Sandestin 2013.

Buck has many conferences to attend each year for various work obligations.  One great perk is that we can take the boys with us to family-friendly Sandestin.  This year the boys and Mommy missed the May conference and Sandestin trip because it was right after Fawn's tonsillectomy.  But, we made up for it over a long weekend trip in June.  This year we went just the four of us -- no grandparents, so no extra help.  And while the boys are at somewhat "difficult" ages in terms of the beach, it was a great four days as our little family.

The car ride down was uneventful.  Very little whining and fussing.  Only a couple "are we there yet".  And, the biggest shocker of all, Small Fry only disconnected the portable DVD player twice.  With cords right in front of him, we figured it might be an every-ten-minute occurrence.

Small Fry snoozed on the way down, so when we arrived we decided to forego nap time and head straight to the beach.  Fawn is our beach boy and was absolutely thrilled to be back in the sun, sand and waves.  Small Fry was a bit in sensory overload, but took to the beach right away.  Buck is really just a big kid and thinks building a sandcastle is about the most fun he can have.  In fact, unbeknownst to me, he hauled a real, legit, giant fold-up shovel for heavy duty digging.  The boys were amazed by his mad skills.

Beer and a wood and metal shovel...what more does Buck need for an afternoon at the beach?

So excited for sandcastle time!

Introducing my three sons.

Hard at work.  Though Fawn kept getting distracted by the allure of the Gulf.

Pool time.

My fish Fawn.

After an afternoon in the sand (and a pit stop on the way home to the pool), we headed home for an early dinner and bed for the boys.  We were in for a fun surprise with ducks at our back door.  The boys (and Buck) enjoyed feeding them goldfish and "quacking" at them.  Buck had a welcome reception to attend, so I relaxed while I waited for him to return with yummy take out.

Small Fry spotted the ducks.

Fawn was brave.

Such fun.

Day two, Buck had meetings all morning.  I was a bit afraid to take the boys to the beach by myself.  They both wanted in the water non-stop.  While Fawn is a pretty good swimmer, the water was a bit rough and he's definitely not good enough to be swimming in the Gulf by himself.  And, fiercely independent and fearless Small Fry wanted in the water but did not want to be touched or held onto.  He thought being knocked over by the waves was funny.  So for safety's sake, we headed to a beautiful pool on the Bay side of Sandestin.  I am used to the pool routine with the boys so it was really just like any other summer morning -- except with a gorgeous view of the Bay.  We had a great three hours of pool time before heading home for lunch and Small Fry's nap.  After Buck got home and Small Fry awoke, we headed back to the beach for the afternoon for more sandcastle, swimming, and seashell searching fun.

We had a family-friendly cocktail reception to attend, and managed to get all four of us bathed/showered and ready to go twenty-five minutes after walking in from the beach.  That's a family record folks!  After a brief stop at the reception, we headed to Acme Oyster House for dinner.

Loving a fruit kabob at the reception.

I (heart) this picture.

Fawn is into goofy faces.

Sweet Small Fry was such a trooper on this trip.

Somebody looks sleepy.

Our favorite pack mule.

Buck was with us for all of day three and we bounced  between the beach and the pool all morning, crashed for afternoon rest time, and then headed back to the beach for a beach party as part of Buck's conference.  Another great beach day of fun.  We had beautiful weather the entire time.  After we were sufficiently water-logged, we decided to head into Destin for a trip to the Crocs store.  Fawn had been asking for new camo Crocs and Small Fry desperately needed a pair.  Fawn quickly found some shocking camo/hunter orange Crocs he was set on (y'all they are loud!).  Small Fry totally freaked out thinking that we were taking away his soft, worn-in, totally tread-less Crocs.  He is very attached to his hand-me-downs from Fawn.  He attempts to wear them at all times -- in the swimming pool, in the ocean, first thing in the morning, you name it.  We couldn't even get him to try another pair, so he missed out -- it just wasn't worth the fight!  I think the poor child was just exhausted after such a fun-filled few days.  We decided that we needed to feed them quick, so we grabbed dinner in Destin before heading back to the condo.

Fun in the sun.

A little teamwork.

And some help from the coach.

Matching brothers.

Love a beach baby.

Taking a seat with mommy -- notice the sand-filled Crocs.

They were only still for snacks.

We got up first thing Sunday morning -- which was Father's Day -- and headed back to Birmingham.  Yep, Buck had the privilege of driving us home on Father's Day -- Happy Father's Day to him!  He did get a Bates turkey sandwich on the way home, so he was a happy daddy.  And, we were so happy to get to spend a long weekend with him.

I leave you with grumpy Fawn on the ride home.  Not happy to be leaving the beach.