Away with K, Part 3

On Veterans Day, my brother had the day off (we did not even think of this when we planned the trip so it was such a great surprise!).  It was neat to spend Veterans Day with my favorite vet and he had such a lovely outing planned for us.  Before we even got to that though, we had a beautiful start to our morning out on the kayak.  Our dolphin friend from the night before was out fishing for his breakfast and put on a show only feet from the bow of our kayak.  

Koen, of course, had to get his hands on the paddle and he did quite a good job of paddling us around the bayou shores.

After our kayak time (which I'm hoping to repeat on our final morning), we played with Eleanor outside until Phil was ready to go.  Koen got very into the sidewalk chalk (why is it never this fun at home?).

Eleanor and I also took a walk with "Francine," her favorite doll, up and down the driveway while the sidewalk artist was finishing his masterpiece.  This photo is blurry cause this little one was determined to keep that dolly moving!

So around 11am we headed out into the boat just Koen, Phil and myself.  We headed out of the bayou and across the bay to Destin for lunch.  Koen got to drive the whole across the bay.  Although he thinks he's a pro (you should hear his prideful commentary about his skills!), he did make adjustments based on Uncle Phil's recommendations and instructions.  Oh the boldness of this child!!  So different from my meek and fearful manner as a child, so hard for me to relate and not want to curl up in a shell like a hermit crab listening to this confident son of mine!

We docked the boat at the Boardwalk under the Emerald Grande and walked down to Dewey Destin's for lunch.  Phil and I both enjoyed some Grouper sandwiches and Koen had some fried Amberjack, the fish was fresh off the boat that morning! Yum!  After lunch we took a few pics.

Koen was so cute about really wanting a picture with Phil.  I just love seeing my brother get to know my son (even if he does drive him a little crazy at times).  Such a special thing!

Me and my travel companion.  He was being so weird in this first picture, but it actually turned out cute.

Uncle Phil told him to be nice to his mom in this picture.  That's a little better.

Koen suggested he take one of Phil and I and I'm so glad he did because otherwise we probably wouldn't have gotten one together!

Next we boarded the boat again and went out into the Gulf for some fun crashing and thrashing on the rolling breakers coming in at the pass.  Then we cruised around to see the beaches from the ocean view (as we are usually looking out from the sand).  Then we beached the boat on this special Destin destination where there are sand dunes in the middle of the bay.  Koen was so excited to be on the beach.  I made him run out some of his pent-up riding in the boat energy.

Then we set to work on a "fortress" as he called it.  I started it with him, but then he continued working on it by himself for about 20 minutes.  That afforded Phil and I a nice time to chat with our feet in the water.  Ah, paradise.

By then it was 3pm and we jumped on the boat to go back home.  Koen again got to drive the whole across the bay and Phil and I just soaked up the perfect, couldn't be better November Florida weather.  I gave Koen some rest time (i.e. it's vacation, so he got to watch some of a DVD) and we all enjoyed some quiet after the big adventure out on the boat and in the sun.  After the girls were up from their naps we headed out into the backyard to play under the final sunset of our stay.  Here's Phil and his littlest, Elizabeth.

I got my hands on her a bunch on this final evening too thankfully.  Such a sweetie!

Eleanor and Koen love being on the swingset together.  I was so happy that they could engage and play so well together despite their age gap of 4 years.

Eleanor even trusted Koen enough to join him on the swing that Koen says is for big boys.  He promised to go slow and did a great job keeping his little cousin safe and happy on the ride.

Just another cute photo of Elizabeth (had to cram in as many pics from Gramma and Grampa as possible, I think Elizabeth thinks I'm crazy!).

Koen took this one of my and my little buddy.  It's blurry, but worth saving anyways.

Right as the sun went down Koen developed a fun little chase game for he and Eleanor.  She loved it and kept saying, "that funny" and "again!"

Elizabeth thought Koen was fun too.  She would swing back and forth and grab at his face squealing with delight.  This pro big brother had no problem being entertainment for his sweet, little girl cousins.  

After the sun went down it got dark and cool fast, so we headed inside to play a little more before diner.  It was so cute because all 3 of them were somewhat playing together.  Koen even developed a special game to involve Eleanor in his restaurant.  

So, as you can see we had another full day of Florida fun.  We have been so blessed by good weather and great moments with my brother and his family.  Totally worth the trip (and the super long way we came).  Now, what is going on back home you ask?  The boys are recuperating from the colds that flared up intensely over the weekend and Doug, Tav and Penn had a relaxing day enjoying one another at home.  Doug said that Penn and Tav just played together all day.  They were content just to be around each other busy.  Precious.  Here's just a glimpse I got via text.

Doug sent me this adorable video of Penn too.  It made me so happy to see how healthy and well-rested he looked (Sunday pictures weren't worth showing as they were too depressing, poor sick babies!).

I'm so looking forward to getting back to my 3 other boys.  I miss them so much.  I'm not so excited to get back to the cold though.  Check out this texted picture I woke up to this morning.  First accumulated snow.  Ugh.  That's going to be shocking after the warmth and sun here!

Well, that's the end of my weekend away with K.  We will have to leave Phil's house about 10:30am this morning, so we will try to soak up the last moments of warmth, sunshine and time with Eleanor and Elizabeth before we head to the airport.  Thanks so much to Douglas for encouraging me to come and caring for the little guys.  And thanks to Phil & Leah for hosting Koen and I.  It's been a great visit!