Family Beach Trip!

This stretch of beach is very much like a second home. I've visited this place every year for over twenty years and it never ever dulls in it's extraordinary way of smoothing out the wrinkles in my mind. Watching my son build sand castles, learn to body surf and pick up seashells in the same sand that I did as a little girl is a wildly special experience. And since Stevie's family and my family took this vacation together every year for years, this is a cherished place for both of us. It just doesn't get old. In fact, as the trip comes near, we lean into the joy of planning and preparing for it. It's like we both know that we are about to drop all of our fears and doubts and stresses into that ocean and receive an overwhelming ovation of peace and soulful prosperity.

I have the funniest memory of Stevie when he was like 17 and I was 13. He and my cousin David used to troll the beach wearing puka shell necklaces and attempt to hit on girls. I thought he was so lame.

And then I married him :)

It seems like every year that we visit this beach, we have handfuls of life possibilities that we discuss while we walk along the water. Something about walking along the shoreline absorbs all the questions of our circumstances.

I remember walking the beach hand-in-hand while we excitedly discussed getting married.

Walking this beach, nervous and excited to move to Boston for him to go to Harvard. What would New England be like??

Walking this beach, thrilled about moving to New York City. And scared about pursuing my dream of being an actor in that crazy place.

Walking this beach (okay, waddling), gigantically pregnant and anticipating how our life would change as we added a member to our family. If we only knew the magnanimous source of passion and joy Everett would bring to us - and now Daxton, too!

Walking the beach, weighing the option of job opportunities, moving potentials, dreams, family, struggles, victories, an a myriad of other elements.

Walking along this shoreline has really helped us work out a lot of things over the years. Thank goodness for those meandering walks, where the ocean itself has been like a voice of reason in our discussions. And now we are joined by our sons in enjoying this special place. I am overcome with gratitude for this shared haven of sun-splayed comfort and peace.

Time stops here. The days run together and I almost forget that I have a phone or a camera or that technology even exists. It's always exactly what I need, at exactly the right time.

Life is so beautiful, friends. I hope you find a place where you can drop your worries and doubts and hopes into your favorite body of water this summer. Even if it's only the neighborhood pool, there's something neutralizing about those waters :)

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A Weekend in St. Augustine.

That view. With all its softness and familiarity and yet -  it's never the same. The cerulean blue sky whispering to the teasing peach, melting into an ombre ocean. The steady mercury tide, measuring predictably in and out like the beat of my heart.

There is something about seeing the ocean after such a long time of not seeing the ocean. That view somehow washes me with calm, a reassurance that everything is just as it should be. There is no second-guessing by the sea. Only acceptance and an overwhelming sense of love.

The salted air and the birds of paradise and the glossy foliage - they just do my heart a whole lot of good. I find that a visit to the ocean costs a lot less than a counseling session (well, that's probably debatable if you're asking Stevie), but the outcome is often the same for me. It untangles all the wiry emotions that have bent their way around my brain, creating confusion and chaos and anxiety. But at the very first sighting of the sea, my lungs fill with deeper breath and something I've been holding on to for far too long is released, and I am always freed of it's tangles.

It's a very good thing we have, me and the ocean.

I come from a long line of ladies who love the ocean and consider a visit the same as therapy. My mom, my sisters - we all have a love for the tide, the shells, the humid breeze, even the messy matted hair. Chances are if you're reading this, at least half of you can relate. Nothing I've shared is profound or new or novel - it's simply true. God created wonders on this earth for us to seek out and enjoy exploring. Proverbs 22:5 says, "It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, and it is the glory of kings to search out a matter." I like that verse so much. I love this place endlessly.

We visited my sister and her amazing family a few weeks ago in St. Augustine. This little city holds so many special memories for me and Stevie because we honeymooned here (almost ten years ago!) We came down here once when we were dating early on, with a group of people, and it's where I realized I really loved him. Something about this place always makes me feel so much peace about where I'm at in life - I always get reassurance that I am doing exactly what I should be doing.

We did all the things on this trip - walked the downtown (favorite shops are Red Pineapple and Sea Glass), ate the best popsicles (the Hyppo Pop!) and did what most parents of a oodles of children do - eat at home. There are sooo many awesome restaurants in St. Augustine, but in this stage of life, we didn't dare try to take ours out to dinner with us :) My bro-in-law Brad took us out on his boat to a deserted island, where we had a lunch of barbeque sandwiches and mac n cheese. I'll be honest - I felt like quite the fish out of water. I've been on boats a lot before, but it made me realize that we aren't native boating types - the first moment Brad started driving the boat, both of my boys started howling and Everett literally threw his body on the ground of the boat shrieking. Me and Stevie just looked at each other like, "Ummm this is bad." Thankfully we got both of them to calm down, but it just made me feel like our family is so suburban. Haha oh well. We are.

We even had an overlap evening where my younger sister Rachel and her husband Chuck came in town, so all of my siblings and spouses were together. It was the first meal the six of us had together without my parents also being present and it was wonderful! We all felt so hilariously adult, having our adult chit chat about our lives.

Stevie and I escaped to the beach and played around with Everett at sunset. Daxton didn't love the March wind that was in all its glory, so we had to make our oceanside visits brief. But we savored every moment and of course I'm already making plans for a return visit. Is it just me, or do you always need just one more day when you go to the beach?

Thanks Kara and Brad, for letting us invade your space and sleep in your children's rooms and fill your house with our clutter and noise and snacks aplenty. Love you to the sea and back.

P.S. - Similar orange kimono here, jeans here, essential oil diffusing bracelets here, essential oil diffusing necklace here, sandals here.

Family Beach Trip!

It's just always felt like home, here on this beach.

