VACATION!!!

Oh what a trip! We were blessed with the opportunity to get away for a week and spend some time with a dear friend and then some family time on the Emerald Coast of Florida. The timing was perfect in so many ways! Both Josh and I needed a break from the daily grind and a chance to visit a friend was hard to pass up. I was a bit weary about taking a 17 month old on a drive that was 13 hours direct, but I don't regret it. The trip down was great. We traveled during his nap and all through the night. We stopped at a park just outside Little Rock, AR (which worked out perfectly), had a picnic dinner and a memorable walk in the rain. We drove through strong thunderstorms (they actually had a tornado touch down very near where we stopped)  and took shifts during the night. Little man slept great and we arrived early the next morning in time to catch a few extra hours of sleep before Little J woke up for the day.

My friend, who is in the Coast Guard, showed us around the aircraft she is and will soon be flying! Way to go girl! That was awesome! We also toured the Pensicola Naval Air Museum. Pretty neat (and free)! God blessed me so much with this time with my dear friend! Something that I had been praying about for a while!

After our time with her, we headed down the coast to Panama City and (thanks to my amazing brother) stayed in a beautiful suite overlooking the gulf! Love you bro! This was Little Man's frist time to the beach and he loved it. It was great to see his energy and awe for the waves and water! I pray that the oil spill doesn't make it to that area! Those beaches are so beautiful!

Unfortunately, I was a not thinking and went without sunscreen the first day we were there and had J smearing aloe vera gel on my back the rest of the week! Uhh! It was sad to have to return to the everyday norm but also good to get back to it in many respects.

The drive home was a little more arduous than the drive down, but we made it! Thank you Lord we made it! We are still recouping from that drive!

Here are a few pics from the trip!