Sunshine & Summertime

Whew! A lot has been going on since my last post. I spent the first part of last week packing and cleaning and getting ready for Florida!! It was our second annual summer family vacation. We've gone to the Smoky Mountains every winter for the last 10-12 years and last year we started a summer vacation. Only the ladies in my family go (plus my 10 year old cousin, John Aaron). We loaded down the vehicles and left out early Thursday morning- not as early as planned though. We made it to Panama City Beach, FL about 6pm Thursday afternoon. Before you think "why on earth would they go to a party town?" let me tell you that we stayed on the "outskirts" of town. We were surrounded by families and small children in our condo.

Until our stay, my niece Chloe had been almost terrified of water. She would get in the pool, but would want to hold on to someone. At the condo she would jump in, splash, play in the 5' deep water. Chloe definitely had the best time in the pool. She also enjoyed playing at the beach (the dry sand) but not the ocean (wet sand). That's how she distinguished between the two. Last year she thought the beach/ocean/sand was Florida so every time we went back to the condo or to eat she would want to "go back to Florida".

We shopped at the new Pier Park. Last year some stores were open, but this year it is complete. I enjoyed the shopping, but it was super crowded!

We drove back Monday morning- early- for Chloe's tee-ball game at 5:30 and John Aaron's game at 6pm. It was Chloe's last game so after it was over she got a trophy and a certificate. She was so proud. I took a few pictures, but I haven't uploaded them yet. After the game mother dropped me off at a friends house. Brad and some of his hunting buddies were having a duck club meeting. I finally got home around 10 that night- the first time since early Thursday morning. I'm still working on cleaning and picking up, but I made major progress yesterday.

I'll post pictures hopefully this weekend!

Have a great rest-of-the-week! :)