Barker has been super busy lately. August is the busiest time of the year for him with school starting up, so he goes to the office all day then out on site in the evenings and weekends. That we're used to. But this August added a bit of a twist. Barker landed himself jury duty on a murder trial. Most people try to lie their way out of it but oh no, not Barker. He walked in there in a suit and answered all their questions very PC. It was like he was asking for it. Ugh. When we started dating I made it clear that he was gonna have to get some morals or he and I would not work out. Well that came back to bite me when his ethics landed him on a jury less than 2 weeks before we were scheduled to leave for a nonrefundable vacation to Florida. They told him the trial should last 5 days. I called bull on that one. Murder trials usually take time. Sure enough it took weeks and they were finally able to wrap things up and convict the guy on the Thursday afternoon before we had planned on leaving. Whew! So Barker was working from his lap top every morning, during their breaks, lunches and all night while he was serving on that jury. So he was in more need of the vacation than we could have ever imagined when we booked it.
We headed out Friday with Barker's friend from college Chris Cefalu and his wife Audrey. They're both from Shreveport so to break up the driving a bit we stopped there for the night. But first off we hit up a very classy establishment called The Dairy Palace. I swear that's what it's called. I couldn't make that up. If you've made the trek from Shreveport to Dallas a few times I'm sure you've seen it. Basically they have ice cream and every food you can imagine, as long as it can be deep fried. They also have arcade games.
So between fried goodness and games, we started the trip out on the right foot.
The next day we made it to Florida safely. I can't say the same for a bear an SUV in front of us hit and killed. Yes- you read that right. A bear. In Florida. Crazy.
Anyway- We booked a 2 story condo. Our room was upstairs next to Audrey's bat cave. She had her own room with two little child sized beds, and a TV/DVD player, perfect for a toddler.
It was so cute, like something out of Snow White.
It rained off and on when we first got there, which was fine. It gave us a chance to do the indoor things that needed to be done like a trip to the grocery store and Barnes and Noble. Audrey just had to have a certain book. I packed 3 of her current favorites but she had her mind set. I've never seen her so adamant. We go to various stores all the time and she's never wanted something like she wanted a specific book at B&N. So she got it and with in a few days she was reading it to us cover to cover.
Barker also took the time to get in several runs along the beach.
As you can see it was quite humid in the morning from that rain.
Audrey enjoyed the rain because it meant she got to wear her wellies to the outlet mall.
Luckily for Barker we managed to go to the huge outlet mall and not go broke since my gigantic belly makes shopping for clothes impossible and depressing.
After the mall we found other ways to entertain ourselves during the sporadic showers.
We played with Audrey's toys, cooked and watched the LSU game.
And the iPad and nook were in high demand.
When the rain stopped the waves were still too rough for a toddler.
So Audrey and Daddy got in some pool time at the condo.
But soon after the sun came out the waves calmed down and the vacation really started.
First things first: a pic of our toes in the sand. Our little family tradition I instituted on our honeymoon.
Audrey made a friend right off the bat. Being in school, the nursery at church, ballet and 3 mom's groups she has never met a stranger. So she ran right up and wanted to play with this little girl. Fine. But then her parents came over to say hi and casually started trying to talk politics when they found out we were from Texas and then went on to tell us how they were studying on the beach on their way to start their own church in Georgia that is geared toward eradicating homosexuality.
I was then done with Audrey playing with that kid. She was mean, bossy and really just wanted to take things from Audrey, including whatever she was eating or drinking. I was on vacation to relax, not listen to a bunch of negativity or people trying to stir up hatred. People can think what they like but I don't want them discussing hate in front of my 3 year old and I didn't want Audrey picking up any of that kid's bad behavior.
Luckily she found another little girl to play with, Yana, from Russia.
Her gorgeous Mommy was also pregnant and her dad was busy chasing her little brother. So Barker became their water boy as they built sand castles.
He and Cefalu also tossed around the football on the beach. I'm sure it was a nice change of pace from jury duty, and for Chris to not be in surgery all day.
