Goodbye Paradise

It has truly been a looooong year and all I've been able to think about was vacation.at.the.beach!!! You see, I truly do believe that teachers work extra hard for 10 months and then veg out for two months to rejuvenate for the upcoming school year.

Due to the oil spill :(, we had to move our vacation up and shorten it. We are not much on the "impromptu" side, but we did a great job on this getaway.

We loaded up the car and our little puppy, Marley, and headed to the beach. We had so much fun on the seven hour trip. Paige slept in the backseat and cuddled with Marley while my mom sat up front with me and shared stories of her childhood and her romance with my dad. We laughed so hard and even shed a few tears. I drove for two hours listening intently to how she fell in love with my dad and the funny stories about how they handled being new parents and starting careers and juggling crazy relatives. The hours flew by in the car and I will treasure that candid conversation for as long as I live. I hope and pray that I can get my mom to retell some of the stories about Madie and Randy Hunter and Nanny and Aunt Lottie, Uncle Rhyne, Nita, etc... Priceless!

Once we got to the condo, I have to admit, I was a little taken back. You see, we always go all out on vacation as to where we stay. Since this was last minute, we went out on a limb and booked a condo that allowed pets. When we pulled in it didn't look bad at all. We were on a lagoon and the beach was directly across the street behind some very quaint beach houses. Once we started up the stairs to the condo, I saw empty beer cases and sandles and funnels and thought, "Oh, this reminds me of my college years" aye yi yi! There was even a bit of a "college smell". We unlocked the door, closed our eyes, said a little prayer and hoped for the best. Once the door opened it was if the angels sang hallelujah! The condo was GORGEOUS!!! It was clean and decorated to a tee. As a matter of fact, I felt like we grossly underpaid the owners.

The next morning Paige and I went straight to the beach. We had a BLAST! The last time we went she let the water wash over her feet and would occasionally walk a couple of feet out. This year, OH THIS YEAR, the kid scared me to death. She got her boogie board and off she went like she had been doing this her entire life. I could not comfortably lay out, because I was constantly checking to see if her head was above the water. Scary stuff.

Thoughts while watching Paige:
- she does things on her own terms, when she is ready. No one can coax her into doing something that she is not ready to do. When she is ready, she never looks back.
- she takes such joy in the simple things. While riding the waves, her smile could light a ships way home on a dark night. She didn't know I was observing her. Her smile was not for me. It was for her. I love that she enjoyed the moment.
- she loves to hunt for treasures, whether it be shark's teeth, sand dollars, snails, tar balls :) what have you.
- she is not a whiny kid (PRAISE GOD!) When I ask her to do something that she doesn't want to do, she just sucks it up and does it.

I am so blessed!

We took pics on the beach and I am so sad to say that it stressed me out sooo much! I do not want to be stressed about silly photographs. I mean, seriously, in the grand scheme of things does it really matter that I have 100 shots of her in a pettiskirt romping in the sand??? NO! We made it through, though, and fortunately I did get "the shot", as in THE Christmas card shot. No tears were shed and all was good with the world once we got to share crablegs.

Some funnies from this getaway that I don't want to forget are:
"There is sand in places where sand should NEVER be!"
"Sissy, what I am about to tell you is very importNant. I spent my money on a ship in a bottle".
"Hang ten dude!" (with the hand motion in full effect)
"I am so happy that we are on vacation from dance!"
"No drama people allowed!" hee hee !

I will post some portrait style pics on here in a few days, but first I want to post candid pics that mean, oh so much, mure to me!

I love my family and am so blessed to have them in my life. I can't believe that God placed these wonderful girls in my life. I am loved and because of that, I am happy. Completely happy!


Paige at our favorite restaurant!


My life!


LOVE HER!


silly girl


lol


Paige took this pic of me, therefore, I love it. What I don't love is the fifteen chins, frizzy hair, crows feet, etc... Whatever, I am pretty happy...take me or leave me, this is who my family loves!


Don't mess with Paige :)


On our way to the beach.


Paige and Marley


Gorgy girl!


Couldn't love em' more if I tried!


One portrait style pic! ...hey, I couldn't resist! :)