Moments

It's one thing to take pictures, and it's another to capture moments that take your breath away.  I try my hardest to capture moments, and I just get lucky sometimes.



I can't tell you how much the above picture makes me smile.  We were in Destin.  We had just finished breakfast in the village, and I had given Jonah and Jesse coins to throw in the fountain.  We do this every single year.  What is it about a fountain that makes a child's face light up like this?  I wanted to be sure to tell them to make a wish this year.  I almost didn't ask what their wishes were, but I was too curious.

I asked Jonah what he wished for first and he said, "I wished that I could fly."

I almost cried.

I asked Jesse next and she said, "I wished I had a unicorn!"

I have never heard her mention unicorns.  I don't talk about unicorns.  Where did this come from?

But, I tell you, I couldn't get these wishes out of my head.  They were both such good wishes.  So magical.  I'll never forget them.



She would have picked every flower in Destin if I would let her.  She has a wonderful appreciation for them.



I love how young she looks in this photo.  She's still my baby right here.



Somewhere between breakfast and lunch, we stopped at a diner for milkshakes, because this is what you do on vacation.  I took a zillion pictures of this moment.  You could probably put them together and make a movie.



My Jonah pulled us back to the village on several occassions because there were adventurious things to do there, like the Euro Bungee and the Zip-line.  He did them both.  I took a zillion pictures of those moments too, but this shot of him waiting in line spoke to me.



Anticipation.  You know, sometimes, that's the best part.



She said she wanted to bungee this year.  I bought her a ticket.  She watched in amazement at the children before her.



And then she watched Jonah.  And then she decided she wasn't ready, which was fine with me.  That means she is still my baby for one more year.  The year she bungees means she's growing up, and I don't know if I was ready for that.



There's a thousand more pictures between there and here.  I have been aching for the time to look through them.  Life is crazier than ever though.  I barely have a minute of time to myself, and the last thing I'm going to do is complain about it.

I'm just going to keep on going and loving capturing the moments that take my breath away.  Lord knows I'm going to have a hard time going through them all, but oh well.

High on Summertime

Today I woke up and I realized for the...I don't know how manieth time....that this is the best time of my life.

If you are from the South and say y'all and ain't and how manieth, holler now would you?

Thanks.

And for the record, you can have a college degree and still talk like this.

It's totally ok.

I think?

Anyway, back to this...

Watching my children grow in front of my eyes and celebrate summer and life and family vacation is just the best thing on the planet.  I know it's a lot of work for us parents and all, but oh my goodness gracious...is it ever worth it.



We trecked down to Sandestin, Florida again during our off week from baseball.  It's our home away from home.  It's the place my love and I dream of retiring.  I can just see an older version of us... riding in our golf cart to Publix for groceries and walking our dog on the beach.  I want to see the children of our two visit us and watch them dip their sweet feet in the beautiful emerald waters for the first time.  I want to see their precious little hands gather the white sand to form something grand.  It's a good dream.



I'll look at my grandkids in this same way I'm sure.  I'll say, "Oh honey, your Mama and her brother ate all their snacks out of a Red Solo Cup."  Surely there will still be Red Solo Cups?  I mean, there is an entire song dedicated to the Red Solo Cup.  Right?




I'll say "Your Mama or Your Daddy loved coming here.  They would pause for me every year right here on this path for a quick picture before they ran to the ocean."



"They didn't seem to mind, even though the ride was so long and all they wanted to do was just run."



"I'll never forget how they looked and how it felt to be there.  It feels exactly the same now."

Anyway, that's how it goes in my dream.  I will be super blessed if it comes true.  But honestly, I feel like just this...just this is good enough for me.  The rest is a bonus.

The first afternoon, we literally ran to the beach at first.  The kids played for a while and then we went to dinner.  We went to Tommy Bahamas...oh Mama.  Hello coconut shrimp.  Anyway, it was fabulous...then we ran back to the beach for fireworks.





















I'll never forget this moment.  I could have stayed out there all night.  It was incredible.  There are times in life when you think to yourself, "this is good."  You know?  This was one of those moments.

We kept it going.  The next morning we were at the beach first.





Jonah, you were a total surfer boy this year.  You braved the waves and even dove through them.  When I saw you dive in one for the first time, I nearly lost my breath.  How could you possibly be old enough to do that?



And Jesse, honey, you braved the waves with our help too.  You still love to play in the sand more though.  You were all about the sand castle and digging the big hole.  I loved watching you.



Taking your picture is just an excuse to stare at you more.  Thanks for being so patient with me.

I only took 2500 or so...so many more I haven't even seen yet.

This is going to be fun :-).  I'll try my best to share more.

Oh good grief, I live for the beach and summertime...there's nothing better.

Off Week

I feel like I'm in a rut with the blog and my photography.  We do the same thing day in and day out.  I'm not complaining, it's just that it doesn't make for an interesting read does it?  I just have a hard time talking about baseball all the time...even though I am grateful for this experience.

Jonah's coach so generously offered a week off from tournaments and practices (if we wanted it) this week.  This announcement was a highlight of the meet and greet meeting (for me).  I remember saying the off week dates over and over in my mind and trying to figure out if we could squeeze in any type of vacation this summer.  Where are my priorities??

Oh well, mission accomplished.  We're leaving for the week soon, but before we go...just a couple of my favorite shots from the last tournament.



He's warming up with my love in the outfield here before the game.  I ran out to capture him before the crowd grew.  I'm still a little nervous with this whole All-Star gig.  I'm not jumping on the field to capture every play.  It's just still all too new to me.



She keeps me busy watching her run around and pick these "flowers" in the grass.  She proudly wears Jonah's number.  She truly loves going to baseball and playing with her friends.  I love watching her as much as her brother.

But this week to come...we're taking a much needed break.  I'm looking for inspiration.  I hope to relax, spend some quality time with the three I love and try to figure out how to keep the week from going by so fast.

Can't wait to share it with you.  Thanks for stopping by...as always.

Love...Heather