Day One Hundred Ninety Nine 2011

Monday at the beach. Today was Shelby's 10th birthday. She's been looking forward to this big day (the double-digit milestone) since this time last year. God blessed us with perfect weather--beautiful blue sky, a pleasant breeze, and mild temperatures. We were also blessed with calm, clear waters in the Gulf. Took pictures in and under the water with a little digital waterproof camera I ordered from Photojojo.com. Got some interesting shots. Daughter Holly took the underwater shots of Elijah. We enjoyed a great day at the beach. This evening, by request from the birthday girl, Holly made her to-die-for chicken quesadillas (I'm guessing at the spelling) for the birthday supper. Holly also made Shelby's cake, and Shelby (with a little help from Grandpa) spread the icing and decorated with candy letters and numbers. It was most excellent. She was happy with her gifts (mostly cash). And she really liked the scrapbooks I made for her. Someone on the beach was shooting off fireworks that we watched from the balcony--an unexpected pleasure, especially for the birthday girl. She topped off her celebration with some night swimming in the pool with her mom, dad and brother. Happy Birthday, Shelby! I love you big time. So happy your day was full of good times. I'll be adding these memories to your scrapbook.

Day One Hundred Ninety Eight 2011

Sunday at the beach. Overcast and drizzly all day until sunset when the clouds finally broke. Enjoyed fresh Krispy Kreme Doughnuts for breakfast. Jerry waited in line for over an hour for those. The kids hit the pool for a while and swam with the shark. We caught a noon showing of 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2'. We all loved the movie. Grand daughter Shelby and I wept and walked out with bright red (and runny) noses and tear streaked blotchy faces. Enjoyed a fabulous meal (best snow crab legs on the planet) at our fave seafood place here, Fisherman's Wharf. We hit the beach this evening just before sunset. At last, some blue sky! Grandson Elijah and son in law Kerry rode the waves on boogie boards. Enjoyed a little night swimming in the pool (my pics weren't very good). Good times. Worn out! Tomorrow is Shelby's 10th birthday. She's is so excited. Stay tuned!

Day One Hundred Ninety Seven 2011

Travel Day. Got off to a very late start to begin with. Tons of traffic. Seems everyone who skipped the beach last year because of the oil spill is making up for it this year. Rain off and on and then the floodgates opened pretty much when we crossed the Alabama/Florida line and stayed open all the way. Several traffic accidents along the way. Blessedly, none involved my peeps. Saw a van that had flipped over on its roof on the interstate in the downpour. Took alternate route into Destin when traffic got so backed up we couldn't move. That made the trip seem like an eternity. (It was.) We ended up going through the toll booth and across the bay bridge. Almost eight o'clock by the time we finally arrived. Daughter Holly treated us all to a homemade (Dad's sauce) spaghetti dinner. So good! What a blessing after this mind-numbing day. Looking forward to sunny days ahead and sharing some cool beach fun pics with all of you. I'm keeping my fingers (and painted toes) crossed!