Big Jumps & Water Balls

We had some rain this morning so we went to see Finding Dory. The movie was sweet, although I think some of the sentiment was lost on Cade. He was more interested in his Rolos and popcorn by the end of the movie. Lyla, however, was completely touched by it and loved it.

They got to record some of their thoughts about it on a chalkboard outside the theatre:

Cade asked Lyla to write "children love Dory" next to his drawing.

 

After, we headed back to Harbor Walk Village so Lyla could do the bungee jumping and Cade could do water balls. They both absolutely loved it:

More evening swimming tonight - Cade befriended a boy from Alabama and Lyla worked on her hand stands in the pool. 

Last day at the condo looks like a good weather day. Fingers crossed.

Dolphins & Sand Crabs

Today we visited a smaller resort pool, one that's frequented by fewer people here. We created several games involving octopi and mermaids - and then Daddy started this one: 

The kids love counting to see how long they can stand there without falling. 

At break time, Cade remarked while eating Pringles, "What a lovely vacation this is."

 

That, it is. We didn't start with major plans today, but when I think back, we were really busy. 

The kids really love playing jokes on us, and today they developed several (disgusting) concoctions in bottles for daddy to "drink". They howled with laughter when he pretended to swallow:

And, then there was the "snack stand" they constructed in the condo, I think in an effort to earn extra souvenir money from us: 

We went over to the Boardwalk this afternoon to explore and found a sweet ocean playground: 

The kids had gelato after, which they loved:

And then we took a walk down the pier, one of my favorite moments of our trip so far. 

The best part of the pier was when Lance spotted a dolphin...Lyla named her "Echo". She was fascinating to watch, and the kids' reaction to seeing her was nothing short of magical.

Lyla & Cade got to eat ice cream again after dinner tonight - we had planned to make our own ice cream, which is a vacation tradition for us. However, the ice cream maker Lance and I bought 11 years ago when he started residency decided to quick working tonight. So, they had to settle for ice cream sandwiches instead. 

We thought it was particularly hilarious that when I walked out to check on them on the balcony while they were eating,  Cade was proclaiming his love for a man a couple of balconies up...he laughingly gestured at him and said, "I love that man." Fortunately, the man thought it was funny, but not quite as funny as we did.

The highlight of the evening was a late night at the beach to watch fireworks from the Pier and hunt for sand crabs. Fireworks on the Beach is just a whole different experience, especially through the eyes of these 2. They both stood completely transfixed.

Afterward, Lyla was so proud that she spotted a sand crab, and we successfully caught it. 

It has been a lovely vacation for certain. 

Pirates!

We were slow moving this morning. The sun is wearing all of us out, and yesterday I got my first sunburn in years. 

Lyla is the family Uno champ this trip. She loves playing and says that her new ring brings her lots of luck. Today, however, she was given a real run for her money by daddy, who beat her 3 times:

We spent a little time on the beach before retiring to the safety of the pool as there were numerous jelly fish in the water today. Supposedly they don't have tentacles, but it seemed a little uncertain to me.

The biggest event of the day was the boarding the Buccaneer Pirate Ship in Destin. It was a two hour cruise, and the kids loved it. Cade dressed himself in all green: 

"I'm wearing green because pirates have green teeth."

We walked through Harbor Walk Village to get to the Pirate Ship:

The Pirate Boat was a great experience all in all...it was hot, though, so there were a few not so great moments here and there. 

Lyla & Cade "trained" with RoseMarie the Pirate to become real pirates:

When the pirate cannon went off:

Cade cleaned the deck with a mop while Lyla got her face painted. The girls got to go first when the girl pirates beat the boy pirates in a shouting contest. Lyla confided in me that she felt "sorry for Cade" because she got to go first. I think he was pretty happy pretending to be a "cleaning man", one of his favorite games.

And here's what this girl did while Cade got his face painted. She's so good at it that I had people stopping me on the boat to tell me what a great hula hooper she is:

Cade chose an anchor too:

The day did end in near disaster when Cade broke down about a watch he wanted at the gift shop. Cade is really mimicking Lyla this trip, and after she bought her watch, he wanted one too - despite the fact that the compass he chose was the most important thing in the world to him just minutes prior. This became more and more of an issue to him as the boat ride ended and, suffice to say, it was one of those painful times when you have to say no and stick to your guns, which we did. Subsequently, everyone in Destin got to see (and hear) how Cade felt about it. 

We were laughing by the time we got back to the condo...well, sort of. 

And, we had to resolve this before nightswimming - Lyla apparently decided to put Cade on lockdown. Lance had to get him out of this scrape, but I'm wondering if it might be a really effective way of getting things done at home...

Another evening of swimming in the dark before bed. Great times here.

Ocean Time & Nightswimming

Another great day in Florida, with perfect weather. We started the day at the condo's lazy river, across the street in the Bay Side.

After lunch, we spent the early afternoon at the Ocean. It's exhausting getting out there, but it's one of my favorite parts of vacation. And, icees made it a little easier to hang with the long walk to our beach chairs:

We were so proud of Lyla, who had a rough run in with saltwater yesterday when she took in enough to feel like she was going to throw up while out there with Lance. She made herself try it again today and said it was "amazing". We ended up jumping waves with both of them, and the most "amazing" part of the whole experience was the sound of their laughter. They absolutely loved it. 

She later told me, as we sat together on the waters edge: "I knew it was going to be hard to go back in today, but I just knew I needed to do it. So I did."

Wow.

And then there was this from her: "Mommy, you know I love you more than Maya Ruiz (her beloved kindergarten friend) and giant pandas."

It was a magical afternoon and one I don't want to forget. I'll forget about the blazing sunburn on my back, but I don't want to forget this sweet little ocean conversation.

We ended up at another arcade this evening. Cade is obsessed with winning speakers from these ridiculously difficult arcade games. Lance and I tried over and over again to no avail. 

But, they walked away with several prizes, and we were all happy to come back tonight. I thought we would go back to the Beach, but Lyla suggested nightswimming instead...it was a brilliant plan. We had so much fun in the pool:

She didn't want to come in. "Can we do it again tomorrow, Mommy?"

And, more interesting insights from Cade E. Bugg tonight when he asked Lance at bedtime, "Why did you and Mommy decide to have Lyla first?"

That sweet boy. Bless his little heart.

The Beach

We spent some time at the pool this am, and then treked to the Beach in the sun. We were so surprised at how much they loved it...we are going to go back in the morning. They loved the Ocean, the sand and digging holes. 

After lunch, we decided to head to the Beach Store for some pool toys. We needed to get Cade out of the condo as he's obsessed with pulling out all the cable boxes, cordless phones and wires and rearranging them so they're "organized". I turned around this afternoon and caught him moving the condo TV until I stopped him. 

Lyla bought a ring with her Tooth Fairy money:

And then we headed over to an arcade at the restaurant where we got dinner. Lyla played the claw game  times, despite heart breaking losses:

And, we all suffered through a terrible Cade meltdown when lance was unsuccessful at winning this ridiculous speaker. Does anyone really win these things?!

We went out to the Beach this evening after dinner and we took a few camera photos - the Ocean was a bit more brooding this evening - I think it's going to storm tonight. The water was rougher and not as blue and clear as it has been. These beaches really are beautiful - the sand is like white powder.

Here are a few photos - the kids are getting really comfortable with the waves.

Prolific statement of the day goes to Cade: "Daddy is off his job while we're on vacation, but you're still working because your job is taking care of us." 

Also of note, Ms. Q. learned to play Uno today and beat me in 5 straight games. Lyla: "I'm the best at Uno in our whole family!"