4.19.2018

Thanksgiving Day, 2017: Ft. Walton Beach, Florida!

I'm finally getting around to posting photos from our Florida trip (back in November! haha). It's almost better looking through them later, though, because it's like re-discovering the memories of the trip all over again! It was such a good one, and it literally came about because of a split second decision. 

Here's the backstory: We originally had plans to head up to Indiana to be with family and friends for Thanksgiving, but then Brighton got Botulism. He was in the hospital from October 26th- November 17th. We missed Halloween with our kiddos (luckily my sweet parents flew in to be with them), and we got released to come home just a few days before Thanksgiving. We knew our original Indiana plans needed to change. Brighton was not up for tons of interaction with other people, and we felt like we needed some quality time with our kids after being away in the hospital and back and forth for so long. 

Initially we planned on laying low and staying home for Thanksgiving. But you know, nothing puts life into perspective like having a sick child in the ICU. We had just been through one of the hardest times of our life, and we needed some release. 

We woke up the day before Thanksgiving, looked at each other, and said "Let's go to the beach." We kind of say stuff that a lot, but this time, we really did it. We needed to get away with just our family for the holiday, and just relax. We didn't need turkey and potatoes-- we just needed sun, sand, and each other. This would be the second time we had spent Thanksgiving at the beach, and we knew how amazing it was for our family. (To see photos from that trip, go here: part I, part II, part III, or the video

So we literally packed up the car in one hour, threw the kids in, and headed out. We figured out what beach we were going to about two hours into the drive, booked a condo about four hours in, and arrived in Florida a few hours after that. It was awesome.

Here are some photos of the day after we arrived-- Thanksgiving Day!
^Thanksgiving Day, 2017^
^Waking up after a long drive and realizing you're at the BEACH!^

^The boys loved this bunk bed at the Condo. Cutest ever!^
^What's a vacation without cartoons?^

After the kids ran around the condo for a bit, we set off to find the biggest pancake breakfast in town. I mean, you've gotta' start a vacation-Thanksgiving-day with a bang!

^Sweetest, tiniest, post-botulism baby ever.^


After breakfast and a quick stop to grab some groceries, we headed back to the condo to suit-up for the beach! We were DYING to get to the sand and the waves.

Our balcony had the best view of the beach, and the kids could not wait to get down there and play!


^"Can we go yet??"



TO THE BEACH!!!
^ H O L L A N D ^

^ B R I G H T O N ^

^ B O S T O N ^

^ C A M D E N ^
^"Yook at da sea-sells, mama!"^

After the beach, we walked over to the pool to swim for a bit before we got some dinner. The kids had a blast jumping in over and over again, and Brighton loved chilling on the sidelines with momma.

Everyone swam and swam, and then we got cleaned up and headed out for Thanksgiving dinner! I don't know about you, but not cooking A SINGLE THING on Thanksgiving was pretty amazing. Instead, I had popcorn shrimp and jammed out to the restaurant music with Jordan while the kiddos colored and ate pizza.

It was perfect.
^I love him.^




^Botulism Brights. He was so tiny!^

^Love this little squishable!^

^Running back to the room in wet swimming suits and towels. Such a classic vacation memory!^


It was a perfect Thanksgiving day with my people, in the best place ever.
I'm so glad we just WENT for it and drove down, even if it was a little crazy. So many good memories!!

 (More pictures of Florida, coming up next!)

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