my top 10 favorites from vaca

There is so much for me to say about my little 3 day trip to Destin with Blake... I have re-written this post several times. So I decided to do several posts about it -The first is a Top 10 List...

Top 10 List

1. Laying Out In The Sun - I am a Florida girl at heart! I love to be tan(and use sunscreen). :) I love to be in the sun. It has been about 4 years since I have taken a vacation that involved several hours of laying out(before Will) and this one involved 2 days worth of it! I think that even Blake enjoyed the peacefulness of it! :)

2. Reading a book - I love to read novels and mysteries, but often find myself taking so long to finish that I have forgotten much of the book by the time I finish. Blake and I both bought a new book the day before we left and had them finished before we returned!

3. Being in Florida - I lived in Florida for 10 years and basically grew up there. I always enjoy being able to go back with Blake and tell stories and reminesce about the wonderful beach trips and friendships...

View from our hotel balcony

 4. Taking Naps - My children are precious, but there are a few things that they don't do well and napping is one of them. Since adding Riley I have seldom had all children napping at the same time, therefor napping for myself has been non-existent. Blake and I napped 2 x in 2 days... Quite the accomplishment for me!

Following dinner by the beach at The Crab Trap

5. Eating Late - I don't when it started, but our kiddos like to eat dinner early! 4.30-5.00 is their preferred time! Granted, they get up pretty early(by 7) and are in bed no later then 8... I think that Blake and I often find we aren't very hungry by dinner time and often don't really get to enjoy our food because of it. We ate at 8.00pm both nights we were gone!

6. Long Meals - I am sure that every other parent feels exactly the same way... We eat FAST! Blake and I discussed before leaving the fact that we wanted to enjoy every second alone, so when we sat down to eat we worked hard to eat slow! We chatted, ordered appetizers, tried each others food, and did everything we could think of to take the longest time possible during our meals(especially dinner). We had some incredible conversations during those times.

 

7. Late Nights - I have always been a night owl. Even now, I hate to go to bed before 10 and find myself up till 11 most nights. We didn't even find ourselves returning to our room until after 10 those 2 nights! I loved it! Then a movie followed before bed both evenings as well...

 

8. The Beach - Ok, my husband thinks I am the strangest thing, but I do not enjoy ocean water. It involves a story about a jellyfish, alcohol, and a terribly swollen leg... I seldom find myself in the water at the beach, but I ADORE to be at the beach! I love walking up and down the beach. I love listening to the waves crashing. I love watching children play in the sand. I love the smell... The beach just makes me happy. Blake rented up beach chairs and an umbrella on the Tuesday morning and we spent about 4 hours doing all of those things!

9. No Schedule - We did not have a single thing we had to do during our time in Destin! We didn't have to eat at a certain time. We didn't have to sleep at a certain time. We didn't have to worry about anyone being too hot or getting sun burned. We didn't have to check e-mails or listen to voicemails... There was NO dissertation writing for 3 entire days! :) I believe that it has been years since we have relaxed that much.

10. Alone Time With Blake -  Our 6 year anniversary was in June and for 4 of those years we have been growing our family and raising children... And we love it. We adore it. We wouldn't choose anything over it. But in the midst of ministry, PhD writing, and children we had found that we had become very lazy in our efforts to spend quality time together. We brought no computers and only watched tv when watching a movie after 10pm... We took walks, rode bikes, ate long meals - I felt like I just couldn't get enough time with him! We wouldn't trade our lives, but we definitely waited way too long to do this. I'm already brainstorming where we can go next year!

The fact that we got to go to the beach(due to a great deal) was amazing, but I will tell you that almost everything on this list can be accomplished by spending time almost anywhere. We needed to go somewhere quiet. We needed to go somewhere slow. We needed to go somewhere that we couldn't find things to do to fill up every spare minute with activities. We needed to need eachother. That's what made such a wonderful trip...