SURPRISE! We're at the BEACH!

We got up Saturday morning and packed up and loaded the car and headed out. Brenna and Macie thought we were headed to Aunt Bit's and Uncle Byron's house for the night. They were super excited about seeing their Aunt Bit! Except that....we weren't headed to see the Holt's house....not yet anyway!
When Josh started planning our Disney trip, he brought up the idea of going to the beach after we left Disney. I was of course on board with this idea as soon as he mentioned it because....THE BEACH!!! It is my happy place. If given the choice of any vacation destination, I will always pick somewhere with my toes in the sand, waves in the background at all times, a cold drink in my hand, and the sound of my kiddos having fun! (hhmmm..seems like there is a song about this somewhere- minus the kids part!) To me...that is the definition of the perfect vacation. So we decided to make Vacation 2016 one of epic proportions!
We also decided to keep the beach a secret from the kiddos. Our worry was that they would get hot and tired at Disney World (even though we knew they would love it), and be asking to go to the beach. And...Josh is the King of surprises. Me, not so much. But he likes everything to be a surprise. Most of the time I find this quality super sweet, and sometimes it drives the planning side of me insane! LOL! So- surprise it was! And since they didn't know we were going to the beach....they also didn't know that the Riley's were meeting us there to spend 7 glorious days with us!! I was so excited I could hardly contain myself on the 7 hour drive! Ok.... maybe I did contain myself enough to get a much needed nap in....but still- I was excited!
As we got closer, there were signs that said "Destin" on them, but our oblivious children had no idea. I had flashbacks to a vacation we took one summer when I was little. We were traveling through Tennessee, and I desperately wanted to visit Dollywood. I was a HUGE Dolly Parton fan (yes- it's ok to make fun of me for that...it wouldn't be the first time...) and my dream was to go to Dollywood. But Mom and Dad told me we were on the other side of Tennessee from Dollywood so we couldn't go. So my pre-teen attitude filled self was TICKED. I sat in the back seat and listened to my walkman (yes- I'm also dating myself here) and as my Daddy would say- I was unaware that the thing beside my head was a window I could SEE out of. So we drove all the way to Dollywood, with a sign on every corner saying DOLLYWOOD, drove into the parking lot where apparently there were signs everywhere welcoming us to Dollywood, parked the car, and got on the tram that said DOLLYWOOD down the side of it. The guy standing up front had a name tag that said none other than DOLLYWOOD on it. I looked at Mom and said "SEE! Even HE'S been to Dollywood!" Did I mention that I was a moody Pre-teen?? And that I had been told that there was no way we could go to Dollywood?? This poor guy looked at my parents like I was NUTSO. Then he got on the microphone and said "Welcome to Dollywood!" And yes, I finally put it all together that we were in fact at DOLLYWOOD! I cried. And that guy with the name tag and the microphone? He was still looking at me like I was nutso. I don't blame him.
So as we got closer to the beach, and by closer- I mean we are DRIVING ON THE BEACH ROAD, Brenna makes the statement "I don't remember Uncle Byron and Aunt Bit living this close to the ocean." Lord help me.  She IS my child.
Josh and I put it off for a while and didn't really say anything. But we could see pretty quickly that she was NOT catching on. Poor kid. It's in her genes. So right before we got to our condo (that we have been to THREE times- so she should recognize it!) we finally told her that we were at the BEACH to spend the next 7 days! Her reaction was priceless!!!

Macie was excited too! And all I could do was smile and shake my head at what I must have put my parents through so many years before as they went so far out of their way to make my dream of Dollywood come true, all while dealing with a pouty child. God bless my parents for letting me live.
But the surprises weren't over for Brenna and Macie Pool! They still had no idea that Schaef, Sarah, and Carter had driven from Granbury Texas to be there before us and were hiding IN our condo!!!
We got out of the car and went up to our condo, and the girls were still on cloud 9! We pretended the key was not where it was supposed to be and the door was for some reason unlocked, and when Josh opened it, Carter was laying in the middle of the floor and Brenna started giggling and said "CARTER?!?! Then Schaef and Sarah popped out from behind the door.... And it was GAME ON!!!!!
We unloaded and located our swim suits and head to the beach as quickly as possible!

Since it was already 4 pm, we took minimal supplies. We were all just ready to...well... do THIS:

Us adults kicked back and enjoyed some relaxation, and the kiddos wasted no time doing all the things they love at the beach...

This child could sit and dig in the sand all day long.

Getting buried in the sand sounds like a great idea....until it's over and you have sand in every crevice in your body and the ocean is full of seaweed and jellyfish.....

Such a good sport

Mermaid Macie!

Carter in a bikini with boobs!

He didn't think it was nearly as funny as we did.

Happy BFF's reunited! Carter? Well, I don't remember what the frown was about.

All too soon the sun was going down and it was time to call an end to our first beach day. Knowing we had 6 more ahead of us made it a lot easier to pack up and go in! That and the fact that we were starving. Pizza was our easy dinner choice for the night as everyone got settled into their condos and unpacked. We all hung out for a while and went to bed fairly early since we were totally exhausted from the first part of The Grand Vacation of 2016!