Our second full day at the beach in Perdido, FL was just as pretty as the first. We had a big breakfast on Saturday morning, so everyone lingered around the condo a little later than the previous day before heading to the beach. Riley’s first nap was subsequently pushed back, so I went down to join the others while Kenny stayed up in the condo with the boy. Riley slept, Kenny got some work done, and I had some time with my friends on the sand. All was well.
When Riley finally decided to wake up, Kenny brought him down to the beach for a little playtime before everyone went back in for lunch. We played in the sand, we splashed in the water, and we watched Jeff attempt to create a huge Buzz Lightyear, per Nathan’s request. (He never did quite finish it completely, but it was impressive nonetheless and the kids had fun destroying it after given the okay.)
After lunch and a second nap, we trooped back out late in the afternoon. This was one of the only times everyone was out there, 4-month-old Gabe included. He looked so cute in his little beach attire.
Kenny dug Riley another hole, which he got down into right away. This was a theme throughout our time on the beach. Kenny or I would dig a hole, and Riley would want to get into it. With all of his toys.
And, of course, Riley tasted sand again. Yum. I especially like the picture on the right, with the two snot trails under his nose. Special.
Our last full day was Sunday. Surprisingly, I didn’t take any pictures until after lunch, when the older kids (and Miche) were napping and Kenny came up with an ingenious way to entertain Riley for a bit while the rest of us watched football. Becky and Jeff left to go home just before lunch, but they forgot Gabe’s Bumbo. So what do you get when you stuff Riley and his chubby legs into the Bumbo and put him on top of a blanket on the tile floor? Instant fun with Daddy!
I guess Riley-bean was having too much of a good time on his last day of vacation because he did not want to take a second nap on Sunday afternoon. So Kenny and I threw up our hands, mentally crossed our fingers that this wouldn’t backfire, and went down for one last session in the sand and surf with everyone. And you know what? Riley did great. He had such a fun time playing, and we were so glad for that.
Our last night was a good one, despite the amount of packing we all knew we had to get done the next day. Kenny and I were even able to take a quick family pic out on our balcony before the boy went to bed (thanks, Miche!), and the two of us actually went back out there to eat dinner since it was so nice.
Then in what seemed like no time at all, we were packing up the next morning to go home. That whole process went smoothly (except for my forgetting our hair dryer…..crap), and we were the first family to leave. I wanted to time our departure fairly close to Riley’s morning naptime, which we were able to do easily. He fell asleep about a half hour into the drive, slept for over an hour, and was content the rest of the way home.
We had picture-perfect, glorious weather the entire time we were there. It was sunny and breezy during the day, and it cooled off quite a bit at night. Beautiful sunsets every evening and sunrises every morning. Very clear (although a bit chilly) water, and manageable waves. Not very many other people vacationing at the same time as us, so the beach was practically deserted. We spotted lots of dolphins almost every day, and there was not a jellyfish to be seen the whole trip. We could not have asked for more!
Here’s hoping next year is as good……
