Florida

We took the kids to the beach in Sandestin, FL mid-April. In the middle of some home renovations (gag), it was a much-needed break!

The kids had never seen the beach before. Allison said it looked like the ocean was breathing! 

It was fun to watch the kids step on the sand for the first time. Except for Isaac. He hated it. Not sure if it was the double ear infection he ended up having (more later), or if it just weirded him out. He was fine for the first hour, but after a while, he was over it. 

Andrew was thrilled with the sand!

Allison was thrilled with the waves!

...and this lasted about 30 minutes...

We spent our days doing...well, not a whole lot. Got up, ate breakfast downstairs at the buffet and headed to the beach. There were various other things we did, like eat out, go to the pool, and eat. 

This is the typical Isaac face for the first couple days. He wasn't terribly disgruntled the entire time, just when you put him down on the sand...

View from our deck at the hotel! 

That small grouping of people in the middle is my children and Jason!

We found a small seaside town where there were tons of cute shops and the kids ran around (with Allison pushing Isaac in the stroller...in heaven).

Reading books with Isaac before bed.

Kids watching a movie to unwind.

Mid-week Isaac started to run a fever. I took him to an urgent care and  he ended up with a double ear infection. Within 24 hours he was feeling better...and finally enjoyed the sand!

Allison also made a new friend. She was super excited, and I'm pretty sure would have gone home with her to Cincinnati if Genevieve had asked!

On our last day there, I realized we had not taken any family pictures. So, despite Isaac being cranky and needing his blanket and pacifier to keep him from breaking down, we forced some family smiles. 

It was a wonderful trip and we had so much fun! Of course, we drove the whole way, so leaving the beach meant another 18 hours in the car. We broke it up by stopping in Nashville to see my sister and then made it to St. Louis to stay the night with Jason's parents. There are days I wish we could head back to the beach...but I will say that finding sand in nearly every nook and cranny of our clothes, bags and toys got a little old...