Recap of our Florida trip

Since Blogger was not working right earlier this week, it's taken a bit to pull this post together. Watch out for all the pictures!

We tried to cram as much into the week as possible, in between Joseph's naps and waiting for contractors and workers to arrive at my parents' house. Joseph's sleep schedule was all over the place, as he's moving into that phase where he could just as easily take one or two naps a day, and always of unpredictable length. Of course, the fact that we spent most of his awake time outside helped to ensure that he slept well at night and naptime!

There's an amusement/go kart facility in Destin called The Track, that has been there since we started vacationing years ago. I remember (and we have the pictures to prove it!) going on these kiddie rides when my sister Jen was just a few years older than Joseph. It was more than strange returning this year and putting my own kid in the seats!

There were a handful of rides for really little kids, and only two of those that allowed an adult to ride. We opted to let Joseph ride the swings first, not sure of how he'd react. I wish I had a better camera to capture his expression - he LOVED it!

He was quite content to sit back, swing his legs and enjoy the ride. Too cute!

Then Granpa took him on the little carousel, which we knew he'd love. Sure enough, this kid has figured carousel rides out - he knew when to wave at Grammy and me without any prompting!

His final ride of the night was the train. I think he was getting a little sleepy, as he wasn't as into this one as much as we expected. A quick trip over to the mini-golf area to view the enormous fish in a pond (without any fish food stands, either...) and a stop at the frozen custard stand capped off the night. Joseph still doesn't really like ice cream in any of its form or fashion. I don't think my parents are willing to accept that, so we opted to get him a blueberry milkshake, which seemed to be a hit until it got really melty and just dripped everywhere.

The next morning we hung out in a sandy spot near the pool, as it was a little too windy to take Joseph down to the beach. He had a blast playing with Grammy.

Could he get any cuter?

 He figured out exactly what to do with those sand toys in no time at all. I think he could have spent all day playing in the sand, if we would have let him. And unless he was really tired and rubbing his eyes, he didn't seem to mind getting covered in it.

Later in the day, we took a trip to a local outdoor mall that has a kids play area. We discovered that they also have a small train that will give you a ride around the whole mall, which we assumed Joseph would enjoy. (He was a champ all week about wearing a hat, even this one that my parents' bought and was a little big. It kept slipping down so he'd have to tilt his head way back to see out!)

Apparently we assumed wrong. Once the conductor started the train up, Joseph started wailing! Not exactly the reaction we were waiting for. It took some serious coddling for him to man up and tolerate the train for the whole 6 minutes we were on it. Maybe next time he'll like it better?

Maybe he was just having a wimpy baby day, because the usually happy to be around water kid was replaced with one who just wasn't having fun. Check out this face...

Of course, if I were put in front of fountains that spray up taller than me, unpredictably, for the first in my life, I probably would have responded in the same way.

Somehow he managed to walk in and around the fountain area, even stepping on and leaning over the ones that weren't currently spraying water, without getting sprayed in the face ever!

The following day, the winds shifted out of the north. The ocean was incredibly calm, and the winds were really gentle. We spent lots of time down on the beach that day and for the rest of the trip, with Granpa teaching Joseph how to build sand castles. Or destroy sandcastles, as Joseph seemed to prefer.

My parents' home is the yellow one in the background, so it's very convenient to just walk outside, a few steps over the new "dune" before we were down  at the water's edge. At least the beach restoration project seems to be holding up well, as last year the water was under the front of their house!

Without big waves to be scared of, Joseph had fun walking up to the water and cleaning off his sandy hands. Being early May, the water was still warming up, so we never actually went for a swim. Maybe next time!

This is probably my favorite picture from the whole trip. Joseph absolutely adores his Granpa, and wanted to be right next to him (or held by him!) whenever possible.

Lots of seaweed had drifted onto the beach, which Joseph decided would make for a great decoration on the sand castles. Granpa felt otherwise. :)

We also took Joseph and Granpa to the Fort Walton Beach Gulfarium - a first trip for both of them. It's definitely a small marine park, and the main dolphin pool was under construction, so we were able to see most of the birds, fish, dolphins, sea lions, etc. in just a few hours. It's funny how neither my mom or I could actually remember the inside of the Gulfarium, but when I was a kid I was convinced I wanted to work there someday! :)

Unfortunately, the week was over before we knew it, and it was time to head back home to reality. I wish Joe could have been there with us, but it's nice to know we were able to spend quality time with my parents at one of the most beautiful places in the U.S. And we'll chalk this beach trip up to practice for our sailing vacation next month, where I'm sure Joseph and Joe will get plenty of time to play together!