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    Archive for September 2013

    Summer's Last Sigh

    Thursday, September 26, 2013

     
     
    It is the last day of summer, and we are weaving one final, golden thread into the tapestry we have created over the last three months...memories and moments interlocking, their messy stitches sewn by clumsy hands into a beautiful blanket that looks a lot like love and sunshine. I want to wrap myself in it, feel the weight and warmth of the memories against my skin, if only for a moment. But when dawn breaks on a new day, I will fold the beautiful tapestry neatly into a perfect square, gently smooth its fabric with my hands, and tuck it into a corner of my soul for safe-keeping.
     
    It is summer's last hurrah, and we cling desperately to her skirt-tail, running sun-drenched and water-logged through the green grass. Little girl laughter echoes through the yard, high-pitched squeals creating a tinkling melody, like wind through chimes. Hotdogs sizzle on the grill, and ice cream fills sugar cones, the sweetness turning to liquid and dripping down little fingers and chins beneath the white-hot sun. We play late into the evening, soaking up all of the "lasts"...one last run through the sprinklers, one last splash in the baby pool, one last chalk masterpiece displayed brazenly across the driveway. We roast marshmallows by a backyard fire, and tell ghost stories until the sky makes way for the moon. It is dark...and just like that, summer is gone. She heaves her last breath...a long sigh of the perfect afternoon. Tomorrow I will pack up the bits and pieces...the swimsuits and the sidewalk chalk; the pool towels and the sunscreen. We will turn our minds toward fall, with its pumpkins and Halloween costumes; warm blankets and crunchy leaves. Summer has come and gone, never to return...but these memories, lovingly hand-woven into a beautiful tapestry...they are mine forever.
     
     
    
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    Big Hugs,
    Julie

    This Was the Summer...Part TWO

    Monday, September 23, 2013


    Dear Apple Cheeks,
     
     
    Summer is coming to a close...in fact, we just finished up our annual end-of-summer party (more on that in tomorrow's post!). I thought I would share some of my favorite photos from our beach trips this year. We had so much fun taking our camper to St. George Island and Cape San Blas, and I want the two of you to be able to look back on all of the wonderful moments we shared. So, here you go girls...the story of our two weeks in Florida, documented by a bajillion photos...but it doesn't even come CLOSE to the number that I actually took, haha!!!
     
     
    Love,
    Mama xo
     
     Peeking in the window at Aunt Ebby's, the ice cream shop we go to every year...
    
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    Weird ocean creature we found while snorkeling!
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    Sunset walks...
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    Milkshake!
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    Our favorite camping game is "Pass the Pigs"...Addie, even you love playing it at only two years old :)...
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    The BEST oysters I have ever tasted...Boss Oyster House
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    Cotton candy ice cream...the love of your life, Lydia, heehee...
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    Yum :)
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    Mama was here ;)...
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    Sisters...
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    Walking to the bay with lanterns at dusk...
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    Horseback riding on the beach at sunset...
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    Addie and her sandy, naked baby doll haha!
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    Carefree childhood moments....
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    We plucked a flower from the sand dunes for your hair...you are so beautiful, my sweet girl...
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    Walking to the beach for a sunset picnic...
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    Cute sign outside the boat museum :)...
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    Walking to the beach....
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    Love this smile!!!
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    Playing on the beach at dusk...
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    Finding seashells...
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    Snack break at the camp site...
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    Beautiful shells were everywhere!!!
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    Scallop shells...we loved diving for scallops from the kayak and then cooking them at night...yum!
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    Sunset picnic...
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    Fishing with a cast net...
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    Napping on the beach :)
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    Matching top knots ;)...
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    Freedom...
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    The most beautiful secluded beach in Cape San Blas...
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    Catching frogs :)
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    Watching the fun from the safety of the sand...maybe next year, Addie ;)
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    Road trip snacks!!!
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    A first....finding a starfish while snorkeling at Cape San Blas...
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    Flamingo, or "mingo" lights around our camper awning...
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