Destin, Florida Take 2! Happy 35th Birthday To Me

A couple months ago I visited Destin, Florida for the first time and I was enamored and had to go back and tow my sister and kiddos along, so we planned it for my 35th birthday and I booked the hotel (we stayed at the Beachside Inn). As you can see by my pictures (I took nearly 2,000... no that is not a typo) that my baby girl is my favorite (and most cooperative) photo subject. I'm kind of obsessed with her expressions, and her flyaway strawberry blonde hair that gets curly in the humidity. She's a doll. And a mess. And I love her to pieces. And she drives me nuts.

This was Lindsey's first trip to the beach, and as you can tell she kind of LOVED it. My baby girl is a water baby through and through. Anywhere there is water, Lindsey is right at home and ready to move in. She talks about the beach and sand all the time still. She loved everything about it. We haven't done a whole lot of overnight outings with her, so a 3-day trip was a big deal and she handled it like a trooper. She got pretty cranky on the ride home (when she woke up from her hardcore nap hot and sweaty, and still 30 minutes from home), but we all survived!

Aside from lots and lots of time in the sand and water, we visited the Harbor area and Lindsey got to do this huge trampoline thing that she ADORED, the kids shared an ice cream cone, played with bubble guns, and we saw lots of interesting people... serious people watching. Then we went and found this amazing hole in the wall restaurant right on the water for my birthday dinner on the 12th (the Dewey Destin Seafood Restaurant). Hot, crowded, long lines, and worth it. My best friend Tasha and her daughter also were there - we actually didn't pre-plan to be there at the same time, but Tasha told me about Destin awhile back and we both happened to book at the same time (she came a day later and stayed a couple days longer than us, but was there for my birthday). It was kismet. I was so glad they were there to help make my birthday EXTRA special!

I've been singing the Cake By The Ocean song for the past month, counting down to the day I could ACTUALLY eat cake by the ocean for my birthday - which we totally did. Yummy, sandy cake (it wasn't sandy when we got it at the Donut Hole, but it sure was after 5 people passed it around on the beach)! I'm pretty sure beach trips for my birthday will become an annual tradition. It was WONDERFUL! I love Destin.

Also - the staff at Camille's Cafe are fantastic! We loved them. :)