Sunday, May 16, 2010

By the Sea By the Sea By the Beautiful Sea

Whew. Where to begin? I'm back home after a week of vacation and am drowning in photos....graduation photos and beach photos both. Wait, don't go...I'm not going to post them all. I can't promise you I won't post any but I for sure will not post all. That's mostly because I have a lot of pics of my girls on the beach in their oh so cute bikinis but it doesn't feel right to me to put those out in the blogosphere. There are also a few of me in my swim suit which I guarantee you will not be going on the world wide web for altogether other reasons, so you can relax now.

We wrapped up the graduation celebrations late Saturday night and flew to Florida Sunday morning. Marco Island is just south of Naples and is one of our favorite family vacation spots. We've been there many times and its a special place for us...we all have lots of happy memories from holidays in Marco. Here is the view from our balcony-


I tried to talk my hubs into retiring straight away but then he reminded me that we still have one in university and we have a house we're still settling into in a state far far far away from this little slice of heaven and btw, he's not quite old enough or even ready to retire just yet. We both love the water though so someday. Do you see how easily sidetracked I am?

With another school year winding down and hubs travel schedule getting ready to go into overdrive we all wanted a vacation somewhere we could put our toes in the sand...


read lots of books...


talk for hours


eat fantastic seafood


wonder at the beauty of a sunset on the Gulf



and reconnect as a family.


Marco is just such a place. Most mornings hubs and I would walk to the point and look for shells. The beach is literally covered in shells but there are a couple of places where piles are dumped by the sea and we especially like to hunt in those spots.


Of course hubs is not content to pick up some of the billions of shells sitting in plain sight...he must climb out and over the rocks to get what? Better shells?


Dolphins love to play at this end of the island and early morning is a good time to see them.


We did a fun wave runner tour one day which I think I'll save for part 2. Yes patient readers...there's more. I'm sure you can hardly wait because we all know how much fun it is to see other people's vacation photos. I've been working away at my scrapbooking backlog but that is s-l-o-w going and I've got a ways to go before I catch up to present day. In the meantime my blog has become a good place to record
every random thought I havewhat is happening in my life as I live it. Blogging helps me hit the pause button for a minute...to see the specialness not only in life's big moments like a university graduation, but also in life's little moments. Like a walk on the beach.

One day you are walking on the beach with your little chicks...


and before you know it...


you are walking on the beach with your little chicks.

Sometimes the little moments are the big moments.

14 comments:

  1. Loved seeing your vacation pictures!! So pretty there. I have never been to Marco. Looks like you guys had an amazing week being together. I can't wait to see your other pictures and hear about the rest of your trip. Thanks for sharing. Love & blessings from NC!

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  2. Love the 2 pictures on the end! Sounds like a grand vacation! glad you had fun!

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  3. Amazing pictures and memories! Sounds like a slice of heaven!

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  4. Love the pictures! You made me cry at the end of your post! I know you 2 are so very proud of your girls! Glad you had such a great time in such a beautiful place...y'all deserved it!

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  5. Glad you all had a nice break together! Talk to you soon!

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  6. What a fun vacation! I love all the pictures and am looking forward to part two. You have a beautiful family and I'm so happy you were all able to be together and enjoy this special time.

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  7. Anywhere you can go where there are dolphins is like heaven! I love the comparison pictures at the end!

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  8. Oh what a lovely place, I love the sea and all its surroundings, I would love to live ocean side, but these days it is impossible to buy land there, if you are in the norm that is, some with logs of money perhaps could, no me.
    Love your blog, Hugs Barbara
    http://bakinnbitsbarbara.blogspot.com/

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  9. Love the picture of the feet in the sand...!

    Amden is doing quite well. He continues to astound the doctors. Developing with his peers, physically, so far. His young parents make me proud. I am thankful they are so very attentive to him. I wish I lived closer. They live in rural SC and I live in Richmond, Va. Thank you for your continued prayers for Amden and his parents. I know their journey will be long, but GOD is faithful and HE will use this for HIS good.
    GOD BLESS YOU!
    andrea

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  10. I loved looking at all of your pictures. I'm living vicariously through other people's vacations right now haha. Looks like a beautiful place! The last 2 pictures of your girls with their dad as little girls and then with him as grown up girls was really precious :)

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  11. Joyce,

    You are right when you remind us all that life slips by too quickly and we need to enjoy it while it still is here.

    Beautiful pictures and I am so glad that you all enjoyed this precious time together.

    Love and Hugs ~ Kat

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  12. I need one of those, a vacation that is! Love the pictures. Those two at the end of the post are just adorable.

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  13. Great pictures! Thanks for sharing your memories.

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  14. Those last two pictures made me very, very misty.

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