JUST BECAUSE...

Just because I hadn't posted this one here in a while. It's now on my photography blog and it's on my facebook page in black and white. I thought it was only right that I re-posted it here as well. It was a shot that I took back over Spring Break while here in Bonita Springs, FL. This picture reminds me of just how big she is getting each and every day. It's got from a reminder to a confirmation actually. It's so hard to fathom that she will be a 1st grader in one more month. I'm cherishing the time - every second of it. I'm scooping it up by the ladel fulls and capturing every moment I can in photos. Just another "just because." xoxo, Angie

PS...Thought you might like to know that Lou is cooking for us again tonight. It's tacos and cheese enchilada's. Oh and more guacamole dip. Need I say more? And yes, you betcha' bottom dollar that I'll be spying on the ingredients for the dip this time. Bad thing is, I think he's on to me - and my plan to spy. Ha ha! I think I'm banned and black listed from the kitchen. Stay tuned, hopefully more food pictures tomorrow. :)

THE EPITOME' OF BONITA

As I head out this morning to embark on a ride with my kids and my pink beach cruiser (love the shot of this one), I'm immediately taken back to Bonita Beach. I've been flooded with emails over the past week from those of you wanting to know more about Bonita and Naples in reference to a vacation there. Anytime we go and come back, I generally get a ton of people wanting more information on what part of Florida it is, restaurants, etc. This past week was no exception. I'm so glad that I'm able to share this love of ours with all of you and that many of you are wanting to head there for your next family vacation. These shots are some that I snapped while in the neighborhood when we were there last week over Spring Break. They are the epitome' of why I love the Bonita Springs area and why it molds and shapes my heart the way it does. These shots are the epitome' of why Brent would pack up and move there today if I were to say "let's go." They are the epitome' of why I find myself yearning to be back there seconds after we pull away to return home to Indy.

Bonita Springs is not even 5 minutes from Naples. It's 10 minutes from Ft. Myers Beach. 30 minutes from Sanibel Island. An hour from Marco Island and an hour and a half from South Beach. Bonita Springs is the epitome' of THE BEST SPOT in Southwest Florida. It is centrally located which allows you to enjoy all of the hot spots within a reasonable car ride north or south.

It has some of the top restaurants within a stones throw away as well as the BEST shopping within hands reach. It's home to the famous COCONUT POINT mall that you've all heard me rave about a time or two. So many of you email me on a regular basis asking me about great restaurants to try while there, places to stay, etc. I'm always overly willing to give out our favorite spots to each of you because we truly believe that everyone should vacation there at least once in their lifetime. I promise you if you go once, you'll go again. And again. After canceling the initial plans of a Turks and Caicos Spring Break trip to honor our 15 year anniversary back in March (due to Kenidi's inability to ride on a plane more than 2 hours at a time), we have come to realize that Bonita has stolen our hearts over the past 10 years and that Kenidi can make it there and back with minimal stress or melt downs. Therefore, that area just works for us and has for quite some time now. At this point in our life, with Kenidi's medical issues, the flight there and back as well as knowing they have hospitals near by and we aren't in a foreign country should something happen, makes our stays there that much better. I hope for those of you planning to vacation there soon, that you will love it as much or even more so than our family does. I've enjoyed sharing tid bits of info with each of you in regard to what we like to do there and where the 'best of the best' is in our opinion.

So...while I hop on the beach cruiser today and ride thru the suns rays with the kids in tow on this sunny Indiana Spring day, I'm going to once again pretend that I'm riding that beach cruiser on the beach - in Bonita - mind you. :) Until then, continue to ask away. I'll be the best travel agent I can for you when it comes to Bonita Springs. I'm happy to share all of those "must see, must do, must eat, must shop at, spots." Enjoy your Saturday no matter what part of the world you are in today. And if you have a beach cruiser too, join us in a ride today, won't you?

PS...On a side note...stay tuned for a fun giveaway that I have planned. It will require your cameras, your creativity, and a local (low-cal) that you can visit and snap a shot while at (from your area of the country or world or while somewhere on a vacation). I saw the idea on MckMama's site regarding Stellan's trips around the world as all of us have been praying for him. I thought it would be a fun idea to implement when planning the next AGD give-a-way. For each person who wants to enter the give-a-way, the rules will be that you will need to photograph where AGD has been in this world. You can make a sign, make a card, make a flyer, flag, poster board, etc. and include it in your photograph somewhere within the area where you've visited, live, etc. You can write things like AGD was here with a date, or just Angelica Grace Designs does Vegas, etc. Ha ha! You get the point. Once the deadline is over for the contest/celebration...all the names and photos of those who participated will be entered in a drawing. The person we draw will win a spectacular gift via AGD in honor of our 700th post that we just crossed yesterday. I also hope to post all of the shots and do a prize for the one most "creative" shot. My plan is to let the blog readers themselves vote on the most creative picture. So...stay tuned. You don't want to miss out on this one. I'll announce the start date and deadlines for the photos very soon. Be watching for more details to follow. In the meantime, be thinking of a great hot spot where you can take AGD in your area or while on your vacation. With the hits we have on this blog each day, I'm able to confirm that there are people all of the states within the U.S., as well as people in Canada, Australia, Italy, Guam, the UK, and beyond that read this blog day in and day out. Therefore, there could be some really cool pictures from some really neat places that most of us have never seen or been before should you guys participate. YAY! This is going to be so much fun! Thanks for all of your unwavering support and the followers who've literally become part of my extended family after all these years. Love you guys! :)

