i have a secret.....

remember last week when i said i was going to be a bit quiet in the blogging world? well, it's because i was in florida, dancing in the sand and breathing in the ocean air, instead of sitting at my computer.

the love of my life and i headed south to celebrate his birthday...and not just any birthday...in a very special way. 

the big 50

i don't know what my fascination is with seagulls, but it's there and it's obvious. normally we fake them out, by throwing little scraps of whatever the ocean spit out the night before, into the air for them, but they're smart little birds and get tired of that game quickly. we have finally learned that almonds will make a seagull your best friend. for life.

there was a guy on the beach with his girlfriend and a very large and very expensive camera. i don't remember for sure what it was, but it was a canon and heavy enough to throw me off balance. anyhow, i took their photo for them and laughed a little inside when he told me it was set on auto and ready to go. {i so wanted to teach him how to shoot on aperture mode} 

then he wanted to take our photo for us. i said sure and told him i had the settings exactly where they should be and he shot away. unfortunately, most of the photos he took were absolutely nothing, as he thought he should use "flash fill" even when i told him not to. oh well. we got one great shot out of it and that's better then no picture at all.

these are our new friends. we met them on the beach and after a couple of conversations and a bike ride, they came over and had drinks with us on our last night in seaside. these are the kind of people you want living next door to you. seriously, you do. they're that nice. so fran and chris, here's your jumping photo...and chris, please tell me your back is better. i'm so sorry if the jumping is what caused your pain :(

this was taken on our last day in seaside. it's better that you see the back of my head instead of the tears that were streaming down the front of my face...well, not really. i wasn't crying, but that's how my heart felt. 

to my hubby, thank you for a week of memories that we will cherish forever. actually more than forever. wait, is there a word for that yet? anyhow, i love you so much and have now celebrated thirty two of your fifty birthdays with you. what a gift i have been given...and in case i haven't told you often enough, fifty looks amazing on you.