Thursday...

Today was pretty much back to normal. Sunny and hot. We had a pretty good breeze all day and it is picking up pretty good right now. The surf has gotten pretty wild, with much bigger waves hitting the shore. I wouldn't say you could surf on them, but for what we have seen here, it is pretty rough. A lot different than the other morning when the two dolphins were swimming around.


We started the day by taking the kids to breakfast at Dunkin Donuts. They can be a challenge to get to eat, so we thought a good sugar filled start to the day would get them going. Caitlin ate some "blue cake" (blueberry muffin). She loves it, and makes quick work of the oversized ones she usually gets at Starbucks. This was just as big and was devoured just as quickly. Austin wanted a chocolate doughnut with sprinkles. He licked off most of the frosting and sprinkles but wouldn't bite to eat the dough part. Oh well...We have learned on this trip that if you let him walk around with a bag of animal crackers he is good. Never seen someone consume the pure quantity of animal crackers as he has, and I am not sure of the nutritional value, but at least he eats them! He will eat some occassional chicken nuggets, strawberries, grapes, and, of course, goldfish. Caitlin has been eating her noodles (circle pasta), grapes, strawberries and goldfish. She is snacking on some mini ritz right now. I'm not sure if we have mentioned it yet, but we discovered they LOVE Oreos the past few days...well, not the whole thing, just the frosting inside...Boy would they love to know about DoubleStuff...


After breakfast, we stopped and took a look at a couple of other condos that we have driven by and wanted to take a look at for future trips. There is probably a mile long stretch of different condo buildings, some really nice, some not quite as nice, and some that really need some updating. I think we found one that we will try to reserve for a week next summer. The place we are at this week has probably the best view of any place on the beach, but is just average in terms of being updated and taken care of. Not bad, but not great, either. There are places for the same price that would be better. Without being on Waikiki, this is probably about as close as you can get in the lower 48. To be here for a week without a storm messing with the weather would be great! I see why this place is like a magnet for people to come spend the winter months, and people make big money renting places out.


We spent about an hour on the beach this morning after taking a look at the other condos. Austin has seemed to like the water less as the week has gone on. Adventure girl just gets more and more comfortable. She runs to the water whether you are with her or not. She loves it. During nap time, Kim walked the beach and found some more shells. She definitely loves to look for them, and the collection that she and the kids have got to take home is pretty impressive. We have alot!


After the kids woke up from their nap, we went down to the pool. They can float around and be in the water much more than in the gulf. We spent a couple of hours down there. We are going to have some dinner and then watch another beautiful sunset. It is amazing, no matter what the weather is during the day, the sunsets are absolutely postcardesque. There are amazing colors and they have been breathtaking every night. People stream to the beach to take pictures of them. We have sat on our balcony and enjoyed them everynight. Looking forward to the last two we get to see tonight and tomorrow night.


We will split time tomorrow between the beach and the pool, I would suspect, and then head home Saturday morning. We lost a couple of days of good weather to Fay, but we have had a great time here for sure, and hopefully can come back many times. Good to spend so much time with Kim and the kids with nothing really to stress or worry about. I guess that is what vacations are for! I haven't been the best at taking them. We have gone places, but done tons of sightseeing or been really busy. Nice to come to a place as beautiful as this and do really nothing but enjoy the beauty and spend time with the family!

The kids carrying water in their buckets from the gulf today

Kim in the pool with the kids this afternoon. Caitlin is a fish! She floated around in her "floatie" and life jacket for at least an hour today learning to kick and paddle around. Austin clings pretty hard to you still.

Another unbelievable sunset from the other night. We have taken a lot of picture of them and I am sure one of them will end up blown up and hanging in our house. A picture doesn't do them justice. Caitlin was telling us the colors in the sky on this night.