We left for Rosemary Beach at 8:00 am on Sunday morning. On the way out, we met the Doroughs in the Chick-fil-a parking lot near our house so we could caravan together. Despite having four children under 4, we made it to Florida with relatively few stops and no hiccups at all. Our total drive time was about 6 1/2 hours, start to finish. We stopped a few times to go to the potty and once to eat lunch at Zaxby's when we were close to Panama City. When we arrived in Rosemary, Rob and Bart checked in, but we were too early to get into the house. We decided to take the kids on a walk around the resort area to get some of their energy out while we waited. We found one of the green spaces and stayed there until it was time to get in the house. After the house was ready, we went back, unpacked, ran to the grocery store for a few items, and ate dinner. Lyn and I planned out a few meals and that night's dinner was a Boston Butt (delish) that Bart had smoked on his Big Green Egg the previous day. It was nice to have dinner already prepared and to be able to quickly feed the kids, bathe them, and put them to bed so they would be rested for the beach the next morning.
"He's Got the Whole World in His Hands." Tripp staying occupied with the book Ashley gave Camille for her Baptism.
Grilled cheese and fries at Zaxby's.
Reade and Tripp exploring the Rosemary Resort.
Camille was tired after sitting in her carseat all day. She was fussy when we first got to Rosemary, but was much better after we went to the house and let her crawl around.
The three boys are all VERY fond of her. There was no shortage of love for her on this trip.
Max saying, "Camille is so cute." Lots of adoring fans I tell ya. Lucky girl. What lady doesn't like to be doted on?
The next morning we let the kids sleep in (well ours slept in). The Dorough boys are used to getting up between 5 and 6 am at home so factor in the time change and those sweet boys were up at 4! When our family made our way upstairs around 8 am (that's 9 am at home), they were already fed, dressed, and packed for the beach. We ate a quick breakfast, put on our suits and sunscreen and made our way down to the sand. I forgot to mention that Rob and Bart had rented 2 adult bikes with child trailers and 2 adult bikes without trailers the day before. Even though the beach was within walking distance, the bikes made getting all of our gear to the beach much less painful.
The beach was everything we expected. Pretty blue-green water, white sand, and fun waves. Camille wasn't a fan of the sand and water the first day (I think mainly due to travel exhaustion. She did better every other day.), but Tripp had a blast from the beginning. He spent some time digging in the sand and then went into the water with Rob. Once he got his first taste of the ocean and waves, he was in love. Rob and I would take turns taking him in the water. He kept saying, "Mommy (or Daddy), can we go out into the deep blue?" and would point really far out. I laughed and said, "maybe one day" while thinking, "No way, no how." He'd also say things like, "Mommy, will we see sharks, fish, and whales?" My response, "We'll probably see fish, crabs, and starfish." while thinking, "Lord, please do not let us see any scary marine life while my babies are in the water!"
Our first glimpse of the ocean. It poured the night we got to the beach so the water wasn't as clear on the first day as it was on some of the other days. With that said, the water on the panhandle is so nice you could still see through it.
Having fun digging holes.
After a morning at the beach, Rob headed back to the house so Camille could nap. We tried to let her nap on the beach, but it was too loud and bright for her to fall asleep. Tripp and I stayed at the beach with the Doroughs for another hour or so and then headed back to the house to swim in the pool. The house had its own private pool. Score! When we got back, Rob was already sitting outside, baby monitor beside him, enjoying the rays. Everyone swam until it was time to go in for lunch.
Taking turns jumping in.
Camille was so tired, she slept for about 4 hours. I'm glad we gave her a snack on the beach because she didn't wake up to eat lunch until 3 pm that afternoon! During that time, the big kids also got their naps in.
As tired as I was, Rob and I decided this was the best time to trade off
and get some exercise. The resort had a gym that we
used each day during the kids afternoon nap. To be
perfectly honest, I would also shut my eyes for a few minutes everyday while Rob was at the gym. I had big plans to finish a book I
was reading, but every time I pulled out my book, my eyes couldn't stay
open. Tired Mommy problems!
Camille surrounded by the Dorough boys!
That evening, we hopped on our bikes and took a long ride through Rosemary Beach, Alys Beach, and down the bike path on 30A. Tripp and Camille enjoyed the ride. They both loved seeing me ride next to them and I enjoyed watching their cute little faces take in all their surroundings.
We stopped at a playground in Rosemary before heading home for the night.
Our second and third days were much like the first with both beach and pool time. Tuesday (the second full day) was very sunny. We stayed so busy, the only pictures I took were while we were sitting on the porch that afternoon. Camille had already awoken from her nap and we were trying to keep her quiet until all the boys got up.
Wednesday, we were only able to stay at the beach for an hour before the skies opened up. The rain came on so quickly, we had to seek cover under a cabana at one of the resort pools. After the rain cleared up, we didn't feel like setting up our stuff at the beach again so we walked back to our house and let the kids play in the pool. Again, so nice to have. I will be honest and say it made me a little nervous to have a pool in our backyard, but the house was equipped with a screeching alarm that went off whenever the backdoor to the pool opened. It was an annoying sound and you had to be careful to silence it before opening the door if anyone was sleeping, but it was a much needed safety feature.
That night we opted to go into Panama City to eat dinner. Rosemary has plenty of restaurants on the resort property, but we thought the little boys would enjoy seeing the big boats at the harbor.
We picked a kid-friendly restaurant, Capt. Anderson's. There was a small arcade inside so we let the kids "play" a few games as we waited for our table. By play, I mean hold onto the toy gun for the shooting game and pretend to drive the car in the racing game. Tripp may know the difference later on, but as for right now, he didn't realize he wasn't really playing them.
After dinner, we walked around the marina.
Boys and things that go. Mesmerized.
Love from Reade.
Sweet friend hugs.
My little family.
Tripp wanted to hold Lyn's hand on the walk back to our car. I thought it was cute.
On the walk back, we saw this crane. It let us get very close before flying away. My animal lover, Tripp, was thrilled.
And that is the first half of our vacation in a nutshell! More to come on the rest of the week.
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