A Year of Mommyhood: Tales from a Vacation

Over the weekend, we went on a late vacation. We went down to Pensacola Beach, Florida. We've been down there several times and I really like it. While it is commercial and probably over developed, it still feels overlooked. And the beaches are sooo pretty and the waves are gentle.

We drove down and I really like travelling with my husband. He is super helpful and the kids love having him around.

Mommy "Style": Shorts and t-shirts. And a bathing suit. Nothing exciting.

Accomplishments: The whole family had a fun time. There were no major fights or miscommunications.

High/Low: High: Watching the boys all have fun together in the hotel's pool. They all had a blast. Low: Phil decided on Sunday morning to wake up at 4ish in the morning and not want to go back to sleep. By the time he got back to sleep, Fred and Oliver were up. At one point, I started crying because I knew that it would be a long day and that I'd be exhausted all day, which I was. Luckily, the kids were overall very well-behaved that day, so I guess there are some miracles. :P

Activities: Thursday we spent driving down. Friday, we spent at the beach/hotel pool. Saturday: Beach in the morning where unfortunately the sand flies decided to make a meal of us so we left. After lunch, we went back to the pool and then on a dolphin cruise. At the end of the cruise, the baby and Phil decided to be done and started tantruming. It was pretty awful. Matt was able to get the baby to calm down which meant I could handle Phil. I was very happy to get off of the boat. Sunday, we went to the Naval Air Museum in the morning. Oliver had a mini-meltdown there and didn't want to see much of it. But he did like what he was willing to see. After lunch, we visited Matt's grandmother who lives close to Pensacola. We only spent a few hours with her because the kids started to get a little handsy and grabbing everything insight. Matt and I felt it was better to make a graceful exit rather than one after the kids had broken something. Monday we drove home.

Menu: A highlight of the restaurants we ate at. Thursday we ate at McGuire's Irish Pub. I'm not sure if it is a real restaurant where local/natives eat, but the burger was pretty good and the beer was okay. Friday: for lunch we at a place called the Native Cafe. That was a good breakfast lunch place. For dinner we ate at Flounder's. I've eaten there on our previous trips and I still enjoy it. I'm sure that there are better/more authentic places to eat, but it is good and the service is good. And the best part, is there is a playground in the middle of the restaurant with seating beside it for the adults. The kids had a blast. Saturday: Chick-fil-a for lunch where Phil pinched a kid a on the playground and the father of the kid told me how to parent. Which was very unfair, because both Matt and I were in there, and we were taking care of it. And there was no need to get a threatening tone of voice to my son who is the same age as your kid. It pissed me off. After the dolphin cruise, we out for Mexican. It was standard cheap Mexican. Sunday: we had a late and big lunch at Ruby Tuesday. I think Ruby Tuesday is my favorite chain burger place. For dinner, the kids had Cheez-nips and milk and Matt and I skipped dinner. I was feeling queasy from being up so early and Matt was still full from dinner.

And now the best part, PICTURES!