We are back from a week-long family vacation with my parents, my brother and his wife, and I am exhausted. But we sure did have a good time!
We left pretty early the morning of June 28 with cars loaded down and ready for the 8+ hour drive to Singer Island, FL. We stopped for lunch at a Chick-Fil-A outside of Jacksonville where the kids could run off some energy on the playground, and then we finished the trek to the lovely Marriott Ocean Point Resort in Palm Beach Shores, FL. The kids slept for a little bit, and for some strange reason, I love pictures of my kids sleeping in their car seats!
After getting settled in our room, we headed out for dinner at Johnny Longboats, a really fabulous restaurant with even more fabulous desserts! While there, the Hubs spotted an old friend from the youth camp we used to attend in high school who was dining there with her family. Small world! After dinner we stopped at Publix for a massive amount of groceries to feed 8 people for a week!
We were up bright and early the next morning ready to hit the beach!
Up until this point, C had had limited beach experience, and she was not too impressed. After getting sand in her mouth a couple of times, she looked at me, pointed at the ocean and said, "They need to clean that out!" HAHA Needless to say, it was not long before we were headed back to the pool where we spend most of our week.
It started raining shortly after lunch which cut our afternoon outside a little short, but we had come prepared with lots of games and decks of cards to keep us occupied. We got showered and dressed and headed out to dinner at Carmine's Crab Shack. It was a huge disappointment, and I do not recommend it. After dinner, I took a couple of pics of the kids being silly.
We put the kids to bed and stayed up playing cards. A couple of hours after going to bed, the Hubs came down with what was either a mild stomach bug or food poisoning as he was up most of the night sick.
Monday, the kids and I hit the pool with my family while the Hubs stayed in bed recovering from the rough night he had had. That morning, I discovered that my brother's wife A had also had some stomach issues the night before, but not to the extent of the Hubs. So, we enjoyed the pool again, went up to the room for some lunch, and once again it started to rain. We rested, played more cards, and then headed out to dinner at Jetty's. Jetty's was definitely the 'fanciest' restaurant that we ate at while on vacation--it is a lovely place right on the bay. The Hubs snapped this adorable pic of the kids and me at the table!
Sadly, it rained all. day. Tuesday which meant it was time to find something to do. My brother J and his wife A headed out to shop, my mom and dad stayed in the room and rested, and the Hubs and I took the kids to Cool Beans, an ingenious indoor playground/coffee bar! They had a blast, and we enjoyed the delicious lunch! If I thought I small town could handle a business like this, I would open one in a heart beat! It was truly a stroke of brilliance!
Socks were required for everyone entering the play area, and since I had packed exactly zero pairs of socks, we had to buy some. The Hubs spotted these at the Urban Outfitters and thought they were hilarious--as did I!
After a morning of fun and an afternoon nap (for the kids), we headed out to Guanabana's--a lovely outdoor restaurant right on the bay. Patio tables under a canopy of palm trees provided for the perfect dinner setting--until it started to rain again and we had to make a run for it! Here we are post rain:
Wednesday was a gorgeous day, so we were back out to the pool soaking up the sun! There was also a small 9-hole putt putt course on the property which B loved. I am pretty sure he played at least a dozen rounds of mini-golf while on this vacation!
One of the highlights of the vacation for me was that the kids learned how to play Uno while we were there. They love to play games, and they have parents who both grew up in game loving families, so it was high time they join in the fun outside of Candy Land and Chutes and Ladders!
We enjoyed dinner at the Juno Beach Fish House which was quaint spot that looked like it was frequented by the locals; it did not disappoint. I even managed to snap a pic of the Hubs and me before heading out to dinner. We have some how managed to not get many pictures of just us since the kids were born!
After dinner and putting the kids to bed, the adults enjoyed a guys vs. girls round of CatchPhrase. And the stakes were high--the losers had the cook breakfast for the winners. Sadly, we ladies lost, but I sure did enjoy that breakfast Thursday morning--even if I did have to cook it!
We enjoyed another gorgeous day of fun in the sun, then we headed off to another delicious dinner at Johnny Longboats. We all decided that it was good enough for a repeat! Another round of silly pics of the kids (where C was not feeling it apparently), and then if was off to bed before our last full day at the beach.
We were able to spend a delightful July 4th lounging by the pool, playing half a dozen rounds of mini-golf, and we were finally able to get the kids back to the beach after they deemed it less than desirable on our first day.
While the kids were napping and the Hubs and I were enjoying our last afternoon on the beach, my mom grabbed my camera and snapped some pics of the lovely view from our balcony. The property was really beautiful and was complete with anything you could need to complete your vacation: at least 2 pools that I saw, hot tubs, shuffleboard, the aforementioned mini-golf course, and a small splash pad for the kids. I will say that I found the splash pad to be a bit dangerous. I failed to get a picture of it, but there was a playground in the fence with the splash pad. Wet kids + a metal play structure = lots of slipping and sliding. And I saw two kids get hurt on the splash pad, one of which was C who ran right into one of the metal poles which left her bruised on her right hip, shoulder and cheek. It also meant a visit from the resort's medic who was super friendly. But anyway, here are the pictures mom took:
Before dinner that night, our immediate family headed down to the beach for some family portraits (more on that tomorrow) then we headed out for a yummy dinner at the Sailfish Marina and Resort. This might have been my favorite meal of the week.
We got all packed up the night before and headed out early the next morning for the long trek home. We stopped in St. Augustine for some quick outlet shopping, had lunch at Cracker Barrel, had dinner at another Chick-Fil-A and finally got home around 8:30 that night.
I had an absolute blast with my family at the beach and can't wait for us to take another trip together!
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