Day One: Beach Bound

We just got back from our first family vacation to the beach.  We were gone for eight days to Destin, FL and then stopped in Marshall, TX on the way back to stay with one of my best friends, Brooke.  We had so much fun and made so many wonderful memories on this trip.  We drove 16 long hours and I was beyond shocked at how well Lucy did in the car.  She took her normal nap in the car for about 2 1/2 hours, but the rest of the time she was awake talking and singing to us and watching her new favorite person...Barney.  

We got a DVD player for the car for part of Lucy's birthday present and waited to break it out until this trip.  That big purple dinosaur was a life saver on this trip.  She watched a little Strawberry Shortcake and a little Elmo, but ladies and gentlemen- Elmo might be getting replaced with Barney.  One of Carlos' friends gave us the idea of doing a "surprise bag" for the trip and it was the best idea ever!  I filled a gift bag with a ton of little toys from the Dollar Store, new books, snacks and jewelry.  She would get to pick a prize about every hour and would literally squeal when we told her it was time to pick a prize.  It was the most precious part of the trip and I think we enjoyed it as much as her.  Except for the ride back when we were a few hours from home and she figured out to ask for a prize about every five minutes.  She would say, "I pick a prize Mommy"?  It was like hearing the, "are we there yet" question over and over that I'm sure she'll be old enough to ask on our next trip.

We broke up the drive on the way there by staying in Baton Rouge, LA and had breakfast for dinner at Waffle House and had some fun in the hotel swimming pool.  Lucy is an absolute fish!  She loves the water just like her Daddy. I took over 200 pictures on this vacation, but don't worry I'm not going to post them all.  But, I will be breaking the trip up day by day so we can remember every minute of it.  

Leaving the house around 6:30 a.m. She was so excited about her new DVD player and said, "Watch movie in car Mommy".

Just waking up picking her first prize. Love that sweet little smile.

 Yay, no more driving for today.  Crazy girl jumping on the bed in Baton Rouge.