A Florida 4th of July (and the rest of the week)

You might think we were a little crazy planning a trip (NOTICE...I did not call it a vacation because when traveling with young kids that word doesn't really seem to be accurate) to Florida in the beginning of July, in the middle of summer, where the humidity is about 95% and the temps are in the low 90s (at least they have air conditioning!)...cause I sure thought we were. It was a trip long over due so all of Jason's family could be together to visit his grandpa Grady and the rest of the extended family over there.

We flew to Panama City Beach, FL on July 1st and stayed through the 7th.  It was so fun to be able to show our girls a part of Florida that they (and myself) had never been to, have them spend some time with the Florida family, and get to experience some days at a SANDY beach (nothing like we have here in the PNW that's for sure!).  My favorite words that came out of Cammy's mouth when she stepped off the plane were "what's that smell?" (referring to the smell of humid stagnate air.  G-ma decided to tell her that it was the "smell of Florida" so that is forever what Cammy said it smelled like every day we were there :)

Our first full day in Florida we decided to not waste anytime and go visit the beach.  This turned out to not be the greatest idea for a family of little kids that were somewhat thrown off by a little time change the day before.  The pictures are a little deceiving as we weren't really that happy during this VERY SHORT walk down to the water and back with cranky kids.  We both hoped this wasn't a glimpse into what the rest of the week looked like for us.

Hailey did not care for her first ocean experience!

Us trying to look happy on a not so fun beach visit

And sure enough, our kids just needed a day to adjust and the next day we rented a "party boat" and spent a few hours out on the water and playing at a little white sand beach.  Cammy was in heaven playing in the sand, building sand castles, searching for shells and feeding fish bread in the water, and swimming in the ocean.  Who was this kid????  This same exact kid HATED anything to do with sand about a year ago!

Our little boating baby, Hailey

Our little map reader, Cammy

Hailey is not so sure about this life jacket thing

Cammy with her aunt Bree and uncle Brian

Cammy helping grandpa Scott drive the boat

"Party Boat" ice chest= water, beer and breastmilk :)

Cammy swimming with great aunt Jackie

Hailey is also not a fan of the sand 

(just like her big sister at this age)

Family photo in the water

Hailey preferred to hang on the boat then be in the water and sand

(just like her mommy)

Cammy and G-ma building sand castles

Cammy with daddy and grandpa Scott feeding the fish bread

Baby life is tough stuff!

Apple eating and sand castle building...also a tough life!

The whole boat with two sleeping kiddos

The 4th of July was pretty laid back.  We took our annual Old Navy shirt family photo and played in the pool.  While waiting for dinner to be made we took a little trip over to a cool playground and walked around the bayou.  We came back and enjoyed a delicious rib BBQ made by Jason's brother, Brian and his wife Bree.  And then in the evening we set off some little fireworks in the backyard and Cammy got to do her first sparklers.

Drying off after a pool swim

Hailey's first 4th of July

Hailey hanging out with her great grandpa Grady

Family 4th of July photo

Our girls in their festive wear

The Lumsden family Old Navy shirt photo

Our silly family photo

The girls in their matching shirts

Playing at the park with my favorite toddler

Walking through the bayou with daddy

Cammy's first sparkler!

The next day everyone went off on a canoeing adventure while we stayed back with the kids.  We made a fun day out of it and took the girls mini golfing.  Cammy did great with it.  She understood what to do in the beginning, but then I think she just got too smart and decided it was easier to carry the ball right to the hole and hit it in from there.  Makes sense, right?  Why hit the golf ball from way far away through some weird obstacles to try and get it in the hole when you can start closer and have a much better chance of getting it in?  Toddler thinking is so great!!  When we got home we did some pool swimming with both girls.

Riding the noodle around the pool with Hailey

Every kid loves to jump off of their daddy's shoulders into the pool!

Our last full day was spent at Mexico Beach where we set up a tent, played in the sand and swam in the ocean.  We finished off the afternoon with a fun lunch at a restaurant right on the beach, which was exactly (in my opinion at least) what you should do when you are in Florida.

Swinging on the beach

Playing in the sand

She loves the beach!!

Collecting shells

Hailey hanging in the tent

Lunch at Toucans

One last special part of our trip was taking everyone to go visit Jason's grandma's (Nana) grave.  Cammy helped to set some new flowers at it.  We most definitely wanted Nana to meet her newest granddaughter!

G-ma and Cammy putting new flowers at Nana's grave

The girls

Such a treat for all of us to be able to make it to Florida at the same time.  It's times like these that rarely happen once all the kids are grown up and on their own!