Pictures on Daytona Beach

 Hello, lovely readers!  A few weeks ago, we were in Daytona Beach (as Chrissa mentioned in her last post) and I took many pictures on the beach.  I picked some of my favorites to share with you, as I know that many people are experiencing snow.  

Enjoy!

(P.S. If you want to see any of the pictures larger, just click on it.)

Do you enjoy photography?

At the Neighborhood Park

 Hi all!  Things have been pretty busy at our house (with school and everything), so I'm happy to be able to post again!

 No, this picture is not from the park (thank you for asking).  We were staying in a hotel right on Daytona beach and Elizabeth got up early ever morning to enjoy the sunrise.  This was one of my favorites that she took.

Anyway, since Georgia was at a volleyball game and my other sister was reading, I decided to walk down to our neighborhood park.

 I tried to do some stuff on the bars, but it was so windy that it wasn't much fun.  Then, I remembered that a new area had been set up with rocks and a mini waterfall.  The good thing was, it had a little barrier against the wind.

"Oh, this is cold!" I said. sticking my feet in the water.

 "Hmm, maybe it's not that bad ..."

 Luckily for me, no one else was there, so I could be as weird and loud as I wanted.

 "The cold never bothered me anyway!" I sang after my feet had gotten used to the water.  That wasn't completely true, but I couldn't resist the chance to quote Frozen.

 I hope Georgia doesn't mind I borrowed her headband.

 Here you can see a better picture of the water and rocks.

 I had loads of fun outside, but was happy to grab a towel and blanket when I got home.

Are you spending more time outside or inside right now?

The Sea and the Sand

 Hello, lovely readers!  My family and I have been spending several enjoyable days with our grandparents at their Cocoa Beach condo.  Since it's only a three minute drive to the beach from their house, we all piled into the car yesterday evening.  Mother, Father, Grandma and Grandpa all went for a walk, while Georgia, Chrissa and I wondered around the beach.

"It's so beautiful." Chrissa commented.

"Definitely." Georgia agreed.

"I love the smell of the salty breeze blowing off the ocean." I said, breathing deeply.

"You just said our blog name!" Chrissa laughed.

Georgia and I joined her. "That I did."

 You can tell where the seagulls have been!

 The sound of the breaking waves is so peaceful.

 So often beach pictures show crystal-clear water and bright blue sky, but I think that that's not the only beautiful view of this creation.

 "Were did Chrissa go?" Georgia asked, turning to me.

"I think she ran down to the water." I replied, scanning the waves.

"There she is!"

 Chrissa had been running, laughing and jumping.  Shen now was panting,

 ... and letting the waves wash over her feet.

As if in an unspoken agreement had passed between us, Georgia and I simultaneously raced down to the wet sand where Chrissa stood.

 Just then, Mother called to us that it was time to go.

 We turned to take one last look at the beach, 

 ... then departed.

What's your favorite way to enjoy the beach?

That's kind of a strange question to ask in December, I know. ;^)

At Hilton Head!

 Hello, lovely readers!  We spent our fall break in Hilton Head, South Carolina.  We drove there on Friday (it took about four hours), and meet up with our friend Kanani Thorpe and her parents.  One of our cousins, Victoria Brooks, came with us, because Kit and McKenna were flying to a gymnastics competition, and my parents agreed to let her come with us.  Here's what we did on Saturday:

Chrissa shared a bed with Kanani, while Georgia, Victoria, and I slept on the other two beds.  

 After we got up (at 10:00 am!) and made the beds, we opened the blinds, ...

 ... and I stepped outside to view the sunrise.  Mother and Mrs. Thorpe made breakfast, and it was quite good.  We pulled on our swimsuits, and headed out to the beach for the rest of the morning until lunch.  Then we came back in, ate, dried off a little, and relaxed in the beach house.

When evening came, we pulled on our semi-wet swimsuits and headed back out.

"Kanani and I want to go down to the sandbar and find some shells." Chrissa announced.

"Yes," Kanani agreed, "there are loads of them down there."

"Do any of you want to come?" Chrissa asked.

"No thank you." Victoria said.

"I think I'd rather stay here." Georgia agreed.

"I'll stay here as well." I said. "Have fun!"

The water was at low tide, and a sandbar had formed.

Kanani and Chrissa talked while they walked.  I couldn't hear what they were saying, but they were both clearly enjoying themselves.

Kanani did her own hair!  Isn't it lovely?  She's quite good at doing her hair, which considering the amount of hair she's grown should not be too surprising.

"Look - they're coming back." Victoria commented a little while later.

Chrissa kicked off her sandy flip-flops. "We found lots of shells!"

Kanani showed us all the shells they found. "We even found parts of a sand dollar!"

"I bet there are living sand dollars out in the ocean, if you go out far enough." Georgia said. "There were loads last year."

"I would love to go see, but I think we need to head back." Kanani said, pointing at the setting sun.

We cleaned up all our towels and chairs, and walked back past the sand dunes.

"Ouch!" Chrissa gasped.  Several ants had attacked her!

After washing the sand off, we stopped to dip our feet in the pool.  The water was lovely and warm!

Also, we spotted a deer!  It was just nibbling at the grass, but when it heard us, it vanished into the brush.  It was so fun having one last beach trip!

What's your favorite thing to do while on a break?