The Meltdown on 30A

In Seaside, FL (where we vacation), there is this place called "Airstream Alley". It is a row of those silver airstream campers from the 70s in front on the town square that house all kinds of fun food and drink places.

One of the places is called "The Meltdown on 30A". Its a gourmet grilled cheese place. Super cute. Super fun. Super yummy!

I really wish that was what this post was about. But it's not...

Catherine has officially hit the "terrible" twos (actually, about 6 months ago). One day, we were on the beach, enjoying the sun and waves. Catherine got mad about something. (About what you ask? I didn't know then and I don't know now). She completely lost it. She screamed, flopped and bowed her back exorcism-style. Her fit was SO bad that a couple sitting near us took it as a cue to run for their lives go up for lunch.

After trying to calm her down a little (and tell her she was in BIG trouble), I grabbed the video camera and does what any good mom would do. Got it on film for proof that she does in fact lose her mind at times.

This "Meltdown on 30A" is not so cute, fun or yummy.

Firecracker Firecracker Boom! Boom! BOOM!

We got home from Florida on Friday night. Saturday, Travis had to go to work (nothing like taking a week off and coming home to the zoo that is his business). The girls and I hung around the house in our PJs all morning. I had to unpack the gazillion bags from vacation. That took about an hour. I started a load of laundry and decided it was time to get out of the house!

Side note: I am VERY lucky that my mom is the best. She kept up with all of our laundry (and her's, dad's, Jon's and Nicole's) the whole time. The only dirty clothes we had were PJs from Thursday night and our clothes from Friday. It was wonderful!

We ran our usual weekend errands, (which included Walmart...with three kids...on Saturday afternoon!). After all that activity, we were pretty whipped (our bodies were still in vacation mode). So, we all took afternoon naps. I "big puffy heart" love afternoon naps!

Saturday night, I cooked spaghetti. (Nothing like laundry, a Walmart trip and cooking dinner to slap you back into reality!) The girls watched a movie together in their room, while Travis and I watched Due Date. We ate popcorn, stayed up too late and loved life!

Sunday, we went to church. After church, we went to lunch with the Brown's. It was pretty hectic (thank-you, Catherine.), but always fun to hang with them! Then, we did a little shopping before yet another afternoon nap. (Did I mention I LOVE naps?)

Sunday evening, we met The Browns, The Hermans, The Dusts, Tara, Aaron, Nicole, Kristen and Abby at Las Fajitas for some yummy Mexican food. (Nothing says "Happy Independence Day" like Mexican food.)

After dinner, we went to watch fireworks at the crosses. We set up camp in a sweet "cabin" in the home depot parking lot. It was very all-American-family-ish. They boys even sat on the porch. We spread out blankets for the kids and snacks. While we waited for hours for it to get dark, the kids ran wild playing tag and just being crazy.

 

When the fireworks started, the kids were all on the blankets, even the babies. But, at the first loud POW, Catherine turned and shot like a tear covered rocket into my lap. She went back and forth between the safety of my lap and Travis's. A few minutes later, Bree came flying over to Rachel. Rachel met her halfway and as she was running back to her seat, she stepped in a pan of red, white and blue rice krispie treats. OOPS!

Sunday night, Emma stayed the night with Claire. So, we met the Browns for breakfast. Afterwards, we went home and played with the girls until it was...(altogether now) TIME FOR AN AFTERNOON NAP! :)

Sunday night, we did the "our little family" thing. We had burgers and chips for dinner, a mini photo shoot in the front yard and played tag. Catherine did not make it until dark. She was down for the count about 8:15. Hannah lasted until about 9, but sat in the back of my car the whole time scared that Travis or Emma were going to "burn her hair off with their loud pops". Emma, professional firework launcher, had a blast lighting them and running her little heart out with her Daddy.

(Don't freak, people. The "fireworks" that we got were kid friendly. And, Travis taught her all the safety rules of lighting fireworks, what to do with duds, etc.)

(If you read this LOOONG boring to everyone but me post, congrats) We had a wonderful, relaxing, fun filled weekend. We are all very blessed to live in a country where we are free to do these things (and dress our kids in too much red, white and blue with bows that are too big) and I, for one, am very grateful for that.

