Livin' the Taylor Dream: Pensacola Beach 2009....WOOHOO!!!

Okay....so I am just a little behind on my blogging....there are several things that I have not blogged such as July 4th activities...I suppose I will get to them sometime.

I LOVE VACATION! Can I get a witness?? Seriously, we start thinking about vacation the week after vacation...we love vacations! We have gone to the beach every year since Samuel was 4 months old....we actually did not go when I was pregnant with Anna because I dilate so fast and sure did not want to be so far away from home if anything happened. So...once again, we went to the beach last week. We normally go in June but decided that we would wait until late July because I have to have it HOT....I do not handle cold water very well. We were very blessed this year as we did not have to pay for our stay. We normally stay in a condo....BUT JT had collected so many Marriott points that we decided to use those for free stays....FREE is my favorite word! We chose Pensacola Beach....we have always gone to Orange Beach or Gulf Shores so this was new to us.

We left on Friday and stayed FREE in Hattiesburg, MS. We wanted to get to the 1/2 way point so that we would have to be in such a hurry to get there on Saturday. The kids absolutely LOVE hotels....and we got completely tickled that we did not arrive in Hattiesburg until after 10pm...and the kids HAD to go swimming.....we were on vacation, so why not? Oh and by the way....the kids referred to Hattiesburg and called it "Hattiesburger!"

So we go on our way to Pensacola....we had to cross over 2 large bridges over the ocean to get there which the kids thought was so cool....I did too. We stayed at Springhill Suites in Pensacola Beach and I have to tell ya, it was very nice. There were 2 large pools and then a splash pool. Below is Samuel and Anna on Saturday at the Splash pool.....

We went to eat dinner that night at a place called Crabs, We Got 'Em. It was nice and it was nice enough to sit outside. We had planned on staying for the crab races....but had to leave because of all the "fooling" at the bar area which was outside. JT and I got a big laugh out of some dude who was enjoying his dancing.....seriously, the guy could NOT dance...but we sure got a laugh out of that. So we left there and headed down to the beach to catch some crabs of our own.

So Sunday hits and we go from pool to beach, beach to pool and back again. We would leave our beach stuff at the beach and pool stuff at the pool....no one bothered our things. Below you can see how incredibly smooth the ocean was. Apparently boarding and boating is the thing to do there. We saw this guy every day riding on top of his board with his paddle.....so that tells you how calm the waves were.

Our dinner at Bullfeathers which is on the boardwalk. Samuel ate fish and shrimp....we were so proud of him! Anna ate fries....

On Monday evening we met our friends from church Rick and Julie....they were staying in Destin so we met in the middle which was Navarre Beach. Their little girl Caroline is the same age as Samuel and Graham is the same age as Anna. They had a good time together.

Below is Anna taking a break from the ocean....and using her Daddy's sunglasses....isn't she cute?

And we watched JT and Samuel in the water....very clear water! Samuel was hoping to see a shark....of course, we were hoping not! He did catch some little fish in his net as well as lots of seashells that he brought to me.

Isn't the water beautiful? The ocean completely takes my breath away. I am captivated by the vastness and the sound. I am amazed at how God spoke and created all of that! Here you see Samuel bringing me a shell and a fish!

Um...this is what happens to two little children who have been swimming for about 4 hours. They were completely give out....and we did this same routine for 7 days.

Here we are Peg Leg Pete's....to which Anna referred to it as "Piglet Pete's!" She is so funny! This was such a neat place. They had a huge playground for the kids and a place at the docking area where you could go out and try to catch some hermit crabs....JT caught 2!

They brought the kids food in a sand pail....Samuel put his on his head of course. And below at the very bottom you can see Anna on video as she entertained the entire restaurant. They had live music and all of a sudden she got up in her seat and began to dance. Seriously....this girl was getting everyone's attention.....it was quite the show!

One of our favorite places that we always visit when we go to the beach (because it is free and so neat) is the Naval Museum where the Blue Angels are located. This place is so awesome. Lots and lots of history although the kids do not really care for the history and JT and I do not ever get to stand and read the stuff, we enjoy looking at all the old airplanes and helicopters. They alos have many airplaned that the kids can get into....and old seats that are sitting around for you to sit in.....

Here are the kids in an airplane....

And another....

They also have different sections dedicated to the different war times. This was a home modeled to look like a home from the time of the Vietnam war.....

And here is the Blue Angel....with my little Angels....

This was the last day at the beach for us....Wednesday. The waves had picked up that day...check out Samuel's tan line at his waist....he gets so dark....

Anna and Samuel....

Samuel bringing me another shell....

JT and the kids doing their floating thing....

We walked out on the pier the last evening we were there which went a long way out. We did see some pretty big fish. The kids did not like the smell at all of all the people catching fish....and you can see on the next picture that the kids really did not like the things they saw....