Having fun before it melts!

Even though we really didn't want any more snow, at least it gave us a few laughs around here today with snowman building and snowball fights!

Roxy was having a great time jumping to catch snowballs. It's over 40 degrees and melting fast! Click on any picture for a larger view.

We are Home!

We arrived in Tremont about 10:15 pm last night after a very long driving day on Saturday. We got up early and loaded the car and pulled out of Destin a little before 7 am. It was raining hard and the wind was blowing, and there were lots of flooded roads. The Payne family was a couple hours ahead of us getting out, and they let us know that our normal route was almost impassable with high waters, so we took a different route. We ended up coming to a road that was closed due to flooding and police had it blocked off. That area has had 10-15 inches of rain over a 3 day period and it was tough going for a couple hours. Can't imagine what it is like there in a hurricane!

By the time we got to Birmingham, AL the sun was out. We had a few showers on and off, and during a rainstorm in Kentucky the sun came out again and we got to see this rainbow for quite a long time.

We drove back into rain in IL, but we fortunately arrived home before the snow started. We woke up this morning to a winter wonderland, even though it is now technically spring.


From gorgeous beach days to tornado warnings and monsoon rains to winter storms ... we have seen it all this spring break! Fortunately none of the weather issues caused us any problems. And spring snow never seems to stick around long, it is supposed to be 41 degrees today so we'll see some melting. Good to be home! Now it's time to unpack and get ready for school and work tomorrow!

Friday in Destin

Repeat after me ... it's still my mantra ... A rainy day at the beach is still better than a sunny day at work! :-)

Rain, rain and more rain again today. So we fixed breakfast in the condo and lounged around a bit in the morning. Then it was time for lunch at a favorite restaurant, and we took the kids bowling.

We had a really fun time ... the bowling alley was packed with many other families looking for an indoor activity, so the kids played pool during the 45-ish minute wait for bowling lanes.

But then they bowled two games and had a lot of fun. Abby managed to win the first game in the girls league (with bumpers, of course!) and TJ won the first game of the guys league. TJ had at least two strikes and did really well, bowling a 105 both games.

Now it's time to pack the suitcases (sniff, sniff) for an early morning departure. We normally stick around until early/mid afternoon on Saturday, but the weather forecast is still for rain and storms, so we will hit the road early.We have made the best of the rain here since we did have four gorgeous beach and pool days at the start of the week ... and I told the kids you can either sit in the condo and pout that it is raining, or go out and find something fun to do. So we did.

But we are headed out of the rain to SNOW (!!) at home. Maybe as much as six inches, according to the National Weather Service site I pulled up tonight.

UGH, UGH and UGH!

Guess I won't be wearing the flip flops home! ha ha

Next post from Tremont!

Thursday in Destin

The morning started out with tornado warnings and thunderstorms, and it stayed cloudy all day ... but my new mantra is that a rainy day at the beach is better than a sunny day at work! :-)

We fixed a sausage/egg dish for brunch in the condo and watched the rain fall. The good thing about being in a condo versus a hotel room is that there is room for the five of us to spread out and have our space! It definitely makes an inside day more tolerable for the kids.

TJ went out to eat and shop with his friend's family, and Mitch vetoed shopping so the girls and I headed to the outlet mall. Bought a few things at the Nike and Aero stores and headed back to the condo. Beverly joined up with TJ and the Payne family to go to a movie, so they were happy to get out and about for awhile longer.



Abby and I went on a beach walk once the rain cleared. It was amazing to see how far the surf had washed up during the storm, and there were lots of jellyfish. There were lots of these Portugese Man-of-War, on the left ...









and this really large Moon Jelly ... click to see full size view,


Abby had a great time looking at them from a distance and writing her name in the sand.


I was taking a picture of her when a lady came along and offered to take a picture of both of us. I agreed since I am in very, very few of our family shots since I am always behind the lens!

Wednesday in Destin

Wednesday was a cloudy day, but we still found ways to have a good time.

