She's Back!!!

For some people, three days went by in a flash! For others, it seemed like a very, very, very long three days!! We could hardly wait for Ashley to get home. On Friday night, she called us at 10:15 from the bus. Through all of the noise, she told us to meet her at her school at 11:00. We hurried over, just a little bit early, to make sure we were there when she arrived. Finally, we saw the bus pulling in. It was a happy reunion! (Morgan was getting tired of hanging out with old people by herself!)

We headed home with Ashley and all of her stuff around 11:15. Everything made it back home safely...some things a little dirtier than when they left.

And a few new things came home, too. This took all of her money, but it was worth it! (She's been asking for a sweatshirt without a zipper for awhile!)

What's a trip to the beach without seashells?

I made her try on the poncho for me. She really didn't appreciate it, but she was a good sport! ☺

I figured 11:45 p.m. was a perfectly good time to start unpacking and washing! (Starting with those shoes!!)


Ashley thought it was a great time to show Morgan her shells...

...and all of her notes from labs! (Also known as "Fish Massacres.")

By midnight, most people were probably off to bed. Not the Browns! We were off to Wal-Mart to drop off Ashley's cameras. We couldn't wait to see her pictures! (At the end of this post.)

Finally, around 12:30, it was time for a snack...
**Retainer courtesy of Dave Smith Orthodontics**

...and bed!

No seriously! Can I sleep now???

Wait? Why do I have a hole in my heel?

Oh well! This was a great experience for Ashley! Thanks to everyone who helped her to go.

Enjoy her pictures below! (In no particular order...mostly because I HATE Blogger sometimes...oh yeah...don't mind the quality...disposables ya know...and she wasn't sure how to work the flash!)

What's all over her face you ask? Oh, that's just squid ink. That she cut out of a squid. A real one. Gross!

Beautiful underwater photography. I believe this is called grass.

The cutest toes on a bed of algae. She was taking a picture of an anemone.

A glimpse into the girls dorm.

Ashley and friend, Sydney--or Squidney, on snorkeling day.

Ashley and bus buddy, Lexi.

A few girls got seasick on the boat ride. (Not Ashley!)



One of the highlights of the trip: seeing these white bellied dolphins while hanging out on the boat.
On the last day of the trip, they were supposed to go boogie-boarding, but they got rained out. Instead, they got to go "The Children's Beach" and check out the seals that had beached there.


It was also very cool to see this sea lion. It barked a lot, but it didn't clap its flippers.

Beautiful ocean scenery.

Some sort of creatures from the floating marine lab. (A snake-like thing that is actually from the seahorse family, and a lobster!)

Ashley's Pacific Mackerel "Pac Mack,"--Freddy--before the massacre. Poor Freddy!

R.I.P.