Audrey also wanted in on the game.
But that didn't last long. She was there to find shells.
And she got right down to business.
We took turns walking her up and down the shore line picking up shells.
Showing me their loot.
She also dug for buried treasure.
But when she didn't find any we just buried her toys so she could dig them up.
We also had a good, oh I don't know, 4 SOLID days in the water.
We stayed prune like.
Audrey loving on her Daddy and relishing having so much time with him. I'm so happy that these 2 (soon to be 3) are entirely what my life is about.
Two peas in a pod.
He and Chris played golf several mornings and went deep sea fishing. On those mornings I had Audrey all to myself which was nice. I wanted to cram as much one on one time in with her as I could while she was still an only child.
The boy's catch. It was delicious.
(Miss) Audrey and Chris
Last beach trip as a family of three
Ok- I know I had no business being in a bikini on the beach at 6 months pregnant. I see other pregnant women in swim suits and cringe. And I hadn't worn one all summer long. But the only other people on this very private area of the beach were another pregnant woman, a mom and old people. So I felt like none of them could judge me for being all fat in public and wanting to soak up a little bit of sun through all the sunblock. I stayed for the most part under an umbrella, in a chair, with my nook on my bump. But I'm sure poor Barker was still shocked that his extremely modest wife would dare to go out in less than a burka once that scale read over 117lbs. Very unlike me.
So- for the most part we stayed on the beach as long as there was day light. But most evenings we went out to dinner at some local favorites.
This was at Baytowne Wharf, at the Acme Oyster Bar. Audrey was nice enough to get the oysters just right for every one but me. Being pregnant they're off limits. They had something on the menu called Bananas Foster Pie. So you know I ordered that. Sadly the waitress said they didn't have any. So Barker walked across to a little fudge shop to get Audrey a cookie for dessert. He came back to share my pie and saw that there was in fact no pie. But when we looked back across the street the fudge shop owner was closing up. THE NERVE! Don't they know what a rage that could send a pregnant woman on vacation into? Luckily there was a gelato place next door. So we got some and headed down to the pier to check out some yachts.
Dr. and Mrs. Cefalu on the pier
Little A loved it
Me and my loves
This place was really geared toward kids. They had all kinds of neat things.
A played on this super cool playground for a while...
Then rode the turbo fast carousel.
The next morning it was time for some more beach.
me and my Sweet Face
one of the various sand castles
Her favorite part is destroying them. This is why I call her Audrey Godzilla Barker.
She also buried Mr. Chris and her daddy in the sand.
But Daddy got kisses : )
And she took the time out of her castle building schedule to give me squeezes as well.
She also came close to polishing off a bag of Sun Chips over the course of a week.
Thanks Jo for starting that habit ; )
staying hydrated
She also did a lot of chasing birds.
While we were swimming one morning with out the guys I heard an old man down the beach from us yell to his wife that he saw a shark. I didn't see anything...
But later a dad fishing with his toddler caught this little guy. A sand shark. We all got to walk up and inspect him, take pictures, ohh and ahh, etc before he threw him back. It was pretty cool. The water was so very clear that you could see them swimming after tiny fish in the surf. They're quite pretty close up.
Audrey and her daddy tried to catch one, too.
Yana's dad went and bought snorkel gear and nets for the kids to fish with. I don't think any of the kids were successful fishermen. But they sure had fun trying.
From time to time these two would venture out of the ocean to work on their tans.
As if they needed it.
But those moments of being still never lasted long.
Soon she would be up chasing birds again.
Or showing us more shells she found.
We couldn't get enough of playing in the waves. Day one Audrey wanted to be held. A few minutes later she wanted down but to hold our hands. But after a few days she wanted to be independent. She was nice enough to allow us in the ocean with her, but no hand holding allowed. Big girl.
Again- sorry for burning the image of baby belly fat into your memory.
Another place we hit up for dinner was Harry T's.
We sat on the water to watch the ships go by and the dolphins play.
