Time with the Fam in Destin

We always have such a great time spending time with my family in Florida; and ever since Will's arrival, it adds a whole new dimension. Although we don't take near as many trips to the beach, we seem to get a lot more family time in, which is always welcomed, considering we don't see one another near as often as we'd like. It helps when we have another visit marked on the calendar, and thankfully it's already set for December when we head to Chicago.

Our flight took off last Saturday, October 11th, and we stayed through the following Saturday, the 18th. It's amazing how quickly a week goes. There's always so much we want to do and people we want to see, yet we never get it all in! Along with some good friends, my parents have been in the process of starting a new church in Destin, so it was fun to experience that with them. We thoroughly enjoyed the service and meeting the people they talk so much about.

Since Dave and I were married in Destin, it always brings back a lot of great memories. After church we ate at the country club where our reception was held, which is always one of the places we hope to go while we're in town. Funny...now that I think about it, most of the places we hope to go are centered around food ;-) Our long-time favorite is a restaurant on the harbor called The Lucky Snapper...it has the most amazing view that never gets old!










































We discovered a couple new places this time around too. One in particular will probably be a new favorite, called Dewy Destin's. It's your typical hole-in-the-wall joint that serves some of the freshest seafood in town - not sure how it could get much fresher since it sits on the water! Tables are situated along two docks and the food is prepared in a trailer - no joke. We met my brother Scott for lunch and sat there for over two hours - it was great :-) Unfortunately I didn't have my camera along to snap any photos, but I discovered one via flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonod/2917992737/in/pool-water

Thanks to my parents, Dave and I were able to enjoy a lot of date nights - it was wonderful!












One night we had dinner at yet another favorite restaurant, and it happened to be Coast Guard appreciation night. There was a fireworks display on the water and we had the perfect view from our table (quick video taken on my phone):

Even though our trip went quickly, we still managed to get a lot in. We saw both my brothers a handful of times, and even went to visit Buzz at his fire station. It was fun being able to see where he works, check out all their trucks and gear, and meet some of his co-workers he spends so much time with. Dave was so kind to watch Will so my mom and I could go shopping for an afternoon too - thanks honey ;-)












Fireman in training :-)

































The weather was perfect every day - 80 & sunny! We did make it to the beach a couple times, and once was just in time to watch a beautiful sunset. Again, not the greatest pictures since they were taken with my phone, but better than nothing! I took a short video of that too: