Back in March we were invited to go to Florida with Paul's dad, Lisa, and Sydney and her friend, Brooke (who were on Spring Break). It was kind of a last minute thing but we jumped at the chance to get Wilder back on a beach. Wilder was totally pumped and went ahead and loaded himself right up while we were packing up the car...
We had about an 8 hour drive ahead of us but no sooner were we on the road than Wilder started asking, "Where beach?" He didn't understand that it wasn't just right down the road like it was in San Diego. Luckily we left late in the afternoon so he slept about half of the way and didn't have to wonder for the whole 8 hours where on earth that elusive beach was ;) Here he is talking about what he was going to do at the beach...
We were near Starkville at dinner time so we decided to make a little detour off 45 and go eat at Mugshots. After all the weekends we spent there in college it was funny to come back with our child but dinner was delicious and Wilder had fun flirting with all the waitresses.
The rest of the drive was uneventful and we arrived in Destin at around 1 in the morning. Wilder and I were the first ones up of course so I took him down to walk on the beach first thing. He was so excited to get his feet in the sand! Then we went back up to the room, had breakfast with everyone, and were back out on the beach for the rest of the morning. My little California boy was absolutely in heaven on the beach. He had no qualms about getting sand in every crease and crevice of his body and couldn't get enough of using his tools and trucks to dig holes and make towers.
He loved having Daddy G's undivided attention!
And had a water gun fight with him as promised
Peyton was also on Spring Break in Destin
with some of her college friends and she
stopped by to play for a while
So happy!
"Fishing"
He loved this little sandbar. He called
it "Wilder's Island" :)
Hunting for seashells
We went to dinner that night at Mitchell's, which was super nice and really delicious. Wilder had had a good 3-hour nap that afternoon but was still sooo tired from the beach that he was not feeling the highchair thing and had to be taken out of the restaurant by Paul at one point, which has never happened before! Overall he was pretty good at dinner, and he was fine after Paul had a "talking to" with him, but still it was a little traumatic for Paul and me to have "that kid" for a little while haha!
Talking about the model boats with Daddy G
Early (but not too early) morning beach time
So sweet :) Going on a walk with Daddy G
When it was almost lunchtime we all loaded up and headed to the marina for a ride on Daddy G's boat to get lunch. Wilder is not a fan of wind blowing on him so I wasn't sure how he would feel about an open-air ride. He wasn't too sure about it at first either, plus it was a little chilly, but we huddled together and he was a good sport :)
We saw about six dolphins playing in the water on
the way to the restaurant. So neat!
Me and that good man of mine
Wilder decided he wanted to ride in the front
with the ladies. He had the best time pointing
stuff out to them and sitting in Sydney's friend
Brooke's lap. He thought she was sweet :)
Weird homemade boat
We ate lunch at a little fish shack down the coast. Everything was so delicious and fresh. I don't like fish but wish I did so I really try to make an effort to have Wilder eat it. He did so good all weekend and ate fish for at least one meal every day. I was so proud of him!
Wilder and Daddy G
Wilder loves to show off for
him and make him laugh :)
If the ride to the restaurant was a little hairy, the ride back was a totally different story. Wilder got to "drive" the boat with Daddy G and he thought he was BIG STUFF. Daddy G would put his hand on the wheel to try to help steer and Wilder would swat it away haha! He took his job very seriously ;)
Giving it some gas
When we got out into the open water, Wilder moved to the back with Paul and Daddy G took us on quite a ride, going around and around in circles. Every time he would stop, Wilder would say "MORE!" so we would do it again. Wilder loved it!
Sweet daddy :)
After nap that afternoon we played on the beach some more and then had to head in to get dressed for dinner...
Wilder was sooo over pictures but he had on this adorable outfit so I had to try. This was the best I could do -- showing me his muscles ;)
The following are my other wildly unsuccessful attempts at getting a picture of that wild man...
