While we were on vacation, we also spent some time exploring the nearby towns- Fort Walton Beach and Destin.
We went out to dinner several times during out week. The first night we went out, we sat outside on the patio next to the beach. Nathan looked up once and saw the beach and asked, "Hey, how did the beach get over here?" :).
Tuesday afternoon we took the boys to ride jet skis in Destin. They had been so excited about it! They kept talking about how they were going to ride a hover craft like Zuma (Paw Patrol), and they did have fun, but they didn't want to go as fast as Matt and Barry were hoping they would.
Once we got out of the dock and started really going, Nathan asked to go back :(. He said he didn't like going fast because he was afraid he would fall off or that we would crash and he didn't like getting water in his eyes. We slowed down the speed and moved him behind Matt to cut down on the spray and he did better.
He said he liked it, but I think he liked the kayaks better (which were way cheaper of course). Barry said he thought Samuel had fun but he was just still and quiet the whole time, so we're not really sure what he thought of it.
We stuck close to the condo early in the week, and started venturing out as the week wore on. On Thursday morning, Nathan asked to go play at a playground instead of going to the beach. He said he really was missing playing on a playground. Matt and I had driven past one that had looked fun, so we got dressed (not in bathing suits) and headed into town.
Elisabeth had a great time which made be happy. She hadn't been a fan of the beach and was so active at the pool that she never got to stay very long. I was glad to see her having a fun time on our vacation instead of just getting drug along with us.
And of course the boys had a great time. They are big fans of any type of playground.
They DID NOT want to leave and Nathan threw a huge fit. Matt and I knew he was exhausted because he had stayed up late the night before. We made a deal with him that if he went back to the condo and took an early nap that he could be "in charge" for the afternoon and choose what activities we did. He went for it and all three kids took good naps. (Nathan actually slept almost every day we were gone, which is really uncharacteristic for him. We were playing hard!) When they woke up, we had a quick lunch and asked Nathan what he wanted to do.
We had stopped at the mall at Fort Walton Beach on Saturday when we got into town to let the kids play while we killed time until we could check into the condo, and we walked past this fun bounce play area, and that's what he decided he wanted to do.
They had a lot of inflatable jump castles and slides and lots of other fun toys too.
They had a bunch of cute and fun toddler toys, and Elisabeth went to town playing with everything.
They also had free arcade games and other activities too. We thought Nathan did a great job being in charge for the afternoon. Everyone had fun!
We drove into Destin Thursday night for supper and to take the kids to a little kiddie park. We went last time we were in Destin and my parents couldn't wait to take them back. I showed the kids pictures of some of the rides before we left for vacation, and Nathan and Samuel couldn't stop talking about it!
They were in heaven when they saw a Dino ride. We have been on a BIG Flintstones kick in our house lately. Samuel said his favorite part of the whole vacation was riding Dino (He later broadened it to riding the rides, but still!)
Elisabeth's favorite ride was the swings of course. I think she rode them four times. She kept pointing and saying "More" all night.
The boys rode several other rides and we ended the night with Go Karts.
They were disappointed that the airplane ride was closed, so my mom told them we'd check the next night and go back if they were open, and they were!
We went in the afternoon and rode a few rides again and let Nathan play some games we didn't have time for the night before.
Then we ate seafood for the last time on our trip and finished the evening with ice cream (custard, really, I guess). We had seen a Shake's as we were driving through Destin, and Matt and I were salivating. We hadn't had Shake's since college. We put it on our to do list before we left town!
It didn't disappoint and brought back memories from Stillwater and college- so long ago!
We were all stuffed afterward. I don't think the boys even ate much custard because they were so full from supper.
Samuel's logic was really cute during the trip. We had been telling him for several weeks that we were going to Florida to play at the beach. So, while we were there he associated the beach/condo with Florida. We'd drive into town to eat, and he would ask, "When we go back to Florida?" Or we'd tell him we were in Florida, and he'd say, "We not at Florida. We at a restaurant."
Samuel also was so sad to leave "Florida." The whole drive home when he asked where we were going and we told him we were driving home, he'd yell, "No! I'm not going home. I go to Florida!!"
