Our Beach Photos 2022

 Hi friends! I can’t believe we’re back to the time of the year where even though it still feels like summer outside, the summer season is winding down. School is starting back for Madeline, and all of her extracurricular activities start back this week. Whew the summer flew by! I can’t help but be excited for the fall season ahead, all the fun actives that come along with it, football season, a lot of family time, etc. But there’s also part of me that just clings to sweet summertime, feeling like it’s so hard to let go. I hear every summer “we have only 18 summers with our children.” Although that’s a little loosely thrown around haha, there definitely is some truth to that, and I can’t help but feel my mama heart sink a little at the thought of Madeline starting second grade. This month, it will be EIGHT years since I found out I was pregnant with her. Wow! Eight feels like we’re almost to ten and that’s a whole decade and…you get the picture 🙂

But I will say, one of my favorite ways of documenting our sweet time together, my precious relationship with her that means the whole world to me, is through some photos at our favorite spot at our favorite place in the world: New Smyrna Beach. If you’ve been following me for awhile, you may remember that I take these photos with her in this exact spot each year. I’ve published all but two years here on my blog. If y’all want to check them out just to see the changes over the years, I’ll link them here: 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2021. But I can’t recommend doing this enough! If you have a favorite place, take the time to go to a specific spot each time you visit and snap some photos with the ones you love. It will take a little bit of time out of your trip, but let me tell y’all, it’s SO worth it! I cherish these photos with my girl so much! And I especially cherish our photos from 2019. My Uncle Doug got it on those with us, and it ended up being the last time he ever stepped foot on the beach. Here are our beach photos from 2022!

My Dress: c/o Ivy City Co. (Size up one size) // Madeline’s Dress: c/o Ivy City Co. (Size up one size)

I absolutely love how these turned out! The lighting was so perfect the evening we took these. All the pink just made my heart so happy. Over the years, I’ve told Madeline this little story I made up about a pink cloud. I know it sounds silly, but it’s just one of those sweet little things that holds a special place in my heart. Every time she sees a pretty sunset with a “pink cloud”, she’ll ask to hear the story. 

*Photo tip* If you’re taking photos with your family, or especially with kids, remember this tip. Yes, it’s great to get a few photos where everyone is smiling and looking at the camera. Definitely try to get a few, but don’t spend too much time or exhausting everyone trying to get that shot. IMO, the best ones are the candid ones. The photos that really capture the relationship, the moment, the season in life. My favorite way to do that with Madeline is to just be ourselves. We’ll have a conversation. I’ll tell her the story of the pink cloud. I’ll ask her to tell me her favorite joke. I’ll tell her about the first time I ever brought her to this spot on the beach when she was just three months old. I’ll tell her to pretend she’s a ballerina unicorn leaping through the air (literally haha as you can see in some of the photos we got here). Just be yourselves! Have a sweet conversation. Interact while taking photos, and you’ll end up with some sweet memories to cherish forever.

New Smyrna Beach will always hold such a special place in my heart. I’m so than thankful for yet another year of the best memories made there. It’s so much more than a beach to me. It’s family. It’s countless memories made with Uncle Doug…playing in the water with him as a little girl. Always knowing how much NSB meant to him (I always feel closer to him when we’re there). It’s memories of playing in the sand with my bothers and sister. It’s beach walks with my dad and granddad. It’s looking for seashells with my mama and grandmother. It’s the place that sparked my idea for my children book (that I still hope to publish at some point). Most of all, it’s the memories I’m making with my sweet Madeline. When I look back on summers, the best memories always point back to here with the ones I love the most. As summer 2022 is coming to a close, I can’t help but say “Thank you, Lord, for the wonders of your creation, a special place to make memories, loved ones that mean the world to me, and another special summer at my favorite place.”

Thanks for stopping by, friends! Have a wonderful day!

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