Gulf Coast Vacation

The past two weeks have been fun-filled and memorable.   The day after Susannah's last day of school, we headed to the airport to fly to Georgia, where we spent a night at Mimi and Poppy's before heading to Panama City Beach for a week of family fun.   After our week in Florida, we came back to Georgia to spend a few days with Peter's siblings.   The girls were so happy to have two full weeks of cousin fun.   Here are the pictures......

Traveling with these two is such a breeze compared to two years ago.   Susannah read a few books to Sarah Avery while we waited to board.

After dropping our stuff at Mimi and Poppy's, we headed over to Uncle Hollis's house to play with baby Presley. 

She is the happiest baby.

The girls were so happy to see their cousins, Clara Kate and Jack.

Susannah and Clara Kate found the dress up clothes and Susannah created a Hermione costume.   She and I are reading Harry Potter together and she is a huge fan. 

The next day we drove the five hours down to Panama City and were playing poolside by 3 pm.   Susannah had so much fun with her cousins Sidney and Caleb.

Sarah Avery was a big fan of the splash pad.

And the zero entry pool.

The resort was constantly offering poolside activities.   This was Susannah and Sidney getting ready for the chocolate tasting.  

We went out to a seafood dinner right on the bay.   The girls loved watching the pirate ship.

So happy to be on vacation.

It was such a relaxing week.

One day Mimi and Poppy rented a pontoon boat with double slides and we spent the day on the water.   

It was such a blast!

We anchored next to Shell Island and had fun sliding and playing in the sand.

Mimi was so much fun......she even went down the slide!

These three girls had a ball.

Mimi pushed these three over to the shore for some sand castle building.

Sarah Avery loved the slide after she warmed up enough to give it a try.

We had so much fun with Aunt Beth, Sidney and Emma.

Peter and Sarah Avery enjoyed taking a Cheetos break in the shade.

We loved spending the day with Poppy.  

Susannah and Caleb found a few hermit crabs that we kept on our porch for the rest of the week.

Sun-kissed beauty

The next day we were all ready for a break from the sun, so we spent the morning in the craft room.  

We made bracelets, sand art, stuffed animals, and piggy banks. 

That afternoon the girls got to give the steel drums a try.

And we had s'mores.

Delicious!

My step-sister Jenn brought a babysitter so the adults got to enjoy a couple of adult-only dinners. 

Poppy and I had fun sitting next to each other. 

We had a couple of beach days and the Gulf of Mexico couldn't have been more beautiful.

And of course, we had pool time in between beach visits. 

Peter helped the kids catch jelly fish.  

All the cousins.   

These two were big buddies by the end of the week.

Family beach pic.

Striking a pose.

The end of the week came way too quickly and before we knew it, we were gathering on the porch for the obligatory family selfie.  

Lucky for us, they were having a pancake breakfast and balloon animals in the lobby as we checked out.

Pancakes in the parking lot before we hit the road.  

And then it was time to spend a few more days with the Mallory cousins.  

So many fun memories.

Snuggles.

We flew home on July 4th so Delta gave the girls some fun patriotic swag.   

And now we are back in Alexandria, enjoying a slow paced week before Vacation Bible School starts next week.   A great big thanks to Mimi and Poppy for inviting us on such an amazing vacation.   We loved every minute we spent with all of our family.   We love you all and miss you already!