Babymoon 2009!

On Monday, July 13, Byron and I set off for our "Babymoon"--our last big vacation with just the two of us! Seeing as how we didn't get reservations until the night before, Destin was pretty much all booked up except for the pricier places. SO--we decided to go to Panama City Beach, Florida instead! We got reservations for the Sleep Inn, and it was just a few blocks from the beach. It also had free continental breakfast---all in all, a nice hotel! We got to Panama City around 7pm, and we were both zonked from the drive. So we watched the Bachelorette in our hotel room and relaxed, and then decided to get some dinner.

Here is something AWESOME about Florida.....and most places except for Kentucky....restaurants are ALL non-smoking. SO, that means we could go to the little Waffle House and eat the best waffles in America without feeling and smelling gross in the process. I don't think I've been to Waffle House since college--it was SO GOOOOD!

Here's a picture of Byron--bless his little heart--he looks so exhausted. He drove the whole way down there (I definitely think he prefers it to even considering letting me behind the wheel.....I tend to get sleepy). After this, he went right to sleep. Precious.

Here's me--I'm hungry, but a lot less tired than my wonderful husband.

Here's our first day on the beach!! Woo Hoo! We bought two little chairs and an umbrella from Wal-Mart. They were super cute, and super needed. We weren't out in the sun for long at all, and we both ended up with sunburns. Byron especially. He was my little lobster.

The Gulf had a LOT of seaweed in it. Gross. Even if you forgot about it, you remembered pretty quickly when you ran your fingers through the water. And then, back at the hotel, you definitely remembered it, as it was stuck all over our bodies. Really gross.

Here we are---presunburn.

Byron worked a lot of Sudoku, and I read two books! It was lovely!

Yep, definitely pregnant.

This is me with my map. I love beach cities--they always have a map of the fun places to eat....plus coupons! I am trying to help us decide where to eat first!

We decided on The Treasure Ship. It's a 3-story restaurant on this huge boat!

I'm shocked at how big the boat is!

We ate outside on the third level, at Captain Crabby's. I had never had crab legs before, so we decided it was high time I tried them!

Here's my plate--YUM! They were incredibly good, and so much fun to eat. It's like food and an adventure, all rolled into one!

Byron getting creative!

Here's us after our meal--don't we looked happy, rested, and red?! :)

We didn't take any beach pictures the second day...it was pretty much too hot to move. So here's us at Calypso for dinner. They had excellent fried pickles.

This never gets old.

We went to Pier Park--a bunch of shops and restaurants across from the pier. On our way back to the hotel, we grabbed some Starbucks, and saw something pretty hilarious. Now, I've seen some crazy monkeys in my day, but this one takes the cake.

On Thursday, because of our really red skin, we decided a day indoors wasn't a bad idea. I've always wanted to do this, but neither one of us ever had. So, we decided to paint our own pottery! We were in there about 3 1/2 hours, and we had a BLAST!

Byron hard at work. How cute is he?!?!

I'm very proud of my sun. It is happy.

Here are the finished products--first Byron's bowl (pretty much perfection!), and then my mug!

After the pottery, we went back to the hotel to chill for a while, and then we went out to eat at Schooner's on the beach. We had a great meal, and there was a live band playing--fun times!

Our last day was spent at the beach, eating a huge pizza at Butterface, and then going to Coconut Creek Mini-Golf and Grand Maze.

Byron looking rather cute!

Me and a baby elephant!


Another great belly shot! :0)


My dashing husband.

Byron got a hole-in-one! Actually, he got it on another hole, too! Looks and talent!!

Here's a picture of 1/4 of the Grand Maze. The whole thing is the size of a football field! At the start, you clock in, then you have to make it to 4 checkpoints, and then clock out at the finish line! The best time in July was 15 minutes. Byron and I made it through in 31 minutes. Not too shabby! Especially considering it was ridiculously hot and we were both wearing jeans! Good teamwork!

I'm so glad we got a chance to do this. We are so excited about the changes ahead, and this just gave us great memories of the time when it was "just us." We can't wait to add a third to our party, and keep on truckin'! :0) Here's to many more "family vacations" to come!