He kept running out of the bedroom,
yelling at me, and then running back
Snorting like a pig
Puffy face
Big smile
Bigger smile
Biggest smile
That night we went to dinner at Jim and Nick's. OH. MY. WORD. One of my favorite meals I've ever had. The little rolls with apple butter, the deviled eggs, the BBQ and BBQ sauce -- everything was sooo delicious!! Wilder was such a good boy and so funny telling the whole table all about everything. He also kept looking over and waving to a table of teenagers the whole time. They were so sweet and waved back over and over.
Next morning -- ready to get back on that beach!
The next morning everyone else was leaving so we went down to their condo for breakfast. What a wonderful time we had together that weekend! I'm so happy that Lisa and her girls are going to be a part of our family. Being with them is just so natural and nice.
Wilder cuddled with his buddy, Brooke,
for like 20 minutes before they left.
It was so sweet!
After breakfast we headed... you guessed it... back to the beach! Our little California boy just could not get enough of it!
Again, no qualms about getting sand
where the sun don't shine ;)
where the sun don't shine ;)
Sweet boy and me
"Wilder's Island" was underwater that morning and
Wilder was very perturbed by its disappearance
so I dug him a "pool" that he worked to fill with water.
That seemed to appease him and keep him busy for a while.
Wilder was very perturbed by its disappearance
so I dug him a "pool" that he worked to fill with water.
That seemed to appease him and keep him busy for a while.
Late in the afternoon after nap Paul and I took Wilder to Baytowne Wharf in Sandestin to explore and eat dinner. It felt so nice out and the sunset was so pretty!
Love Wilder's face here. He sure
loves his daddy! :)
Love my family so much!
After a walk out on the pier for pictures at my insistence, we pretty much did every single activity Baytowne Wharf offered. Wilder had been such a good boy all weekend and we were so glad to have some good family time that, whatever Wilder wanted to do, we did it. We rode the carousel...
We drove the mechanical boats
and fed the fish...
And Wilder did a little toddler balance
beam course. You could tell he was a little
nervous about it but he was so brave!
I was so proud of him!
Concentrating
After the balance beams it was pizza for dinner. We had the best time talking and watching people walk by. At one point Wilder wanted to look at pictures on my phone and I said that I didn't want him to get pizza on it. He held up his right hand and said, "No no Mama, dis pizza hand" then he held up his left and said, "Dis clean, phone hand!" Haha and he kept it that way too -- he would take a bite of his pizza with his right hand and then scroll through the pictures with his left. Such a little smarty!
Even though it was last-minute and too short, we had SUCH a wonderful trip! It was so nice to be able to spend time with Gary, Lisa, and Sydney and to get Wilder back on the beach where he belongs ;)
On the way back to Tennessee we stopped in to see our friends, Kristin and Richard, who we hadn't seen since we moved to California! They were some of our best friends when we lived in Starkville and it just killed Kristin and me that we hadn't met each other's babies. We were so happy to see them and get to hang out again even for just a couple of hours!
Paul with Walker
Richard and Wilder
Walker was fascinated with Wilder and
kept wanting to touch him and pull his hair
Wilder wasn't sure to what think of that baby
but he was pretty sweet to him anyway :)
but he was pretty sweet to him anyway :)
I think of Wilder as a baby still but seeing
him next to Walker made me realize what
a big boy he's become! :(
Walker trying to stand up on Wilder haha
I think the highlight of Wilder's whole trip was getting
to ride on the Ranger with the boys
Talking about all the different parts of it
Getting to drive it with Uncle Richard!
Kristin and Walker... I'm sick Kristin and
I didn't get a picture together! :(
Back home and in denial
with his flip-flops still on ;)
with his flip-flops still on ;)
Well, it definitely wasn't a "relaxing" vacation but it was a busy and fun one and that's the best we'll be able to expect, I guess, for about another decade or so. Fine by me -- these are the best of times and I want to treasure every minute even when I'm exhausted!
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