HOT Summer Days . . .

What do you do on a HOT summer day?

You jump on your Mom and Dad's bed of course!

Sophie kept saying "Check out my moves mommy!" They looked like they were having so much fun. I wished that I could join in with them. If my ceiling was taller, I just might have. That would have been a moment to capture . . . if my bed didn't break first!

Just Playing . . .

So I got a new lens for my camera and I am LOVING it! It takes great pictures with much more of the bokeh effect that I really like. I have been having a lot of fun just playing with it!

I really like this picture of Collin because his facial expression is so natural and his big eyes just speak to me. I also love it for the bokeh (blur) around him.

Collin is so proud that he has finally figured out how to show 3 fingers. He just barely figured out 2 about a month before he turned 3! All day he shows me his 3 finger pose and says that's how old I am! What a cute boy.

When I first opened up my lens Collin kept going up to the flowers in our yard and requesting that I take a picture of his smelling them. Okay . . . my kids are getting so sick of me taking their pictures so I of course jumped at the opportunity.

LOOOOVE this shot! Sophie was so good to let me do a photo shoot with her. I did a series of aperture shots. This one is shot at f1.8. She was such a good sport and sat in that position through a series of 7 shots . . . thats a lot to ask of my little 4 year old.

And . . .

one of my first shots taken completely in manual mode. I am finally getting it! After taking a class, reading books, manuals, and tutorials . . . it is coming to me. Yay! I kept telling Logan it is above my head and he kept telling me that I graduated from college with honors, I could understand how to shoot a camera in manual mode. Thanks babe! I really appreciate his encouragement and support of my new passion and hobby.

i ♥ faces - at the beach!

This week at i ♥ faces the theme is at the beach. I had to dig deep to find a picture that was taken at the beach. My kids have only been to the beach twice. They loved it both times. I can't wait to take them again this fall.

Celebrating Summer: Watermelon

It wouldn't be summer without watermelon . . . or melonwater as Collin calls it! So juicy, yummy, and sweet. The perfect treat on a hot summer day. I love it. We have been having our fare share of it, but this week I decided to try some "watermelon pie!"

SooOOo yummy! And still a perfect treat on a hot summer day (unless you are Logan . . . for some reason he doesn't like sherbet. Silly!)

To make your own "watermelon pie" go here!

Zoo Day

Sophie has been begging for days to go to the zoo, and I kept putting it off. It sounded HOT! Hot and sweaty. Literally after days of non stop begging, I gave in and the zoo we went. It was hot, but it was fun. I am not sure if it was the day Sophie was hoping for because we didn't get the ice cream or the stuffed animal that she wanted . . . but hopefully she had a good time. I think she may have finally forgotten about the stuffed animal. She is distracted by her upcoming birthday. Man can she get obsessive. I am tempted to celebrate her birthday next week just so that I can stop hearing about it . . . but really, I am glad that she is soOOoo excited.

Some pics of our day . . .

i ♥ faces - feet!

I ran across this photography blog called i ♥ faces that has a photo challenge each week and I thought it would be so fun to enter. This weeks challenge is on feet! I love feet; little feet, big feet, and there is nothing cuter than baby feet. I have some great shots of newborn feet, but I wanted to try something different. I came up with 2 great photos of Collin's little piggies. I had a hard time deciding which one I liked best, but this is the one that I chose to enter.

Early Pioneer Day Celebration

We had an early Pioneer Day Celebration with our ward on Saturday. And let me just say that our ward ROCKS!! It was such a blast! We started out the evening with a children's parade complete with a police escort. Ya folks, it was official! Sophie and Collin loved decorating their bikes and riding in the parade. It was really the first time that Sophie has wanted to ride her bike and she was definitely the leader of the pack. Way to go Soph! After the parade everyone met at a local park for a yummy BBQ and games. The kids just loved running wild getting cotton candy, playing in the fish pond, collecting treats at the candy cannon, getting their face painted, and getting wet on the giant slip-n-slide. Wow! What a night. It was so much fun. Good company, great food, and games for the kids. What more could you ask for?