Destin... a little piece of heaven

On our way out to Disney World, we stopped in Destin for a mini-weekend vacation. Sorting through these pictures just makes me miss summer oh so much! I can't believe we still have all of February and some of March to live through until she makes her way back. Oh, how I love summer. And, oh, how I love Destin. I think this place needs to be moved to a spot on our "must visit every year" list, despite its growing length.

Anyway, with our credit card points, we were able to score a condo-like hotel room that had two separate rooms + a common area. The girls LOVED that they had their very own room. Big bonus points that it came with a TV!! And cartoon network, lol.

The biggest hit, for everyone, was, of course, the beach. You really can't beat the beaches in Destin. The water is a aqua blue and the sand is pure white. Just perfect.

After building sand-castles for a while, Chad got bored and talked the girls into letting him bury them in the sand.

And, then, it was his turn to get buried!

We came back for some sunset pictures. Boy, it was so beautiful out there!

After our weekend in  Destin, it was time to pack up and move on. The girls were so excited!!

Our Disney Trip

Awww - Finally!! I found some time (it took all weekend!) to sort my pictures and blog about our trip - you know, the one that happened September 2011. Anyway, here it is:

DAY ONE

DAY TWO

DAY THREE

DAY FOUR

DAY FIVE

DAY SIX

 

Final Day - Animal Kingdom

Sadly, day 6 was our final day at the parks. We saved Animal Kingdom for today. The girls were excited to get to go to 'Mickey's Zoo', lol. We decided to drive here because there wasn't an easy way to get their with Disney transportation.

We were let into the park early due to our breakfast reservations with Donald Duck at the Tusker House. Breakfast was good, but, I wouldn't do it again. We just got so much more with our package at the princess dinner at Epcot. The girls did enjoy seeing Donald and Daisy Duck though.

Animal Kingdom was the perfect way to end the trip. There were lots of exotic animals to look at. The girls really enjoyed that part.

And, we even got to see a princess!!

And, see several really cool shows. I think "It's a Bugs Life" was a family favorite. It was a 4D adventure that included personalized bug stings!

And, there were even lots of rides. Georgia Ann was most excited about the Triceratops ride!!

Sara's favorite ride was Dinosaur! which is rated as one of the scariest rides at the park. Again, she was calmed by letting everyone know that dinosaurs are just extinct and these were just robots that were nailed in place. Georgia Ann was too small for the ride, so I took her to get a snack, instead. She didn't seem to mind.

We closed the park down (which was easy since it closed at 5 PM). But, needless to say, the girls were pooped. The last image just about says it all.

All in all, it was an AWESOME trip. Very memorable and so much fun! I can't wait to get back there for Georgia Ann's 4th birthday. Only 1.5 years and counting, lol!

Day FIVE - break day!

For day five, we built in a break. And, thankfully, Granny and Pa-paw offered to keep the girls onsite, giving Chad and me a break as well. They took the girls to the fabulous pool and splash pad during the day while Chad and I did our best to "drink around the world" at Epcot. I only made it to Morocco, so less than half way. Note to self: don't start out at the tequila bar next time.

We all met back for dinner because we had reservations for Mickey's Backyard BBQ. It's an 'all-you-can-eat' BBQ buffet - and it is hosted right at the Ft. Wilderness. So, it was a simple golf-cart ride away. The girls both dressed in their Jessi costumes and were ready for some fun!

Day FOUR - Magic Kingdom, part 2

Since we were only able to really explore less than half the park the day before, we headed back to Magic Kingdom for Day FOUR. After a restful night, the girls were roaring to go! And, because we only needed to be there at rope-drop this morning, we took the ferry straight there!

Look at the difference when you arrive only 30 minutes early vs the 90 minutes early we were yesterday!

Despite the crowd, we pushed our way up to the front and got to view the rope-drop from  a different perspective (in the crowd vs. up on the stage!).

In the morning, we first had to visit with the Fairy Godmother, of course.

And, she let us know that Rapunzel, or as Sara called her, Tangled, was waiting for us just around the corner.

Georgia Ann couldn't get over her long beautiful braid. After that, we were off to race cars at Tomorrowland Speedway. I think Sara even to got to drive!

Then, we tackled the rest of Tomorrow Land and road pretty much everything they had to offer. Sara even was brave enough to take on Stitch's Great Escape, but she was VERY disappointed that Lilo didn't make an appearance. I think Buzz Lightyear's ride was the favorite - and Chad outscored us all. 

After our whirlwind tour of Tomorrowland, we at a quick lunch and headed back to the room for a nap. Once we were feeling refreshed, we loaded up and headed back to the park. We had a 5 PM reservation for Georgia Ann's first hair cut. And...right about that time, my camera battery died. I had a fresh one back at our cabin, but of course, forgot to pack it in my travel camera bag. Hopefully Granny got lots of cute shots of the haircut and our evening activities. Those included, a big train ride (which Georgia Ann loved) and several rides in Frontierland and Adventureland. Sara even rode on Big Thunder Mountain! And, they both loved the Jungle Cruise and Pirates of the Caribbean.

We finished up Day Four by watching the electric parade. The girls got the best view - ontop of Mommy and Daddy's shoulders! And, then we got to watch the fireworks on the ferry as it took us back to our cabin. It was a long day and the girls were beat!