Yummers

A few weeks ago we went to Eckerts to pick strawberries, while we were there I picked up some tomato basil noodles.  I finally got around to using them last week. 
I just added parm cheese, a little pesto, sea salt and pepper, and shrimp and holy moly...super FAB! 

My new fav snack
Apple slices, peanut butter and chopped nuts.  I also used nutella and granola the other day and it was just as tasty

I love all the fruit in the summer.  It seems so bright and fresh.  Maybe I should try putting together a fruit salad :)

Goodbye FL

So sad that it all had to come to an end :( But we had a great time and I love that we were able to cap the vacation off by a short drive to Gulf Shores AL to see Katie's Mom and hang out at Pirates Cove.

First, here are a few pictures from the last couple of days

Crazy Kid...

The last night in FL we decided to eat at Dewy Destin's.  Holy Moly!  It was some of the best sea food I've ever had.  If you're in Destin FL, it's a MUST!
After eating we walked around the Harbor walk again and took this fabulous family shot - I love that David and Benjamin looked completely bored while I totally cheesed it up :)

We tried to get some nice beach pictures of us in something besides wet bathing suits but Benjamin was not cooperating :( He didn't want to sit still and he definitely tried to look everywhere but the camera.  Oh well, I guess this one isn't too terrible

see what I mean...so hard to get a good family picture

Benjamin on the walkway from the condo to the beach .  Something he LOVED to do.  Seriously back and forth, back and forth.  He's always on the move!

Is it just me or does Benjamin look like he's 8 years old in this picture. Sometimes I can't believe how big he's gotten

Thursday morning we got up and decided to walk the beach one last time.  It was bittersweet.  We are definitely beach people so while we were anxious to get home and back in the swing of things, we were so sad to leave the water :(

It looks like Benjamin was really trying to soak it all in one last time

Finally it was time to check out (and not a minute sooner) We were supposed to check out by 10am and I think we were pulling out of the parking lot at 10:07am. 
We drove a couple of hours to Gulf Shores for a visit with Katie's Mom.  She lives across from the water and by a fun local hang out called Pirates Cove
So we dressed Benjamin back in his swim gear to hang out in the water for a few hours.  We were hoping to wear him out a little before the drive back home.  

I'd say we were pretty successful.  Benjamin had way too much fun running up and down the dock (don't worry David didn't actually toss Benjamin into the water.  Although I'm not completely convinced he would have freaked out if he had)

He definitely wanted to jump off.  David had to catch him a handful of times

Having a blast

And then running back to do it all over again...and again...and again. 

We got back on Friday morning and had a quiet weekend at home.  It was nice have a couple of days at home before going back to work. 
Now we're getting ready to leave for TX this weekend for a mini family reunion. Getting excited for a weekend full of family time. 

Day Three

Thank goodness for applesauce in a bag, those things have been a life saver.  We don't let Benjamin eat in the car, but for long road trips we make tiny exceptions and let him have these fruit squeeze bags.  They also worked great for the beach since Benjamins hands were sandy all the time.  So he was able to eat a little snack without the extra sand flavor :)

David made Benjamin a little sand pool that would fill up every time the tide came up.  Benjamin loved it and squealed every time the water splashed in

 I still can't get over how clear the water is here.  It almost looks like they're standing in a pool

 Love this picture

 He's ready to boogie board...at least he thinks he is

Benjamin definitely plays hard, so when it's time to come inside - he looks completely beat

So sleepy

Walk on the Beach

Probably going to be some of the best memories of our vacation....

David and I used to walk on the beach just about every night when we'd go on beach vacations in the past.  It was so much fun to get out and do it with Benjamin this time around.

He was a trooper for the first 15 min and walked on his own.  But the powdery sand started to be too much for him and he wanted a break so David shot him up on his shoulders.  I love his crazy wind blown hair

Family shot.  Too bad Benjamin looks bored:(

Benjamin had to say bye to every boat he saw

I definitely should have known better and put him in swim trunks instead of regular shorts.  Of course he wasn't going to just stick to the sandy beach.  He wanted back in the water, hence the wet shorts

Such a fun walk

Day One

Sunday - I couldn't imagine a better way to spend Mothers Day than on the beach :)

Benjamin is definitely taking advantage of the full block out curtain/blinds in the condo and slept in until 8:30am. As soon as we were done with breakfast we headed down to the beach.