Sea Grove Beach 2011

I love the beach. I love that my girls love the beach. I love this week every year! (Which is evident from the 98 pictures I am putting in ONE post!)
Last week, we loaded up our car (and car-top carrier) and headed to my favorite place in the world...Sea Grove Beach, FL.

We arrived about mid-afternoon on Saturday, unloaded the car, threw on our swimsuits and headed to catch the last few hours of the day on the beach. Once the sun went down, we went back to the house to shower and eat dinner. We ordered pizza from Pizza by the Sea, played hide-n-seek and poker.

Sunday, I was the first one up. (I was SO excited!) We ate breakfast and got ready for our first full day on the beach. We stayed down there all day. Catherine even took a nap under the tent on a towel. Emma spent her day in the water (just like last year) and Hannah played in the sand (just like last year). Catherine loved the water and wanted to go out anytime anyone would take her. But, she also had fun playing with Hannah in the sand. It was a good day.

That evening, we showered and ate smoked ribs and chicken that my dad made. And, what meal would be complete without Honey's famous party potatoes and calico beans? YUM! After dinner, we went for a walk and picked some pretty flowers. That night, we hung out and played a little more poker. (every night, we played poker and the loser had to carry the chairs to the beach the next day...I carried a lot of chairs!)

Monday morning, we were a little slower to get around. But, once we did, we spent the whole day on the beach, again. The waves were REALLY rough and Emma didn't go out quite as much. Travis and I got the boogie boards and thought we would show off our mad skills. Needless to say, Travis lost his sunglasses and I got a bloody lip when I got slammed onto the ocean floor. Practice makes perfect! :)

That night, we drove to Grayton Beach to eat dinner at the famous Red Bar (if you haven't heard of it, google it. It's famous...Kenny Chesney was there the week before us just for dinner). It was so fun! When you walk in, there is a lounge-ish area where you wait for your table and listen to the live band. I didn't know many of the songs (my dad did), but they were so good. Uncle Jon and Catherine took a few spins on the dance floor. When it was time to head to our table, we had to drag Catherine away! Dinner was amazing. If you are ever in the area, I highly recommend eating there.

Tuesday morning, the boys got up EARLY because my dad chartered a boat for them to go fishing all day. Travis spent the first part of his day in the cabin of the boat on the floor fighting off sea-sickness. Jon managed to hang, but said he was feeling pretty bad too. My dad never got sick on the boat, but once they got home, he was stumbling around on land! Despite the sickness, they all had a blast and caught so much yummy fish!

While the boys were fishing, we decided to take a beach break and head into Destin for lunch and some shopping. We had a nice girls day and got some much needed rest!

Tuesday night, we had a shrimp boil. After dinner, we played with the girls. Once they were tired out, it was time for another game of poker with the chair carrying at stake.

Wednesday morning, we all woke up refreshed and ready for another full day of fun in the sun. We saw some dolphins playing around just off shore and Travis caught a huge crab! The girls did much of the same every day. We played a lot of baggo and read a ton. I LOVE THE BEACH!

That night, we drove into Seaside for dinner at Great Southern. It was so good! I had crab cakes and fried green tomatoes...it.was.to.die.for! After dinner, we went to a little ice cream shop for desert. We sat outside, at our ice cream and listened to a live band playing in the amphitheater.

Jon and Nicole left to head back to Glenwood after dinner. The girls were pretty wound up from all the sugar fun, so we went for a walk on the beach and snapped some great family pictures. We made an attempt at sparklers on the beach, but that was unsuccessful. (The wind blew out all but one match. The sparklers we did light burned up in .3 seconds and burned Catherine's hair. Better luck next time!)

Thursday was much more of the same. Except, when the tide came in, it brought about 40 tons of seaweed on to shore. With the seaweed came cans, goggles, sunglasses, flippers, etc. It was pretty gross. But, right by our house is a lake. So, we spent much of the day playing in the lake and soaking up our last day on the beach.

Thursday night, we ate burgers and hot dogs. We decided to get a jump start on the long drive and left after dinner to come home. We drove about 4 hours, stopped for the night and drove the rest on Friday.

It was such a great trip! Catherine had several meltdowns (more to come on that later), Hannah whined a little and Emma sassed us some, but being there with the people I love most in the world made all of that pale in comparison to the fun memories we made together! I can't wait to get back there next year!