Day #212- Bird Berries

The kids love to pick these, collect them and serve them up offering style for the birds to eat :)

Day #211- Dream Gardening

Lately after the kids finish eating fruit- they like to save the seeds/pits and plant them in our yard. We have all sorts of "trees" they are waiting to come up :) Here's Boy #2 planting apple seeds :)

And planting his peach pit...he's VERY excited for fresh peaches! :)

Day #210- Double Vision

After taking this photo of Boy #2... (who's sitting on his bouncing ball)

Boy #1 insisted that I take a picture of him in the EXACT same pose...but with HIS bat :) lol

Day #209- The Doggy Dress

I'm trying to make an effort to photograph more of the kids everyday life and antics.
This is one of The Girl's favorite dresses this summer (and I must admit one of mine)

She's pointing to her favorite dog on her dress :)

Sadly- about 1/2sec after this picture she was stung by a bee as unknown to us there was a nest off to the side hidden in the wooden ties :(

Day #208- Susans

I love late summer when these finally come into bloom in our yard :)

Day #207- The *B* Family

I had the pleasure of photographing this lovely family today- could those boys be CUTER?! Their boys are 2.5y and 1y and were so sweet! That little guy NEVER STOPPED moving- I think I spent most of the time running backwards :) lol He was obsessed with the water fountains and I'm amazed he never ended up swimming in them- mom and dad were fast! :) S+B thanks for braving the 90* humid heat- E+A were so fun to chase around :)

Day #206- My fave flower

Purple Coneflowers are my FAVORITE in the summer...they are just so robust and happy looking :)
How cool is that macro dandylion shot?! Kinda loving it- even if it is a weed :)

Day #205- Girlfriends

Today the kids friends H&M visited us today- they were part of our weekly playgroup until they moved to Chicago last year. The Girl has SO missed M- and was thrilled to be able to spend the afternoon with her again. I think they bond in the life of being the only girl... (M has a twin brother)
It made my heart happy to see them together again :)

Day #204- Dahlias

We have this triangular raised flower bed off our front driveway and every year we plant different annuals in it- and the kids help me pick them out. This year- this is what we have growing, in a multitude of colors. Aren't they gorgeous? Some sort of Dahlia....according to the little stick :) I really like them- I may need to plant them other places next year.

What We Did On Our Summer Vacation

The week up north was LOVELY- so much fun- see below for some snapshots of our 7 days of joy :)
This photo is literally what it looked like EVERY SINGLE DAY. The weather was PERFECTION. 80s and Sunny. What more can you ask for? :)

Day #203- 3 Peas On The Dock

The obligatory group photo on the dock. This time I took it from the water- praying that I didn't stumble and dunk under the water, lol. :)

Day #202- HP

I just couldn't wait until we got home....so this morning I headed a into town to an awesome little local bookstore called redberybooks to pick up the final installment in the epic tale of Harry Potter.

This is my AMAZING view from the hammock as I read....both out towards the lake AND looking straight up. I will MISS this :)
Oh- and of course a gin+tonic :)

Day #201- Hamming it up in the hammock

The hammock was one of MY favorite places to hang out...but usually about 5min into my "alone time" I was bombarded with 1, 2 or 3 monkeys clambering in.

Day #200- Raspberry Walks

All along the road there are wild raspberries growing-so our daily walks of course including picking them. Well, we rarely came back with many, as they ate them as we went :)

Day #199- Water Joy

Boy #2 *LOVED* jumping off the dock- one day he made me count and he ran and jumped of 23times in a row. lol
This is him taking a break after a jumping fest.


The Girl was NOT feeling up to the task of dock jumping- but eventually she did jump from the lower dock wheel. She was really rpoud of herself. Of course...she never did it again :) lol


Boy #2 being thrown in the lake by his dad with much joy.


Boy #1 kicking around with his swim noodle. He liked to hold it and jump off the dock and then swim out until I would tell him "TOO FAR!"


The Girl also loved swimming out as far as she was allowed with her noodle. The noodle gave her the confidence she needed :)


Our very own lake alligator :) He LOVES to swim- and as a herding dog felt it his duty to constantly try to keep the kids close to shore. So when they would swim out he would chase them, and if they kicked the water he would bite at the water splashes :) What the kids loved, is that he would swim out to them- they would grab his fur on his back and he would pull them to shore. They said it was like riding a dolphin :) lol

Day #198- Boating Boopers and Whale Calls

Can you tell how thrilled he was to be allowed to steer the boat? :)
Boy #1 and his Grandpa (my dad), whom he is named after, and who gave him the nickname Boopers. :)



The kids discovered that when they blew on these, a lovely blowing sound erupted from the water...much like the sound of the whales on a certain beloved Diego episode. So they did this a lot and would laugh hysterically when I would pretend to look for whales.

Day #197- Fisherboys

The boys- they've been waiting all year to be able to go fishing again :)

Day #196- Vacation Kick Off

What better way to kick off our 1st night at the cabin? :D

Off For Vacation

We're off for a family vacation this week- to a cabin in NW Wisconsin with their grandpa (my dad)
The kids are SUPER excited :) I'll be back in a week with LOTS of pics to share :) lol
I'll leave you with a few pics from our cabin trip last year :)
CLICK on it to see it full size. I *think* that will work....




Have a great week!

Day #195- C+C's Birthday Beach Party

The first of our playgroup to turn FIVE! :)

Seriously how CUTE is this cake their mom made?! The bikini bears are my favorite touch :)
"A" you are so creative!

Their dad had the kids line up and run races to the pool and back- which was hysterical to watch,
and a great way for them to burn off the sugar high! :)

The party-goers (minus The Girl who didn't want to join the pic)

Happy Birthday Boys! We had a great time :)

Day #194- Peek-A-Boo

Can't decide if I like the color or the b+w version better....I tend to like b+w better with grain (higher ISO)...