Destin-ation Florida, 2011

We had such a good time at the Gulfgate Condo in Destin last year that we decided to return this year.  Grandpa and Grandma Pollack and Uncle Eric and Aunt Lesley joined in the fun. 

A rest area with a playground - yes! 

Lauren was much braver this year. . .

but she still ran away from the waves when they got too big.

Early morning beach walk with Grandpa and Grandma.

Amphibious inflatables. . .

Getting wrapped in a towel is big fun. 

Annika and Lauren being "very brave" with Daddy and Uncle Eric.

Audrey loved the sand.

Sami hung out with Grandma on her chair b/c she did NOT like the sand.

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Kiddie land at the amusement park across the street.

Water gun bumper boats were perfect entertainment for a hot day. 

You be the judge - who won?

We spent a day away at Blackwater River State Park with the largest tea-colored sandy bottom river in the U.S.. 

Well, how about that?!  The water is tea colored and the bottom is sandy!

Audrey was a fish, Sami not so much.

Uncle Eric taught Lauren and Annika how to squirt people with noodles.  Little did he know their knowledge would be turned against him!

We went out for a nice dinner on the beach.

Sami loves Aunt Lesley!

Last year Lauren stayed glued to the pool steps.  This year she jumped into Daddy's arms with only arm floaties. 

Annika shocked me by eating Uncle Eric's crayfish dinner.

Love this pic of kite-flying Lauren(sunburn and all!).

Our little girl is growing up! 

We love Uncle Eric!

It's a date!

Karl and I rented jet skis for an afternoon.

We had this same seafood dinner last year and loved it so much we came back for round 2.

This woman saw Annika watching her fish and handed over her pole to let Annika hold the fish for a picture.

 The ocean doesn't exactly give perspective - this sea turtle is about 4 feet long. 

It was HOT on this pier walk. 

This is a school of fish (shaped like a fish) moving through the ocean water. 

View from inside our condo.

This is as brave as Sami got without using the boat.   Can you say cautious child?

On the last day of our trip Annika and Lauren made friends with girls from Nashville.

Sunglasses as souvenirs.

We love Grandpa and Grandma!

Family photo.  Hmm. . . I guess the squnting and heads turned away from the sun explains why most people take family photos at dusk on the beach. 

On the way back home we stopped overnight in Birmingham to hang out with the Christmanns - 7 girls 6 and under including 2 sets of twins. 

Fun with Grandpa and Grandma Pollack

Grandpa and Grandma Pollack came to visit for a long weekend.  We decided to go down to the arch and see the effects of the flooding.  The girls had lots of fun running around. 

Annika's been watching lots of weather reports lately.  "Flash flooding" has her quite concerned.  She was relieved to hear that our house is at the top of the hill and therefore not likely to flood. 

This is the "road" that runs just East of the arch.

Audrey and Sami climbed all the way up the arch stairs.

Not sure what is going on here - looks like some sort of smell and/or wind test. 

We went biking at Forest Park on Saturday morning.  We had a great time but found out later that we should have been at Annika's tee ball game (I misread the start time - it was 10:00 instead of 1:00 - oops.).

Annika is riding w/o training wheels - way to go, Annika!

We spent quite a bit of time throwing rocks into the lake.  Karl challenged me to throw a rock across the lake (he was successful).  As you can imagine, If I could have, I would have stayed all day to get a rock across that blankety blank lake.  I came close, but close only counts in horse shoes and hand grenades.

Audrey also would have thrown rocks all day long.  Big fun.

Easter 2011

It was raining on the Saturday of Easter Egg hunts so we headed over to the Gambles for some indoor fun.

It didn't take long at all for Audrey and Sami to figure out that the eggs opened up and miracuously produced candy.

Easter Sunday morning brought a brief respite from the rain. 

The Clifton Heights Park Easter Egg hunt was unprecedently rescheduled for a sunny Saturday 2 weeks after Easter.  Annika and Lauren went to Annika's tee-ball game with Daddy and I took the twins to the outdoor adventure. 

 Not suprisingly, there was little interest in an Easter egg hunt 2 weeks after Easter. . .Translation:  there were PLENTY of eggs.