Nashville, TN.....Branson, MO.....Destin, FL

(Raegan did have a top on most of the time.....I know looking at these pictures, that is hard to believe!)

It has been a while since my last post and we have been busy since then!! At the beginning of August we took a trip to Nashville and stayed with Matthew's aunt and uncle for a couple of nights. We really enjoyed spending time with them and the girls had a blast! We got to go to the zoo while we were there and we all enjoyed that. We left there and went to Branson, Missouri for a couple of days. It was for work so, it was really a drive there - spend the night in a hotel - drive back kinda thing. We did go to the Bass Pro Shop to eat and walk around. We were in the car 9 hours one day and 12 hours the next!! We have been blessed with children who don't mind riding, so, that made the trip better! I am SO glad we have dvd players in the car!! (however, I think we have the dvd with the 3 most annoying Bob the Builder episodes ever!! If I doubted that before, now I am sure! That is all they wanted to watch!) We did enjoy our little getaway even if alot of it was in the car!

We had planned on leaving for Destin with my sister and bro.-in-law on Friday August 22nd. Thanks to Tropical Storm Fay our plans were changed. We had decided to go down on Sunday instead (Matthew has an annual meeting in Ft. Walton Beach and he had to be down there Sunday for that). We got a call sometime Saturday that our reservations had been cancelled and that the campsite was closed due to the weather and for us to call back Monday to see if they had reopened yet. So, because we had to be there Sunday anyway we called and made a reservation to stay at a hotel on Sunday night. We planned on leaving at 5 in the morning on Sunday and I think we had finally made it to Pell City by around 9. I can't even remember all the things that happened to set us back. I do remember that it was POURING rain that morning though. We just knew it was going to be a long drive in the rain. But surprisingly it wasn't that far into our trip when the rain stopped and it was sunny. When we got to Destin we went to the campground to see if maybe they had already reopened and they had! So, we cancelled our reservation at the hotel and went ahead and set up camp. (By the way, we stayed at Henderson Beach State Park. Matthew and I have stayed there once before and we really enjoy it.) After we got everything set up with the camper we changed and went down to the beach. With the weather situation we wanted to get down there as soon as possible since we didn't know what was in store for the rest of the week! Avery and Raegan LOVED the beach! Avery was more of a sand girl than ocean. She played in the sand the whole time. Raegan loved the water, but she just wanted us to let her go in there and that was not an option! She also loved the sand. From the time we got there until we left she had sand from head to toe! Seriously! They both did.

The first couple of nights were kinda rough in a pop-up camper! We were under a couple of tornado warnings and that sent me to the bath house with the girls a couple of times! Every gust of wind is felt in a pop-up and there were a few times that it was really windy! One of the times we had gone to the bath house it got so bad that it bent and broke our canopy thing we had set up beside the camper. It rained and rained and when you thought it couldn't rain any harder it would. But that was the last time it rained the whole time we were there! It was BEAUTIFUL the rest of the time! The first couple of days there were big waves and jelly fish EVERYWHERE. But then the jellyfish were gone and by the last day the waves were smaller than I have ever seen them. That was good because the kids were able to play more in the water then. We loaded up everyday and took everything we would need to stay at the beach all day. That included a cooler full of food and drinks, a bag (or 2) full of snacks, toys for the kids(too many to name and the kids ended up playing with empty water bottles most of the time), game set for the adults, a small pool for the kids, 4 chairs for the adults, 2 chairs for the kids, a 10 x 10 canopy, beach towels, extra beach towels, a camera, lots of sunscreen (even though we did end up getting burnt...note to reader: don't use instant dry spray sunscreen in tropical storm winds!! The results aren't pretty! Apparently the spray had all blown away before it could make it to our skin! You could tell that we were more careful applying sunscreen to the kids b/c they were covered for the most part!) , diapers and wipes for Raegan, swim diapers for Raegan.....the list goes on and on! Still everyday Matthew and Jerry would haul all that stuff down there, so, you better believe we stayed as long as we could stand it each day! The girls just took a nap on beach towels in the shade!

The original trip was for 7 nights....but it worked out well only being 5 nights! Despite the rough weather the first couple of nights we were still able to go to the beach every day we were there! I think we were all okay with going home when we did! I know I was! I don't know if there is a such thing as a "relaxing vacation" with a 2 1/2 yr old and a 17 month old. We had fun though! I was glad we went!

My only complaints were with the bad weather at first, the sunburn, and the couple of days that I woke up with my bottom lip swollen 3 times it's normal size.....what? Did I not already mention that? Well, it really did. I guess it was the sun....I really don't know....

~Donna K