Category Archives: Vacation
Owen likes the rope swing this year!
AuSable River Festival Kids Day
We specifically came up to Grayling Monday night we we could take the kids to the kids fest day since they had so much fun last year! Unfortunately, this year they didn’t have the canoeing with the pro, which is what we had really hoped to do again. 🙁 So this was as close as we got—and Owen refused to stick his head in so I did instead.
Family photo booth!
She already found the lobster hat!
And it was time for a quick snack since they only had road trip ice cream for dinner.
Within an hour of arriving…
Owen was brave enough to swing this year!
Miss Fingerprints
It’s time to get away from the boxes and mess.
Road trip to Michigan for a mini vacation including the Len Christmas!
Deep fried bacon, fried calamari, and lobster tacos.
Dinner at Firkin with the friends who helped us get the house!
The bacon wasn’t quite what we hoped it would be (double-fried) but it was still tasty…just not quite what we wanted.
We like our new regular theater.
Five minutes from the house, they serve alcohol, and they have reserved RECLINING seats.
Guess which dessert was yummy and which was not.
Yeah. I had high hopes for the candy bar… But it sucked. Too much fake bacon taste, not even enough bacon, and very little chip flavor.
Texas brisket BBQ and a warm pretzel!
We’re enjoying finding good places to eat!!
We put us all in two Pokémon gyms on base.
There were a lot of pokestops and gyms on the naval base so we took advantage.
Katie is 4 years 7 months old today.
I took the picture on the right day but it was during vacation so it didn’t get posted.
Home again, home again.
Me and Katie waiting for Tom and Owen to bring dinner to the gate in Atlanta. We weren’t able to get seats because we only had about 25 minutes until our flight started boarding.
We opted to board during the “people who may need extra time” call so we could have time to snarf our food before most people boarded. On the way down, we boarded during that time as well just because the kids were completely unfamiliar with the boarding process and we wanted it to go smoothly. On the way home we figured it had gone smoothly enough we didn’t need it so skipped it the first leg…but then decided why not on the second leg. 🙂
Everything went smoothly, and this is us walking to meet Tom with the car.
As soon as we got home, of course this happened:
Kidisms 37
Owen: Katie why are you reading my book?
Katie: I’M NOT! I’m just looking at it. I don’t know how to read yet.
Gramma was teaching Owen and Katie a new card game that involved matching suits and counting.
Katie: Let’s play plain. Without construction.
Gramma Jean was coloring with Owen and Katie. Owen was complimenting Katie.
Owen: Wow, Katie. You’re doing such a good job. You’re staying inside the lines. I’ve never seen a 4yo color so good.
Katie: I know, right?
At the airport, I told Katie that dad got her chicken fingers because that’s all they had.
Katie: Are you serious? I can’t handle chicken fingers.
Last trip down to the ocean before our flight home.
We were planning on taking the kids mini golfing on our last morning, but of course, today is the best weather day we’ve had all week so we went to the ocean instead! (We actually gave them the choice, but there was no hesitation.)
Dolphins! Gramma Selfie!
The kids finally got to see some dolphins while Tom and I were out running an errand!
Dinner Sillies
Eating cupcakes Grauntie Rose brought earlier in the week…
A quick stop at a playground
We all went to see the Lego Batman movie and since it was nice and sunny, we stopped at a park on the way home. Unfortunately it was windy and getting chilly so we didn’t stay long and I only took one picture! 🙂
A thank you dinner for the grandparents!
We always take the grandparents out to dinner to thank them for letting us stay with them…and this time, we went to McGuires Irish Pub just down the road in Destin. We happened to be sitting right at a Pokémon gym so of course we had to take it over. 🙂
The tradition at this place is to leave a signed/decorated $1 bill stapled to the wall. They have over $1 million hanging throughout the place (see lots of great pictures from RoadTrippers). This was the wall behind us (in the natural restaurant lighting):
And the same picture with a flash:
This is the bill we did. Gramma drew the heart with the year and signer her name; Owen wrote his name on the very left, going up from the O; Katie die her KAtie on three lines; Grandpa David did his GD between Owen and Katie; Major Tom left his mark; and since no one took good ol’ George, I did that plus left our JTOK.
Gramma stapled it to the wall.
Can you see it?
Look here!
It’s sunny and halfway warm…so it was off to the ocean.
The sun is deceiving. We didn’t stay too long because it was actually windy and getting chilly…
Now that’s a big chair.
Florida tradition: Fudpucker’s
Read about the last time we were there (2015).
Later when we checked the other pictures, we saw that Owen had his Halley shirt on again! Totally unplanned!
We had to visit Owen and Tom’s names on the wall…which happened to be right about where we were seated.
Katie adding her name!
Gramma Jean 2017
A quick playground break.
It was so damn good we went back again.
I mean, what is vacation for if not for splurging? 🙂
Time with Grauntie and Gruntie
Grauntie Rose and Gruntie Jim also stay down here during the winter, so they came over for lunch. We had hoped to be able to take the kids to the pool or the beach but it was cold and rainy…so there were a few games of Katie’s new favorite: Go Fish!
May the next 20 years be just as awesome!
It’s been 20 years since the night Tom and I met…
Our dinner splurge:
Tom in beer heaven:
Katie wanted hot curls!
Katie loves when Gramma needs to curl her hair because that means Gramma will also put some curls in Katie’s hair, too. She’s been waiting patiently for three days. 🙂 The curling iron actually removes curls from her hair but she doesn’t care—she likes to feel the warm curls.
A dangerous dessert combo.
Leftover birthday cake frosting plus amazing cookies…
Toooo much ocean fun!
Then we ran into a familiar face—Nancy (used to work with Gramma)!
