Well, when I started at the Huntsville Times I was told about the fabulous vacation package and all the extra days I would get to go on trips and long weekends. Little did I know they meant after one year you get these fabulous long weekends and vacations! So I have one whole day, you heard me, one whole day for the whole year that I get to take for vacation. Well, when I heard about this little 3 day weekend I immediately told Michael we must go to the beach! Needless to say, this past weekend I spent my free time soaking up rays on the sugary white beaches of Destin, Fl.
Michael's sister started the trip off with a huge bang! She and Paul have gotten engaged and she is thrilled! He proposed in the wee hours of Friday morning right before everyone left for the beach trip.
Everyone had such a blast on the trip. Our first night we all went out to Angler's. It was so yummy! Tiffany, Paul, Michael, Mike's parents and myself all celebrated our first night at the beach and the newly engaged couple! The next night Michael and I snuck off to a little place called Buster's. The food was amazing and it was a perfect date! A sports bar at the beach that serves real seafood, could I be an happier??? Michael was such a gentleman, taking his lady out for a night on the town. And if you can believe it, after dinner Michael took me to the Outlet Mall to go shopping! We had gelato on a patio table and did lots of people watching (a favorite hobby of ours!) Our final night at the beach the wife and husband to be accompanied Michael and me to The Back Porch. It was lovely! We sat and ate right on the beach with the salty breeze cooling our sunburned bodies! After that we went to the Indiana Jones movie. Paul was so excited, he had been waiting for a while to see the flick.
We played in the ocean two days in a row, laying out in the beaming sunshine. The waves were huge, there was a red flag on both days. I was sucked up two times really hard and at one point actually thought I was going to drown. Michael's dad especially enjoyed the huge waves, he was like a little kid playing in tide.
Overall the trip was wonderful. The sun was shining, the waves were HUGE, and the excitement of a newly engaged couple made for a great four day weekend and all I have to say is, when I take a day off from work, I take a day off from work!
Well it is officially summer and with the heat scorching what better way to spend a week than at the beach! My family (Mom, Dad, Joey, Aimee, Michael, & Me) all headed down from June 20-26th drove down to the sunny gulf at Orange Beach, AL. This is the first family vacation to the beach in a long time and we all had a blast! We stayed at an adorable 3 bedroom condo right on the beach! Joey and Michael shared the bedroom with two twin beds and Aimee and I shared a double bed in the other bedroom while my parents had an amazing suite bedroom. It had a full kitchen, a large den, and a big patio facing the ocean. It was beautiful! We played board games, Taboo, Battle of the Sexes and watched the movie The Uninvited. We had an Alabama Tent set up on the beach and soaked up a lot of sun. It only rained one afternoon. On the second to last day we had a photo shoot for the family on the beach. For Mother's Day I had ask Faith Photography to do a photo session on the beach of the family for my Mom's gift! On the last day we went on a 14 hour deep sea fishing excursion with two other families that my dad works with. It was a well needed week of R&R!!! Here are some pics! 
