destin part IV: his turn in the spotlight

beckett was only 5 months old last summer in destin...so this was his first real experience w/ the beach. he loved throwing sand. not so much playing with it...just throwing it :) poor sweet ellis.

taking in the scenery...
first trip down to the sand...

and then getting right down to business...the sand...he would just roll around in it...we would laugh and then he would do it more. he is such a showoff :)

he was operating w/ 2 handfuls at a time...

a little bonding w/ uncle grant...

he thought he was pretty badass w/ this visor on...

newfound love...

quick break from destin pics to show you how the kids spent last friday morning over with the leaman girls. we swam, we lunched, and then had a lemonade stand. this was a first for ellis (and me...in my adult life anyways). ellis LOVED it. she really loved it. beggars (i am not trying to be insensitive) should really consider recruiting cute little girls to help them sell lemonade on street corners. they banked. and then the three chicas split the money...it was adorable :) here are a few pictures i took w/ my phone...

the 6 kids enjoying cupcakes after lunch :) pate and kate joined in the fun...



here is the lemonade stand...so adorable. i should note that pate and beckett were there for the action, but totally uninterested...


morgan was the manager...avery and ellis, her employees...


LEMONADE FOR SALE!!! at the TOP of their lungs!!!


the three money makers :) when someone would drive past their adorable screams, we (the moms) would quiety call them a not so nice name that starts with a "b"!!!

it was a fun time....ellis didn't want to leave but the tiny terror (beckett) was in need of a nap. bad. i will never drive past another lemonade stand without stopping. the joy on their faces when they realized they had a customer...too cute.

and a word to the wise though...i don't suggest drinking it :)

destin part III: beach babe

ellis loves to pick out her own clothes...swimsuits are no exception. she decided each morning which suit she wanted to sport that day...and then picked out the bow that best matched...i didn't get a picture of her in every swimsuit :( this is because a certain shorty (this is what my friend lauren calls children...hilarious!) i know likes to throw sand so i didn't love taking my camera to the beach. here are a few of my beach princess :)

this one is her favorite...no surprise there. this is her 3rd one of the same swimsuit...i get her one every year because it is just so damn cute! actually, her VERY favorites are the ones w/ the disney princesses. heinous. i "forgot" to pack them...she wasn't happy about it.

don't let these pictures fool you...about 15 minutes after getting down to the beach every morning she would say "ok...i'm done with the beach"...back to the pool w/ fun cousins :)

she finally has a tan :)

99% of the people we were with are huge LSU fans. we had to represent.

ellis loves having her picture taken. if she thinks i am taking too many of beckett and not enough of her, she lets me know about it.

action shot. ellis doesn't love bikinis. you can tell by the white tummy :) but i talked her into this one because i bought beckett the matching suit...they were pretty cute...

i will save that for another post though :)

destin part II: gulfarium

bebe and i took the kids to the gulfarium one day (in walking distance from our condos). the gulfarium is kinda like a white trash sea world and a bit of a tradition in the family. i am pretty sure NOT ONE thing has changed in my 30 years of gulfarium trips...no "updating" if you will. always fun though...it is really small so you are up close and personal with all of the shows and animals...and the kids of course don't notice how shabby it is!

his swimsuit is down to his ankles...

ellis wasn't so into it this year...she was worried we might see sharks...

this is pretty cool mom...


he found a little girlfriend to watch the show with...it was meant to be...matching crocs :) again, the swimsuit.

he didn't take his eyes off the show...

and here is the reason why: BALLS!! he loved the fact that the fish were playing w/ soccer balls. you and i both know they are called dolphins...but beckett can say "fish" so that is what they were that day :)

love love loved the show :)

finally...

my internet was down. it is now fixed...i can live again :) at least i had my iphone to keep up!

here are a few more pictures of the beach/water from destin:

dolphins swim by all day long...

fun in the sun...

there are certain times of year you will find algae in the water...as you can see, this was not one of them :) AND it isn't crowded...another plus.

just A FEW of the boy cousins...they have SO much fun together...

my guys...

and my girl...

i have to say she is the most easy going, perfect child...so much fun to be around. she loved every minute of the trip...no complaining, no whining. she is so different from her brother!! maybe i just don't remember what she was like @ 16 months old?? was she that bad? highly unlikely. he has a year or so to change his ways. if no improvement, i might find the closest hospital and drop him off...safe haven law ya know? he is cute...so i am thinking a sweet, unsuspecting family would adopt him :)

Promises are made to be broken right?

