Taylor
Harbor Walk
View from our room
Taylor and Daddy on our balcony
Kaylie at the amusement park
I love Destin, Florida! It was so nice to spend a week with my family just relaxing. Neale planned this trip with one of his army buddies, Josh (a/k/a Steve which they have a story behind from back in the day). I wasn't expecting the beach there to be so beautiful! The sand is white with no seashells and the water is clear blue. We went to the beach most mornings, then the pool, and then out to dinner. It was a very long 11 hour ride to get there but the girls were extremely well behaved (in the car that is...I can't say that Kaylie was on her best behavior otherwise....no nap = moody child). The movie player in the car is a lifesaver. I think they must have watched the Barbie movie 20 times. Since we went out to dinner most nights I didn't get much of a chance to take photos. I saved it for the last night there which as a beach photographer I knew was a huge mistake because if the weather was bad there was no time to redo it. Well just my luck we got dressed for photos and walked out to the beach and it started raining! By the time it was done it was really too dark for photos. The beach photos above were taken when it was really dark (ISO 3200+ which is why they don't look so great). It is a real shame because with a place that beautiful I could have gotten some amazing shots. So now I am determined to plan a return trip and plan photos the second day we get there. It is eating me up that I didn't take photos but to be honest I was just relaxing and enjoying being with my family and not working. The other family that went with us also has two little girls so they all played well together. There was a floating trampoline and slide out in the ocean that Neale snuck out to and took advantage of. We did have one incident at the beginning of the trip. We had a cabana set up right at the ocean (you can actually see it in the photo above). The above photo was taken at 7 am so the beach wasn't packed yet but it got PACKED! Taylor was playing in the ocean and walked up right beside and past me. My chair was at the front of the cabana so I thought she was walking right behind me under the cabana to play in the sand with the other kids. A few minutes later I turned around to check on her and she was gone! She apparently hadn't seen me (even though she walked right beside me) and kept walking. We were all in a panic and I took off following where I thought she could have gone. It was only a couple minutes but she made it a long way. A woman must have read the panic on my face and she told me where Taylor was. What a scary moment! I see it happen at our beach all the time and I always question how a parent could lose their child but it can happen in an instant.
The girls are getting so big! At age 2 they were still like babies but age 3 is much different. There is a huge change. I am sad not to have any babies anymore but at the same time the girls are at a fun age. Kaylie is a bit of a diva but she is also the most loving little girl. She thinks she is Cinderella and corrects me all the time if I call her Kaylie. She loves to pretend and dress up. She spends most days in princess dresses and crowns. I can't even tell you the last time she wore pants or shorts. She is all about dressing up. If I ever wear a dress she will say,"Mama, you are so beautiful." She is very much a mama's girl. She loves puzzles and movies. We are working on the whining and trying to teach her that she can't always get her way. She is a bit of a handful when she has her moments but she really is a very sweet, loving little girl. She loves to me silly and she is very hyper. Taylor is still more laid back and quiet. I think she likes being good. She will always say,"Mama, Kaylie is being bad but I am not. I am being good." Taylor also loves to be silly. When you get them both together and they are both in a silly mood it is pretty funny. Taylor likes to play outside. We have started going to the waterpark and the girls love it. Taylor likes to help in any way she can and she prefers to do things on her own. She likes to dress up too and to pretend she is Belle from Beauty and the Beast.
The girls are losing most of their baby ways but they still call Pop Tarts "Poptops".There are several other cute things they say that I have meant to post and now I can't think of them so I will try to remember and post soon.