Probably because it is home, in a way. I've been coming to this stretch of coast on the Florida gulf every summer since I was about 7 years old. I might have been 8. I'm not really certain. But every summer, without fail, my feet have hit these sands and my heart has spilled over with relief and gratitude into the bubbling foamy sea. This horizon has absorbed a lot of my heart cries over the years - sadness over break ups, joy over making the squad, relief from finals, anticipation for my wedding, anticipation for moving to Boston, anticipation for moving to New York, anticipation for having a baby... the list goes on and on. This has been the place where I've "worked out” a lot my life challenges, had my conversations with God, while staring into this azure sea.

This is the kind of place that I have grown to need. To love and to cherish. We all have a place like this, right?

This time around, I got to watch my husband teach my little son how to play frisbee. I smile because this is the same beach where I learned to throw a frisbee so many years ago, when Stevie and I were dating and he couldn’t just sit still and read books with me for 7 days in a row. This is where I learned to love the feeling of the sea spray on my face while I angled the disc just so and sent it soaring across the shoreline to my partner in crime. And now, watching my not even two-year-old son experience the same bewildering joy - well, that’s what I think they call nostalgia. And aging. And really, really wonderful.

I did a rascal job of actually capturing a lot of moments through the lens during this beach week, and that was actually on purpose. This is the kind of week where I put away my phone, neglect all beauty products, and wear little more than bathing suits and pajamas. I shut off from the outside world, partly because the Internet connection is so poor anyway, and just eat ice cream and have conversations with family and stare at the ocean. So these are the few rare shots I took when I actually remembered to pull my camera out and capture the moment.

I hope you get the opportunity to retreat somewhere this summer. Everyone deserves a reprieve from from the hovering chaos of calendaring and task lists.

Just a boy and his Papa.

Everett ate so much Pirate's Booty during beach week. He kept crying and asking for "more boooooty!!!"

The athleticism starts early.

Stevie playing with Lake, king of the cousins (because he's the oldest!)

Our only family shot of the week. I really wanted us to get showered and dressed in white for "real" family photos, but let's be honest - when you have the choice of staying on the beach and watching the sun plunge into the ocean... or forcing your boys inside to bathe and "get pretty" for pictures, what's it going to be? You can see what we chose.

He LOVED lying in the shoreline and letting the water move him to and fro. It was the funniest. I've got to start taking more video :)

We played frisbee, too!

He's a self-cheerer. I really love that about him.

A baby pool on the beach is SO the way to go, you guys. Endless hours of fun to be had.

What tough men. Filling up the baby pool :)

No, my niece wasn't picking up trash. Uncle Joshua hid a treasure map in a bottle for all the little cousins! He sent them on a treasure hunt around the beach and guess what the treasure was? Fruit snacks. He won "best uncle" award for the week.

Uncle Matthew and little Ansley!

Best ever.

P.S. - For those who asked, my bathing suit is from Victoria's Secret (top is sold out, but similar here and here and here, bottoms here). :)

My Sister's Beach Wedding, in Photos.

All photos by Sarah Massie of Mint & Honey Photography

Happy Thursday, friends!

I just saw a mess load of incredibly gorgeous photos from my sister's Nov. 1 beach nuptials and I wanted to share a few quick ones. With her permission, of course. They celebrated in a private ceremony with just a few friends and family around, right on the ocean in St. Augustine. You can read my weepy, big-sister-y letter to her here. I had personally never been to a beach wedding before. Well, I had never been to a beach wedding that hadn't been rained out :) But this one was fully of sunny skies and treasured memories for this sweet couple.

I'm wearing this dress from Free People :)

I love these dear family photos of the three of us, even though Everett's leg was still broken at the time. Many thanks to the crazy talented photographer Sarah Massie of Mint & Honey for capturing a few of our family, along with the bride and groom! If you would like to see more photos (you know, of the actual bride), you can check out her post on the Mint & Honey blog.

You know, I can't remember seeing a bride that wasn't stunning. My sis was absolutely no exception :)

Happening Lately.

Happening Lately.

After a month of almost non-stop travel, we are finally back home! My little family has experienced a lot of adventures since the end of April, and we have had SO MUCH FUN, but we are seriously ready to get back to normal. Babies thrive on routines. Heck, I thrive on a routine. It's back to grocery lists and scheduled naps and, oh yeah, this thing happened while we were gone - SUMMER!!!

I am still in the process of compiling all the photos from our trips to St. Simons Island and Rome (I found a few more Madrid photos and added them to the previous post, in case you're interested in seeing a few more) and I will have those up for you over the next week or so. One trip that I have almost zero photos from is the one from this past week - I was in Florida with my husband's family, where we basically go back in time and pretend that technology doesn't exist. Which was fitting because, this year, none of our technology worked anyway! The service on the beach that we love seemed to be worse than ever, so it wasn't hard to forget about owning a phone or computer. We just relaxed by the ocean and watched our babies eat sand while we ate grapes and sandwiches. I actually read a book. Well, part of a book. Okay, I read two chapters of a book and it was spectacular. I forgot how desperately much I love to read. It's been a long year of very little reading, but now that my baby is getting older, I feel like some of those pastimes will make a comeback in my world. Fingers crossed. Anyway, all that to say that I actually have very few pictures of the family beach trip (except for the few snippets above), because I needed to take a break and check out from my usual over-photographing, and that is quite alright. I got the memories!

I hope you all have some wonderful summer plans on the horizon. Since we stacked all our summer travel at the beginning of the season, come July and August I will probably be itching for another trip! But that's okay. I will just live vicariously through all of your vacation photos :) In the mean time, I hope you have a marvelous Monday and soak in some of this warmth!