We built up a pretty big appetite being out by the water all day so after everyone go cleaned up we went to the Shed for some good 'ol BBQ.  Benjamin was determined to clean that corn cob :)

The Shed was right next to the Harbor walk so we strolled around to do some people and boat watching.

There are some very fun looking people at the Harbor.  David compared them to river people, only saltier. 

On the Road Again

Friday finally came and we could get on the road to our much anticipated beach vacation.  We were actually close to being exactly on schedule.  We told ourselves we wanted to leave by 8pm and we were in the car pulling out of the driveway at 8:19pm.  Not too shabby.
I turned around and asked Benjamin if he was excited to go to FL...I don't think he understood because he seemed less than thrilled.

He did pretty well through the night.  He slept from about 9pm-5am.  We stopped for breakfast around 7am and let Benjamin stretch his legs and then it was back in the car for the last couple of hours.  Thank goodness for portable DVD players (Thanks Brian and Emma)

Of course about 30min away from the condo, Benjamin decides its time for a nap :)

It actually worked out pretty well.  David was able to unload everything while I stayed in the car and let Benjamin snooze for a little while longer.
Once we got up to the condo, Benjamin was very intrigued by the beach and couldn't wait to get down there

We quickly put him in his swim gear and took off.  I was wondering if he was going to love the water as much as he did last year and after a few seconds on the beach, I didn't have to wonder anymore.  The kid LOVES it.  He charges out in the water with absolutely no fear. 

And he's having a blast with all the sand

So it's safe to say this years vacation is already a million times better than last year :)

Here's a couple shots of our condo...I don't think the pictures really do it justice though.  It's super nice!

Hairy Elephant

We've managed to hold off on the first "real" haircut until today.  We've given him a few trims here and there but nothing major.  But it was starting to get out of control so we sought out professional help :)

Benjamin was definitely very skeptical in the beginning but he eventually warmed up.

The kid salon is called Hairy Elephant (thanks Emma and Zoe for the suggestion!) and it was really cute.  All the seats were fun cars, golf carts, air planes, boats etc.  Benjamin was in a jeep :)  And he got to pick out a movie to watch, which of course was Elmo.
Courtnee was his hair dresser and she was great!  She was really patient with Benjamin and made his hair look amazing

All smiles...

Until the electric razor came out.  He did NOT like that

Sadly this is the last picture I took.  I was too distracted after that and forgot to take an after shot.  But they did that for me and glued it on to a first hair cut certificate along with a lock of hair.  Such a fun experience (minus the few min. melt down)
I highly recommend it!

Eckerts Strawberry Festival

We went to the Eckerts in Belleville IL last weekend.  I've been strawberry picking before but I'm pretty sure it was about 15-18 years ago so it's been awhile.  I was pretty excited to take Benjamin, I thought he'd have fun actually picking the strawberries but he really didn't seem that interested.  He might have picked 3, maybe 4 and that was about it.  He was more concerned about his animal crackers...of course.

It was blazing hot, even though we were in the fields by 9:30am.  I thought we'd be spared from the heat by going super early but last Saturday was brutal, it didn't matter what time of the day it was-it was HOT!

But we powered through it and picked some good berries

After the picking, we decided to take a break and check out the country store and soak in some A/C. 

Then a quick walk over to the Kids Farm.   They had Carnival rides, a mini train, pony's, petting zoo etc.
I was really excited when I saw the camel.  And even more excited that David had quarters for the food machine

Benjamin thought it was hilarious

Apparently the goats were pretty hungry too.  They were staring Benjamin down!

With all the fun stuff around, I was so surprised by how much Benjamin was obsessed with this little bridge/tunnel.  All he wanted to do was run back and forth through it.

We capped the visit off with the one and only carnival ride of the day.  It started off ok.  I thought he was getting pretty excited about it. 

He only got around one full time, but that was it.  I think he thought his world was going to end.  He was NOT a happy camper

Despite the carnival ride mishap, it was still a great time. 

I went home and used all the strawberries for a pie...YUM :)