Ode to the beach~

Our trip to Ocracoke Island last week could very well be summed up, for the most part, with these three photographs:

Bike riding, consumption of delicious fresh seafood, and beach exploration~  We pretty much spent a fair amount of almost every day doing these three things.  We also threw in some shopping, clamming, bubble blowing, bananagrams, reading and napping for good measure.  I turned 31.  And it was indeed confirmed that scallops are without a doubt my favorite seafood of all.

Oh, and Claire really likes playing in the sand and in the ocean and finding seashells.  And has decided to start speaking in sentences on a regular basis.

Now, for the sharing of many many more photos~

this is pretty much our best family portrait in a while:

(I'll probably print out a copy of this one to look at in February when I could use warm thoughts of sparkling water and naked toes....)

Oh, those little baby feet.  Last year at the beach she learned to crawl, and this year I found myself chasing these little footprints down towards the waves.  Over and over and over again.  What will next year hold?

While I am still holding onto her babyhood a bit, I'm also so happily anticipating all the changes and growth that I know is right around the corner~