white sand beaches

after eating at my favorite restaurant that i miss so much (it's called carmelita's)

we headed over to catch the last rays of sunshine on the beach.

mom and i love the beach and we probably should have gone during the day, but it was very hot and we would have spent the whole time chasing that sweet little girl. not exactly a relaxing day at the beach. so this little visit was just perfect.

and it made miss thang soooo happy!

crazy happy

ahhhh sand. the sand on these beaches is full of little shells and is white-gray. a little farther south in sarasota there is super-white sand. and at the beaches in ft. desoto (30 minutes from this beach) the sand looks and feels like flour. which is just one of the reasons why ft. desoto has been voted to have the best beaches in the USA. oh florida,  you are so awesome.

living on the west coast of florida is the right thing for california kids because the sun is supposed to set over the ocean. also, the st.petersburg/tampa/clearwater area is called the "bay area," so it's easy to feel right at home.

the water was pretty cool in april, which was nice. when we lived there i couldn't ever swim in the summer because the water was so hot! and of course santa cruz water is too cold year-round. i guess i have a little goldilocks complex. shelby doesn't care a bit about temperature, and she was so happy to splash around with her uncle.

this is the night setting on my camera. kinda weird, but at least i was able to capture shelby's joy. and we were also excited that grandpa, daddy, and uncle brett were getting ready to take their red-eye flight to join us! hooray!