Vacation Part 2

Day 5: Friday

Kim and Quinn left before lunch. The house seemed really empty once they were gone.
We went to Dave's Dogs for lunch. So good! We eat there every year. He makes his chili from scratch. The kids always get chili cheese nachos. We spent the rest of the day at the outlet mall. Nike, Fossil, Hanes, Gap, KB Toys, Big Dog, Tommy Hilfiger and the linen place that I can never remember the name of. For the first time in our married life, Chris and I bought towels. (We got 28 towel sets for wedding gifts) The kids shopped wisely. They each had $25 to spend. They did really well. Can't remember what we ate for supper. But we swam again. Oh, and we went to Krispie Kreme again. ;o)

Day 6: Saturday

Good day. We rode our bikes down to the State Forest. Long ride. We swam when we got back. We snacked and ate at home. We watched movies that we'd bought the day before. The kids watched Cheaper By the Dozen 2. Chris and I watched Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. I really liked it. Kind of confusing the 1st time you watch it. We went to the beach. We flew the kite and built a huge sand castle. After supper, we drove down to Seaside to get ice cream. There was a free concert in the square. (which isn't actually a square... more of a semi-circle bowl.) We stayed for a while and enjoyed it.

Day 7: Sunday

Plan: go bowling and eat out. Reality: I fall down the steps and wrench my knee. Very painful. I had to sit with ice on it for a while. Then we went to Walgreens and bought me a knee brace. It was still a good day. Chris and the kids bowled while I videoed. Gracie bowled a 102. 2 strikes and a spare. Amazing. We ate out at our favorite diner in Destin. We bought Brody an air-brushed t-shirt with his name on it. We swam. All in all we had a great last day.

Day 8: Monday

Time to go home. We woke to the sound of rain. How appropriate. We packed up and headed out. We ate at McDonald's in Luverne. The kids listened to music and played with each other. We had a scavenger hunt. (Find the statue of Elvis. Find the giant cow sign. Find the boat on top of a building. etc.) We enjoyed our time together.

As I think back on our vacation, I mostly remember the quiet relaxation. We truly enjoyed being together. The kids didn't complain very much. The parents didn't have to say no very much. I got to sleep. Chris got to eat out. The kids got to swim and ride bikes. We all got to get new stuff. Everyone got what they wanted most: family time.