...

We just back from my first big family vacation together. My parents, brother and sisters family all gathered in one 3 story house for an entire week. Considering that several people in the house were practically strangers and there were no big blow up fights or broken property, I’m calling it a huge success. Seriously though I think a fun time was had by all and I’m so glad we all came together for it.

Our beach house was in Blue Mountain Beach, about 15 miles east of Destin, FL. We were all very anxious to see what the beaches were like, and luckily our beaches were oil free (from our sight anyway). The green slimy algae was smothering the water and anything in it though. Our house had its own pool though which was a big hit with the kids. I really can’t imagine what we would have done without a pool or if an adult had to go walk to the community pool constantly with the kids. I think the only down side of things may have been the stairs. Did I mention it was a 3 story house, plus more stairs if you wanted to go to the rooftop deck. I’m sure several people are feeling the effects of climbing stairs by today. I did like Ronnie’s saying one time when a kid asked for something: “no way can you get me to climb those stairs even if there is a pot of gold down there”.

Jeff brought a brisket we ate on for a couple meals and then several more trips to the grocery store were made. And damnit if my brother didn’t scar me for life, I’ll always think twice before pronouncing Publix again. When I think of that name I see their usual sign in lime green letters but with curly black hair on it. I even went into Walmart twice on my better judgement. So much food was both eaten and thrown away and I really do feel guilty for not recycling all week. We certainly gave that garbage man an extra workout. Jeff and I tried going out to eat with Allison twice during the trip and both times were nightmares. She will not sit still in a highchair for more than 10 minutes now. We got away for a date night once and ate at Tommy Bahama’s restaurant where I had the best crab cake ever – thanks to the sweet spicy sauce it was on.

Wednesday we booked a cruise to Shell Island leaving out of Panama City Beach. LK’s bunch had us all nervous but finally got there with no time left to spare. Since it said we’d only be on the beach for one hour, most of us didn’t wear swimsuits which we regretted since the water was crystal clear and so much nicer than Destin. I think the boat tour before us took all the shells though. On the way back we found dolphins. It was definitely fun and a little cheesy with the Giligans Island song running in the background… 3 hour tour…

The guys made it out fishing one night, but just on a pier since deep sea fishing charters were near impossible to find. Friday the kids and adult guys hit the race track and gocarts. And there were a few shopping trips, one where Courtnay got a bright green tshirt saying FUBP, showing an oil slicked bird. LK, Courtnay and I did make it to the ‘outlet’ stores, but calling them outlet was a joke. Prices were just as high as their regular store counterparts.

Most of the time was spent being lazy, talking, kids playing cards or swimming, wandering the beach, or a few people sitting on the deck smoking. That was fine because when it did come time for all of us to leave, it turned crazy, trying to figure out what time to leave, which cars, etc. A few times it seemed like we’d be talking and poof there went one family gone. Friday morning LK wanted to get family photos on the beach and they did manage to get out there with David’s bunch and get a few good ones (except the boys left their sunglasses on!). I wanted to be there, but in the heat of things people running around, I had no idea if/when they were leaving, it was just impossible to figure it out with people moving and talking as fast as they did.

I think the kids were only shy for a day or so and by mid week the teasing had started. Alan and Matthew teased Kasey and Ronnie about saying ‘say’ instead of ‘hey/did you hear me’ when a person hasn’t answered a question yet. And I think Kasey and Alan were picking out the ugliest people on the boat ride to pair the other up with. Even Cody’s shy shell may have been cracked – just a little bit.

I’m looking forward to doing this again next year hopefully.
Full set of pics in the link above.

Addition - I forgot to write about our fearless Allison and the waves. The first time she sat in the sand she held up her dirty hands at me and frowned- obviously not liking being dirty (she does this at daycare too - little miss priss). The next time she was just fine once we started moving the sand and packing it in to shapes she could smoosh. Then Jeff took her in to the waves. They even got splashed by one and she just giggled. When he tried to take her back to the calm dry sand she ran right back towards the ocean. She even accidentally got dunked by a wave a couple times and it didn't make her cry or anything. Unfortunately I did not get video of this since I didn't want to get the camera wet.

I’ve probably written a few times about my gadget loving geek husband on here. Well this is our latest big purchase that I have enjoyed reaping the benefits of. I typically put the term geek in a very high regard – they are smart, like to figure out new things and can make money doing it. In addition to all that my husband loves to eat and thank goodness like to cook. So he’s been experimenting on a new platform and so far we both love it.

Last Christmas (or 2?) Jeff’s parents got him a smoker. He’s used it a few times and made a great boston butt and smoked chickens, but there was some trouble getting it hot enough in the winter. It was a great start though to realize we wanted the real deal. I say we, but Jeff did all the research. And since I don’t cook and he does – I’ll let that man buy most anything he wants to if he keeps cooking up delicious grub!

For the 4th of July weekend since we had a big group of family coming over I suggested Jeff get a brisket. I’m from Texas and that will always be my first choice for bbq. He found out that stores around here either don’t carry them, or don’t know how to cut it (they trim all the fat off). Luckily though Sams had one left – a 14.5 lb one. Haha. He made his own custom rub for seasoning. It turned out great and we got probably 20 servings or more from it. When we were done with it, he took it to work for more bragging rights. I’d say every other week at work the guys in his team come up with something new that involves food and turning it into a competition. I’m thinking this is Jeff’s favorite part of his job but you’ll have to ask him.

Soon I’ll add another true geek entry on how Jeff rigged up a security camera outside pointed at the temperature gauge on the Big Green Egg, that sends pictures to his computer at home, then from work he can log into his home computer and get the latest pictures to see the camera and temp.

A catch up on a few things in our house. Allison (who will be 16 months next week) had another ear infection and just finished those antibiotics. This one came just 6 weeks after the last one. No mention of going to an ENT but I do see it in her future. Over the last couple weeks we’ve skipped that last night time bottle a few times and others she just drank a couple ounces. I tried the sippy cup late last week at night and the next night she pushed away the bottle. So I packed them up! All bottles are gone. Yeah! Also on that front, I bought some vanilla soy milk Saturday and that’s all she’s had for milk. I’ve been told a few times that milk is not good when you are sick since it increases mucous. And another friend swears that our bodies are not made to digest milk, certainly not young toddlers. So we’ll try this soy since she seems to drink it without a fuss.

We had a houseful for July 4th. Jeff’s parents came up on Friday and soon after Jeff and I ran out of the house screaming… freedom. Just kidding. But it is nice that his parents are comfortable enough in our house that we can take off and let them be. We just went out and I had a delicious martini called the blue dolphin. We ate some food that was not memorable since I had a second martini and then we hung out at some friends house. It was a nice medium size crowd where I felt like I actually had conversations since I didn’t have to watch out after Allison. Wow, after re-reading that it sounds like I need more date nights, haha. Saturday afternoon when Greg, Claire, James and Jim got there, the ladies went off the Flying Monkey Arts center for the Saturday artist market. James is almost 2 months old and filled out and so much cuter. He looks more like Claire so I guess Greg knows how I feel, haha. Jim is still gathering up post doc offers so we’re not sure where he’ll be living in a few months.

We’ll be at the beach with my family in a couple weeks. I can’t wait. I think the last time my brother and sisters kids saw each other was at my wedding almost 5 years ago. And this will be the first time my sister meets Allison. I was so excited to get to show some of them the white sand on the Florida beaches but we may just get to look at it and not play in it. I’m still hearing mixed reports on how bad the oil is and where it’s washing up. We all decided to keep our plans since the rental house has its own pool. It’ll be a lot of fun and I can’t wait to have more memories with my own family since these group gatherings are few and far between.