9 hr drive from kick ass beaches

i always say it...destin is THE perfect location for a family trip :) my mom's side of the family has been going for 35 years...i was 6 weeks old my first time there. you just can't beat the redneck riviera, as it is so lovingly called. we had 45 people this year...which is actually a small group. we usually hover somewhere around 75 i think. we all stay @ the same place...cocktails start before 10 a.m....it is crazy fun.

before kids, it didn't matter how we got there...we would caravan...taking our time w/ a cooler of beer and many stops along the way. 2 years ago was our first time w/ a child. we drove w/ ellis (15 months old). it was hell. truly hell. and we broke up the trip...staying in baton rouge for the night. she was horrible on long car rides. nightmare. her achilles heel for sure...

last summer, ellis was easy...throw in a DVD and call it a day...but we flew because we had beckett (5 months old at the time)...it was just as bad. waiting @ the airport, then we were delayed...sat on the runway for over an hour...not fun. then renting a car and having to drive anyways. plus, there is only so much that will fit on a plane. and for the beach, you need lots of shit.

so this year we tried something new...traveling by night. and i will NEVER DO IT ANY OTHER WAY. so so so easy. i had to do zero entertaining...in fact, i am almost finished w/ the 4th twilight book. i read for the entire trip there and back :) so relaxing. my own mini-vacay.

here are just a few pictures...i have been enjoying cocktails @ redstone so i don't have it in me to sit here very long :) i will have to break up our trip into a few posts. here are just a few of the water...keep in mind, no photoshop has been used...i would love to but i don't have the time. the water really is this pretty...

ok...blogger is giving me problems...i will post more tomorrow...promise!

coming soon...

destin pics :) we are back...had a fabulous time. i should be arrested for the lack of nutrition in my kid's diets while in florida. who doesn't love a popsicle for breakfast? and at one point my dad found ellis dipping krispy kreme doughnuts in queso. no joke. anyways...i am catching up on sleep and tonight i am off to celebrate! margaret and jeff are getting married!!! yaaaaaay!

do you know what tonight is?

BIG BROTHER begins!!! ...and guess what?? i know one of the contestants! kinda. brandon and i have been waiting ALL SUMMER for it to start. it is by far our favorite show...it is sooo good...i can't even stand it i am so excited. philip and susie (brandon's parents) were over @ our house on the 4th of july. philip knows that i am into trashy TV and mentioned that his friend jeff lloyd had called him...leaving a message saying "hollywood...jordan's going to hollywood"...brandon's dad then said the message explained she was going to be on a reality show called 12 or something like that...it would run from july to sept. i immediatley knew he had to be talking about BB!!! so for those that are confused, jordan lloyd is jeff's daughter...jeff is great friends w/ brandon's dad. how fun is that???? we had to listen to his message again to make sure it was big brother and not a new show called "12" :)

so...right away i get out my laptop and google her...yup...there she is. they had just announced the contestants like that day i think. i then find a link where jordan is on entertainment tonight or something saying how she will go really far in the game & that her boobs are just 3 weeks old. we are all dying laughing...philip decides he needs to call jeff back and give him a hard time about what we found on the net...asking him if he paid for the new "assets" for her college graduation. nope...he got her a rolex...she paid for those herself. her dad is really funny...and thankfully a good sport because the conversation got slightly X rated. she is GORGEOUS. i can't wait to watch her tonight...even though i have never met her, i feel like i have :)

here is a picture of jordan and bradley (brandon's little brother)...she is now 22 yrs old i think...about 6 months older than bradley. here is my question: do you think i could see this to US Weekley as a "topless photo of jordan lloyd" if she wins? totally kidding.

p.s. - if you have never seen BB, you need to. just trust me. you will thank me later...give it a week or 2...you will be addicted!

a look back...

my favorite thing about having my kids exactly 2 yrs apart is that they are the same age when holidays come around. that didn't really make sense did it? for example, at halloween this past year...beckett was 7 months old. well, ellis was 7 months old @ her first halloween. get it? i can look back @ pictures of them and they are doing the exact same things at the exact same age. i was looking @ pics of ellis when she was 15 months old in destin...and guess what? i decided to post a few. they are just too cute and they grow up too damn fast. i remember how much fun she had there that summer and can't wait for beckett to do it too!!

and finally...how awesome is this picture? she has on pink aviators. there is a pack of parliament lights next to her. it appears as though there is beer in her sippy cup. she is number 1.