Fort Walton Beach 2013

Brian's family has been going to the same vacation spot in Fort Walton Beach, FL since he was really small so we could not wait to take Tyler! We were both really anxious about the flight so we came prepared! Lots of snacks, toys, books, and apps. Tyler did great! I purposefully booked us in the very back of the plane so that if he was fussy the noise would be drowned out by the sound of the engine. He wasn't so interested in looking out the window as much as he was pulling the window shade up and down. Let's just say Tyler was the most entertained and well fed person on the entire flight! 

Running out some energy at the terminal kid zone before the flight. Whoever thought of putting these in the airport was genius!!! Yes, Tyler is usually blurry in pictures because the kid won't stay still!

We came prepared!

We were the first to get to Florida (most everyone else drove in) so we took Tyler down to the beach for the first time and he LOVED it. This kid wasn't fazed at all by the sand or water. He would fall down/face plant and just get up and keep running. He loved jumping over waves and splashing in the water. 

First steps in the sand

Yes, the water was a nasty black/green from all the seaweed but that didn't stop us!

Tyler did not want to stop playing to take a picture! "Let me down!"

We had a total of 20 people there! 

Tyler "tickling"  Will.

Lots of spike ball games

Tyler loved every minute of it...well minus taking his afternoon nap:).

Even Aunt Linda got in on chasing him around. We finally contained him by pulling him around on this raft. 

He never wanted to be inside playing. He would walk to the door and say "beach"...well his version of the word was more like "B" "B".

He loves being read to!

Another highlight of the trip was spending the weekend with Charles, Jordie, and Samson. They moved away for residency but were able to drive in for the weekend. It was so fun seeing them and getting to catch up!

Now what would a beach vacation be without some good old family photos! Here you go....

4th Anniversary-Kauai

Brian and I were so lucky to spend our 4th anniversary in Kauai. It was an absolutely amazing trip and the most beautiful place I have ever seen! Tyler did amazing and loved all the attention he got from both sets of grandparents! Here are some pics of what Tyler was doing while we were gone :).

So back to Kauai....its hard to even know where to start. We decided to stay on the North Shore of the island because that is where most of the mountains are and the scenery is incredible. Our condo overlooked Hanalei Bay.

Here is the view from our balcony.

The path down to the beach.

The view walking to the beach. 

We celebrated our anniversary at The Beach House restaurant. It was so fun watching the surfers while we ate and of course we stuck around to see the sunset. 

I took this picture sitting at our table.

On the north side of the island is the Napali Coast. There is an 11 mile hike you can take to walk along the coast but the beaches are only accessible by kayak. The kayak trip is around 7 hours long! Brian says if we ever go again that he wants to do it. I think I should start training now... This time we opted for a catamaran tour of the coast and it was breathtaking! 

We loved driving around the island finding all of the beautiful beaches. Many of the beaches on the north side of the island were very secluded and were not accessible by car. We did a lot of hiking to get to these beaches but they were so worth it!

Secrets Beach

Isn't the water amazing?!

Queens Bath

There are lots of warning signs telling you NOT to get in because when the tide comes in you can get sucked out to sea. They even have a plaque as you walk down with tally marks telling how many people have drowned while swimming here.

Tunnels Beach (Brian's favorite)

 It is the beach where Bethany Hamilton was attached by a shark. Of course we had to watch Soul Surfer the day we got home. :)

Hideaway Beach (This is the "staircase" down to the beach.)

This was my favorite even though we only went there for a short time on our last night. 

We were told by multiple people that the one thing you have to do while in Kauai is a helicopter tour. You cant drive all the way around the island and most of the land in the center of the island is privately owned and not accessible by car. We opted for the "no doors" option helicopter and it was so worth it! Here are some pictures we got from the air.

For our anniversary night we splurged and stayed one night at the St. Regis Hotel. It was one of my favorite parts of the trip because I am a sucker for a nice hotel room. This room had it all...huge king size bed, tv that came up out of the desk, and a huge bath tub with a window overlooking the ocean. 

View from the tub

Bathroom

View from the room

It was such a relaxing trip and I am so thankful that we got to take some time away to spend with just the two of us. This was my first time away (overnight) from Tyler since he was born so we were so happy to see him when we got home. Our flight got in at 5am Thursday and Friday at 11:30 we were on a plane (with Tyler) headed to Florida for our Pattillo family vacation!