A trip to Gulfarium

It was in the low 70s today (supposed to be the coolest day of the week), so we decided that we would go to Gulfarium today instead of going down to the beach. Gulfarium is like a small (very small) Sea World. Katelyn was all ready to see some "sea animals."

We watched a dolphin show. Katelyn loved it when the dolphins jumped.

Silly, silly.

I could not believe that Katelyn let this bird eat out of her hand and then let the man put the bird on her shoulder. Good job kiddo!

All of the animals at Gulfarium and I think Katelyn liked the stingrays the best. Watching them held her attention for a long time.

After the Gulfarium we went and had a late lunch at The Crab Trap. We each had a cup of gumbo and then Michael had stuffed flounder (stuffed with the crab cake filling) and I had grilled shrimp which had this awesome marinade on it. We shared these two things and they were both awesome. Last night we went out and had seafood but everything was fried and we really weren't loving that. And the night we got here we had seafood...I had a grilled mahi mahi sandwich and Michael had a pound of boiled shrimp (which is boiled in this awesome cajun spice to give it a kick) with boiled potatoes and corn on the cob (the shrimp was only $11...awesome!). So we've covered gumbo, boiled, fried and grilled shrimp, mahi mahi, crab cakes and flounder...and it's only Monday! The seafood is EXCELLENT down here so we're in heaven. There's a shrimp pot in the condo so we're going to do our own shrimp boil in the next night or two. Tonight we're headed down to The Village at Baytowne Wharf in Sandestin, just east of here to wander around....Michael and Katelyn are napping now. Katelyn got up at 6:30 this morning and Michael was very sweet and got up with her to let me sleep in. I love that guy!

A day at the beach

Yesterday we pretty much spent the whole day at the beach. Please look below to see why....I'm positive that this is a little slice of heaven here on earth!

As part of our condo rental we get two beach chairs and an umbrella set up for us down on the beach everyday. Yep...it's fabulous!

Katelyn loves everything about the beach. She is so content to play in the sand and water we literally don't have to do anything else all week to make her happy.

Here is why this vacation is really perfect...I could be anywhere just as long as I'm there with these two. We're having lots of fun together.

They have two great pools but the ocean is actually warmer than the pools (they must not be heated). So we got all ready to go in the pool and this is as far as we got...so we walked 20 feet farther and went back out on the beach instead.

Katelyn loves a bucket and a shovel. It actually is really nice to have the umbrella. We spent a couple hours in the morning on the beach and then went back up to the condo and had lunch and then went back down to the beach for a couple of hours and Katelyn liked this shady little spot under the umbrella in the afternoon. And yes mom, we are all wearing sunblock.

We went out to dinner and then came back and took a walk on the beach. It was beautiful out. We even got a great family picture out of the deal!

Absolutely gorgeous. White powdery sand...warm, clear water...perfect weather.

We are actually on Miramar Beach which is just a bit east of Destin. It's less crowded and our condo complex has it's own beach for guests only. It's been really nice not to have to share the beach with tons of people. This is the perfect time of year to be down here...not too hot and kids are still in school so not too many people yet.

Katelyn being Katelyn.

And of course after our walk we needed a little treat and there's a frozen yogurt place a block from the condo...

Florida!

We were very excited to see the "Welcome to Florida" sign yesterday! Katelyn slept through the moment.

Here's the view coming over the Midbay Bridge over the Choctawatchee Bay going into Destin. Almost there....

This is the view from our condo...yep, we're suffering this week.

They are currently setting up umbrellas and chairs down on the beach for guests to use. :)

Breakfast this morning.

Ahhh.....

We're on our way!

We got to our hotel in Franklin (Nashville), TN safe and sound. Katelyn fell asleep in the car 14 minutes after we left the house. We let her sleep for a little over an hour and then we stopped at a McDonald's and bribed her with french fries to wake her up. We were afraid that she'd never go to sleep tonight if she slept much longer. Once it got dark she watched a dvd and put on her headlamp and read books. It was just about the cutest thing I've ever seen. She is such a good traveler that a road trip is never anything but fun...

Katelyn hasn't stayed in a hotel in 2 1/2 years. Anytime we've gone anywhere we've stayed with friends or family. We told her it was a big sleepover. She was so excited...and of course the first thing she wanted to do when we got here is jump on her bed. :)

...and play in the bed.

Katelyn took this picture of us. Pretty good right??

