Beach Livin'

Dallas gave us lots and lots of rain...

...so we ran away to Florida...(where we got rain for another day and a half and then (finally!) some summer sun!)

We packed up the car and kicked off the summer in style.   Both of the kids were so amazing for our long drive.  My expectations were exceeded.

We went to Rosemary Beach, one of the master-planned communities on the gorgeous strip of Hwy 30A in Florida.

30A is filled with a bunch of beach towns side-by-side where one can walk and bike from one to the next.  Palmer loved getting to bike everywhere and remarked how we barely used our car all week.

 The morning commute to the beach.

While the kids (mainly Grace) were a little hesitant at first about the ocean...

...they quickly warmed up and loved both the sand and the surf.

Parallel play...

Everyone getting in on a little stand-up paddle board action:

Adrienne, Matt, and the newest Handford, Elliott, joined us for half of the week.  Look at this little beach nugget:

Morning walk to the donut truck and a stop to splash nearby:

And a different morning's walk to this donut shop (oops):

30A is filled with wonderful places to dine.  While we planned on cooking more often back at our place in the evenings, we were too tempted with so many great options and opportunities to bike to our supper (and ice cream) and back.

George's in Alys Beach was our favorite meal of the week:

We also loved The Hub, an outdoor area with several food options.  Kids can run around and play, adults can enjoy their food and drinks.  Palmer biked 7 miles roundtrip for lemonade!

 The world is this little gal's stage.

And we ventured over to "the west side" to check out Seaside one night.  Dinner at the Great Southern and an outdoor concert while we waited.

Cannon ball time at the pool.

Sibling love back "home":

Rosemary, we loved our time here...

We'll be back!

-Bethany