oh, the beach

our first family trip to the beach could not have gone better. we had a great place to stay [thanks teresa!] and while the weather could have been better some days, we certainly weren't complaining to get out of town and relax.

the place we stay is in this great snowbird community at the almost very end of panama city beach. snowbird = no annoying teenagers. and usually mostly quiet. it wasn't so quiet this time because we apparently scheduled our trip right in the middle of thunder beach week. harley davidsons & any other type of motorcycle you could imagine were there. [including some scooters. and guys, you just looked like dorks next to all the men on the bikes. yeah, i said it.]



we thought the bikes might bother cayden, but no. he instead would whip his head this way and that trying to look at all of them. really, best kid ever. and i say that a lot. but it's true.

he wasn't entirely sure of what to make of the ocean. he cried the first time we put him in it; mostly because it was so freakin' cold. but once he realized he could do pretty much whatever he wanted, he was all about the ocean. and the sand. and, you know, eating the sand. gross.



he loved the pool too. [well, he loved the heated pool in the back of the complex. again, the front pool? way too cold. daddy put him in and made him cry there too.]

we had dinner out a couple of times. we were going to go to our beloved treasure ship. it's this awesome place on the marina where you can watch boats come in with their catches of the day. unfortunately, the treasure ship burned to a crisp the day before we got there. i almost cried. at least cayden will never know what he was missing. instead, we went to pineapple willie's [with all the bikers].



on our way out of town, we hit up fudpuckers [in destin]. they have little alligators. and, y'all, we thought that cayden would love them. i don't even think he noticed them.



and, no trip would be complete without an emergency stop in nowhere alabama. on the side of a two-lane road. what happened? oh, our little guy decided to throw up all over himself. and his carseat. and his diaper bag. we stripped him down on the side of the road and cleaned up what we could with baby wipes. cayden definitely felt better afterward. he chattered the whole way home from that point.



we're looking forward to a beach trip in the fall with my parents and my sister and her family. cayden should be a pro by then.

it's just awful

i know that unless you've been living under a rock, most of you are aware of the flooding going on in nashville. it's unbelievable. i just spent a few minutes flipping through a facebook album showing all the landmarks that are under water, or close to being under water. and it's heartbreaking. seriously.

i was born in nashville, and grew up in franklin. i still have family in franklin. and family friends spread throughout the franklin/brentwood/nashville area. i hate seeing one of my favorite cities like this.

if you live in the area and are able to help people out, please do so. me? i plan to do a little research this afternoon to see where my donations might be most helpful.

ball y'all!

ok, so i didn't get around to doing beach photos last night. we had errands to run and groceries to buy. we did manage to stop by target, and cayden enjoyed one of his favorite things there:



{sorry for the awkward vertical layout; we sometimes forget to turn the phone horizontal.}

beach tease

we had a wonderful time at the beach. the weather wasn't 100% perfect, but it worked for us. here's a small video of cayden enjoying the ocean. i'll edit the rest of the photos tonight and hopefully have a big beach post to share tomorrow. {the wind's pretty loud, but you can kind of hear the ocean & cayden.}

pet silhouettes

in case you haven't seen these in the hugs & kisses shop yet, check 'em out!