaurant on the beach with tables in shade outside and a play ground for kids to play on. All the kids got buckets and shovels and were happy to play while they waited for their food. It was one of the most relaxing meals out I have ever experienced. Summer and I just sat, talked, and watched our kids play. Who ever thought of that was a genius! 

Nathaniel and Clayton were good buddies all week! 

It was fun to watch them always up to something together. 

 While we were there Carter celebrated his 7th birthday. 

The boys thought he needed some Nerf guns. 

 We went out to lunch at the Shrimp Basket, my kids ordered grilled cheese. 

 Pretty cool dude.

 Off the beaten trail we found this amazing playground! 

Birthday cookie. 

We are sure the neighbors appreciated the horn blowing. 

Before Carter's birthday we realized that we were traveling with kids aged 3, 4, 5, 6, & 7 years old. 

So we did a little craft and took some pictures. 

Kendal, Nathaniel, Clayton, Carter, Jeremiah