ode to summer

Summer is over.  It's back to school.  

I'm sort of missing the care-free days of less responsibility.

  So, I find myself drawn to seashells at the moment. 

They remind me of the beach and relaxation and summer.

I finally dug out some more photos of our vacation to Sanibel Island last summer.  The kids all look so small to me!  

We made some good memories!

Happy end-of-summer to you!

mr. personality

Hello, friends!  It has been a long, long time since I've sat down to do anything photo or blog related.  And, it has felt oh-so-good!  Sometimes, it's just nice to unplug from cyber-world.  And, that's just what I've been doing this entire summer.  But, there is a time for everything, and maybe now it's time to begin blogging again, and processing my photos.  That can be therapeutic as well.  Here's little Z at the beach.  I believe he was enthralled by a dog.  Let's just call him Mr. Personality.  He's a charmer for sure!  Don't you agree?

beach day

Little Z had his first trip to the beach a few weeks ago and loved it. It was Spring Break week at our house, and since it had rained ALL week, we decided to make a Saturday trip, along with everyone else who lives in central FL! Z did great--he didn't mind the sand at all, was ready to dive into the ocean, and just generally loved being there. He fits in so perfectly with our family!

I'm always little shy to take my nicest camera to the beach, so I took my Rebel XT and one of my cheapest lenses. But, can you believe after two years of not using that camera much, I could barely remember how to focus the thing!? (I have my settings customized to my liking, so it requires fast fingers to get the shot.) Wow, it's crazy how quickly we forget things that we once second nature to us...

Anyway, we made our second trip in 8 days this past Saturday, and I'm just now recovering from the trip. I successfully put sunscreen on everyone but myself and got the WORST burn on my back. I haven't every really gotten a bad burn, so I can now empathize with those who do. I didn't know it would make me feel so yucky for so many days! I'm sure I will get a nice tan out of the deal, but that was not ever my intention, and was totally not worth it to me.

I'm feeling a little beach-shy now. It may take me some time before I'm ready to go back!

Anyway, enough rambling from me. Here's a few of my in-focus snaps.

Oh, and thank you for all of your nice comments--I'm really not used to so much blog-attention, so I'm also feeling a little blog-shy these days....somehow I feel more comfortable with fewer readers.  I guess I'm an introvert in the real world and an introvert in the blog world as well!

our little getaway

I've always wanted to do a little beach vacay.
And, so we finally did.
I highly recommend Siesta Key. It's beautiful.

Sadly, I took only about 4 pictures while we were there.
It's much more difficult to play photographer when you're always holding a baby. I love little Z, so it's okay. But, there aren't many photos to share with you.

I loved this vacation so much because we were not wired to anything. We had time to just relax and enjoy each other. Goodbye, Siesta Key! I hope to see you again soon.

winter in Orlando

It's still not what I'm used to. Such nice weather in the "winter" time. An oxymoron to me. If you know me well, you know that I'm not a huge fan of the climate in Florida. I'd rather have a nice cold winter and a pleasantly warm summer. Not a pleasantly warm winter and a summer from....well, you know where.

But, you gotta make the most of where you live. And, so we've enjoyed the beach a few times recently. I really love the beach.

Happy Winter from Orlando!

blustery

I can't seem to get my head on straight these days!

In the process of cleaning out the fridge, I lost my dishcloth.
Then I found it: it was inside the fridge!

After starting the washing machine to finish up my Christmas tablecloths, I went to check on the laundry only to realize that the entire cycle had finished without the laundry. I had left the tablecloths on top of the washing machine!

Finally, the same day, I was leaving Jazzercise to drive home (in our new-to-us car--pics later) with my friend, Shannon. When we got to the car, I realized that I had lost my keys. Then, I remembered they were in my backpack. I told Shannon to wait right there, I'd go get my bag. But, as I was turning to leave, I noticed that I was wearing my backpack! At that moment, Shannon tried the door of the car, and we both realized that I hadn't ever locked it in the first place. Sheesh, you'd think I was pregnant! (But, I am NOT!)

jump!

I'm home! We went to the beach for 4 days for work. Well, David was working and I was tagging along for the fun of it. Rough life, huh? All I can say is that my dreams of sunbathing and playing at the beach all day were waylaid by *freezing cold* temperatures. (Yes, for Florida, it was freezing cold!) I know, you feel soooo sorry for me ;)

no more pictures, please

I guess it's not always easy to be the daughter of the mama-razzi. Just think how annoying it would be to be constantly photographed and asked to look this way or that. Of course not everyone feels this way, but M has always had a mind of her own, and is almost never in the mood for pictures at all. Lately our conversation goes like this:
Me: M, let's take a picture.
M: What will you give me?
Me: How about a nice photo to look at when we're done?
M: How about some candy?
Me: No, not today.
M: Ok, then I'm NOT going to do it!

yippee!

