Happy 40th (gasp!!!) Birthday Kendall!

Kendall’s birthday was on the 4th and it was a big one!  We had a big party last year and I wanted this year to be more personal.  Kendall has been a little out of sorts this week and did not know how he wanted to celebrate, so I decided for him.  We started the day with an early breakfast with the girls at IHOP.  It was nice to be together as a family before I whisked Kendall off to the beach.  We drove to Ft. Walton and checked in to a brand new Comfort Inn.  I’m not sure anyone had ever stayed in our room before.  We had a great view of the Santa Rosa Sound and all of the boats.  Very nice spot.  We had lunch, changed clothes and headed to Beasley Park.  I have never been there before but my sister recommended it as a place for beach portraits.  It’s a lovely little public beach with protected dunes with wild flowers and a beautiful, clean, snow white beach.  It was perfect.  We took off walking and soon left all of the people behind.  For about a mile and a half we didn’t see anyone else.  Just seagulls and sandpipers.  The weather was perfect and the water was crystal clear.  After our fun in the sun we took a few pictures and tried out the beach lighting so I can write off the trip (clever!).  Then we cleaned up and headed out to dinner.  We ended up at the Boardwalk at Okaloosa Island which is a little shopping area with  several places to eat.   We chose Floyd’s which ended up being quite yummy.  After a stroll through a light rain we located a Starbuck’s and headed back to the hotel for dessert.  We watched “Men in Black II” on TV and called it a day.  Friday was another beautiful day.  We slept in until 10:00 and then drove into Destin because we were craving Chick-fil-a.  Then back to Beasley Park, our new favorite beach.  We were sad to leave in the afternoon but all good things must end so we hopped in the car and headed home.  We found some friends on the way home and I just had to stop and take their picture.  I also found some signs at a flea market that I photographed for my niece’s room.  We were happy and just a little sunburned when we got home last night.  Thanks to Belinda and The Evan’s and Kurtis and Kim for watching our girls at the last minute.  I look forward to spending my 40th (in 2.5 years) at the same spot, though I doubt we will be doing any swimming in December!