Summer Days at Miramar Beach

Two Thursdays ago, Dana and I packed my car to the gills, loaded up our four kids, and headed to Miramar Beach, Florida. We went to meet up with Diana, Jamey, and Alcee, who invited us to stay with them in their condo in the Seascape Resort area. Kenny and Dave had to work Thursday and Friday, but Dana and I decided there was no reason we couldn’t go early and get an extra beach day in.

It took us over five hours to get there, but we arrived relatively unscathed, although very ready to be out of the car. The kids immediately ran off to explore the condo and play, while the adults unloaded and put stuff away. Then while Dana and Diana went to the grocery, Jamey and I took the five kids to swim in the resort’s nearest pool.

After about an hour of swimming, we walked back to the condo to shower and have dinner. This first night was also when Alcee introduced the other kids to her current favorite movie, The Nightmare Before Christmas. Riley was skeptical about it at first, but it’s now one of his favorites too.

  

Both boys slept on travel beds in our room and passed out almost instantly. They were wiped.

 

However, Rory decided to wake up before 6am the next morning, which was not cool. So after taking him to the potty, I pulled him into bed with me, and he actually cuddled with me for a good 30 minutes. So sweet. Then Riley woke up and wanted to join the party.

We eventually went downstairs, had breakfast, and got ready to go to the beach. Their condo is across the street from the beach, but a shuttle picked us up right at the end of their street and dropped us off right across from the public access. Perfect! We stayed on the sand for a few hours and then headed back in for lunch and rest. Dana and I were worn out dealing with both of our kids on our own the whole morning. Single parenting at the beach is no joke, especially since the waves were a bit intense that day. But we survived!

 

Rory took a decent nap but woke up whiny and with epic hair. Once he had calmed down a bit and everyone had had snacks, we decided to go to the pool again for a quick swim before dinner. Then it was back to the condo for baths in the crazy hose for the boys while the girls took a leisurely soak in the tub. Everyone ate good dinners and then settled in front of another movie (or with technology) before bed.

 

Kenny and Dave made great time from NOLA and arrived just after 9pm. We fed them a late dinner and then I convinced everyone to play Cards Against Humanity. I had no idea just how much everyone would love it. Especially Diana. We laughed SO hard and had so much fun.

The next morning, we all decided to go back to the beach and stay out through lunch to enjoy our last day. It was great having two extra pairs of hands to haul all of our gear, and we claimed a spot and got set up in no time.

 

 

 

Kenny dug a big hole, which the kids loved standing in. Check out the many faces of Claire below….love her.

  

Riley also found a huge {dead} crab in the Gulf, which Kenny scooped up and brought onto the beach. The crustacean sort of became our mascot, hanging out near the village of sandcastles that Kenny and Claire built. She also decorated the castles with cute little Mardi Gras flags that Dana brought. Gotta bring a little bit of N’Awlins with us wherever we go!

  

Another hit with all of the kids was Claire’s boogie board. There were some arguments about sharing, but for the most part they were good about taking turns.

We stayed on the beach until almost 3pm and then packed everything up and headed back to the condo. Since it had been a long day in the sun, we decided to bathe the kids early and let them play inside the rest of the day. Dana, Diana, and I also cleaned up and then left the kids in the guys’ capable hands. We escaped to the outlets just down the road for a few hours. It was heaven!

We hit up a handful of stores, including Gymboree, Crocs, Loft, and Disney. I got deals on a bunch of pants for Riley from Gymboree and found a few things for myself at Loft. Dana and Diana had success at Gymboree and Crocs, and everyone got something at Disney. We surprised the kids with new friends when we got back: each of them got either a stuffed Dory or a stuffed Hank. They loved them!

Diana and I also found Jack Skellington shirts for Riley and Alcee, which they wore the next day. Claire was mad that she didn’t get a Jack shirt, so Diana actually went back the next day to get her one. And then Colin was upset that he didn’t have one, so Dana had to order him one from Amazon. It is so funny how much those 4 kids love that movie now.

After we put away what we bought and everyone had dinner, we all walked up to get dessert at Dairy Queen. I passed out glow bracelets to all of the kids and off we went. Fun last night treat!

We got the young ones into bed, and once everyone was back downstairs, Diana asked, “Are we going to play Cards Against Humanity again??” So we did, and we laughed. Good times.

 

We woke up the next morning, had breakfast, packed up, and were on the road around 10am. We had such a fun time; Riley has already asked when we’re going back. I’m so grateful we have made such good friends through the school we chose for our boys.

Even if there is a creepy photobomber in the background of our group picture on the beach.