please leave only your footprints...

and many of those were left behind...with lots of memories in tow!

*sigh*

what a fun, fantastic, fabulous time we had at our 2008 beach trip! the girls had an absolute blast playing in the sand, splashing in the crystal clear ocean, swimming in the pool, playing on the bunk beds, getting lots of lovin' from honey & grandpa...we could not have asked for better weather or better company!

ella, who of course drinks in every second of life, LOVED twirling, running, & moving non stop. as we attempted to bury daddy & grandpa in the sand...she would run off hunting for sea shells while i finished the job we had started. i truly believe i had more fun trapping the guys under the sand than she did...maddie was off to the side eating handfuls of it as i was digging it out!!!!! you would think we never fed the child! i guess it reminds her of granulated sugar...and if you know madeline - the girl LOVES SUGAR! she couldn't be my child...ha,ha,ha!!!! i did experience most of this vacation behind the lens of my camera. on several occasions, jeffrey would ask me if i was ever going to "show my face". for those of you that know me...this won't come as any surprise! for those of you that don't...news flash...I LOVE TAKING PICTURES!!!! other than the daily pics during our play time, we had three "photo shoots"...one each evening. i was the only member of my sweet little family of four that remotely wanted this to take place...however, i somehow managed to corral everyone down to the beach...getting the shots was a totally different story! dayne said it was like trying to photograph two fruit flies...it went a little something like this...

mere: "come on girls...come here...let's hurry...the sooner we take these pictures the sooner we'll be done"

ella: t.w.i.r.l s.p.i.n. c.r.a.s.h. into the s.a.n.d. (hair disheveled...now very sandy)

jeffrey: "i hate pictures"

mere: "ok family...we can do this...come on girls...ELLA - come here...maddie, do you want an m&m? ok, sit still and you can have an m&m" (oh, large amount of "lion mane" hair blowing in my face and my mouth)

jeffrey: "i hate pictures"

maddie: just ate an m&m that successfully dribbled down her chin...followed that up with a handful of sand...now the sand is glued to her mouth & chin on all the "sticky"

mere: "we will persevere...maddie stop hitting...ella, stand still...quit twirling...jeffrey, please stop saying you hate pictures...this is really important to me..." (start spitting the large amounts of sand that have blown into my mouth from my children's body & start spitting the large amounts of hair that have blown into my mouth while i was trying to pretend the wind wasn't really blowing)

jeffrey: "did i mention...i hate pictures"

maddie: arching back and crying...we think she doesn't like the pictures...fact is, she is probably fixing to enter a diabetic coma due to all the bribes she received for sitting somewhat still

ella: taking cues from jeffrey..."i don't like pictures"...

mere: after about 158 "bloopers" and not very many "keepers"...I SURRENDER!!!!

mom & dayne were wonderful photographers and bribers! dayne almost lost a leg while trying to capture the foursome...probably more accurately described as trying to photograph the wind. impossible.

i did get some amazing pictures of my sweet daughters...i am convinced that one day - when they are much older - they will appreciate the fact that i preserved these memories on "film". you can really feel the bond that ella and madeline have for each other...and how much they love one another. what two sisters won't want to sit around on their own beach vacations and look at these pictures that their mommy took many years ago...

*sigh*

i love every minute of being at the beach. there is something so invigorating about waking up to amazing scenery, the sound of the ocean, the smell of the beach air...i look forward to many more years of florida vacations to come! maybe one day, i'll get that "perfect" picture of the whole family...until then, we'll keep trying and keep smiling!

thanks mom & dayne for being a part of this special trip with us! thanks jeffrey for letting us go on this vacation! thanks ella & madeline for being the best daughters this mommy could ever ask for...and for being the cutest people i have ever met to photograph! you are beautiful inside and out!

my love for you = all the footprints ever left in the sand + those that will be left in the years to come!