Well, we are nearing the end of our week-long stay in Sanibel. It has been fun, even though Ella arrived with a double ear infection, a temp of 102, and fluid in one of her lungs. We quickly made our way to the island MD and got an Rx of amoxicillan, which Ella has finished 1/2 of thus far. My dad commented right away that Ella didn't look like herself-- that she was very pale and had dark circles under her eyes. Poor thing. You wouldn't know it by her attitude. The only thing was this cough that was relentless and kept her up at night. Over the past few days she has rounded the bend, and the cough has all but disappeared. It's one of those reminders that Jared and I always realize after we get frustrated w/ her when she's sick. I recently read something that said, "loving them is easy when they are good; it's loving them when they are challenging that is the test." I have been trying to think of the motto, "Don't take it personally", especially when Ella doesn't cooperate, or has the diva attitude, or slumps her shoulders down to the ground and mopes around like a sloth. It's rather cute, I must say.
Today we went to the beach -- we went last night for the sunset-- but today was the first time for the day. It was windy so we sat back in the dunes. Ella liked to pick up shells, wash them, and let them dry in the sun. She also got to pet 2 very nice dogs and some nice ladies who found a lot of neat shells gave her two small shells and one big shell. We finished the say in the pool-- where Ella continues to display her Jared genes -- VERY cautious and somewhat panicked a the notion of being out there on her own.
It was a good day.
Will post pics when we return.
I am going to start an Ella Picture of the Day (E-POD) in hopes that I will take more photos and share more happenings in the bird's life. I have my new camera now, so am hoping that this will motivate me to learn more about the different features. 