And of course this place had dessert in stock.
Don't worry, she had to share. I'd never let my kid eat her weight in sugar. However I'm pretty sure I ate mine in crab and butter over the course of a week. I'm only supposed to gain a pound a week, being at this stage in my pregnancy. I had an appointment on Monday after we got home. I was dreading it. Imagine my surprise that I had only gained 2 lbs that week! I know I was only supposed to gain 1, not 2, but I for sure thought I'd gone over my 1 pound limit by a solid 10lbs! I did not hold back on vacation and my belly was waaaayyyyy bigger when we got home than it was when we left the week before. So to hear that I only went 1 lb over the mark was a relief.
After dinner we went shopping in the village.
Audrey and her daddy rode the train.
She got to ring the bell.
She liked this pirate.
And she thought playing frisbee in the parking garage was pretty cool, too.
All and all it was a wonderful trip. Barker, Audrey and I all got to check every single thing off our lists of things we wanted to do. Plus there was perfect weather, no crowds (everyone knows how I hate, well, people), lots of good food, and even better friends. What more could you ask for in a family vacation/baby moon?
We're so glad the Cefalu's thought to include us. We had planned on taking a beach trip before the baby arrived but probably wouldn't have gone as far as Destin had they not mentioned it. We most likely would have ended up at Perdido Key again or Gulf Shores. I'm so glad they asked us if we'd be interested in joining them. It was prefect. And luckily for us they are great to vacation with. (Don't know if they'd say the same for us!) I don't normally like to travel with groups or really anyone other than Barker, but these two were good to go with and knew all kinds of great places to visit.
Side note:
Audrey loves to take pictures with any camera she finds. Here are some extreme close ups she took of us over the course of the week. She gets right up close and personal....not very flattering once you hit our age.
Yikes! I saw this and was reminded how fast time flies and that my husband is the big 3-0. His eyes have aged so much since I first met him just a few years ago. Luckily for me he's still as beautiful as ever.
Myself on the other hand....whoa! When did I turn into a mom?!
That's all I could think when I saw these! I LOOK LIKE SOMEONE'S MOM!! That, and I should have brought more than just mascara and chap stick. Foundation is probably a good idea when your child gets a hold of the camera. But I hadn't worn any since April since it's been stupid hot here, so I didn't even think it pack it. And I'm getting too old to go with out it. Sigh.
Thanks Audrey, our little budding photographer, for the close ups and the reminder to wear sunblock on my face EVERY SINGLE DAY.
We headed out Friday with Barker's friend from college Chris Cefalu and his wife Audrey. They're both from Shreveport so to break up the driving a bit we stopped there for the night. But first off we hit up a very classy establishment called The Dairy Palace. I swear that's what it's called. I couldn't make that up. If you've made the trek from Shreveport to Dallas a few times I'm sure you've seen it. Basically they have ice cream and every food you can imagine, as long as it can be deep fried. They also have arcade games.
So between fried goodness and games, we started the trip out on the right foot.
The next day we made it to Florida safely. I can't say the same for a bear an SUV in front of us hit and killed. Yes- you read that right. A bear. In Florida. Crazy.
Anyway- We booked a 2 story condo. Our room was upstairs next to Audrey's bat cave. She had her own room with two little child sized beds, and a TV/DVD player, perfect for a toddler.
It was so cute, like something out of Snow White.
It rained off and on when we first got there, which was fine. It gave us a chance to do the indoor things that needed to be done like a trip to the grocery store and Barnes and Noble. Audrey just had to have a certain book. I packed 3 of her current favorites but she had her mind set. I've never seen her so adamant. We go to various stores all the time and she's never wanted something like she wanted a specific book at B&N. So she got it and with in a few days she was reading it to us cover to cover.
Barker also took the time to get in several runs along the beach.
As you can see it was quite humid in the morning from that rain.
Audrey enjoyed the rain because it meant she got to wear her wellies to the outlet mall.