After a morning swim ... where the kids had the pool all to themselves ... we headed out for lunch at a spot that has some small alligators on display. The kids always enjoy seeing them and even got to touch one (whose mouth was firmly taped shut!).

TJ always wants to try the crane machine games, even though they usually take his money and no prize. But today he plucked a toy right out of there, so of course had to try again for Abby. Luck on the second one as well. Who would have thought he could do it three times in a row, but he did. So he was quite happy!

We walked around a shopping area and then after we came back to the condo, Mitch and Beverly played a little tennis. Went to a late dinner with the Payne family, and the relaxing day was over.

A few more pics on Beverly's blog.

Tuesday in Destin

This was another kind of day that was picture perfect. The kind of days postcard pictures are taken on. Beautiful. Windy, but beautiful.


Because it was windy, the surf was rough and we opted to stay at the pool all day where it is a bit more sheltered. Mitch used the poolside grills to fix hot dogs and brats for our family and the Payne family from Tremont. It was very good and I'm pretty sure we made everyone else at the pool very hungry!

Had dinner tonight at a favorite restaurant near Destin Harbor called AJ's. I took this picture especially for Sarah G. because I just know how much she LOVES mannequins!
NOT!! :-)

Be sure and click the picture to get the full effect of his creepy eyes. And he's missing a finger, ha ha ha

After dinner the resident AJ's pirate came around and made balloon animals for the kids, and the night was complete. ha ha


Sounds like rain for tomorrow ... so it will probably be a shopping and having lunch out day! I think we could all actually use a day's break from the sunshine

Monday in Destin

The beautiful days keep blending together, we have had great weather for the trip. Looks like Tuesday will be just as pretty and a tad warmer ... but some rain later in the week. At this point, it's ok because we have had gorgeous days. And there is always shopping to be done on a cloudy/rainy day!

Be sure to click on these pics for the full size view and see just how clear the water is. I love how you can see TJ from head to toe in the one wave, even though the full size view is a bit blurry!


Today was a great day for playing in the waves. TJ, Mitch and Beverly had a really good time doing that, while Abby and I sat in the comfort of our beach chairs and laughed at their antics. Here are some pics, and I am also putting some pics and a particularly funny video of Beverly *trying* to play in the waves on her blog,

http://www.tenmonthsintremont.blogspot.com/

A Beautiful Day!

Today was an absolutely picture perfect day. As was yesterday ... and it sounds like, the rest of the week!

I'll let the pool and beach pics speak for themselves. Click on any picture for a full size view.

Hello from Destin!

We have arrived in Destin and enjoyed our first beautiful day here on Saturday! We are staying at the same condo complex that we have enjoyed for the past 5 years or so, and so we feel right at home.

After some time at the pool on Saturday we headed to the beach. It was a beautiful day and the kids enjoyed the sand and surf. TJ's best friend, Jared, and his family are here so we enjoy spending our time with them as well.

We had dinner last night at The Crab Trap and enjoyed a wonderful seafood dinner. Now it's Sunday morning and we are looking forward to Day 2. Will have good beach pics to share tonight! I did put a couple other pics on Beverly's blog,http://www.tenmonthsintremont.blogspot.com/

Destin Days

One of my absolute most favorite times of the year are the days that we spend relaxing in Destin on spring break.

This year I had an unusual chance to extend the trip a bit and be here this week with Drew and Sarah on their college break. They will head back to school and the rest of the Tremont Scotts gang will start enjoying Destin on Saturday for the following week. We are looking forward to introducing Beverly to our favorite beach town and the time we spend there as a family, too.

The ocean is turquoise and calm, the skies are blue and the beach is beautiful, as always.

It has been great to have a larger block of time with Drew, and to have time to get to know Sarah. Drew has enjoyed having the chance to show Sarah around the places that our family has enjoyed during break for the past several years, and I think they have had a great time. Hopefully they will now return to college a little bit more relaxed and ready to finish out the school year!