Tales from Lakes Family Vacation

So we rented a place down in Seagrove Beach, FL with my bestest friend Taylor for the week. We were really awful about taking pictures, I don't think we pulled the camera out until half way through the week and once we did the camera lens kept getting fogged up from being inside the air conditioner and taken out to the super hottest muggiest days. Also at the tail end of the week, we got a two year old smudge finger print on the lens. So while we have very few pictures, we do have some but we have great memories and stories, which I'll share here and then post pictures later.

Finn slept in a big boy bed for the first time. His room had a big queen sized bed, so we took the mattress and put it on the floor. He laid down in it on the first night like he's been doing it his whole life and he didn't make a peep! Riley however did not sleep so well that night so early morning, daddy took Riley outside for a walk while mommy tried to catch up on some sleep. I had Finn's monitor right next to my head, but the next thing I know I hear "HIYA MOMMA" so loud I jumped, opened my eyes and saw Finn's cutest smiling little face right in front of my own! He very quickly prounounced "Finn good nap, all done", a phrase he used after every nap and every morning for the rest of the week.

An endless week of Raffi. When we're in the car driving around Atlanta, Finn will ask "More Raffi Please" and he's just so cute and polite that I usually put the CD in......we had one rainy afternoon while on vacation and mommy thought it was a good idea to put the CD in the DVD player to listen through the TV (because mommy couldn't figure out the too complicated CD player/system in the house)......this was such a good idea, lots of dancing ensued, passed the time until the rain stopped.....however the request for "more raffi please" was endless. After two years and still not having gotten tired of this CD, I thought for sure I never would. I believe mommy and daddy have now officially had our fill. But damn it if he isn't so polite!

While shopping one day, mommy and daddy were distracted looking for a kite when we look over to find Finn with a pair of adult size sunglasses on his face. Turns out there was a whole section of kid sunglasses which we started trying on Finn. He loved them so much so we bought him a pair. He wore them the whole rest of the week, typically upside down, but he wore them!

We learned that taking a 5 month old baby to the beach at like 11am is really not the best time to take him....HOT, blistering HOT. So, as a family we didn't spend very much time at the beach after that first attempt. Instead daddy took Finn swimming early morning every day where they had breakfast, went wave jumping, played in the sand and built sand castles and moats before walking back to our house and stopping at the pool along the way. We did all go as a family one morning and one afternoon on our last day when the temps had dropped and made it more tolerable. So tolerable that Mr. Riley thought the sound of the waves was the best noise for sleeping and that 18 pound chub-a-lub napped in mommys tired aching arms for an hour. I suppose I needed a work out......

During the week we did a bit of pool hopping. Our neighborhood that we were staying in had two pools (both of which we played in). Aunt Tay Tay's sister Winn and her family was staying down the road at a place that also had two pools (both of which we played in). One day we also went down the road to Water Colors where we played in a pool that was elevated up so that it was over looking the ocean/beach. Gorgeous! We also went down the road to Seacrest Beach where we played in the water fountains for an afternoon!

Finn's favorite things about our rental house were the dual shower in the master bath and the vacuum cleaner. In the shower he would walk back and forth between the two shower heads and benches and he pushed that vacuum cleaner around the house all week. He also removed the extender hose and walked around with it making a "vroooooo vroooo" vacuum noise all week.

Daddy has a thing for stopping at random roadside places, he loves an off-road adventure! So as we were driving down to FL and he kept seeing a sign for a place called Huggin Molly's, he was itching to go there. On our way back as we were 30 minutes outside of the next biggest town where we were going to stop for lunch, Riley started crying and we passed the sign for Huggin Molly's saying it was only 10 minutes ahead, just 2 miles off the road we were on. So mommy obliged and it was seriously the cutest place and super delicious! Definitely worth the stop off!

Ever since Riley was born I've been using the word "family" alot, and this was our first FAMILY vacation. We had such a great time, so much FUN and so relaxing and so many memories despite the lack of pictures!