almost doesn't count

my sweet friend kylie "photo tagged" me so long ago that i had to go to her archives to find the blog where she stated the instructions. i almost responded to the challenge immediately, but didn't get to it then- or in the next couple of weeks that followed.

so here i am. rising to the occasion. finally. whoever coined the phrase "better late than never" must have been thinking of me because on any given day i could say that about myself more than once. anyway, on with the show. the instructions were to go to your 6th picture photo, find the sixth picture, and write about it. then tag 5 other people. i have to admit that i am so unorganized that on my desktop alone there are actually 6 folders that contain some type of unsorted, random photos- so here's what i found:

i realize that this picture desperately needs to be cropped, but i don't know how to do that on here. stop laughing- i'm still new to the blogging scene. anyway, there is beautiful scenery in the background.

this was taken last april on pacific beach in san diego. although i haven't framed it- or even printed it for that matter- it is no doubt precious to me. first of all because of the subjects involved. seeing my sweet husband jeremy holding my precious blessing lorelei on her first ever trip to the beach just makes my heart flutter. i adore that man and all the ways that he enriches my life and the lives of our children with his presence. as i write this, he is working late and i am missing him. lorelei had such fun on the beach that day, but the water was so cold that it scared her. her daddy, her hero, wasn't going to let her miss the experience of standing in the ocean with the waves crashing around her- so he carried her. safe from the frigid water temperature and snug in her daddy's arms, she was having a great adventure.

i also love this memory because san diego has such a special place in my heart. if i could live anywhere other than here- or possibly manhattan- san diego would definitely be the place. we've been vacationing there since i was a small child, and the smell of the ocean water is like valium to my soul.

the final reason why this trip meant the world to me was because we were there for my sister's wedding. this was the second time she had gotten married. in the one year. to the same man. i know what you're thinking, "mandy, you got some 'splainin' to do." stephanie and ryan were married in a small, beautiful, backyard wedding in july of 2007. though they had planned to marry later that year in a ceremony filled with family and friends from across the globe, they decided to move the wedding up because ryan is an officer in the marines, and he was being deployed to iraq in august. her returned home safely (praise god!) 8 months later, and we traveled back to SD to be present as they celebrated their incredible love story with the wedding of their dreams.

everything about that trip was great fun, and i can't think of a better memory than one filled with the people i love, in a place that i love, experiencing new things and celebrating together! thanks for tagging me, kylie. and i now tag jill, alison, tiffany, kyna and the forrest family.