Vacation 2010- Panama City Beach, FL

For Christmas, as part of our gift, my parents gave us a trip to FL. So, this past week we loaded up and headed down to Panama City to this awesome beach house that my parents rented. It was really nice & had 3 stories so we had tons of room. Hanna, Brent, and Britlee had the 3rd floor to themselves while my parents, Tyler, and Brooke (who sweetly shared with Makenzie) each had their own bedroom and bathroom on the second floor. Wayne, Presley, and I had the 1st floor. We also had a private pool which was great because our kids practically lived in it!

We had SUCH a great time that none of us wanted to leave!  We took the girls to Gulf World Marine Park (their 2nd time there although they were really too young to remember it last time), and they loved watching all the shows.  They wanted to see each and every one of them too so we spent about 4 hours there that day.

Is this too sweet or what?  This is very rare lol!  Not so much for Makenzie, but for Presley.  Normally, Presley is not really affectionate.  She likes for Mommy to hold her and love on her, but that's about it. If Makenzie tries to give her a hug or kiss she usually tries pushing her away so I'm so glad I caught this moment! We had just left the Dolphin show (their favorite) & they were so excited about it that they were hugging and kissing each other lol.

We spent the majority of our time on the beach, and I must confess, on this trip we played so long and so much that I often left the camera and video camera in the house on accident.  We really didn't get much on video this year, and I really hate that.  We also never did get a good family picture on the beach like I wanted.  It really makes me sad that I didn't do a better job with this, but I CAN say that I really focused on my family, my kids especially, and didn't worry so much about anything else.  This trip was all about relaxing and destressing for me, and that's exactly what I did!  Guess we'll just have to go back again soon so that I can get the rest of those pics I wanted lol!

Ok...I HAD to share this pic because every time I see it, it cracks me up!  Presley, for some odd reason, is going through a pirate stage.  She loves them!  I don't know where her fascination comes from or who has been telling/showing her pirate things, but she'll walk around our house making this face and saying, "Argh Maties!" We get so tickled at her.  Anyway, while we were at Gulf World, we came across these hats in the gift shop, and of course, she ran right to them! Thank goodness I had the camera ready and was anticipating "the look" lol!  LOVE it!!! Can we say this one is definitely Daddy's little tomboy? Yep, I think so!!

Presley is 3!!! My How the Time Flies!

Can you believe my baby is 3 years old already? It seems like yesterday I was bringing her home from the hospital. Time flies so quickly! For her 3rd birthday, Presley really got excited. She told everyone she could for the month leading up to her birthday that she would be 3 soon! The week before, she asked me every single day if it was her birthday yet. She also was very specific about the type of party she wanted. When I asked, she told me she wanted an ice cream party so ice cream party she had! We had ice cream sundaes with every topping you can think of and brightly colored cupcakes to match. Popa and Daddy even set up a slip-n-slide and kiddie pool for the kids to enjoy.

All of the excitement took place the weekend before her birthday so of course, on her actual birthday we had to celebrate too! Presley asked for this Belle cake when she saw it in the grocery store one day so I couldn't resist and ordered it for her. She was so excited! Yes, I know...my children are a little spoiled (just a little!), but I believe birthdays are special and at our house we go all out. To me, birthdays are a celebration of life and a reminder of how very blessed we are to have our precious children in our lives so I tend to splurge more for them! Usually this means they get at least 2 parties each year (one with friends and one with family on their actual birthday).

 

Thanks everyone for helping to make her 3rd birthday so special! Wayne and I are truely blessed and so very thankful for both of our girls- if only they didn't grow up so quickly!