House of Blues.

Last week, we traveled to Grayton Beach for the week with David's family.  Papa and Gigi arrived at our house late Friday night.  The Calhouns arrived Saturday just before lunchtime, and after a quick bite at McAlister's, we hit the road!  David stayed behind in MS for the night, so he could be at church services the following morning.  

And this was our home for the week, House of Blues.  Isn't she beautiful?  We have stayed in this very home for three summers now.  We went several summers ago when Carter, Summer, and Tilly, were not quite, 1, not quite 2, and 3.  Then, we went summer before last when they were 1, not quite 3, not quite 4, and 5.  There's something comfortingly familiar to return to the very same place year after year.  

We were loaded down.  Papa and Gigi drove our car down, so we loaded the big 3 on the back seat for the trip, and I sat in the captain's chair beside Story.  The children did really well!

After unloading quickly and getting somewhat settled, we hit the pool!  The children couldn't wait!  Gigi and Papa stayed behind to fix supper.  After supper, we took baths and hit the sack.  With David still in MS, I went to bed with the children and got about 10 hours of sleep.  Nice!

The next morning, we headed to the beach after breakfast.  The weather was perfect and beautiful!  

Carter and Summer had the best time playing.  They played hard and together almost every day during the week.  

 Story napped every day, and that seemed to work out really well. She's just not quite big enough or ready enough to give up that afternoon nap. I'm ok with that!

I heart this picture of Story waving big like her Papa.  

Tilly napped a few days in the afternoons, but many days she joined Carter and Summer for an afternoon of play!

The first day the water was perfect, and the waves weren't rough.  

I adore this picture of Story and Lincoln.  These two had the best time playing together throughout the week.  Squeals of delight is the phrase that comes to mind.  

A lot of days, the clouds would come up, but it never really rained during the days while we wanted to play.  

Sunday afternoon, David joined us, and were all so very glad to see him!  We drove over to eat supper at The Back Porch, one of our favorites.  

The fab four after supper.  



That night after supper, David and Cory took all the children crab hunting on the beach.  I think this was a highlight of the week.  

Story, being quite the fearless one, just reached down to pet one of the crabs that they caught in the nets.  

Love these two.  I think they look like an old married couple having a picnic by the pool!

Back at the beach for another day of playing in the sand and catching some waves.  

My love and me on the beach.  I had the most fun with this handsome fella throughout the week.  I loved our afternoons sitting in lounge chairs talking and dreaming about life and our family.  I look forward to growing old with him!

Monday night we cooked supper at home, grilled steaks and chicken.  After supper, we hit up this yummy place for some ice cream.  My favorite flavor is the toasted coconut, so yum!  We may or may not have gone back again the next night for round two!

Tuesday, Gigi surprised us with a day trip planned to Panama City Beach at Gulf World.  It is kind of like a scaled back version of Sea World and so much fun!  Papa was able to take part in of the shows.  The bird flew over to him and took a dollar bill from his hand and then later returned it!

Carter was also chosen as a volunteer to participate, and he thought that was just so cool!  A rat climbed up his chair and into the pocket of his coat.  Then, the rat climbed up on top of his head!  It was super cute!

My favorites of the day were the dolphin and sea lion shows.  

Wednesday, we went back to the beach for more fun in the sun or sand, ha! 

Tilly enjoying the scenery.  

Thursday when we went out, the red flags were up, and it later moved to a double red flag, so weren't allowed in the water at all.  The waves were really big, and the undertow was quite dangerous!  Tropical Storm Andrea was moving across Florida and up the East Coast.  That afternoon the weather ended up being really pretty.  

This is the life, don't you think!



We made all the children come in for naps this day.  Apparently, they all needed it!

Thursday night, we headed over to BayTowne Wharf to a new arcade and for supper.  I saw this sign and loved it!

We got a group picture of all the grandchildren with Papa and Gigi after supper.  

And the highlight of the night (at least for Carter) was that he got to zipline for the very first time.  

He was super excited! 

He told me that he was a little nervous before, but by the time he came back across he was loving it!  Oh, how I love this boy!

The weather could not have been more beautiful or perfect for our last day at the beach.  We were so thankful.  

These two girlies played so sweetly together throughout the day.  They even made friends with two other girls from Texas.  

Carter had fun building sandcastles and later attempting to dig all the way to China!

Tan lines, much?  David and I spent the afternoon watching the big 3 and talking and dreaming.  

Friday night, Papa and Gigi treated us all to a hibachi dinner.  The entertainment was great, and the food was delicious!

After supper, we did an impromptu photo shoot on the beach.  It was super windy, so our hair was all over the place.  I have a bunch of pictures with my fancy camera that I will upload when we are done with our travels.  

We got another group picture of all the grandchildren with Papa and Gigi.  

Tilly and I took a selfie on the beach with my phone  

And then our family reenacted the very same pose we took the summer before last.  It was a wonderful week at the beach with our family.  Thank you, Papa and Gigi, for planning and providing such a wonderful getaway for our families.  We loved every minute of it and can't wait to go back!