Florida Family Vacation 2015

 We just got home for a wonderful family vacation to Florida. It was seriously so amazing and it was hard to come back to reality. We drove most of the way on Tuesday and then arrived in Pensacola Wednesday morning around 11 am. We went straight to the naval museum to watch the Blue Angels practice. It was so cool to see them flying and flipping around. Tanner was literally in heaven. Seeing the "Blue Angels" fly was the main thing on Tanner's Florida bucket list. He was so excited. It was pretty awesome. 

Happy boy watching his favorite "Blue Angels" 

The kiddos and I watching the planes

Happy Tanner

After the airshow we drove over to our dear friends' house, the Harbers. The kids took naps and afterwards we went to our favorite pizzeria and ate dinner. Then it was off to a baseball game to see the "Pensacola Wahoos" play. 

This little guy struggled having to sit still for the ball game. He's so busy these days. 

But Tanner enjoyed learning about the game and watching.

Daddy took Tucker around for a walk and he got to meet the mascot. He wasn't sure what to think, it was pretty funny. In case you are wondering, a wahoo is a fish. 

Tanner also got to meet the mascot and he was so excited about it!

We got back to the Harber's late Wednesday and got the kids to sleep eventually. Thursday morning we went the beach. It was a gorgeous day and we had so much fun. The kids were little fish in the water and not scared at all.  

Daddy took the kids out and swam around while I kept Tucker from crawling face first into the ocean. That boy is fearless. 

Bailey loved collecting the seaweed. It was so funny. It kept washing onto shore and she would gather it up and put it in her pile next to our umbrella. 

After playing at the beach for a couple hours we decided to find some lunch. We happened upon a cute little beachside seafood restaurant. It had a great little playground and the food was fantastic.  

It had a great view and the food was so yummy.

The kids played while we waited for our food and that was so nice. 

After lunch we went back to the Harbers for naps.  That night we just hung out with the Harbers and they made us a delicious dinner while the kids all played together. 

Friday we played and then we met Luke for lunch at a crawfish place. Neither Chris or I had ever had crawfish and we were excited to try it. Luke showed us how to eat them and we all dug in. It was super hot but we had a huge pitcher of water so it was ok.
Bailey was so funny. She thought she could take a crawfish home as a pet. She kept holding them and playing with them. We were cracking up. 

Tanner was pretty thrilled with his boat full of crustaceans.(That was his word for them. He says he learned about them on "Wild Kratts" and he was excited to eat them) We were cracking up. 

Chris and I each got a crawfish boat and it came with potatoes, corn and sausage. So yummy!

Cute boys eating their crawfish.

Bailey and her buddy. 

The carnage. So yummy. They were a lot of work, but it was a fun experience. 

We did some good damage. 

After naps we all drove over to "Sam's Fun City" and played their for the "Sunset at Sam's" special. The park was practically empty so we had our pick of the rides. It was awesome. 

We had so much fun. This was a favorite of ours and we rode it more than once. 

The older two loved these swings. They made Chris and I a little sick (we are getting old!)

Tucker and Kamryn hung out in the stroller a lot. They were such troopers. 

The kids loved this ride. It made Chris a little sick though. It went a lot faster than we expected. 

The carousel is always a safe bet. Everyone loves the carousel. 

Even little Tucker enjoyed the carousel. 

This kid was seriously such a trooper. He's so good!

I think Bailey's favorite thing was the carousel. I took Tanner and Daddy took Bailey. 

Tanner thought it was pretty cool too!

Here's Tucker watching us. It was so cute. He started waving and pointing when he realized we were up there. 

These hot air balloons went much faster than expected. The kids loved it!

We played some arcade games until the train ride.  

Then we took a train ride around the park. So fun. 

We ended the night at the park with fireworks and then we went and got milkshakes before heading home. It was such a fun night. 

Saturday morning we headed back to the beach with the Harbers. We were quite the sight, 6 children ages 5 and under. So funny. But we had a great time. 

Adrian and I kept the babies corralled under the umbrella while the dads took care of the older kids.

Tanner and Bailey loved swimming with Daddy and getting knocked around by the waves. 

Tucker loved playing in the sand. He really loved trying to eat the sand- so gross!!

This boy had so much fun playing in the waves. 

He played on his kick board for at least an hour. 

Bailey loved running back and forth in and out of the water. 

Ready to catch the next "wave"

The kids loved building a sandcastle with Mr. Luke 

The masterpiece- Tanner was so proud!

Tucker was so content playing in the sand. 

Although he really loved walking along the surf. It was so cute! He was grinning so big the whole time. 

Then Daddy took Tucker out into the water. He was so happy. I was cracking up watching those boys together. 

We grilled burgers on the beach and then went back for naps. After nap time we went back to the beach for family pictures. 

They turned out pretty cute. 

I sure do love these beach babes. 

Then we went out for dinner- more yummy seafood! So much good food on this trip!

Sunday morning we sent Daddy on a special fishing trip. It was Father's day and so we thought Chris should get to spend the day doing something just for him. So Luke and Chris went on a special deep sea fishing trip. The wives arranged it all and they hopped on this little boat and spent 6 hours fishing. 

Chris caught 6 red snapper- this was the biggest of his catch. Isn't that crazy? It's so huge!

He had a great time. We brought home a big cooler of red snapper and Chris couldn't be happier. 

When the Daddy's came back from their fishing trip, we all headed out for a nice Father's day dinner at Texas Roadhouse. So yummy! 

Then we drove over to the Pensacola beach Boardwalk. 

We walked along the boardwalk and grabbed some ice cream. 

Then we walked along the pier. Isn't it pretty??

Seriously, doesn't get much better than this?

Daddy and the older two admiring the ocean. It made me nervous to have the kids out on the pier because I'm a weirdo, so I left Tucker on shore with the Harbers. 

Family picture at the boardwalk.

It was the perfect way to spend our last night in Florida. It was hard to leave the next morning. We drove all day and got home Monday night. We had some car trouble on the way home, so it took us even longer to get home. The kids were restless and so were we. But we made it. Fortunately, our trip was amazing so the long trip was worth it. 

We are so grateful to have such amazing friends. The Harbers are such amazing hosts and they make everything so fun. It was so fun to visit with them and spend time with their family. 

Our vacation was literally perfect and we are so grateful to have been able to go to Florida this year.