We just got back from an amazing vacation to Destin FL, full of memories and sand and sun and so much family time. I am so, so grateful for the time we had there together. The only thing missing was my Mom & Dad! Next time, guys.
We went to celebrate my cousin Andrew's wedding.
He and Jenna got engaged out in Colorado last year & so it was extra fun to get to watch them tie the knot! I unfortunately didn't take many pictures at their wedding with my real camera as I was corralling a certain two year old ring bearer for most of the ceremony & reception. But they had a beautiful day and we loved being part of it.
The rest of the week in Destin was filled with so many great family memories. We crammed six adults and three kids under 6 in a condo on the beach and while it was loud and chaotic, it was so much fun. My family isn't a big vacationing family, so all of us being together in a neutral place was wonderful!
My favorite pictures from my real camera...
The view walking down to the water from our condo. I never got sick of this.
A quick Looten family shoot before the wedding. Don't look too close at the girls' dresses & hands. They promised they would just wade into the water a little & not get sandy or wet. Oh, wait.
I am in love with these two pictures of Audrey & Laney. The light on the beach at sunset is so amazing and they are just the prettiest little girls. I feel like these pictures capture their personalities well.
The Price kiddos before the wedding.
We made Charlie behave since we hadn't yet been to the wedding. He loves to wrangle us to death and mess up our hair at any given opportunity so we threatened him within an inch of his life to just take a nice picture.
One afternoon on the patio of our condo, while getting B out of his swim wear I took a few pictures of him and they are my favorites from the trip I think. His expression is so HIM, and the way the humidity/salt/sand messed up his hair...dying.
In the last month, Brady has started learning the alphabet and now points out letters on literally every sign we pass. We have to stop often and wait for him to identify all the ones he can. I love that he's learning things so quickly right now so I try to be as patient as possible, even if in this case - I was just ready to get in the water!! :)
Aunt Jane was behind me and makes Brady laugh so easily. Love the relationship these two have.
I took my real camera down to the beach one day to get some pictures of the babies playing. Such a risk, with all that sand and water and an unpredictable toddler - but I'm so glad I did.
This sweet face. One nanosecond later, he threw that handful of sand at me. What is it about kids and sand throwing??
B was content to do this for days.
One of the only family pictures we got as a family. This was while we were waiting for our table at a restaurant one night. Loved the views! But wow, I can feel the humidity just looking at this picture!
One of my most cherished photos ever of my boys.
Pompano Joe's restaurant behind them - where we went to dinner our one night out. Not a bad spot to wait for a table!
I love these girls so much - they will always be my "first" babies.
FAVE picture of us.
I'm telling you, sunset on the beach. And the powder-fine sand. And the chunky toddler.
I can't get enough of him.
The cousins really had a great week together! It was so fun to have them all together just playing and running and laughing together. Liz's girls are so animated and precocious and Brady did a lot of just watching them. It was really sweet, like he was just taking it all in.
Daddy built a sand pile and Brady ran down in a million times. Never gets old.
Our group shot from the week. Going in a frame asap.
I'm so, so lucky to have the family I have. And incredibly grateful. It's not lost on me that all four of us siblings wanted to take a vacation together AND had a great time the whole week. Not every family is as fortunate as ours and I am so thankful God has given us the relationships we have.
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And completely out of order, but now the iPhone dump!!
No airport experience is complete without an orange sodie from McD's.
He has become such a fun travel partner. He and I have a pretty good routine going on our airport days, and while he still is a two year boy and unpredictable by nature, we have some things that work well on our travel days.
Priority #1 is burning enough energy before the flight for him to take a good long nap for me:) So far, almost every flight we've taken in the last year he has slept a good portion of it. This was our first flight with his own seat and it was wonderful to have the extra room for him to stretch out.
Jane & David picked us up at the airport when we flew in - a day before Mike and the rest of the crew. We spent all day Friday at the beach with them. So relaxing!
B loved being thrown in the pool. He's an adventurer.
Friday night was the rehearsal for the big wedding...
Brady took his job as a ring bearer so seriously that he flung himself around in the sand the entire rehearsal. Refused to walk down the aisle. And repeatedly laid down or rolled around or ran off. I was a liiiiiittle nervous about what he would do the day-of, but oh well. You can't tell a two year old to walk down the aisle of sand if they don't want to so I just let him play.
The second everyone got up Saturday morning (the crew got in about midnight) we headed to the beach!! It was the little girls first time seeing the ocean, how exciting.
Charlie being a good sport:
The boys took turns ocean kayaking and then let the babies hitch a ride in the waves.
During kiddo naps on Saturday, the girls took to the grocery store to stock up for the week...
It's wedding time!!!
Miracle of miracles, B went down the aisle happily and on his own accord!
And then turned around and walked back to Daddy:)
Such a beautiful setting for their wedding...
Family iPhone pics afterwards...
Congrats Jenna & Andrew! We love you & loved being part of your day.
Sunday morning, back to the beach.
Jane and David spent Sunday all day with us before they left Monday morning. The babies absolutely love Janie & I think the feeling is mutual. We really loved the pool on site, so warm and clean after a day at the beach. Perfect to stop by on the way back to our room!
Monday morning guess what we did? More beach.
Getting to the beach chairs requires a LOT of schlepping and kid-corralling, please note Josh below...
There was an ice cream truck to be flagged down during pool time.
Monday night we walked to dinner at Pompano Joe's. Really fun night out!
Virgin pina coladas for everyone while waiting for the table...
A typical sibling selfie, complete with the finger of God making an appearance...
Table shots of everyone:
Including Ruth & Charlie acting "natural & beautiful" :)
After dinner, more photos please!
We walked down to a little tourist-trap shop for a few souvenirs!
And Tuesday - our last beach day! (sob)
Our Aunt Sarah & cousins Aiden & Addie joined us for the beach that day. The water was particularly beautiful for our last day...
We got a $15 blow up boat for rides for the kiddos...they loved it!
I love my babies!
Favorite selfie from the trip...
Looking back at our condo from the beach - Maravilla. A really great location & set up for us.
Brady helped bury Liz in the sand & then walked over her legs 100 times. Painful!
This boy soaked up our last late afternoon on the beach!! The world's largest sandbox was a big hit for him. We didn't want to go home!
To reinforce that traveling with a toddler is unpredictable, on the way home Brady peed out of his diaper on flight #1 of 2, and I realized that moment that I'd forgotten to pack a spare set of clothes for him. Oops! Wet shorts and an embarrassed mama was the M.O. for our trip home. You really should not have to travel after vacation, it can just be so stressful after so much relaxing:)
Thankfully, he slept over two hours on our long flight. Thank you for redeeming yourself, baby!
Destin, you were really good to us. Thanks for the memories we created together!!
Price sibs, we love you.
