Isle of Capri Archives - Page 7 of 7 - Enjoying the Small Things

photography is slowly opening my eyes to so much more beauty in the world than i ever bothered to notice before…the little things. today, i was almost overwhelmed in wanting to capture it all–the way the clouds looked exactly like my childhood dreams of heaven…the way the light filtered through the screen to give everything it landed on this storybook glow…the wrinkles in cubby’s feet after they had soaked in salt water for a good hour. it just makes me so much more in tune with gratitude and contentment.

anyway, another sunday at the church of the holy beach…and it gets better every time. today, the sky was purely magic–all day long…but then, on the way home, it just crescendo-ed to this mouth-dropping ripe shade of pink. and everything was just as it should be…happy hubby, happy kids, a good book, my camera and these moments:

the one below, i just love…i want to blow this up and hang it in her room…it’s just her…happy.

…and i can’t get over how thankful i am that lainey will grow up with these sunday memories…she is in heaven here, and besides a swig of baba, a quick bite of grouper, and a few reapplications of sunscreen, this kid does nothing but play in the water and sand for hours with this gigantic perma-grin.

the owner was gushing today on how cute and big she’s getting as we recalled all the times she’s been here this last year…

first visit: 5 weeks old…slept in her little moses basket and got passed around for some luvins…

…and then later, we’d bring her walker, and she’d cruise around between the diners while we ate…

…or chill in her bumbo seat

it’s our home away from home…

enjoying the beautiful things ~k

it’s nights like these i tell myself i’m never going to complain again about the 45 minute drive or the piles of sandy towels and wet bathing suits i have to wash afterward…it’s nights like these i remind myself that not everyone lives in a place where their kids will grow up with Sunday memories of sand-dollar hunts and wake-boarding contests…it’s nights like these i’m thankful for the small things…a guy who can do a pretty-close-to-Bob-Marley version of “Could This Be Love?”, cold draft (yeah, I think it’s okay to be thankful for that), a grouper basket that tastes better every time I get it…and then the bigger things…our friends, our special Sunday get-away spot, a beautiful backdrop of sea and sun…

…everything’s different at our little isle of capri…success is measured by nothing more than how many crabs you catch in your pail, and time is measured simply by where your shadow falls on the shore…i love that.

i think what i love most about ioc days is watching brett ‘cuz he’s the happiest man in the world when he’s there…and that makes me happy. today was magic watching him love his kids…and the way he is with lainey? the way he holds her, the way he talks to her when he thinks no one’s looking, the way he kisses her on the top of her head without even realizing he’s doing it…sigh. i love this man. …check out how cubby rests her little hand on his shoulder. he may look all nonchalant, but inside i know his heart is melting.

yeah…it’s nights like these…when the house smells like sea salt and sunscreen…when little sun-kissed faces settle into their beds, worn out from the day’s play…when i’ve finally cleaned up, climbed in bed, closed my eyes…and i can still hear the water, the music, the laughing. it’s nights like these, i realize…it’s so worth it.

…enjoying the small things… ~k