Our trip was filled with laughter, family fun, touching moments, adult beverages, sand, salt water, sunscreen and moments to reflect upon what is important.
Our trip to Indy Thursday night was a breeze. We arrived late and tiptoed into the McCulloch's to head to bed. Friday we headed to Pratville, Alabama. James puked within the first 3 hours of the drive, and we drove through heavy rain. Despite this, spirits were good in our car and we were all happy to be headed on vacation. We arrived that evening in Prattville and headed out to dinner. We started the trip out right, with margaritas. Friday morning we had a short drive to Destin. We went to the Whale's Tail immediately. Upon parking, the kids wanted to walk on the beach. Knowing full well this could result in wet and sandy kids, I obliged. They were excited, and it was vacation. It was also the chilliest morning of our trip. James almost immediately was getting his pants wet and before we could do anything about it, he fell down, in the ocean. Casey headed back to the car for dry clothes; however, James decided he wanted them off. Now.
Captain Underpants
After lunch and a few drinks on the beach, we headed to the house and dressed the kids in their suits to swim in the backyard pool. We had an hour or so before the code to unlock the house was activated. The guys handled this situation with a window and a butter knife. Hmm...I think we were all content waiting. :)
The kids were excited to check out the bunk room. James was one of the big kids this year. Casey and I were also excited to check out the master suite (what a treat!) as it was our year (who knew!?) for the best room in the palace.
We sported our badger red proudly for much of the trip. It was so exciting to watch them win in the Final Four and play in the championship game. I went on a run three mornings and had my eye out for Badger fans. I yelled loudly to anyone in red, "On Wisconsin!"
Kelly and I had such a blast
This year Easter fell on our trip. We had an Easter Egg hunt for the kids in the yard. Sun shining, sporting pjs, collecting candy, does life get any better? When we posed the kids for this shot. Kelly directed the kids to smile and say, "Candy" on three. They all yelled, "Candy on three!"
Each day we spent time at the pool. It was fun to see how much everyone had progressed in their swimming skills. Being the only family with out a D1 swimmer in the family, I think our kids held their own. Madelyn was without her 'bubble belt' almost the entire time. She learned to swim to the bottom of the 'deep end' with out jumping in. James constantly requested to swim with an adult so he could, "Practice without his bubble belt." He was doing awesome too.
Kelly and Sandi ran their own salon one morning. French braids and manicures for everyone!
There were dance parties. Pretend weddings. And tons and tons of little girl giggles. I couldn't have been more thrilled about how the four of these little ladies played together. There was loads of turn taking for picking out movies, sleeping buddies, and walks to the beach. These are a group of nice nice little girls!
Look at these cutie 5 year olds!
Each day we also made the 5 minute walk down to the beach. Seriously, I can't express how awesome this set up is. We have a gorgeous home, with our own pool, steps from the beach. Sign. Me. Up. For now until forever!
MMM....love me this little girl. She was such a sweetie this whole trip (with the exception of one middle of the night meltdown, but we won't go there!).
Guys headed to the beach (sans the homeless man cart!)
We took a morning walk hunting for seashells. To be honest, we found more dead jellyfish than shells. The beach in Destin is powder white and incredibly soft. It's not the best for seashells, though. After about a 45 minute walk we were heading back to the board walk when we found three large holes. We were probably 100 yards from the water. There we found tons and tons of beautiful shells! The irony!
The kids flew kites. It was Madelyn's goal to unwind her string off the holder completely and to get her Frozen kite as high as possible. She accomplished her goal!
Flying kites on the beach = the best!
We
spent more time at the beach this year than last year. We would head
down about 11 am and not return home until 4pm. We had the best weather
(Sunny and near 80 every day) and we had the most fun! We'd pack
lunch/snacks/beverages and sand and water toys. The kids had a ton of
fun in the ocean this year! I think because it was just a touch warmer
and they were a year older, it was so much more fun for them.
I loved building sand castles with Madelyn. She would outline the shape of the castle by making a indentation with the shape she wanted me to use and we'd build away. Convincing James not to knock it down immediately was part of the challenge. Sitting back and watching them play while relaxing was equally enjoyable. As a side note, James got a big kick out of peeing at the beach. We let the kids (and maybe the adults too) make potty breaks in the ocean. James decided that peeing anywhere in the sand was also "peeing in the ocean". Peeing in the bushes near the pool at the house was also a hit with him. (This did lead to peeing (and a pooping attempt) problems at home. He thought he was the dog. Let's leave it there!)
Boogie boarding (and surfing) was the hit. The kids did this for hours.
Madelyn really understood how to catch a wave!
The girls headed out with boogie boards almost as big as them!
Riding the waves in!
This kid kills me. This was his version of boogie boarding. He would finish a snack (which he needed to consume about every 30 minutes while at the beach) and tell me he was off to surf. He'd strap the board on his wrist, place it just near where the waves almost reached, and then just stand there. For a really long time.
On our last beach day, Kelly decided to give some surfing lessons and got him to put his arms out.
The look on his face = pure amazingness. The girls joined in with him! A group of women next to us initiated a conversation with me when I was gathering sand toys. They said they had been watching our kids, and James in particular, all afternoon. They said they so badly wanted to take a picture of his surfing. They said they had been so entertained and were busting out in laughter. Gosh does this little boy have that affect on people!
Sandi, Kelly, and I had such a great time together. We laughed, we cried, we watched our children and celebrated what is wonderful in our lives. We also spent time talking about heartache, anger, and cancer. It would be a lie if I said I thought the Morses would be on this trip this year when we left last year. Maybe more specifically, I feared Jason wouldn't be on this trip. It is due to pure determination, fight, knowledge, and grace on the part of Sandi and Jason that he is still with us. I was in constant amazement of their strength, ability to be positive, and how they live with cancer by facing it head on every single day. Even while on vacation, Jason went in for daily chemo treatments Monday through Friday.
Best friends.
I was also touched by their group of guy friends. Three other college friends and their families were in Destin. All six of them swam with Mike, Jason, and Sandi in college. The men each took a day and went to chemo with Jason. While he said he was totally okay to go on his own, they said they wanted to go with him.
Taking family pictures on the beach is a tradition. We are so lucky to have this documented as a part of our history. This moment in time was one when I felt grateful, blessed, and filled with love.
These two.
And here in this picture is, my life. My heart bursts just looking at it!
Did we love our trip????
This picture says it all!
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