First Family Vacation: Day Five

Thursday was our last day in Destin. Boo hoo!! We'd had such a great time on vacation; we didn't want to leave (at least I didn't!). Our check-out time was 10:00 AM, so after that we went to Destin Commons, the outlet mall, to do a little bit of shopping.

Eli and I stopped by Gymboree and found this adorable hat. Yee haw, Cowboy! Grammy would LOVE this hat! I probably would have bought it just because it was so cute, but unfortunately they didn't have his size. This lil' cowboy will have to wait for now.


I've told you before about how Eli rides in his stroller-with his feet propped up. I think it's so funny! He didn't disappoint while we were shopping!


He did so well shopping with us. He stayed in his stroller most of the time and didn't fuss or whine hardly at all (just when he started getting hungry and tired). We went to Panera Bread for lunch, a great place that bakes their own pastries and breads, has homemade soups, salads, and sandwiches. I thought it was YUM-O! After a lunch and a little dessert from the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory (a coffee flavored trouffle), it was time for us to get on the road. It was going to be a long ride home and we didn't want to get home too late.


Eli did pretty well on the ride home. He slept most of the way, but we did have a stretch where Mommy had to entertain him for about 2 hours. I think we played every game I know and when those quit working we played the Praise Baby card...worked like a charm! Fussiness quit as soon as he heard those first distinct little notes. I'm telling you, Praise Baby is WONDERFUL!!

Our first stop was in Gulfport to go to another outlet mall. We didn't really care about shopping; we just wanted Eli to be able to get out and stretch his legs. While Mommy bought out Gap (Daddy's words) Daddy, Eli, and Zue-Zue went to the playground area. Zue-Zue has been saying for months that Eli needed a rock wall since he climbs so much and they found one! Eli had a blast playing on the playground equipment. We made our final purchases and loaded up once more for home. We were so ready to get there! The ride home took a little bit longer than the ride going to Destin, but Eli was a super traveler once again. We were so PROUD of him! He slept all the way from Gulfport, MS until we pulled into our driveway at home. Our first family vacation was officially over. We made so many wonderful memories! I can't wait until we can do it again :)