Life as a Brandtito

I'm not a fan of the heat. Or the bugs. Or the hurricane threats. Or the Snakes.  But a perfect day at the beach makes it me remember that being a Floridian has its perks.  We spent our first official summer weekend in Destin.  To get in the staycation vacation spirit, we had dinner at  Joe's Crab Shack  on Friday evening. It's a full fledged tourist trap, but the food is surprisingly good and the waiters and waitresses sporadically bust into song and dance.  Besides, Heaven is REALLY into crab right now  (It would be better if she were into something cheaper...say grilled cheeses maybe) and honestly I haven't the slightest idea how to cook/boil/season/steam/grill crab.  Also, they make you wear bibs at Joes. Score one for being able to possibly re.wear these clothes without washing them.... Just kidding, you know the kids will definitely still wreak the clothes they're wearing. Even with a bib. Gavin was a big fan of the ...

                      We planned to spend some time at Munson Lake this weekend cooking out and swimming, but apparently our secret plans got leaked and several hundred people wanted to join us. Can you believe on a holiday weekend with beautiful clear skies that other people could also want to enjoy the outdoors? Me neither, it was clearly some sort of a conspiracy.                     So after several hours of enjoying each other's company at home (which of course translates into after we tired of threatening the children, hearing them complain of boredom, endless requests to go to ludicrous places like Chuckie Cheese...) we decided to take a trip to Destin for the evening.                    We spent a little time shopping at the commons. The kids especially enjoyed Bass Pro. They have a full Duck Dynasty line which the g...

Pensacola 06/10/12-PNJ Photo I wasn't aware that we were expecting a Monsoon of rain this weekend...but apparently I was misinformed. Friday night, we made an unplanned trip back over to Destin. Jessica & Danny had decided not to stay, thus leaving the last night at the condo free. Gavin decided he didn't wish to go so me, the girls & John headed over for one last night. We knew Saturday was supposed to be rainy, so we'd planned to take the girls to see a movie or maybe do some shopping at the outlets to pass the time. Seemed like a pretty good plan to me. By the time we arrived in Destin on Friday, the tourist were already in full swing leaving every restaurant with a pretty terrible wait. In cases such as this, when children & waiting are involved... entertainment value of a restaurant beats possible quality of food every time. We decided on Joe's Crab Shack because there is a huge playground outside. Huge playground + loads of loud unruly children ...

Dinner at the Back Porch with Friends   The troops ventured to Destin this weekend. The weather was perfect and we had a blast! We sunned, We swam, We (I) sipped frozen drinks by the beach, We visited with friends & We even held an Alligator. True story.   Some of my favorite People! Brian & Collin      Me & Shell          We drove over Saturday afternoon which took us a little longer than expected due to the Billy Bowlegs fest in Ft. Walton (which I was totally bummed to miss out on). I was one "How much longer?" from abandoning a child or 3 to walk the remainder of the trip when we arrived. Luckily a lounge chair and book was all I needed to calm my nerves. Melissa, Bryan, Erika & Collin arrived shortly after we did to spend the day with us. The kids had so much fun swimming in the pool & playing on the beach. Within minutes o...

The catches!      My bestie's birthday is at the end of May & John's is at the begining. What better way to celebrate getting older, than a Salt Water Fishing trip? We started this tradition last year, and it was even better this go round (not throwing up the whole trip really does a lot to pump up the enjoyment level). My 2 favorites + friends, open ocean, & the option to come home with a cooler of fresh fish...sounds like WINNING to me. Big Catch # 1       We didn't bring home as MANY fish this year, but I caught my 2 biggest fish ever!! It started out as a frustrating situation as since we were on a charter the majority of the people on board were strangers. A group who obviously knew the crew of the boat brought their own gear and bait to fish for Amberjack. The problem with that is that Amberjack are famous for weaving...and when you've got a billion lines in the water...weaving creates a major pro...