florida~part four~the last of the jumpers

when i found this group, the amount of natural light on the beach was almost nothing, but they were so much fun that we just had to try to get a jumping shot. they warned me that maybe they'd had a bit to much to drink eat at dinner and i reassured them that that wasn't a problem.

after the first jump, there was a little huddle..."come on, we can do this."

they quickly figured out that getting everyone off the ground at the same time 

wasn't going to be easy.

but then the tennis shoes came off and magically, everyone got it.

thanks to the four of you for making my hubby and i laugh and laugh. like he said, you weren't the worst group he's ever seen jump for me but by far, you were one of the most fun groups.

florida~part three~jumpers waiting

here are "the girls" from perspicasity.

over the past few years i've gotten to know ann {she's in the red} since we're in seaside so often and i was beyond thrilled to take a photo of the current crew while they were celebrating a little "end of summer" dinner on the beach.

okay is it just me, or is the girl who totally "lost her face" to her beautiful hair in the jumping photo cracking you up, too?

this family cracks me up. well, mostly just the guy with the baby. i told him he couldn't jump with a baby in his arms and showed him how to fake it. instead, i think he's waving at me. no matter what he's doing, he made me laugh...but the baby...she's not impressed.

these kids need a round of applause.
first for their exuberance and second for an amazing coordinated jump. a big thank you to their mom for letting me take their photo.

here is the most precious family from texas. i think the men kind of rolled their eyes {you know who you are dad} when i mentioned jumping, but the women all said "YES" and were not going to let long dresses get in their way.

this couple you saw in an earlier post, but they are glutens for punishment and came back for more a few nights later. i have some beautiful "anniversary" photos that i took of them, but i know that "jumpers" are patiently waiting for me to post their shots, so i included this couple's jumping photo, too.

this family i shot in one take. they were totally on board and when i said jump and it was like they had been practicing for years. younger kids usually don't get the "bent knees and arms in the air" position that i explain ahead of time, but holy toads, these kids listened and performed.

who cares how short her dress is. it's the beach.

{ps, they were adorable}

this is the cottage we stayed in and since a few of you have asked, here's the link to it.

florida::part two

is it possible that everyone becomes more beautiful on the beach? "me thinks so." 

while i was taking my usual sunset jumping photos, this family approached me and asked if i would take their photo. they told me they had just welcomed baby number four into their family and since i'm a sucker for babies, kids and beautiful families...well, talk about a win win for me.

little guy "T" wasn't very happy...

  

but his sisters were so patient with him.

when i take my sunset jumping photos, {see, another gorgeous family} i'm running around somewhat like a crazy lady. losing natural light is such a bummer and it happens so quickly at sunset. so i up my ISO, over expose on purpose and move really fast. often though, i stop to take photos, jumping and non-jumping, for other people on their cameras. sometimes when i do that, my hubby is somewhere in the background taking photos of me taking their photo. {see photo below}

any idea how hard it is to find the settings on someone else's camera. very. but, if i can find their "sports mode," i'm usually good to go. by the way, camera phones, jumpers and sunsets don't go together very well.

smoking, big eared octopus on the beach. love it.

 "and then the misty~foggy~not quite awake layer started to vanish"

{do you see a large bird cloud?}

here's another adorable jumping couple. you'll get to see more of them in a future post, as they came back another night for more photos. that's when they told me they had just gotten married.

i have to say, for those who ask, for those i approach, for those who come back for more and for those who jump for me...well, all i can say is that i'm simply blessed.

ps...i edit all of my photos in LR, so if my sunset jumping/non-jumping photos look brighter than 7pm at night, that's my trick :)

pss...if i took your photo in florida, stay tuned....many more are coming!!

florida::part one

last week after our daughter left for australia, we hopped on a plane, too. for those of you who really know me, you know where we went. yes, it was seaside. this was our fifteenth year in a row to visit the place where a little bit of our heart lives and as always, it was amazing.

again, those of you who know me, know that seaside is where i started taking my "jumping" photos and this one above, from this past week, is maybe my favorite. this was jump number four for this group and they more than nailed it. i can't believe how high they went, how perfect their bent knees were and that there was someone in the ocean. this is what makes me smile.

