All you need is LOVE

In life...all you need is

Here is a short list about what I loved about this weekend:

A great camping trip filled with amazing weather, plentiful friends, a long float on the river, and kids exploring the great outdoors.

I love (although might regret) that now when my son sees my friends he claps and shouts "Yea! The margarita moms".

Getting immersed in a good book.

S'mores made with Andes mints - very refreshing.

Kids catching crawdads.

Bacon & beer pancakes for breakfast.

Dogs having a fun play date.

Seeing my son doing an amazing job riding his bike without training wheels.

Thinking about friends and family all across the world.

Kids faces with ice cream mustaches, sticky marshmallow lips, and/or streaks of dirt.

How a shower feels after a long weekend away.

Getting to hold a newborn baby for the first time and remembering when my kids were that little. 

Sharing a fun moment with two great friends and their baby.  Getting to see how their hearts swell with the love of their newest addition.

What did you love about your weekend????

Sweet Summertime

I love summer. I mean really LOVE summer. I grew up in the south where we had 9 months of summer and now I live in the northwest where we have 9 months of winter. I hate snow - therefore I hate winter. I mean HATE winter.  When summer finally arrives here - its days are always numbered.  Only a few short weeks left and then poof - it will be gone.  Gone will be the days of capris and no coat.  Gone will be sandals and sunscreen. Boo hoo. I had a panic last weekend when I saw this:

Hay bales in a field. You may ask why hay bales would make me panic.  Hay bales = fall (which is not summer). I like fall, it's enjoyable....it reminds me of pumpkin pie and chili.  But it also brings snow - evil, horrible, cold snow. Bleh...I feel sick already. 
The only good thing that came out of this photo above is that it made me want to do a photo homage to summer.


Summer,

I love your... fresh fruit,

vegetable gardens,

campfires that roast marshmallows and make smores,

flowers,

farm fun,

green grass,

Family hikes,

bike rides, camping trips, swimming, runs without layers, nights that stay light past 5 pm, and hot days that provide a fabulous excuse for ice cream.  I will miss you when fall comes - hurry back!!!





Take a walk on the wild(flower) side.

I enjoyed a wonderful hike today with the family and snapped some photos of these flowers for your viewing pleasure.

The last picture was taken from a house down the street - not wild flowers but still pretty. Enjoy!

Sunsets

Here are some recent sunset photos. As you can probably tell, I became obsessed with taking photos of the flag.  It's just so majestic and symbolic. You'll have to let me know which one is your favorite.

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

There are probably close to 15 more flag photos, but I narrowed them down to the ones shown above. (That alone was tough.)  Please keep in mind that these haven't been altered or updated in anyway - they are straight from my camera to your computer. Enjoy!

Amateur Photos Part 1

After drooling over some of the fabulous photos my friend Andrea has taken, I've decided to try and put my camera to good use and take photos with it how they are supposed to be taken. Quality over quantity.  Instead of trying to capture a memory (here's us at the lake) I want to try and capture more of the moment...photos where you can feel the love.  Basically photos that look like a professional has taken them instead of an amateur like myself.  So here's my first stab at it. Hopefully along the way I will have more to share.

First up is a photo of my doggie, who is a horrible subject to photograph because she doesn't listen and won't sit still. :-)  Lucky for her - she's cute.

The next batch of photos were taken at my MIL's 60th Birthday Party.  My first real attempts.  Please keep in mind that I haven't photo shopped these in any way, but probably should.

The first up is the flag on July 4th weekend. I love what it represents.  The second photo is of the flag actually blowing in the wind, but it was at night so the photo wasn't perfect. However, I do really like the way it depicts and abandoned play ground (empty swing set, randomly left behind ball and bucket) and shows the only thing still standing is the flag.

Bug on a flower.

Daisy #1 and Daisy # 2 (I couldn't pick a favorite)

 
More flowers

Flower buds

Night time.  (I think the 2nd is my favorite.)

I feel like in this one (below) the fence is making its own frame.

Bad lighting, but cute concept.

Confession - I didn't take the photo (below) but somebody used my camera to take it, so I should get some credit (right???).