And it begins...

... a vacation with the fam and the in-laws...

Seeing trees that are beautifully different than those near our home...

Checking out overlooks that I could sit at for hours...

Wishing the sun would shine so I could see it in a whole new light...

(not complaining, ok, maybe I am a little...but it's beautiful either way)

Being surprised by the cutest little lighthouse I've ever seen...

Gasping at the beauty of what He has created...

And... already experiencing stories we'll never forget... simple things like a new scenic drive, or Noah drinking an entire cup of hot chocolate in one drink (and having an adorable chocolate ring around his face), Kaylee falling over exhausted after climbing the dunes...but smiling so big at her accomplishment, playing games of Scrabble, calling and singing Happy Birthday to Grandpa (the ATL Grandpa... HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!), eating lots of popcorn, hearing mom and dad laugh that they have more leg room in our van than they did on their flight out here, enjoying FREE videos, popcorn and Cokes, turning on the heater and fireplace in August...

and then...having a bizarre kind of moment --- the guys were fishing off the pier at our lodge and Steve casts his lure as a huge seagull simultaneously begins to swoop for it...and Steve catches --- THE SEAGULL!! Poor thing - got hooked right through it's beak. As he began to reel in (thinking that it would pull off), we realized for the first time it was truly hooked. Steve slowly reeled as I ran to the inn office to see if they had gloves (which they did). As I run back, Steve has reeled the SEAGULL in to the edge of the pier and it is sitting in the water with its wing covering its head. Steve puts on the gloves and slowly and carefully lifts him from the water. After a few minutes he is able to remove the hook from his beak!! WHEW!!! BUT... then the gull is so excited to be free that he begins to flap and it's the hook stuck in HIS WING!! So.. Steve cradles the bird again, and I carefully remove the hook from his wing after a few minutes of trying. Once freed, and we're sure the hook is out of the way... Steve tosses him gently back into the air where he flew far off into the water. I think he'll think twice about trying to snag something from a fisherman again. So... the fishing score today - Noah - 1 fish. Steve - 3 fish...and a seagull... Oh what will tomorrow bring...