Show & Tell – Favorite {Family} Vacation
Today I’m linking up with Andrea for Show & Tell Tuesday – Favorite Vacations.
We have only taken a handful of family vacations that have not revolved around a sporting event and most of our summers since my Bigs were 12 or 13 included some out of state trip that accounted for our vacation. So when Jordan was graduating high school I knew it was the last chance we might have to all be together for a week away. Finding a location that will satisfy the interest of teenagers and little kids is not easy. My families idea of a vacation is relaxing but if we go somewhere with a lot of attractions I want to see everything so the beach was a great compromise. We decided to book a condo in Fort Walton, Florida just across the bridge from Destin and it was the perfect choice for a relaxing time together with a little something for everyone.
After a little research, I booked a week at the Waterscape Condominiums. It is located right on the beach with a lazy river, large pool and a second adult pool. At the time Carly was almost four and there was also a splash pad area so it was perfect. There were plenty of grills available for cooking dinner outdoors.
Our condo had two full bedrooms and bathrooms, a bunk area which the Littles were super stoked about, a pull out sofa and a fully stocked kitchen and laundry area. We hit the grocery store on the first night to stock up for the week. Having a washer and dryer was a huge plus and when we do this again I will know not to pack nearly as much. We had a great view off the balcony of the water and the pool.
The water when we arrived was beautiful and the littles immediately changed and headed down to play in the water before sunset.
The first two days we pretty much hung out at the beach or at the pool the entire day with naps in between. The Bigs were able to sleep as late as they wanted while we headed straight to the beach to claim our spot. The hotel provided two chairs and an umbrella which was also nice.
Algae moved in the second day and the water was no longer a pretty blue but instead a murky green. This did not deter us from playing in the waves and working on our sandcastle skills. We will not be winning any awards in this area but we had so much fun!
We had never had professional pictures made as a family so I researched a few local photographers and on our second day we had a photoshoot! I so treasure these pictures as they truly captured our family so well. If you ever have your family together for vacation I highly recommend doing this if you have the resources. I am the photographer in our family which means I have tons of great pictures of my family but none of me interacting with my family. Money well spent!
On day four the boys and I booked a charter and headed out early for a little fishing. Keith doesn’t mind the beach but there is no way he was going to be surrounded by water and not have a rod in the water at some point. Riley was the only one to catch anything but we had a great time trying.
When we returned to shore these crabs were everywhere and Dillon had a field day catching them!
Jordan took Carly to play at the splash pad while we were gone.
We spent most of the afternoon hanging out in the pool and enjoying the lazy river before grilling burgers for dinner.
We headed back down to the beach after dinner to play a little paddle ball and just enjoy the night.
On day five we headed out early for parasailing. I somehow failed to take the battery for my camera and so I don’t have pictures but we had so much fun. Even Jordan who is afraid of heights….and water agreed to go and while I won’t say she liked it she did experience something new.
Then it was back for more time at the beach in the afternoon.
Keith & Riley headed out on an offshore excursion on day 6 and had a chance to catch some red snapper, vermilion snapper, white snapper, scamp grouper, trigger fish and a moray. The deck hands Tater Tot, Mighty Mouse and Bud kept the boys entertained.
I had to convince the Littles it was a good idea to head down to the pool for awhile but once they were there it was back to having fun. After Keith and Dillon returned, the girls headed into Destin and found some shopping.
On our last full day we took the Littles on the Little Nemo fishing excursion. Dillon and Carly had a turn navigating the boat.
And each was able to catch a fish.
Carly was not impressed in the least!
She loved being captain the most!
Last night we got cleaned up and walked across the street to eat at Old Bay Steamers and we enjoyed Alaskan King Crab legs among other things. It was such a nice night.
One last walk on the beach with flashlights to find these little boogers. They are super fast but Dillon managed to catch a few. If you ever go to the beach be sure to take flashlights as this was one of our favorite parts of the trip and it’s cheap fun.
I think we would all agree this vacation was perfect. Everyone had their space if needed, we didn’t spend a ton of money eating out or driving around. We just enjoyed being a family.
Thank you Andrea for hosting this linkup! It was so fun going back through and reliving this special time. I’m ready to go back!
Also linking up with a few other Tuesday favorites you can find here!
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What a wonderful family vacay! I feel relaxed just reading about it 🙂
The beach is always the perfect place to relax! Have a great day!
We got married on Fort Walton Beach!! It is absolutely gorgeous!
Beautiful place to get married!
I need to borrow that red bikini! Fun vacay!
Haha….funny story about that suit. I picked up a couple of suits from Target for that trip and learned a good lesson. Lighter color + thinner fabric….and my kids thought it was hilarious they could see my tattoo through the swimsuit. Thinking my bikini days are over. You are on countdown for your trip! So exciting.
Awe that looks like a blast. I love the professional pictures! This sounds like the perfect vacation for sure 🙂
The beach is always my favorite place to relax!
Oh.my.goodness! Can we talk about how little your kids were?! And, this wasn't even that long ago! And now you have me REALLY wanting to go to the beach! Great post! Loved it!
Hard to believe Jordan has been out of high school that long! It has already been 8 years!!!
I love, love, love this post! And the pictures are the best—especially the family jumping up one 🙂 Looks like y'all had an absolute blast!
Thanks Jenny! Wish I had this on my list to do again soon. I love the beach!
Absolutely gorgeous!! They should hire you to be a travel photographer, those pictures definitely inspired me to want to visit!
-Erin (No Bohns About It)
Erin you are too sweet! I love taking pictures and having these memories to share. I actually journaled our entire trip and was so glad I was able to open that word file and remember all the fun we had.
Wow- what a great vacation! The beach looks amazing. I really love your idea of doing professional pictures while on vacation. It's so hard to get the timing right for those and on vacation you know everyone will be there. Thanks for sharing!
I love the beach family photos! And you look like you BELONG on a boat, Shelly! Awesome trip! 🙂
Haha Emily I can't wait to tell Keith you said that! I love being on a boat as long as we are in a nice calm bay…I get green in a hurry at the slightest bit of rough water.
What a great vacation! I love FWB/Destin…I took a few girls' trips out there in my single days. Thanks for the tip on the condo's. They look perfect for a family vacation.
It looks like you had a fabulous time. Those pictures are great! I wish we could make it to the beach one day soon!!
Thanks for linking up to the Saturday Spotlight! 🙂