Finally, nearly nine years after our return to the Lone Star State, we headed back to the sunny beaches of Florida. That beloved state was the first home for the Fab Four before adding darling Arlo, our only true Texan. Prior to this trip, Rob and I enjoyed a week away sans kids at the same beach to celebrate our anniversary. My search consisted of one requirement being that it was secluded compared to some of the beaches we frequented while residents of Florida. I discovered Navarre Beach which is squeezed between Pensacola and Destin. It was a perfect destination for us, and we could hardly wait to take the crew! Their happiness and excitement brought tears to my eyes. One of the great joys of parenting is seeing your kids experience something so lovely for the first time.
My favorite photo from our time there....
We departed home on a Friday afternoon post our morning at school. Rob packed up Gus the Bus, our new (to us) Expedition, and we were on our way! A note on Gus: we finally upgraded our vehicle in late summer due to the fact that Trusty Rusty had really been limping along for the past few years. It would really honor him if I wrote a post about his life with us, a job for another day. He served us well for many years, but an even more trusty vehicle with an abundant amount of space is quite nice.
Back to the ride. I'd like to know why kids are so hungry seconds after they are in the car. In no time at all, we were at Dairy Queen stuffing our faces with delicious, greasy food.
Our destination for night number one was a hotel in West Monroe. The girls, who had been watching Duck Dynasty with their super cool dad, were pleased to know that the headquarters were nearby. Our stay here was probably the worst decision of the whole trip. We had seven people to a six-person room which meant this mama was in between Arlo and Owen in a queen bed. This sleeping situation might have been tolerable had multiple people had not been recovering from some sort of illness. Charlotte had a panic attack when she realized I had packed the sound machine in a different bag and was tucked in nice and tight in Gus. Rob described our experience as sleeping in a zoo with a ridiculous amount of coughing, nose whistling, snoring and sleep talking. Alongside the zoo was what sounded like a drag racing strip ALL NIGHT LONG. He eventually gave in to laughter, the best medicine for all the sickness among the Valentine crew. Look! We were so happy before bed! You would have never guessed the next eight hours would be so awful!
Day two we were headed straight into Mississippi. Quickly informing the children that there were only two "Ps" in Mississippi, our fearless leader drove onto the "rollercoaster bridge" over the wide, wide river. The kids soon figured out the first of many dad jokes on the trip to mean that they could only have two potty breaks in Mississippi. I do not like potty humor, but he was just SO funny. I let it slide.
Early afternoon was the perfect arrival time to check into our home away from home, a mere four houses from wide open beach where the closest person was too far away to hear you yell. Perfect for five excited children! Our Texas baby was immediately accustomed to the sand and sea.
After a quick visit to be coated in sand, we hit up Publix, our favorite grocery store of all time. We shopped like our family was twice the size with two carts. I almost collapsed right on the floor when I even imagined what the total would be. I told Rob I couldn't even look. Our plan was to eat at the house the majority of the time, so we had to stock up like a hurricane was imminent.
A good night's sleep came and went, the sun had risen, and I had my pumpkin spice latte in hand while watching Rob and his five ducklings make their way to the beach to catch some breakfast. Sadly, they caught nothing, and we were stuck with cereal. Little did they know that the relentless casting would soon pay off.
