beach vacation.

i read a funny piece the other day about how traveling with little children is not vacationing....it's going on a trip.  saying it like that sounds really cynical, and i guess it is.  i have no desire to diminish the delight of seeing my kids experience new things, or the sort of general joy that comes just from being out of the routine.  i will, however, not understate how difficult and un-vacation-like many portions of traveling with small humans can be.  

we took the kiddos to destin, florida for a week on the beach.  my parents and brother came too.  in my head, i was expecting a vacation full of naps on the beach and reading a zillion books and catching up on 8 months without a whole lot of sleep.  this trip was not really that.  the weather was questionable, the gulf had lots of seaweed and was rough, my mom's back went out, hollis got diarrhea and subsequent INSANE diaper rash, and our little family of four attempted to sleep in one room - a logistical decision i will never repeat if possible.  there were great moments - eating gumbo with family and friends, watching my brother and ek color for hours, creating sand domes for emme to stomp on.  but i was up around 5 or 5:30 every morning with hollis and lived in a twilight sleep, terrified that one child would wake up the other.  

so.  many lessons were learned and i feel certain that our next trip will be - if not a vacation, a little bit smoother than this one.  

iphone photos are all i've uploaded so far.  we didn't take very many pictures, but we have a few that i'll post soon.