The perfect evening and a *toot toot* for me : )

I hate when I let too much time go by without posting.

Blah....life just keeps happening. But that's a good thing right? (I'm not fond of the alternative...)

I'm probably going to jump all over the place here so my apologies in advance...

Sat. evening we ALL went to the beach together and had a wonderful, relaxing time. Oh yeah, and I took a few pictures (how funny, the girls are both wearing tan and white. hmmmm...) We did the usual shell hunting, sand digging, yelling "Don't get your pants we....t ..........awww kiddo! " , shouting "No ma'am...get over here! ", and repeating "We don't throw sand!" (for the 287th time) . We put a blanket down and when it got dark, all four of us laid down and had a great time giggling and watching the sky change colors. Mallory sang every goofy song she knew along with a few she made up...priceless....

I'm loving the pic of the girls holding hands looking through the sand ~ melts my heart.


We found this sand crab hole and from the looks of it, the little guy was keeping pretty busy.

This photo of Delaney is going to be a favorite for a long time. She just takes my breath away...this parenting thing is the most wonderfully crazy ride isn't it? Good Lord I love my girls...

I cheated a little bit ~ this shot of Mal was taken a few days ago when we escaped one morning. Yes, she is wearing the same thing...you NEVER know if today is going to be the day when you get "the shot"...I always have something tan and white at the ready (you just cannot go wrong with some tan and white ; )

Some of my friends are probably thinking I've lost it a bit because I have declared myself to be an almost anti-beach person since we moved here. I spent the first ten years of my life in Illinois. Green trees, green grass, seasons....I loved it. A part of my heart will always live there, ~ I still love returning to my hometown, seeing the city and more importantly the people I love. I guess part of my dislike for the beach stemmed from my (still sort of) sadness about moving to the south....my goofy little way of rebelling I guess (silly?...yep). Lately the beach and I have been getting better acquainted though. I appreciate the fact that no matter how many times I've grimaced about sand in my crack or complained about those d*mn seagulls, the beach is always there, stretched out with open arms (so to speak) willing to let me sit, take it all in and unwind. You won't catch me slathering on the sunscreen and plopping myself down during the heat of the day to roast....nope nope nope. I like to go early in the morning or late in the afternoon ~ hardly a soul around, it's cooler, and I don't have to be concerned with how that last Diet Coke is making me look bloated in my suit.

Yep, the beach and I are becoming fast friends...




<---The last shot before we left.

Ever since Delaney was tiny, when I'd point out the sunset to her I'd say, "Look what God made for you today."
She still smiles.



To top the perfect evening, we headed to the

dive-y-est dive joint in town for dinner. YUM*!*

It's the only place I put the ketchup on my fries instead of dipping...don't know why.

(Yeah, I'm a little *cough* bloated now (d*mn Diet Coke!))







Time for me to *toot* my own horn:

I was chosen to be FRECKLED FRIENDS guest designer for October.........WHOOOO HOOOOO*!*!*!*

(It's hard jumping up and down as I type but I am that talented...really)

The ladies over there have been so wonderful to poor little inexperienced ole me. I can tell that if we ever were to hang out together that we would have a fabulous time : ) . And yep, serious craftiness going on over there. ANY of the ladies over there on the message boards are awesome and always willing to answer questions~I LOVE that*!* They do a cool mini book project every December called Merry Days...check out what it's all about HERE...and check out some of the awesome work already being done in preparation for this year HERE. I had such a hard time *feeling* Christmas last year~this might be just what I need*!*

I've already started working on the awesome kit that arrived last week. Now you all know how I feel about a 12x12 page (as I mentioned in THIS post)...but I actually made one*!* I was impressed with myself at first...I don't know, I might just stick to my mini books but was nice stepping out of my box to try it. I totally understand sketches now...*whew* that was tough*!* I applaud those of you that can whip those suckers out so quickly and beautifully...I had to have a drink first...not kidding. I don't know if this layout still makes sense or not (I did have some added *encouragement* when I put this together ; ) ....yeah, now that I'm looking at it again, it still does (and I'm drinking a Diet Coke btw).


More fun to come with this kit...I'm still so stinking excited : )