Destin, FL

Since moving away from Utah, most of our vacations have been spent returning home to visit family. But we love it when we get the chance to visit somewhere new and have family come to us! Edith and Casey and their awesome kids came out for the first and second week of summer and we met up with them and Katie and Joey at the beach in Destin, Florida. 

Our family made it to the beach house first and claimed all the best rooms. Just kidding. It was such a neat place- two complete houses stacked on each other with outside stairs connecting them, a hundred yards or so from the ocean.  I walked down to the beach on our first evening before everyone else arrived and just took in the salty, windy sea air and the noise of the waves and the darkening late-evening sky and was totally transported. The whole vacation was worth it for that moment, I think. 

The next day we headed down to the beach as soon as everyone was awake and played until we knew we were all sunburned.

(pic by Katie)

Oscar took his first dip in the gulf of Mexico!
(In style, wearing his new swim shirt from Aunt Edith.)

 (Pic by Katie)

All was well until a big wave came in and soaked Oscar and gave him a salty splash to the face. He didn't enjoy that.

 (Pics by Katie- thank you for capturing these so I can prove I exist.)

We spent the rest of the day (until a late afternoon rain came in) sitting by or playing in the little(!) pool at the house.

 (Pics by Katie and Casey?)

The rain cleared out and when it got dark, we headed back to the beach to hunt crabs by flash light.

 (Pic by Edith)

 I've never crab-hunted and it was pretty darn neat. You let a wave roll in and then shine your light on the wet sand and little bubbles will show you where a crab is hiding, then you dig in that spot with your net to try to catch one. It was kind of great to walk around the deserted beach in the dark and just see little lights with leg-shadows walking around in the sand, a few faces illuminated over nets here and there.  And to hear only the sound of waves interspersed with the occasional exclamation of, "We got one!" or, "Over here!"

 A haunting Malan and Meredith!

Day one complete, and well enjoyed.