Luckily for Barker we managed to go to the huge outlet mall and not go broke since my gigantic belly makes shopping for clothes impossible and depressing.
After the mall we found other ways to entertain ourselves during the sporadic showers.
We played with Audrey's toys, cooked and watched the LSU game.
And the iPad and nook were in high demand.
When the rain stopped the waves were still too rough for a toddler.
So Audrey and Daddy got in some pool time at the condo.
But soon after the sun came out the waves calmed down and the vacation really started.
First things first: a pic of our toes in the sand. Our little family tradition I instituted on our honeymoon.
Audrey made a friend right off the bat. Being in school, the nursery at church, ballet and 3 mom's groups she has never met a stranger. So she ran right up and wanted to play with this little girl. Fine. But then her parents came over to say hi and casually started trying to talk politics when they found out we were from Texas and then went on to tell us how they were studying on the beach on their way to start their own church in Georgia that is geared toward eradicating homosexuality.
I was then done with Audrey playing with that kid. She was mean, bossy and really just wanted to take things from Audrey, including whatever she was eating or drinking. I was on vacation to relax, not listen to a bunch of negativity or people trying to stir up hatred. People can think what they like but I don't want them discussing hate in front of my 3 year old and I didn't want Audrey picking up any of that kid's bad behavior.
Luckily she found another little girl to play with, Yana, from Russia.
Her gorgeous Mommy was also pregnant and her dad was busy chasing her little brother. So Barker became their water boy as they built sand castles.
He and Cefalu also tossed around the football on the beach. I'm sure it was a nice change of pace from jury duty, and for Chris to not be in surgery all day.
Audrey also wanted in on the game.
But that didn't last long. She was there to find shells.
And she got right down to business.
We took turns walking her up and down the shore line picking up shells.
Showing me their loot.
She also dug for buried treasure.
But when she didn't find any we just buried her toys so she could dig them up.
We also had a good, oh I don't know, 4 SOLID days in the water.
We stayed prune like.
Audrey loving on her Daddy and relishing having so much time with him. I'm so happy that these 2 (soon to be 3) are entirely what my life is about.
Two peas in a pod.
He and Chris played golf several mornings and went deep sea fishing. On those mornings I had Audrey all to myself which was nice. I wanted to cram as much one on one time in with her as I could while she was still an only child.
The boy's catch. It was delicious.
(Miss) Audrey and Chris
Last beach trip as a family of three
Ok- I know I had no business being in a bikini on the beach at 6 months pregnant. I see other pregnant women in swim suits and cringe. And I hadn't worn one all summer long. But the only other people on this very private area of the beach were another pregnant woman, a mom and old people. So I felt like none of them could judge me for being all fat in public and wanting to soak up a little bit of sun through all the sunblock. I stayed for the most part under an umbrella, in a chair, with my nook on my bump. But I'm sure poor Barker was still shocked that his extremely modest wife would dare to go out in less than a burka once that scale read over 117lbs. Very unlike me.
So- for the most part we stayed on the beach as long as there was day light. But most evenings we went out to dinner at some local favorites.
This was at Baytowne Wharf, at the Acme Oyster Bar. Audrey was nice enough to get the oysters just right for every one but me. Being pregnant they're off limits. They had something on the menu called Bananas Foster Pie. So you know I ordered that. Sadly the waitress said they didn't have any. So Barker walked across to a little fudge shop to get Audrey a cookie for dessert. He came back to share my pie and saw that there was in fact no pie. But when we looked back across the street the fudge shop owner was closing up. THE NERVE! Don't they know what a rage that could send a pregnant woman on vacation into? Luckily there was a gelato place next door. So we got some and headed down to the pier to check out some yachts.
Dr. and Mrs. Cefalu on the pier
Little A loved it
Me and my loves
This place was really geared toward kids. They had all kinds of neat things.
A played on this super cool playground for a while...
Then rode the turbo fast carousel.
The next morning it was time for some more beach.
me and my Sweet Face
one of the various sand castles
Her favorite part is destroying them. This is why I call her Audrey Godzilla Barker.
