Fall Break in Florida Part 2

Happy Wednesday!

Well, we had snow flurries yesterday which is a far cry from 80 degree temps and the salt water we got to experience on Fall Break.

Last week, I shared part 1 of our trip, and today I’m recapping the last couple of days.

Wednesday:

On Wednesday, we all had a slow start to the day, and people kind of did their own thing. Some of the moms went shopping and took the girls. I stayed back and read on the screened in porch while drinking my coffee.

Travis took Hayden to the pool for his exercises and stretching.

Then, Travis worked from the house the rest of day as some of the others did as well. I guess this was the point of vacay where we had to put the fun aside and get caught up on work. haha

Then, some of us had some beach time. The girls (Hadley & Co.) spent most of the day at the pool.

The weather could not have been more perfect. I enjoyed my book and my Truly and continued to work on my tan. On this day, I kind of joked about how fun it was vacationing with my family (I was the only one at the beach. haha)

I headed back to the house around 3:00 to shower and rest. Then, it was the “parents night out” for dinner. All the kids hung at the house, and we ordered pizza for them.

We had dinner reservation at Old Florida Fish House. They couldn’t seat all 12 of us together, so we split up with a guys table and a girls table.

The setting was beautiful, and the food was delicious.

On our way out, we were able to get a group pic. It turned out so great!

Then, we went back to the house and enjoyed music by the fire. (Not everyone is lucky enough to travel with a talented musician and his guitar!)

Thursday:

Thursday morning was another slow one. Since it was our last day of vacay, we all knew it was our last day to relax.

Most of us eventually headed to the beach. We all wanted to maximize our time there since it was the last day.

Poor Hayden spent most of his time on the couch (or in the pool doing his exercises)

Hadley joined me on the beach. After a day at the pool the day before, the girls were ready to have fun in the sun and the sand.

Since we knew we’d have to start packing up that night and wanted to spend as much time on the beach as possible, we all headed back to the house late afternoon to freshen up and have a late lunch instead of going out to dinner. All the families kind of did their own thing. My family headed in to Seaside to go to Great Southern.

Travis and Hayden wanted one more round of oysters.

We got the calamari app, and I got a salad. Then, we enjoyed ice cream at It’s Heavenly afterwards.

Then, we went back to the house. The kids ran around and played a bit before heading to the beach for one more sunset.

We (all the moms) wanted *casual* family photos, and we made it all work.

We took turns snapping pics of each family. I love how ours turned out. (Some things do get easier with time!)

Hadley took a pic of Travis and me…

The kids gave me a few more smiles…

…before we snapped all the different combos of group kid photos. haha

Love this crew:

The girls, boys, and the oldest girls…

…and then the best pic of all. Thank goodness for a timer on the phone! (We were missing one family, but I love this pic so much.)

Then, we sat down for the last few minutes and enjoyed a beverage while watching the sunset.

It was a good one! Nothing beats a beach sunset.

We stayed until dark, and then headed back to the house. We still hadn’t made S’mores, so that was on the agenda for the last night.

Then, we all started packing up to make the morning easier before heading to bed.

Friday:

We were all up and at ’em pretty early. I did enjoy one more cup of coffee on the porch before helping clean out the fridge, tidying up the house, and doing a walk through to make sure nothing was left behind. It was all hands on deck (You should have seen the carriage house after a few days with four girls!), but we got it done.

Everyone was on the road by 9. It was quite the drive home. We hit traffic in Nashville, so it was almost an eleven hour drive back. The good thing is the kids were so tired, the slept quite a bit.

I think we all felt like we could have used one more beach day, but it was nice to have the whole weekend to unpack, do laundry, get groceries, and prep for the week ahead.

This trip couldn’t have gone any better. I think it helps that the kids are all at a great traveling age that also provided flexibility for all. If a kid didn’t want to stay at the beach, they could stay at the house. The parents were able to go out one night, all the families could hang, or we could all just do our own thing.

We’ve been blessed with amazing friendships with amazing families. It’s so nice that when the kids became friends, the parents all became friends too. I know this is a vacation (and photos!) that we’ll remember fondly and hope to do again in the future.

Thanks for following along. Now, don’t mind me…I’m off to find my winter coat. Brrr!