Macro Friday: Beach and Woods, My Two Favorite Places

These are a few close ups/macros from the last few days I wanted to share with you. I hope you like them. I don't have a favorite, I seem to like them all for different reasons. Please enjoy!

Touch Up Tuesday: Beach Play

These photos are the first of many that I took the other day while playing on the beach. These photos were my favorite edits. I love them all, but there is something about this first photo. I wanted to give it a super hero feel because Lorelei was playing on the beach when the water started to come up just a bit and she grabbed everything and ran with everything telling me she saved it from the waves. She loves the beach, until the waves come up. Plus Hannah likes throwing the stuff into the lake to watch it float and Lorelei grabs it quick. Please enjoy my pick for Touch Up Tuesday!

My Pick:

The Edit:

The SOOC:

Because I like sharing I have added more Touch Ups. Please enjoy!

The Edit:

The SOOC:

The Edit:

The SOOC:

Click the button below for more Touch Up Tuesday Entries!

Also, I would like to post Homeschooling Vs. Public School Part 2 today so look out for that. Click on the "Debate" page to find the first debate and many more. As for me, Hannah woke up and we are going to go and blow some bubbles on a windy, windy beach. I do have many more posts I'd like to get in today at some point so look for those too (We've already done some crafts today and I have something left over from last week). Have a great day everyone!

Mellow Yellow: Hannah and Her Little Yellow Pail

Today on the beach Hannah picked out a little yellow pail to bring along. She filled it with sand, but her favorite activity was LARGE rock collecting. She insisted on carrying it as well. She also insisted on carrying it up the stairs while I basically held her under her armpits so she could make it up. I'm in trouble if Hannah is going to be just as stubborn as her sister, but it was cute watching her have so much fun!

Photos for the Mellow Yellow Link Up:

I just love the cute face she is making.

Collecting her rocks. Her favorite rocks are always the biggest rocks on the beach. She would carry a boulder if she could.

Swinging her yellow pale in the wind.

For more mellow yellow captures check out Mellow Yellow Mondays.

Macro Friday: A Butterfly-Yes This One is Mine

I will first give you a bit of background on why I am sharing this beautiful butterfly with you and it's not just because of the sheer beauty. On Monday I participated in Macro Monday and I shared a photo of a beautiful butterfly perched on a flower at the zoo. Little did I know that my husband "accidentally" deleted my butterfly photo and not only captured a butterfly himself but kept his before it even made it to the desktop. So I shared the beautiful butterfly at the zoo photo and later found out that it was his to share. I made the correction on my post and forged ahead.

Yesterday the girls and I were on the beach taking pictures, playing in the sand and water and having a wonderful time. Butterflies were swooshing over our heads and landing in our neighbors flowers. As I was watching Hannah climb up the stares and putting mommy arm gates up around her I saw the butterfly land on some of the sand toys. I quickly grabbed Miss Hannah and went for it...slowly. I thought for sure the butterfly would flutter away quickly, but he/she hung around for a couple moments while I took a few shots. I hope you like them!

My Favorite:

Although not the closest shot, I enjoy it none the less.

I quite enjoy this one as well.

Click on the Macro Friday button below to see more entries! Also keep a look out as I will be dedicating a post (hopefully today) to my husbands photos from the zoo!

I am also starting to come to the conclusion that my Macro isn't all that Macro.

I Heart Faces: Beach Fun

There are a few specific photos that I think of when you say "Beach Fun." We have had a wonderful time on the beach this summer and I am excited for even more! Please share in our fun with some of my favorite beach fun photos and check out I Heart Faces for other photos from other bloggers.

I will start off with my top two photos that I think of when I think "Beach Fun."

Playing on the beach with family; Lorelei started chasing around everyone to wash our feet with freezing cold water. Here is Lorelei tossing icey water on her Daddy while he is holding Hannah.

This is one of our very first times down at the beach as a family. Hannah loved sticking her toes in the sand and lake.

What a Beautiful Morning

A calm breeze, beautiful colors and a smooth lake. Ah, I love the beach in the morning. So quiet and serene. Then we come down to take pictures and play. We managed with our inside voices and really enjoyed ourselves. I took more pictures than I probably should have and so naturally I couldn't decide which ones to show you. Please enjoy. A special thanks to Aunt Julie for making the beautiful clothes.

Dedicated to My Mom

I suffer from a peripheral vision impairment. Well not really, but it seems as though I spend every thought and bit of energy on my girls. I focus so much on their needs that I can't see what is going on around me. Between the mile long walks (which I enjoy too), beach days (I also enjoy), craft projects (sometimes enjoy), playing games, building things, crafting things, what to eat and when to eat, when to use the potty and change the diapers, etc. (the list goes on).