School is starting next week. And, I have mixed emotions. My M is going to start Kindergarten. I was feeling pretty nostalgic earlier this week, thinking about how big she is getting, worrying if she would be ok at school. It's strange to think of her in a big old school building everyday not knowing exactly what's going on. But, then I got a phone call from her teacher yesterday, and I felt much better. She sounded so sweet and kind, and all of a sudden, I felt much more at ease. Tomorrow we go "meet the teacher."

Ask me again in a few weeks, and I'm sure I'll feel more like this photo. Yippee!

jellyfish??

When we were at the beach a few weekends ago, M found these clear jellyfish-looking creatures all over the beach. Despite my warnings not touch them she did (because everyone else was too), and clearly (pun intended) did not get stung. Anyone know what they are? Their tentacles were separated from their bodies, so perhaps that's why they weren't a threat. M is such a creature-lover, that she was content hunting for these all afternoon.

friendship

These two could be best friends if they were a little closer in age, I think. Little A just loves this girl so much. It's so fun to watch them together. I'm pretty sure the feeling is mutual. Despite their 5 year age gap, they seem to have decent conversaions, and definitely have very similar temperments--calm and quiet.

the sunset over the beach...

...makes me happy. I never, ever imagined myself living in Florida. Some days I wonder if this foreign land will ever feel like home with all its strange bugs and horrendous traffic. But, then, we go exploring or stay at the beach until the sun is setting, and I think, "Maybe this place isn't so bad after all!" I'm learning to try to take advantage of the things that are wonderful about life here, and that makes me happy.



Happy Memorial Day weekend!

a day at the beach

It's spring break this week, so we headed to the beach with my friend Lisa and her girls. (I'm really not trying to make you jealous!) It was a beautiful day until Lisa's littlest girl got stung by a jellyfish. Actually she had multiple stings. All over. Poor thing. We learned that the treatment is vinegar and meat tenderizer. Not things you'd normally pack for the beach, but I think I may from now on!


Lisa's littlest (before she got stung) squishing her feet in the sand. So fun!


Brrr...yes, the water was still too chilly for A and me to get in!


Just me trying to get into more photos!







The finished sand castle. We worked really hard on this, despite its lack of beauty!

And now for the-rest-of-my-day story:
Lisa and her girls left early to go home, but we stuck around until mid-afternoon. I had left for the beach with only 1/4 tank of gas, knowing that I'd have to fill up before I drove home. So, I pull into the gas station only to realize that I didn't have my wallet. Or any money. Anywhere! So, I start driving home, and tell the girls to begin praying because it's going to take a miracle to get us home on 1/8 tank of gas. I start to panic a bit, and call David at work, who asks, "Has the light come on yet?" Just then the light came on. He informs me that I now have about 15 miles left in the tank. Just then, I pass a sign that tells me I have 17 miles to my exit. Ugh! I start driving very evenly and at 60 MPH (optimum gas mileage at this rate, apparently.) Everyone is passing me, of course. The girls, who had been very quiet so far begin fighting and screaming, so I'm looking into the mirror, telling them to be kind, etc, and MISS my exit! Ahhh... I take the next exit, and realize that I've never taken that exit before from that direction and suddenly feel lost and unsure of which way to turn. I somehow make my way back onto the Tollway, and pull off into the gas station on the corner with just enough gas left. Whew! DH met me there and bought my full tank of gas. What a hero! He saved my day.

the beach

I really LOVE going to the beach. We are so blessed to live only 40 minutes away. It was just the girls and I on Saturday. I told them that if they played nicely together in the morning, we would go to the beach in the afternoon. I think we finally left the house around 2:30pm. Kinda late, I know! By the time we got there, it was clouding over and really cold.





M decided it was perfect weather to hunt for seashells and was loving finding little "beach lagoons" in which to wash them off.





I'm a sucker for photos of hands and feet. I had fun playing around with some black and white convesions of these. What do you think?







An hour after we arrived, it stated to rain. Yep, rain. Poor A was freezing and walked back to the car whimpering with her head all covered up. We still had a great time, though. I can't wait to go back on a nicer day.