Beach Family Vacation- Seaside, FL

Last week, we headed to Florida for a beach vacation! We were so ready to get out of town and relax for a few days.  We were flying standby on the way there and the flights looked VERY full- but we still made it on! 

Charlie did really well on the flight- he ate lots of food and tried to feed us lots too!! And he enjoyed lots of books.  Can't complain- it was a great flight! 

Flight #1 down and one more to go. We landed in St. Louis and had a four hour layover until our next flight!! Yikes! Charlie did good though- he ran around and then we ate lunch.  This hit perfectly with his nap time, so he fell asleep in his stroller for a good hour and woke up in time for our flight (which was delayed!).  Florida here we come!!!

 He loved looking out the window at all the airplanes!! Whoa!!

 We landed and we were so excited to be there and so was the fam! They had been waiting for us to arrive since Sunday.  We couldn't wait to see everyone!

The next day, Justin and Dad played golf and Charlie had a girls day with us!! Lucky boy!! We headed to Rosemary Beach for a day of shopping and lunch!

Charlie loved Maw-Maw playing "This little piggy' with him! 

That night, we celebrated our 9 year anniversary at the Great Southern Cafe- it was delicious!!!

They even brought out a wonderful key lime pie for dessert and sang happy anniversary to us! Never would have thought 9 years ago this is where we would be celebrating our special day- we are very blessed!! 

The next morning Mom and I woke up early for a morning bike ride.  It was so much fun exploring beautiful Seaside and Watercolor!!

 We then hit the beach! Charlie's first time- so excited!!!

 He loved all his sand toys!!

 Taking it all in!

 We headed back to the house just in time for the storm to hit and Charlie's nap time.  We stayed in the rest of the day.  Maw-Maw and Glenda taught us how to play the card game hand and foot.  Once we all caught on it was a lot of fun! Thanks for teaching us!

One thing Charlie LOVED during this trip was being read to.  He would grab his book, climb onto the couch and look at you like 'Hey, come read to me'.  Makes me so happy to see this!! 

He also loved exploring the new place! 

 The next day, Justin and I woke up early and I showed him around Seaside and Watercolor.  We had a blast!!  We even stopped at this cute bakery and brought back some yummy muffins for everyone- they were delicious!

When we got to Watercolor the trails opened up into this beautiful forest! With the beach just minutes away you never would have dreamed this was here.  It was beautiful! 

 While we were enjoying our morning bike ride- Charlie was having fun with Nana and Papa.  Thanks for watching him while we were away.

When we got back, we made breakfast tacos for everyone- yummy!! 

 Then we headed back to the beach for another fun day!! Charlie was so excited that he did a little dance when we were putting on his swim suit!

He loved eating the sand- mmmmm good! 

Cuteness!!!

 We then headed back and got ready for dinner.  While we were waiting for our food- we went down to the beach to take some pics.  Thank you Dad for taking these- I know I made you take a ton and I really appreciated it!! Here are a few of my favorites....

 During dinner, Charlie loved playing peek-a-boo with us- isn't he cute!!

 View at Bud and Alley's at dinner

 Thank you Maw-Maw for an amazing trip! We had such a fun time being surrounded with wonderful family.  We hope to come back again soon and we hope Matt, Dawn, Erin, and Miles can join us next time!!

Where's my ball??

If any of you have spent at least 5 minutes with Charlie lately, you will know that he LOVES his ball.  Everything is a ball to him and when he has one he says the word over and over again!! We went out of town for 5 days last week and the first thing he looked for when we got home was his beloved ball.  He looked all over the house for it and finally found it- under our bed.  He was determined to get it.....

 Once he got it he just stared at himself in the mirror with it.  So proud of himself!!

Way to go Charlie! Glad you found your ball!!!