Love This Girl

Homeschool cabinet ready to go! Let's do this! : )

Florida Vacation 2013, A Weeks Worth of Pics : )

Growing up my family took a beach trip every summer to Panama City Beach and we would stay in a gated community called Venture Out. It's nothing really fancy but exactly what a vacation SHOULD be; very relaxing, quiet, and on the beach. : )

Venture Out sits right across the street from the beach and the back looks over the bay. Each little home is no bigger than a 3 bedroom and there are lots of golf cart trails all around! We love that we can just park the car and get to everything we need by golf cart.

This summer we joined my parents for a trip and I was beyond thrilled to take Benjamin and the kids to enjoy this little piece of heaven. ; )

We had this wonderful little house that was at the back of Venture Out and this was our view every morning. So heavenly. As you can see from the picture the back pool was also right across the street for quick access. We could put Dawson down for a nap with PePaw and run over to the pool for a few hours. ; )





One of the first stops was dinner at Pineapple Willy's. Check out Dad and Benjamin's cupcakes they got for being the birthday boys! : )



Camp and Emma Claire could.not.wait. to go fishing with their new fishing poles and bait PePaw got them. This pier was just steps away from our little house we were staying in.





They even had a visitor come up while they were fishing! You think Camp could catch him with his little pole? ; 0












Emma Claire and Camp planned and packed this little picnic all themselves. ; )



Another favorite thing of mine to do in Florida is go Putt-Putt. I know there has to be a rule somewhere that says you can't go to Florida without putt-putting.



However, next time we'll try to go when it's not 90 degrees outside. We were all drenched with sweat!



I love how into the game Emma Claire and Camp got!




















As a child it always amazed me how the hole 'ate' the ball on the last putt. So fun to see the mysterious looks on their faces!



They are not big enough for the sky coaster or bungee seat in FL yet so this trampoline will have to do! : )

There was PLENTY of time for snuggles and kisses...



Can you tell that Emma Claire has on her princess crown? She really thinks she is a real princess and I'm just not ready to tell her otherwise. : )

This pool was literally right out side our front door. We spent HOURS in it.



Emma Claire is one of those who can make friends anywhere she goes. She buddied up with this little girl and they spent hours seeing who could stay under the water the longest and who could touch the bottom and come back up first.





Camp was doing his best to sneak up on the birds on the beach. He would get so excited when he would get close and they would take off in the sky.









We always keep the munchies at the beach!







This right here was heaven for Camp and for Emma Claire, too, for that matter.



I can't tell you how excited he was to go on these race cars. The movie Lightening McQueen is his absolute favorite movie of all time.





I think both of their mouths were open every time they came around the corner!

And can you see the look of determination on dads face? He was determined to not let Benjamin beat him. : )



Pure Joy!



Here's a little fun fact: When Benjamin and I were dating we would go to this very same fun park EVERY summer with our youth group at youth camp. This fun tradition started when I was 13. I would sit much like Camp and watch Benjamin hit baseball. (with my mouth closed of course. ; )

Can you tell how much he admires his Daddy in this picture?!







Here we are almost 17 years later! The last time we were there I rode that sky coaster in the background with Benjamin. I did it once and will NEVER do it again! So fun to experience this with our kids!



One of my favorite treats of all time! Dippin' Dots. What I wouldn't give for one to be here in Raleigh.
























The weather was just perfect while we were there. We didn't even get any of those afternoon Florida storms until the last day we were there.





Dawson was fearless!





Love those snuggles and big eyes!



Camp and Emma Claire jumped and jumped off the side of the pool until our arms couldn't catch them anymore. The both eventually began jumping by themselves with their floaties on. They are getting SO brave!



Guess who got hermit crabs from the souvenir shop?!



Can you tell how excited Benjamin is??



We spent many afternoons and nights cruising around on the golf cart just relaxing and taking in the scenery.

Can you believe how clear the water was? It was so peaceful and there were barely any waves. More like pool water.










Lots of being silly.









We loved having this playground beside us for when the kids had just a little bit too much energy.

Dawson and PePaw buddied up all week and stayed in the shade!





This fun Pirate Ship Cruise came by and shot a cannon off. Camp was sure it was Jake and the Neverland Pirates!

The kids loved playing on this big bull outside of Angelo's Steakhouse. (And we loved the steak inside : )



We had such a wonderful trip. Can you tell by how worn out the kids were on the way home??

I loved this tradition as a child and can't wait to make it part of our yearly tradition with my family. It was SO worth the drive and we can't wait to go back next year!

Thanks, RaRa and PePaw, for such a wonderful vacation! See ya next year!