oh wait, this little guy makes me smile, too.

this visit, we rented one of seaside's honeymoon cottages. they are all teeny tiny with the perfect amount of space for two, have private jacuzzi tubs that sit outside on curtained screened-in porches {below the hammock} and sit beachfront. let me just say, this view, this location...we were completely smitten and yes, spoiled.

this mom and her two kids were so cute. i couldn't get them all off the ground at the same time, but holy cow, mom is one fantastic jumper. i think one of these just might be the photo they use for their christmas card this winter.

here's a sweet couple you'll see again a bit later as i catch up on photos. they were just a day shy of celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary when i snapped this one of them and guess what, they came for more photos a few nights later...and yes, i got them to jump, too.

i really can't explain in words just how much i love my hubby and when we're away in seaside, that love literally explodes. smiles can't be erased from our faces, hand holding never stops and a feeling of pure happiness literally spills out of us. we are blessed and so extremely grateful for what we have.

~

to all the other people i took photos of, jumpers and non-jumpers, they'll be coming. 

stay tuned all of this week and next and thanks for your patience.

soaking it all in.....

i can't get enough of summer. most of you who have followed me for any length of time know how winter and i are the worst of the enemies, so with that being the case, summer and i are tied at the hip and spend hours totally lost each in other. okay fine, that's a bit dramatic, but it's honestly how i feel.

australia update::our daughter is doing great. she looks and sounds fantastic and is loving the family she's working for. {and we can tell how much they already love her, too} so far, we don't hear an accent in her voice, but we know it will show up as acquired accents always do...and i think i finally know how to pronounce melbourne and brisbane without her correcting me. baby steps...baby steps. oh and last night, we "lost" for a few minutes when she had to "change a nappy." isn't that the cutest thing?

i'm surprised at all the kids that have gone back to school already. what happened to returning the day after labor day when white pants are to be shunned to the back of the closet?

are your kids still home? do any of you home school?

oh, and as far as white pants go...i'll still be wearing mine after labor day as long as it's warm out. seriously, stacey london can't tell me what to do. snort.

what i think.....

~~

i think this quote is beyond perfection. 

you know that feeling you get when you're in a dressing room trying on jeans and all of a sudden, just as you're about to give up, the pair in your hands magically climbs up your legs as you're pulling them up, then slides perfectly over your hips? and as if that's enough, then they surprisingly wrap around your waist like they've lived there all your life? yep, that kind of perfection.

i think i want this on my t-shirt. and my sweatshirt. and the front of my journal. and maybe tattooed somewhere on my torso.

ps...i'm reading "you came back" by christopher coake and it's sooooooo good.

being yourself.....

she's safe and sound and smiling in australia. 

~~

thank you steve jobs or whoever created face time at apple. it's similar to skype, but from apple to apple products. she's got her mini iPad, iphone and laptop there and we've got our laptops and iPhones here, so basically anytime we talk to her now, it's face to face and beyond wonderful. granted, we're working on getting used to the time change, occasionally counting on our fingers and adding in "but a day later" and laughing, but we've just about got it :)

"why fit in when you were born to stand out"

dr. seuss

~~

here's hoping you "stand out" this weekend

literally sky high.....

as i write this, our sweet girl is up in the air and getting closer to australia every minute. saying good-bye yesterday was bittersweet and oh yes, i was right about the tears...from all three of us.

we are so incredibly proud of her and the wings she has grown, but gosh, she's an easy one to miss having around. with all the changes in her life, we have been blessed to have had her living back home with us for the past five months and we just don't understand any parent who groans when their child moves back in for awhile. she's been nothing but pure joy and laughter...mixed with a whole bunch of "smart ass" just to keep us on our toes.

totally gorgeous, right?

grand-parent loving

multiple ways of cousin loving

mom-dad-brother loving

her littlest cousin...when headbands go awry.

~~

so here's to our daughter... 

may this new adventure be everything you've dreamed it could be and even more.

we love you so much and are more proud of you than you'll ever know.

~~