Good-bye, Anna Maria Island!

Sad day. Our leaving day. We packed the car up and then we headed back to the beach one last time to say goodbye. The kids brought their lovies and each found one last shell. Daniel's had a hole in it, so he turned it into a necklace back at home (very cool!). Annabel's shell found a special spot. It was a bittersweet day, really. Our week had been simply perfect and we ALL could have stayed much longer. None of us wanted to leave. The kids were already saying let's come back again. Indeed, we shall, but this week, meanwhile, shall live on in our hearts. Till next time, Anna Maria. (I'm crying as I write this, you know.)

Last Few Days

Our last few days at the beach. I told you I had a lot of pictures. :)

Teamwork digging in the sand.

A picnic at the beach. High on my list of things to do this week!

Annabel's sandcastle. One view. There are others coming up.

Daniel in his impressive (inherited, meaning it was already there, but he made it bigger, too!) hole!

More of Annabel's sandcastle!

Annabel entertaining Uncle Bob at dinner!

After sunset pool time- sure, why not?!

All of us in the pool!

Annabel's sundae creation!

A cool bit of sea life on the beach during a walk on the beach!

Annabel writing postcards to her friends! 

She made a postcard box for the trip, filled with supplies and all!

Daniel making his sundae!

Doing an Eiffel Tower puzzle!

Playing hide and seek! How fun is that in a new place?!

There he is!

Another puzzle!

A trip highlight for sure- creating our own donut combinations at The Donut Experiment one morning! YUM!

This is what we ordered. :)

Getting braver and going farther...because finally, the water was calmer!

Finally- shells!!! We hadn't seen any all week!

High on Annabel's list- getting buried in the sand!

Snack time- donuts!

Snack time- ice cream!!

So many shells!

Soaking feet! That feeling is so soothing.

Writing postcards on the shore, too!

The water was finally calm enough to actually go farther out into the water! Annabel was thrilled!! AND- we could see there was a good sized sandbar way out there so Annabel and Daddy ventured out to check it out! So fun!

Looking for shells!

Sandbar fun! Annabel floated out there. So cute!

See? They are way out there!

There's my girl, swimming! Ben finally let her just go!

(They are the two people on the left in the top row of people.)

Swimming under water!

We went back again later and there were less people!