Hugs, Angie

PSS...Please keep praying for Stellan. He has been flown to Boston this week and will most likely be undergoing heart surgery on Tuesday. This story is near and dear to my heart as I experienced something very similar with my own heart 2 months ago as most of you know. Stellan's heart beats way faster than even my heart does and therefore he needs this surgery to slow things down. The medicine he is on is not helping to heal or cure the problem. It is a risky surgery for infants though. Therefore, lets lift him, MckMama and the rest of their family up in prayer. It's been a trying time, rightfully so, for all of them.

FRIDAY MISCELLANEOUS

Hi all. Happy Friday! I thought I'd post some more images here this morning to hold you guys over. These are some flowers in the yard and then the others are of Brennen, his buddy from school, and Kenidi all skateboarding in the court. Funny how when I met Brent all those years ago, he was into skateboarding. Now, 20 plus years later, it has come full circle and the kids are into it again.

Brennen and his buddy ol' pal...

Sweating like crazy as they zip around doing tricks...

Then...Kenidi wanted to try...

When Brennen took his board away from her, this is what she did next...We've all seen this position before, right???

Having a melt down in the court...just wanting to be like one of the guys. She apparently thinks she needs her own skateboard now. I don't think so! Cracks me up.

Today we are off to the pool and then to the beach this afternoon. We are savoring our last three days here before heading back home Sunday evening. Although we'll be back here in a month, it is hard to stomach the thought of leaving - like usual. So...I'll keep snapping away with the camera in hopes of sharing the last three days with you before we head out. If you hadn't noticed, I'm trying to give you different material this trip rather than the same stuff I've done in the past. (i.e., photos of me sugaring my toes in the sand, my pelican and bird shots, pictures of coconuts and shells on the beach, etc.) Thus far, I've just shared the more candid moments of the kids. I don't want to bore you already before we even get down here for the summer. I figure next month, you'll start seeing every Florida picture possible while we are here through August. Therefore, I'll hit you with Angie's "norm" once we come back down in May. Until then, thanks for even being interested in any of it. :)

Enjoy your Friday. Hugs, Angie

SPRING BREAK FUN

Hi all. It's Sunday night and I'm just now sitting down to do an update. I apologize for the slow updates this trip. We have family in town with us this time so we've just been enjoying their company and I haven't really slowed down much to play on the computer (other than doing a quick status update to all of my homies/you crackbook friends of mine.) Therefore, here are a few of the photos I have managed to snap in the time we've been here. There are a few of Kenidi and Brennen and then there are some below of my brother and sister in law (Brad and Aubree) with their daughters (Evie & Lily) as well. The only time I've really picked up the camera was to capture these shots for you guys. Other than that, I'm just maxin' and relaxin' with the fam.
Above...Kenidi with the beach football. Love her far off stare here. Wish I had a penny for her thoughts. And below...my little Rock star straight out of the ocean...(sorry for the harsh shadows from the sun. Drives me crazy!)

This shots above and below are Brent in the water with Kenidi and Brent's brother in the water with one of his little girls, Lily. Aubree (my sister in law) is on the board enjoying the waves.

Above...this is Brad and Aubree's daughter, (our niece), Evie...playing in the sand. Her sister, Lily is shown below...

Above...here is Grandma Debbie enjoying the ocean with her sons (Brent and Brad) and some of her grandchildren. I soooooooo enjoyed seeing all of them playing in the Sea. What a grand sight. Family...there is just nothing like it!

Above: Lily with her board

ABOVE: Brennen with his cousin Evie. Evie has a "crush" on Brennen so I thought this might be a good shot for her to frame in her bedroom. And below...Brennen with both Evie and Lilly. Check out Lily's "America's next top model pose." I LOVE IT! It's hysterical. I won't get into the story about her turtle song that she sung to me. The turtles name was Tiny Tim. I had tears rolling down my cheeks last night from her humor. She cracks me up! What a hoot!

ABOVE: Here is a shot of Kenidi on the couch early this morning. She was sitting in front of the lanai doors and the sun was coming in on her ever so perfectly. There is just something about the picture that I loved. Notice those two teeth on the bottom front? Well...one is ready to come out. That left one is extremely loose. The tooth fairy might be visiting us here in South Florida before we return home. It's Kenidi's first ever loose tooth. What fun!