She also buried Mr. Chris and her daddy in the sand.
But Daddy got kisses : )
And she took the time out of her castle building schedule to give me squeezes as well.
She also came close to polishing off a bag of Sun Chips over the course of a week.
Thanks Jo for starting that habit ; )
staying hydrated
She also did a lot of chasing birds.
While we were swimming one morning with out the guys I heard an old man down the beach from us yell to his wife that he saw a shark. I didn't see anything...
But later a dad fishing with his toddler caught this little guy. A sand shark. We all got to walk up and inspect him, take pictures, ohh and ahh, etc before he threw him back. It was pretty cool. The water was so very clear that you could see them swimming after tiny fish in the surf. They're quite pretty close up.
Audrey and her daddy tried to catch one, too.
Yana's dad went and bought snorkel gear and nets for the kids to fish with. I don't think any of the kids were successful fishermen. But they sure had fun trying.
From time to time these two would venture out of the ocean to work on their tans.
As if they needed it.
But those moments of being still never lasted long.
Soon she would be up chasing birds again.
Or showing us more shells she found.
We couldn't get enough of playing in the waves. Day one Audrey wanted to be held. A few minutes later she wanted down but to hold our hands. But after a few days she wanted to be independent. She was nice enough to allow us in the ocean with her, but no hand holding allowed. Big girl.
Again- sorry for burning the image of baby belly fat into your memory.
Another place we hit up for dinner was Harry T's.
We sat on the water to watch the ships go by and the dolphins play.
And of course this place had dessert in stock.
Don't worry, she had to share. I'd never let my kid eat her weight in sugar. However I'm pretty sure I ate mine in crab and butter over the course of a week. I'm only supposed to gain a pound a week, being at this stage in my pregnancy. I had an appointment on Monday after we got home. I was dreading it. Imagine my surprise that I had only gained 2 lbs that week! I know I was only supposed to gain 1, not 2, but I for sure thought I'd gone over my 1 pound limit by a solid 10lbs! I did not hold back on vacation and my belly was waaaayyyyy bigger when we got home than it was when we left the week before. So to hear that I only went 1 lb over the mark was a relief.
After dinner we went shopping in the village.
Audrey and her daddy rode the train.
She got to ring the bell.
She liked this pirate.
And she thought playing frisbee in the parking garage was pretty cool, too.
All and all it was a wonderful trip. Barker, Audrey and I all got to check every single thing off our lists of things we wanted to do. Plus there was perfect weather, no crowds (everyone knows how I hate, well, people), lots of good food, and even better friends. What more could you ask for in a family vacation/baby moon?
We're so glad the Cefalu's thought to include us. We had planned on taking a beach trip before the baby arrived but probably wouldn't have gone as far as Destin had they not mentioned it. We most likely would have ended up at Perdido Key again or Gulf Shores. I'm so glad they asked us if we'd be interested in joining them. It was prefect. And luckily for us they are great to vacation with. (Don't know if they'd say the same for us!) I don't normally like to travel with groups or really anyone other than Barker, but these two were good to go with and knew all kinds of great places to visit.
Side note:
Audrey loves to take pictures with any camera she finds. Here are some extreme close ups she took of us over the course of the week. She gets right up close and personal....not very flattering once you hit our age.
Yikes! I saw this and was reminded how fast time flies and that my husband is the big 3-0. His eyes have aged so much since I first met him just a few years ago. Luckily for me he's still as beautiful as ever.
Myself on the other hand....whoa! When did I turn into a mom?!
That's all I could think when I saw these! I LOOK LIKE SOMEONE'S MOM!! That, and I should have brought more than just mascara and chap stick. Foundation is probably a good idea when your child gets a hold of the camera. But I hadn't worn any since April since it's been stupid hot here, so I didn't even think it pack it. And I'm getting too old to go with out it. Sigh.
Thanks Audrey, our little budding photographer, for the close ups and the reminder to wear sunblock on my face EVERY SINGLE DAY.
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