Ahh, Vacation!!

We were so thankful for the opportunity to take a vacation this year. It had been seven years since we had visited Dan's Dad in Florida and our time there more than lived up to all of our expectations. Aly was almost two the last time we were there, so this was like her "first" time experiencing the ocean and the beach. We enjoyed watching her as we took a walk that first night. Skyeler and I couldn't wait to get down to the beach and just soak in the sand and the waves. Since we were only going for a walk, we didn't pack up anything but a pail for some shells. In hindsight, I should have had Aly in her bathing suit. She was soaked through by the time we got back into Papa Bob's car :) I had high hopes of updating the blog every evening, but it just didn't turn out. Technical difficulties. So I will take a day at a time now that we are back and post about our vacation.

**Photographer's note - I only had the nice camera on the beach two days...portraits of the girls and scenic photos of Boca Grande. The rest of the pictures will be either with Aly's little HP digital (which we thought we could risk) and a couple of disposable water cameras, which will explain the graininess and poor quality. I couldn't have you thinking I'm such a poor photographer :)


The boardwalk to Englewood Beach. Aly getting her first memorable glimpse of the ocean.

Aly's reactions were priceless. She had Papa Bob laughing. Every wave that crashed would bring a cackle of delight.

Skyeler was so anxious to get to the beach that first night (I was too). Though she was not as exuberant as Aly in the waves, her shorts were pretty wet :)

The girls after our walk. Skyeler protested. They were pretty wet and windblown. But I insisted on getting a picture of them.

God's beautiful handiwork!

Aly managed (on our first day) to capture a lizard that was in the lanai. Skyeler was jealous. She had been trying to catch one for years. We tried to send a picture of it to Tori. "King Julian has found a new gecko for his crown!!"

After only a day in the pool and sun, Aly's freckles had tripled :) I just had to capture them.