ABOVE: This is Debbie (my Mother in law) with her two boys. I love this picture. I plan to frame it and print it for the house once we return. Look at those flowers and that green grass. Indiana??? What is Indiana? Ha ha! Here is another image of them below with Brennen. Unfortunately, Kenidi was half asleep when I took all of these.

Here are some shots of Brad, Aubree, and their girls. If you remember right...Aubree is due with their third child in late July. It's a boy! We can't wait to meet him once he arrives.

And lastly...one of my favorite images yet...of just Brad and Aubree together (shown below). Love all of those Florida colors in the background.

We are vegging out here at home tonight - all of us recovering from some pretty crispy sun effects. Brennen had a friend from Indiana over today and he just left to go back to the hotel where they are staying. (It's one of his best buddies from his class at school) We ordered "in" for dinner and just decided to relax after a fun day outside in the 90 degree heat. Yes, the high was 90 here today. Again...gotta' love South Florida - no matter what time of the year it is.

We are hoping to have my Dad's good friend hook us up with a captain for a boat charter to the island of Cabbage Key here in the next day or two. That will be a great all day excursion that I haven't done in 10 years. Last time Brent and I visited Cabbage Key, I was about 5 months pregnant with Brennen. When visiting we left our dollar bill on the wall that read..."Brent, Angie, and Baby Seaman were here!" It's a tradition to leave money on the wall with your signature written with a black marker on the bill. There are thousands of them all over every square inch of the restaurant. It's an amazing sight!

Right now, I'm just thanking my lucky stars that I won't be in Indy over the next few days as the temps have dropped into the thirties, are full of rain, and snow flurries are expected. That is a BIG difference in comparison to the 90 degree heat we are experiencing here in Bonita. Although our flight here last Thursday was one of the worst flights I've ever been on due to the weather and turbulence, it was well worth the heart palpitations I endured as I prayed that God would just fly the plane and land us safely on the ground before I hurled vomit all over the person in the seat in front of me. There was a woman caddy corner from me that was putting down bloody Mary's right and left. Although I don't drink, I was almost ready to start by the time I got off that flight. Any longer and I would have asked the lady caddy corner from me if I could join her in her bloody Mary fest. I was ready to demand that she share after two solid hours of non-stop dropping, bumps, hills, speeding up, slowing down, climbing, descending, etc. In the end though, I'm alive and I didn't have to become a drinker to stay alive. God is good! :) HA!

Until my next "really late, blog slackin', Florida is causing me to loose my bloggin' mojo"(Thanks Natalie!) update...sleep well and enjoy your Monday.

Angie

WALKING ON SUNSHINE

We are here - seaside - safe and sound. Sorry for the delay in posting but we've been enjoying the arrival and are now beginning to start the "vegging" process. I'm actually headed out to the pool with my sister in law, Aubree, and our kids right now so I don't have much time to type. However, I was beginning to get "hate mail" regarding not having posted yet. HA HA! Love me some AGD faithful blog readers! Believe it or not, I haven't even had my camera out yet. I promise I'll be using it here soon and will post photos ASAP once I have some. In the meantime, thanks for patience. Enjoy the rest of your weekend. Right now...we are enjoying the "walking on sunshine" way of life here in Bonita Beach/Naples and sooooooo not missing the 39 degree weather with snow that the weather man is calling for back in Indy over the next few days. For those of you who are my facebook friends, you've already seen and heard about parts of our trip thus far. It was 89 degrees and full of sun shine when we landed here Thursday. It just doesn't get any better than that! :) Needless to say, this is my kind of vacation. Ha ha!

Hugs to each of you, Angie

LIFT OFF...

If you are reading this, we are officially in the air.

Please pray for safe travels as we depart Indy this morning and make our way into the Southern tip of Florida this afternoon. If all goes as planned and as scheduled, we should touch down at approximately 1:20pm Florida time.

Good bye Indiana weather - hello Sunshine! The weather man is calling for 88 degrees and nothing but rays there in Bonita Beach today. Ahhhh...I can hear our beach B/F/F's calling for us now. Pure bliss.

Until then, thanks for the travel prayers and for your well wishes for an awesome vacay! I'll be in touch very soon. (Hopefully with some great new pictures for all of you too) Hugs, Angie

DO YOU HEAR THEM?

Do you hear them? They are calling for us. Our beach B/F/F's.

Yes, it is time for another photo shoot. They are holding our spot as always.

Only 10 days to go and counting down...

We are ready for that salty breeze to tickle the skin. We must obey its call. As cottage style says..."We are going to roll up our pant legs, slip on a pair of shades, and trek barefoot through the warm sand. Like a stroll in the surf, the serene haven of the beach and all its glory are guaranteed to satisfy." Happy Sunday, Angie