Beach Wedding!...otherwise known as "Sometimes your kids can surprise you with a really great idea!"

So...

We got home from our marvelous trips to Florida

and Savannah.

It took us 4 days of butt-numbing travel by car

to get back to the U.P. of

Michigan.

And, a fewdays later: my daughter called and told us

that her and her fiance

wanted to

move up their wedding.

They wanted to do an

"elopement ceremony"

rather than have a big wedding.

In two or three

WEEKS!~!!!

Back

in

Florida!!

They wanted a small, private

beach wedding.

So...

that meant

we had to go BACK to Florida.

This time we went by plane.

And it was gorgeous.

Just perfect.

My daughter did not want her wedding pictures

on the blog.

But, she was fine with me posting the "no people"

wedding photos...

So, here goes!!:

The wedding arch.

I loved that you can see two chairs beyond the arch in this photo!:

They had a heart in the sand

where they stepped into to do their vows.

I thought it was such a cute idea.

Oops, So I broke the rules here

and DID show you the bride and groom!:

( I sure wish I could've been barefoot for MY wedding like they got to do!)

More decorations:

The walkway into the rest of their lives together:

When the guests arrived at the wedding, they were greeted by two signs.

This one told them to take off their shoes!  Loved it!:

The wedding was wonderful

and the day was gorgeous...

In the 80's with warm, balmy sea breezes.

It ended at sunset, as planned....

Sometimes your childrens' wisdom

surprises you.

But it always delights you.

We had a wonderful time of family love and happiness

which will remain in our memories

for the rest of our lives.

And?

I got a new son-in-law in the family to love, too!

********************************************************

TODAY...

at midnight..

is the DEADLINE

for you to send me your

FREE PHOTO CONTEST photo for this month.

The May 2011theme is:

"Something that Starts with an A"

Better get crackin'....

get it in, get 'er done!!!

More This and That from Florida!

This is the last set of our Feb./March 2011 trip to Florida.

We went back down in April for my daughter Kim's wedding....

but we didn't get to do any sightseeing then!

So, sit back and enjoy!

I am still smitten with HIM:

What are you waiting for?  Here is YOUR chair!:

One more shot of the lovely coot ducks we saw:

Looking south down Madeira Beach at dusk:

Colorful flowers were such a treat to see in February:

That wonderful egret with the green around his eyes that visited  us on the causeway!:

Palms!!:

Ruh-roe.

This sign kinda freaked me out!

(But thankfully, we didn't see any):

Some of my FAVORITE tropical birds: Pelicans!!:

Every night we would go down to the ocean to catch sunsets!:

All of them were breathtaking:

Sigh!:

It may be a few years before we return to that area of Florida again...

my daughter and husband and grandbaby are moving back to Michigan!! SQUEE!!

(Can you tell I am one happy grandma?)

I will miss going there, but hey, we can always go on a trip together back down next time!!

Next up on my blog? My Savannah, Georgia photos!! Stay tuned!!!

ONLY ONE day left PEOPLE!!

If everything pre-publishes the way it is supposed to,

this blogpsot

will publish on August 31st, very early in the morning...

and

you

know

what

THAT

means?!!

You have until MIDNIGHT TONIGHT

to send me your gorgeous sunrise/sunset picture

to be entered into

the

FREE MONTHLY PHOTO CONTEST for August.

Any photo of a sunrise or sunset will do...

If I can do it,

YOU

can do it!!

Here are some of mine:

This is at dusk by Manistique, Michigan:

Sunrise at our dock on the lake:

Sunset over our little town:

Sunset at Madeira Beach, Florida:

Sunset over my little town and lake, taken from our boat on the lake:

Lady walking the beach at sunset at Madeira Beach, Florida:

Orange sunset over the Atlantic Ocean:

Sunset with Benefits (sunrays!):

There!

Now, get out those archived vacation pictures...

I bet you have a knockout sunrise

or sunset photo in there somewhere!

If not,

wait until the sun sets tonight!

Who knows?

Maybe it will be one of the prettiest sunsets

EVER!!

Send in your photos before midnight,

following

THESE RULES...

except I changed one rule...you CAN send me a photo you have already posted

on your blog (if you have a blog).

More Florida Sunsets, Etc.....!...

Here are some more Florida photographs.

They are particularly poignant now, with all the oil spilling in the gulf.

The beautiful oceans

and my beloved Pelicans are in danger.

It both saddens and disgusts me.

I hope we can solve it soon.

Here is a Pelican taking off:

Ahhh....to be on that sailboat, right now.....

He's asking--B.P oil....how could you do this to us?:

Golden delightful evening:

My friend: Howie, the Ibis:

( I forgot to tell you the story about Howie.  The local fisherman trained them to eat leftover bait and meat where we stayed. Having some lunchmeat, we treated Howie off and on during our stay and he came and took it right out of our hand. Except.....one day we ran out and my husband was reading a book by the pool barefoot. Howie came up and pecked at his baby toe...thinking it was a sausage!) LOL  I never saw my husband jump up sooo fast before!)

Orange clouds over the sea:

A pelican making a splash:

(I absolutely LOVE their large wings and enormous wingspan~!)

Dramatic clouds over the ocean:

Sky on fire!:

I am never at a loss of things to photograph

at the Gulf....

I only hope this oil spill will be solved soon

and that all of this beauty

is not lost....

I am sad, horrified, angry, and hopeful all at the same time

that we will be able to find a way to remedy this tragic situation as soon as humanly possible.