You have to love going on vacation, no mater where you are going it is nice to get away for awhile! This year we went to Destin, Florida with my family. It was a lot of fun and a great time of relaxing, and for Brody experiencing a lot of new things!! I had some concerns about the drive there since it was going to take us 12 hours, but Brody did great! I thought he would love to play in the sand but he was not to sure of it at first. It was a very different feeling to be walking on something that was a little unstable and not a flat surface. Plus as we all know sand gets EVERYWHERE so he was not to sure about it sticking to his feet or hands. :) However by the end of the week he came around and started to like it as long as he had his shoes on. :) (My mission is to now do messy play so that he will get used to getting all messy!!) :) We had a great time and really enjoyed having Brody with us this time!
This picture was taken towards the end of the week when he was used to the sand and water.
When we go we are so lucky that we get to stay in my brother-in-law's (Eric) Aunts house!! It makes the vacation very
affordable and is only a short walk to the beach!! This picture is of
Marmee with her big helper, Brody! I think he was eating more
cantaloupe then putting it on the plate. :)
While we were there we went to the
Gulfarium in
Destin. It was a lot of fun. We got to see different shows with
Dolphins,
sea lions, and a lot of other animals. Brody really enjoyed the
Dolphins and seeing a really big turtle!
We went to an outside shopping center where Brody had a great night!! He got to drive the boats at Bass Pro, "play in the water", play at a play ground, and ride a train!! I think this was his favorite night on the trip! :) I think this picture is funny because he was so brave when he went up to the water, he put his foot over it and when he let go it came and squirted him in the eye. :) He would only go and see it if daddy was with him
after that. :)
Here Brody and I are ridding the train that went around the shopping center. He had a great time and took everything in!
On this particular day the water was very calm and Brody really enjoyed being out in it since there
wasn't any big waves. Here he is relaxing with daddy!!
Here he is playing in the sand with
Marmee and Pops. He was still not sure about it but was willing to try with them! :)
It is amazing what a little motivation will do for him! He wanted to go and see the jet ski so he walked all by himself in the sand to it! This was a major step for him and help him overcome his fear of the sand. :) After this day he liked to play in it and go for walks. :)
Family pic
Here he is sitting in the shade while playing with all of his toys. :)
Look out ladies here I come!!
Running along the beach after he saw the jet ski again. :)
Another family pic
Marmee and Pops.
We go to two sea food restaurants while we are there and the other nights we cook. This night we were eating at the Back Porch. It is very good and you get to sit at a table overlooking the ocean.
We had a lot of fun with Amy and Eric! Brody really liked being able to spend a long period of time with them. This particular night we went to the beach and took some pictures and looked for the crabs that come out at night.
Family pic
We had a great time while we were there and we very sad to go!
Brody and I had a great day during they day making Brody's 4th of July hat. :) He is at that age now where he needs to be doing arts and crafts so....today we made a hat and got our hands messy with glitter! :) Here he is putting the red stars on the glue dots after he had colored the paper. 
When we were in Florida I realized that Brody needed to start doing things that involved getting messy and touching different textures. So I pulled out the glitter and we went to town. After he helped me pour it on the hat he got to make designs out of it. What kid does not like glitter!! :)
Look at my hands mom I have glitter all over them!! :)
The finished product!! He liked playing with the pipe cleaners while I showed him how I was twisting them. I got this idea out of Family Fun magazine which is a great magazine to get!! There are lots of fun creative ideas in there! 
Here we are at Jason's parents house. It is a tradition that we go over there every year and celebrate the fourth. There is always lots of yummy food, Volleyball, and an Excellent fire works show!!
I think he was pretty proud of his hat! :) I thought he looked cute in it! :)
