Playing catch up

Wow, I really need to stay on top of this blogging stuff because now I have a bunch of stuff that has happened and it is going to take me days (or months) to get it on here!  

First off, the Little Monkey and I went on a little adventure just the two of us back in June.  I decided that I wanted to go to my cousins wedding in Florida so off we went.  It was more like a family reunion on my mothers side then a wedding.  Myself and my daughter were there, my mother, my grandmother and two of my mother's sisters were there.  My mother is one of five so getting them all in the same place at the same time does not happen often and didn't happen this time but three out of five is pretty good.  The wedding was to take place in Niceville, Florida at the beginning of June.  My daughter and I had never traveled to a place by ourselves where there wasn't anyone to meet us on the other end.  The rest of my family was coming in to different airports at different times so we were really on our own.  I was excited but nervous at the same time.  I would have to handle the Monkey and all our luggage completely by myself.  Our flights were all okay and we got the rental car fine but then I-10 from Pensacola to Crestview was closed.  And it was getting dark.  I couldn't read the crappy map from the rental car people because I was driving.  I started to get a little panicky but I called my best friend in the whole world WV Girl at Heart and she fired up her computer, loaded Mapquest and guided me in.  I owe her a huge THANK YOU!!  And if you are wondering why I didn't call my husband, I did.  He was golfing, so no help there.  The lesson to take away here is always map an alternate route before leaving for your trip because you never know when the interstate might be shut down.  And it will be getting dark.  And you are traveling with your small child.  And every true crime story you have ever seen on television is suddenly in your mind.  But enough about that.

  

Our first day we decided to head down to Ft. Walton Beach to the Gulfarium  They had a small dolphin show and it was pretty entertaining.  It would have been better if I hadn't been to

 SeaWorld in the past.  The Gulfarium looks like a mom and pop operation and while it was nice, really how do you compete with SeaWorld?  Anyways, this is a picture I got of one of the dolphins jumping.  

Just look at the gulf in the back ground!  It was beautiful!  After the Gulfarium shows we were able to meet up with my aunt, uncle and grandmother for lunch.  After living across the country from my home state for 10 years now it always give me a thrill to be able to meet up with my family for simple things such as lunch.  Things that most people probably get to do with their families at the drop of a hat.  The restaurant that we ate at was right on the beach and we were able to get the breeze in our hair and watch the waves roll in.  I pretty much thought I had died and gone to heaven!  After lunch we had to go down and check out the beach since it was right there.  I personally was dying to get my feet in the sand.  There just aren't many opportunities to do that here in Colorado.  So there they are my feet in the sand.  It was wonderful let me tell you! 

My daughter was a little hesitant at first but then she dug right in!

We stayed at the beach for a little while but we weren't really dressed for it and I didn't have any toys for the Monkey so after awhile I dragged my reluctant child back to the hotel in hopes she would take an afternoon nap (which she did not) and to meet my mom who flew in a day later than I did.  

There is more but this is getting long so I think I will wrap it up for now and do the rest in another post later.