Beach Vacation, Part 1

We spent a week in August at one of our very favorite places- Okaloosa Island. It's become a place of such special memories. We couldn't wait to get there. We drove all day on Saturday and made it to our condo that afternoon. We changed clothes and immediately hit the beach. There was a tropical storm predicted to hit our area later that week, so we wanted to get in as much beach time as possible knowing that we'd probably lose a beach day or two during our stay.

We played in the water and on the sand for an hour or so and were all so happy to be in the water. We spent the evening unpacking and getting settled in for the week.

Grandma brought sunglasses for the kids for the week. I love this picture of them and their glowing smiles. 

We were up bright and early Sunday morning ready for a day of sand and sun. Matt was kind enough to run get us our favorite donuts. Eating those delicious donuts on our balcony overlooking the ocean is always a favorite part of our vacation. 

After breakfast, we headed down to the beach for the morning. 

The blissful morning was spent constructing sand castles, mixing up sand bakery treats, riding waves and splashing in the water. An absolute perfect morning!

There was some gymnastics going on too! That's normal for her at home or at the beach. 

Before we left, the kids and I went on a snack shopping spree and bought some fun snacks that aren't a normal part of our snack pantry. Katherine couldn't wait to get to the beach so she could eat her nutella that she picked out. 

After a few hours at the beach, the kids went to the pool to rinse the sand (and seaweed) off, while I made lunch. We enjoyed the full size table on our balcony at this condo. We ate lunch outside everyday. 

After lunch, we showered and changed and drove into Fort Walton Beach to play Goofy Golf, one of our favorite attractions during our vacation. 

Katherine was pretty cute playing.

After Goofy Golf, we ate dinner at our favorite restaurant, Floyds. They have delicious friend shrimp, and it's all you can eat, yum!

It's the kids' favorite restaurant because they give out wiki sticks.

Then we headed back to the condo and took beach pictures since we had some time that evening. That was as chaotic and stressful as usual, but I'm always glad we do it! We rewarded the kids with root beer floats for being good sports during the pictures. 

Tropical Storm Fred moved through the area on Monday morning. Thankfully, the storm went East of where we were staying. We didn't even get rain, but there was rough surf on Monday, so we couldn't play in the water. 

We played some games that morning since we couldn't play in the ocean. 

Then we all took a walk along the beach to watch the huge waves and high tide. That was cool to see!

We also spent some time at the pool on Monday morning. The pool used to be a main attraction on our beach trips, and now it's almost an after thought. But when the ocean wasn't an option, the pool was an okay substitute. 

After lunch on Monday, Matt took the kids down to the beach to build a sand castle. It was cool and windy, and I wasn't really looking forward to going, so I stayed back and took a glorious afternoon nap! That was a highlight of the trip. 

The kids had fun digging in the sand though. Matt said the girls were a little whiney with the cold, blowing sand, but the pictures look like they were still having fun.

Monday evening we went out to dinner and then stopped for an ice cream treat for dessert. 

We went back to our condo and played some games to end another great day of vacation.