Arg! Thar Be Pirate Treasure! -Ocean Vacation-

The day before my brother's birthday, we had a little surprise for him. He's really into pirate things, so my mom and dad put together a treasure chest filled with treasures. That included gold coins, a big blue diamond, shinny necklaces, little skeletons, crystal candle holders, and glass stones. We buried it at the beach one morning, than had my mom bring him outside. We made a map and put it in a bottle, and when Daniel wasn't looking, he threw it into the water. He found the bottle, got the map out, and started searching for buried treasure!

Details on the map: I looked up the beach on Google Earth and sketched it out on a piece of paper. I scanned that into the computer and I colored it in Photoshop. My dad printed it on some tan textured paper, and crinkled it up to give it an aged look. He also used a lighter to burn the edges for a more aged look.

Daniel's Birthday -Ocean Vacation-

My brother's birthday happened to be while we were spending the week at the ocean. He wanted my mom's gluten free chocolate coconut cake and homemade strawberry coconut ice cream (coconut seems to be the theme here...) to celebrate turning eight.

Happy 8th Birthday, Daniel!

Lovely Photo Wednesday

One of the beautiful sunsets we saw while staying at the ocean. I have more, but I'm saving those for another post. :D

Afternoons at the Beach -Ocean Vacation-

I'm home! Yesterday evening we arrived home from our beach vacation, and I have many pictures to share!

Besides my family, Grandma Margie, Grandpa Don, and Aunt Carol vacationed with us.We rented a beach house on the coast, right on the ocean. Out the large living room windows, we had a fantastic view of the ocean! And the house was right next to the beach access, so in a minute or so, you could walk from the house, to the sandy shore. We had some warm days, but even on the colder days, we could still enjoy the lovely view. Now for some pictures!

A sand castle my sister built.

A glaucous winged gull.

The lovely, but extremely cold, ocean water.

Another gull...

My footprints.

Another sea bird.

My dad running from the waves.

They had these binoculars at the top of the beach access.

Aunt Carol, Grandma Margie, and Tiana, out in the cold, cold water. Brave people! ;)

This guy was sitting on top a pole, and just before I was snapping his photo, he decided to fly away, and I got this shot instead.

My sister and I.

I have many more pictures to share, that I'll be posting throughout the week. :D

I Heart Faces - Beach Fun

When I saw that the theme was fun at the beach, I knew I had to enter. I had a few favorite shots from the beach this year, but I decided to go with this shot, of Alina, when she was playing beach ball with Tiana.