Emerald Coast

I was so excited to be going home for a week.  I really think I go through withdrawals if I'm gone for too long!  It was a special treat to have all 4 Thornes together for a real vacation.  My sister, niece, and nephew were also visiting from south Florida.  So it was a full house but fun watching the kids play together.  Emily and Christopher entertained M&M so well sometimes we forgot they were all in the house!  Of course we attempted to go to the beach as much as possible.  The first day we went to Beasley Park on Okaloosa Island.  This is one of my favorite beaches because it has great facilities and is usually never crowded.

 

M&M love the beach.  Mary Ellen can play in the sand for hours and Michael can push his dump truck in and out of the surf forever.

As fearless as Michael is of the waves Mary Ellen needs some time to get used to it.  The waves "coming after her" really scare her.  She's content to stand with Daddy...or have him hold her.

 

 We met our friend Tonya and her son Seth at the beach that day.  It was nice to have the kids play so Tonya and I could catch up.  Three of the cutest kids around!

We have decided that this is the best kind of vacation.  We are spending time at some of the most beautiful beaches in the world and we have Grandma to watch the kids anytime Andrew and I want to go out by ourselves!  It happened to be my 40th birthday that week so Andrew and I had a few special dinners out and an overnight stay in Sandestin.  WONDERFUL!!

We tried to do as many fun things as we could for the kids.  We went to see the Cars 2 movie which they had been counting down the days to see.  We also went to one of my childhood favorites, Goofy Golf.  It was so great to see them enjoying it as much as I did growing up.  We are now convinced that Mary Ellen could have a career in the LPGA.  But Michael was the only one to get a hole-in-one in the snakes mouth at the end, with a little help from me.  He excitedly received his card for a free game next time.

We also discovered a great new cupcake shop, Cupcakes By The Beach.  So after a fun and HOT game of Goofy Golf we each chose a cupcake for after lunch.

We decided to go to Marler Park on our last full day in Florida, which is on the bay side of Okaloosa Island.  Now I know why we spent so much time here growing up.  The kids loved it.  There was no fear of undertow or waves and they ran in and out of the water by themselves, no problem.

It was certainly a memorable vacation.  One I'm hoping we can repeat in years to come!