Our Last Pics of Destin....

Whew. Today was a long day of driving, and I have never been so glad to be back home! We left early this morning (Jeff and Brady flew back yesterday) and we had been up extra early to watch the weather to see when exactly we would experience Hurricane Fay. (Okay, it was not a hurricane, but I'm going to call it that for dramatic affect.)It looked like it was JUST about to "hit" us when we walked out the door so we were surely going to 'drive fast'. The problem was that the wind was incredible. We had a few sprinkles here and there but the wind was whipping around us and I had to make sure I was in the car with the lowest center of gravity. My mom drives a trail blazer and for this trip it had one of those luggage things on top of it so I was surely not going to be in that car... I opted out for my dad's safe Chevy Malibu. We were about to go over a huge bridge and I definitely didn't want to be in the car that had a greater chance of flipping over into the Bay. Thankfully we all made it over the bridge just fine.

We actually had a great drive and I read an entire book on our way home. "sTORI telling" by Tori Spelling. ;) I know, not exactly a classic, but a fast and interesting read nonetheless. My sister has gotten me addicted to her show, and of course 90210 reruns are some of my favorite things on T.V. so I just HAD to read it! We didn't hit rain until the last hour or so of the drive, and I literally started to feel a panic attack coming on.

Let me preface this by saying that I had never had a panic attack until right after Brady was born. We were in the hospital and there were a lot of people in the room (Brady wasn't even in there) and I all of a sudden started to feel claustrophobic. Jeff must have seen what was happening and told everyone that I needed to get some sleep (that sweet husband of mine) and asked me what was wrong... and I told him I had this weird feeling and my heart was racing along with my mind and I was overcome with a weird fear... I'm not even sure of what. I think it was moreso the overwhelming feeling that comes with being a new mom and feeling as though you may not live up to your own expectations of yourself, let alone anybody else's expecations. Then there came the night a week or two after we were home from the hospital when Jeff was about to run out and get us something to eat for dinner... and I didn't want him to go. I just KNEW that something bad was going to happen to him and that I was going to be left all alone to take care of our son who would never know his father. (Have I told this story before? I don't remember... but it's vivid in my mind... still.) I don't know what had happened to me, but I can say that I'm grateful that these feelings have subsided... for the most part.

So when we hit the storms I felt this same feeling coming on... and it was all I could do to hold onto the side of the door and look out the passenger window. Looking through the windshield was awful because I couldn't see the car in front of us, and we were about to cross over Lake Ray Hubbard... ugh, another bridge. We definitely hydroplaned once or twice.

The moral of the story is that we did make it back safely and right now, as I'm writing this, my little B Man is sound asleep in his crib... he was so happy to be in his own bed, as am I.

So back to our actual trip. We were busy! After a busy day of fishing (and a successful one, I might add), Jeff, my dad and Cam went to golf at some beautiful golf course in Destin. Jeff was worried about it (although he would never admit it) because my dad and brother play almost every Saturday and my brother has actually gotten quite good. So he was sure that he wouldn't play well because I don't think he's played since before Brady was born. But, to my surprise (and his, actually), he beat both of them! He did admit that he has seen my brother play better, but he also said he played the 'back nine' better than he had in a long time! A girl's gotta be so proud!! You go, honey!




On Wednesday night, my dad kept our Little Man and we went on a date to Seaside. We absolutely love Seaside, but this time was kind of different because it was actually completely dead. All the stores were closed and we got there at like 6:00. I was so looking forward to all of the little vendors, but they weren't even going to be open until Labor Day! The snowcone place wasn't even open! But we did go to the French restaurant that I'd been wanting to try for a really long time. It's always looked so romantic, and it was! It ended up being Tapas and Sushi, and it was really good!! Jeff was feeling quite adventurous this trip because he split a California roll with me! (I still can't believe the Oyster thing ever happened, but I have the pictures to remind me). My mom, Katie, Cam and Trent went to putt putt that night while we were out and about and Brady and my Dad stayed home. It was wonderful to be 'us' again... even if it was just for a moment. (OH, by the way... KATE - if you're reading this, I found the perfect guy for you... he was our waiter at Seaside and he was completely cute and charming, in a stylish, but organic kind of way. He wore glasses, cute ones. We'll chat later.)




On Thursday, thanks to my dad, all of us (except my mom and Brady) went to rent jet skis. It was so much except for one little thing. See, my dad thought that Jeff and Cam would be kind of "racing" or trying to keep up with one another or at least 'out do' one another and he didn't want me to be subject to that. (Or at least that's what he said. I think really he didn't want Jeff to feel 'inhibited' by me). So we each got our own jet ski so we could all drive. I thought we were all going to stay together and we went off into the bay (much, MUCH, friendlier than the Gulf). Sure enough, I see Jeff go off into some little cove and everyone else went ahead of me. Being the good wife that I am, I wanted to wait for him so I circled in the bay, trying to keep an eye on everyone and else and him at the same time. Soon, though, I didn't see them and I didn't see him. I was at a loss... but then I saw a little spec coming toward me from the Cove and it was Jeff. So we decided that we wanted to go out into the Gulf and see if we could go all the way up the coast to our Condo. There we went... out in the Gulf, by ourselves. (Oh, did I mention that the ONLY reason we were even allowed to go in the Gulf was because we rented more than 2 Jet Skis? Yeah... it was supposed to be a Buddy System.) But since I was much faster, and getting much more "air", I might add, I kept looking behind me for Jeff, stopping occasionally to make sure that he was alright, because he was way behind me.

Eventually as I was driving, almost to the condo, I looked back and didn't see him. My thought was "Oh my goodness, he fell off in the middle of the ocean and has been eaten by a shark!" (I did mention my panic attacks earlier, correct?) I immediately turned around and started searching for him, but mostly I was trying to head straight back, sure I was going to stumble upon him along the way and he'd be fine. I didn't see any sign of him. I could just imagine jumping off the jet ski and screaming at my Dad to send the Coast Guard to look for him. I was in tears, and my heart was racing! I finally turned the corner around the jettys and there he was. WHAT IN THE WORLD?????? I was ticked. He told me that he had gotten ahead of me at some point and when he turned around I was gone. No way is this possible, although this is the story he is sticking to even as he sits next to me while I'm writing this.





On Thursday night after all of this fiasco, we went to Baytowne Wharf and ran into the Olson family who is supposed to be leaving tomorow if they have any luck dodging Hurricane Fay. (Again, dramatic affect). It's their first time to Destin and I hope that they enjoyed it even though the weather was kind of bad today and a little cooler yesterday. I can't believe we were so lucky as to vacation there twice in one summer. They were two totally different trips, and we are so grateful that our sweet friends, Justin and Joanna (and soon Pierce) get to share in this vacation with us every year. It truly is such a wonderful family vacation spot, and I know we all look forward to bringing our families there for years to come.







As we were leaving this morning, I felt like I was saying goodbye to summer. Summer vacation is over, Jeff starts school back this week and I start my new semester of Bible Study. PreSeason Football is almost over and my sister already went back to BU tonight. It's gone by so fast, I think, but I am so ready for what lies ahead. I missed my routine... almost as much as Brady's missed his. He didn't sleep so well this week, and I am hoping and praying that once he's back in his crib tonight he will be back to normal. He's always been a good sleeper, so I'm nervous that maybe God's getting us back on our previous good luck.

That's it for me. Short and sweet, right? Who am I kidding? You bloggers are only in it for the pictures, right? So I've added plenty here for ya! Nightie Night.