A Day in Our Lives: Fall Break

Last Saturday morning we set out on our fall break vacation. We left the house around 4:15 am to head to Navarre Beach, Florida. We stopped near Gadsden, Alabama for breakfast, and then stopped again in Greenville, Alabama to get gas and take a potty break. Those were our only two stops until we checked into our condo!! We made great time and got to our condo a little after 12:30. The girls did great on our ride down here. The only problem is that Rachel coughed pretty much non-stop. She had started coughing some on Friday, but on the way down here Saturday she coughed the entire way. Once we got all of our stuff unloaded and unpacked, Robert and I decided that we needed to do something about Rachel's cough. She had been to the doctor earlier in the week on Monday because she had strep. She was over that, but this cough was now getting to be ridiculous! So, we found an urgent care place and Robert got in the car to take her there while I got on the phone to call our allergist. One way or another we were going to get some steroids for Rachel! We've been down this road too many times before! We know what can happen to Rachel in the middle of the night - we've made quite a few trips to the ER in the middle of the night with a child struggling to breathe. Luckily, the allergist called me back very quickly and agreed to call in some steroids for Rachel. I got in touch with Robert just as pulled into the urgent care place, so he just turned around and went to Walgreens to wait on the steroids.

While Robert & Rachel were waiting on medicine at Walgreens, Katelyn and I went ahead and went to the beach! It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed being out there. Not too much later, Robert & Rachel got back and joined us. The only negative thing is that there were quite a few jellyfish in the water, so the girls didn't want to do much more than get their feet wet. But they had lots of fun playing in the sand. Puddin & Papa got here a little bit later and after they got their stuff carried in, they joined us on the beach.

We decided that we would prefer to eat in the condo most nights instead of going out to eat. We just enjoy it so much more than having to get everyone ready to go out, then drive somewhere, wait to order, wait to eat, then have to drive back. We'd much rather stay at the beach/pool as long as we want to, then come in and take a quick shower and fix supper here. Then after supper play cards or games or something. So after an afternoon at the beach, we headed out to Wal-Mart to do some grocery shopping for the week.

A few years ago we got tired of the girls getting so much sand in their bathing suits and giving them rashes, so we went out and bought them sun suits/surfer suits. That was the best thing ever!! Now they can sit and play in the sand all day and not have sand up their pants! And it also helps with sunscreen! They love them too because they don't get all that sand irritation. Katelyn's original sun suit got too small, so we had to get her a new one last year. Rachel has been wearing hers for 3 years now! It's very faded and getting worn out, but it has been worth the money! I guess we'll have to look for her a new one for next year!

Saturday night ended up being a very tiring night for us. Rachel couldn't quit coughing. We felt so sorry for her because it wasn't anything she could control. We had been doing her breathing treatments in hopes that would help, and we started the steroids, but nothing was helping. Finally around midnight, Robert put her in the van and drove around with the AC on full blast. That usually helps her stop coughing. It worked as long as she was in the van. As soon as she got back here, she started coughing again. I think we might have gotten around 3 hours sleep that night. We were all tired.

This is the girls in front of the dolphin fountain outside our condo.