I can't seem to see the mess we are creating with our whirlwind day or week. Then all of a sudden my blinders come off and viola! Mess! This is even after picking up numerous times a day, vacuuming at least every other day, mopping, toilet bowl cleaning, numerous dish washing throughout the day. You name it. I do it all day long. After all of that the day comes where I notice somehow I have let everything go. How does this happen?

I'll tell you how. All my kids do is eat, sleep (rarely), poop and make a mess of dishes and clothes and toys. Yikes. I kid you, but it seems like the universe is playing some kind of trick on me. "You want to be a good mom and spend all moments with your children teaching, playing, nurturing. Well ha! You have to spend half of that time if not more cleaning up after your dog, husband, self and two kids. Now find time to relax and be carefree with the family."

I remember as a little girl just resenting my mother when she stayed in when the rest of the family went outside to play. What could she possibly be doing that was more important and more fun than playing outside with us? Cleaning! Either that or goodness forbid mom needs a nap.

Speaking of naps, I have been trying something new. My girls share a room with each other and I have always put them to bed at different times as to not wake the other. Lately I have been trying to get them to fall asleep in the room, in their own beds at the same time. This is proving to be difficult.

Hannah falls asleep now all by herself as does Lorelei of course, but together is a whole new story. I put Hannah down while Lorelei wanted to sleep in her tent (an indoor tent shaped like a tree). I walked out to finish up some of the laundry I had been trying to fold. After all I was only a few feet from their door. It was completely quiet so I assumed they were on their way to sleep. All of a sudden I hear "Hannah no. Mom can you come and get me out of this crib?"

Have I shared that the new thing is Lorelei climbing into Hannah's crib and coaxing her into jumping. Well apparently that has changed to trying to sleep in the same bed with her. Lorelei had put her pillow, blanket and numerous guys in the crib as well as herself. I guess it wasn't as easy getting out of the crib as in.

This morning while helping Lorelei to the bathroom (the door has a toddler proof nob) Hannah tailed behind. She sat down outside the bathroom door to wait patiently like she almost always does. (Either that or she tries to steal her sisters underwear and run off to put them on.) This time I look behind me assuming she is still in the same spot and she was gone.

Walking out of the bathroom I assumed I would find her quickly, but nothing. I couldn't find her anywhere. I realized quickly that the one day I left the slider open with only the screen blocking her to the patio she had gotten out of my site. I freaked out running from room to room. My heart fell to my knees when I finally called her. "Hannah." Just as I finished her name I see her pop out from under the desk and say "Boo." Now you must be kidding me. How can my one year old be that sly?

A few days before that we had ate our dinner and decided to go out for ice cream and the park. What a treat. The girls had so much fun and were exhausted by the time we got home. Since we had left so quickly for our desert I had some unfinished business with the dinner dishes. Hannah was on one side of the room playing with her Dora chair while Lorelei was in the play area minding her own business quietly playing.

If you're a parent you probably smell something with the slight sent of mischief. Well you would be correct. Lorelei seemed to have gotten a hold of her water bottle and was pouring all of the water on her toys. This spot she had chosen was just out of sight of where I could see her from the kitchen. Her excuse was that they needed to be cleaned. I guess I can give her a "golden star" for cleanliness.

All in a days work for this momma. Thank you to my mommy for putting up with my mischief, but I'm sure I never created any (she says with a wink).

A picture of my mom and I chatting it up at Lorelei's party.

For The Love of Pictures

The last few weeks have been a lot of fun being that summer has finally arrived. We had some wonderful weather a month or so back and then it kept cooling down and raining, but now everything is green and ready to play on. Here are a few pictures showing some of the things we have enjoyed doing in the past few weeks. I wish I could share more; it was hard to pick only a few. Enjoy!

My girls playing on the anchor from a U.S. Coast Guard ship. They were all over this having a lot of fun with each other. A mother's dream.

"H" enjoying the sand. She has always been a sand baby, but her sister didn't like sand or grass for that matter until she was about one year old.

"L" on her way back up the slide at one of the many parks we enjoy.

Dancing the day away on one of those rainy days. They both picked out their clothes this day and "L" kept complimenting "H" saying she looked like a beautiful princess.

We certainly love the beach in this family and go every day it's nice enough to stick our feet in the sand. This day in particular rained until mid afternoon and when the sun came out we did to. The water was very clear and great for picking rocks. "L" is chasing Daddy with a cold bucket of water to clean his feet. What joy.