"Knee Deep in the Water Somewhere...."

And by "somewhere" I mean Heaven.....or as some like to call it, Destin!  =)  We left Tallahassee late Saturday night after Lindsay and Andrew's wedding and arrived in Destin sometime after midnight.  That night is kind of a blur, but we didn't want to waste a single day of our vacation, so we drove down late that night and got that out of the way.
We are staying in a GORGEOUS house in a gated community called The Villages of Crystal Beach.  It belongs to a good family friend of ours and we are so grateful that she let us rent it from her for the week.  This is our first official vacation since Kyndall has been born, so we were more than ready for it!  Matthew's parents are down here with us, and my parents will join us tomorrow, and then my sister will come down on Thursday night.  It's been a great week so far, and I'm looking forward to the whole crew getting down here.

Not bad, right??

We spent most of Sunday lounging at the pool, which looks like something straight out of a Sandals resort!

After the pool, it was time for lunch, a bath and naps!

Sunday night we ventured out into Destin and had dinner at The Crab Trap, which is one of my favorite places to eat down here. 

After dinner, we did a little shopping at some of the beach shops.....

Nonie bought Kyndall this t-shirt at Alvin's Island

On Monday, we took Kyndall down to the beach for her very first experience in the beautiful Gulf!  I couldn't wait to let her sink her tiny toes into that powdery white sand.  Despite the water being exceptionally cold, she seemed to LOVE the beach!  I'm determined to make her a Florida girl one way or another!!  =)

After dinner that night, we headed back to the pool for a little night swim.  The pool was even more beautiful at night than it was in the daytime.  These pictures don't do it justice.....

Today we headed to the beach first thing in the morning, and stayed for several hours.  The water was the more beautiful than I have ever seen it!  It was smooth like a lake with very few waves, and you could see straight to the bottom, even pretty far out.  I'm not normally a big fan of the ocean, as I'm pretty scared of the "critters" that live there, but today I got right in!  It was so beautiful that I couldn't resist!  See for yourself....

Aside from sunset, late afternoon is my absolute favorite time to be on the beach.  This afternoon before dinner, we took Kyndall down to the beach to try out the new kite we bought at one of the beach shops. 

As you can see, we are having a GREAT time and enjoying our first family vacation very much!  I just wish I could slow the week down so that it doesn't go by so fast!!!