After a while she wanted to get her pajamas on and go to bed. She laid there for a while and finally passed out. I love this girl!

We've got another 7 1/2 hours to go tomorrow...but so far so good.

Florida here we come!

New camera

I'm liking the new camera. We've gone from 4 megapixels on the old camera to 12 on the new one. It's amazing how far digital cameras have come in the last three years. We found a great deal on a little Canon Powershot. Fabulous! So Katelyn's having a play date this afternoon with two of her friends and our AC is still not fixed so it's a sweaty good time over here. (It's actually not too bad downstairs today.)
Here's the princess all dressed up. :)
Katelyn spends the warm months hot, sweaty and dirty.

Oh the whistle...I've hidden it. :) Don't tell her. She'll forget about it for another two weeks.

What's not to love about this face????

We leave for Destin, FL tomorrow....so I'll post the next pictures from the beach! We're super excited for a family beach vacation. The weather's supposed to be perfect down there this week. Yippie!

Katelyn's hard life

I know, I know...Katelyn has it rough. We got an ice cream cone at McDonald's the other day on the way home from school. (The girl needs a treat on a Friday after school!) She was mad at me because I ate mine in the car on the way home and didn't save it so we could eat it together on the porch. I didn't know what the rules were. I have repented.

She got over it quickly enough and started chomping. The girl loves ice cream!



This is why we eat ice cream on the porch and not in the house. It's been a good day when she's filthy!


Katelyn loves Michael. The other day she decided to decorate him. He was so fancy by the time she was finished. (Aren't I a lovely wife for posting this picture?)

I got a yummy pineapple last week and so the "kids" (big and little), got to have some on the back porch this weekend. It was gorgeous on Saturday so we soaked up as much outside time as possible. Good thing too because all we've had since then is rain and cold weather....

Katelyn wanted to read Michael's book the other day so she sat at the table like a big girl and said, "Once upon a time......"

Katelyn likes to tell Michael and I a story at night before she goes to bed. Tonight it was about a beautiful girl named Kate who was in the "neighborwoods" with a friendly dragon and they went to grammy's house for cookies. :)

The essence of Katelyn...

Katelyn cracks me up...all the time. This kid is hillarious. Her imagination is HUGE. In one of her Easter baskets she got this cool headlamp. A flashlight wrapped around her head. She LOVES this thing. Every explorer needs a headlamp! And she keeps saying she wants a guinea pig. I have no idea where this comes from but it's not happening...but here's Mr. Squiggles her new zhu zhu pet. It rolls on the ground and makes little hamster noises. I thought we had solved the guinea pig issue with this little battery powered wonder but the other day Katelyn looked at me and said, "Mommy, I want a guinea pig. A REAL one." So I guess we haven't fooled her.
Katelyn has created a cave out of her easel. She played under there for an hour the other day while I made dinner. She hauled all kinds of stuff over there. It was quite an impressive set-up. Please remember...Katelyn is the queen of using things for everything but their intended purpose. :)

Katelyn made cornbread muffins to go with dinner tonight. She loves to help cook!

We discovered tonight that Katelyn loves corn on the cob. YUM YUM!!

I just gave her half an ear but then she wanted the other half. She ate a whole ear of corn, mashed potatoes, a chicken thigh and a cornbread muffin. I'm not sure where she puts it all.

I took Katelyn to get her hair cut today. My mom trimmed it for her right before Michael and I got married last year, but other than that and me trimming her bangs she's never had her haircut. It was down to her waist and getting scraggly so off we went. She intently watched everything the hairdresser was doing but she was really good about it. We took about four inches off and it's still pretty long. It's so cute!

And then we went and got a frozen yogurt. Katelyn got blueberry yogurt with sprinkles on it. She knew exactly what she wanted.

She said, "Mommy, I love getting ice cream with you." Yeah, my heart's pretty happy.

Michael and I decided last month that I would resign at work and become a stay at home mom. Last Wednesday was my last day and this week has been awesome. I have the best hours of the day with Katelyn now instead of the last hour and a half when she's whiney and tired. We've gone to Explorium and the library...out to lunch and for frozen yogurt. We've grocery shopped when there aren't a million people in the store. I took her for a haircut. We've played in the yard and gotten things done at home. We've had dinner ready when Michael comes home and we all sit down and eat around six. Things are a lot less hectic for all of us and Katelyn has been sleeping better at night and is getting to go and do things with me during the day. We're really, really blessed.