Beachy {Blue} {Togetherness}

These are my interpretations of "blue" a photo challenge for "Shutter Love Tuesday" hosted by Trendy Treehouse & "togetherness" a challenge for "You Capture" hosted by Beth at I Should Be Folding Laundry! Thanks to both for hosting such fabulous challenges, participating in these wonderful photo assignments, if you will, is really getting me back into blogging & giving me a reason enjoy my photography again! As well as being able to meet sooooo many other talented woman!!!! Thanks to you all for your heartfelt & supportive comments!

Now back to the beachy blue togetherness... they were taken about a month or so ago on our OBX 2010 Family Beach Week vacay & yes they were all taken by me! (: um, the remote is a beautiful thing :) This has to be one of my favorites times to get new images of our family, not to mention who doesn't L♥VE escaping to the beach for a whole week, no interuptions, no work, & no stress! Just miles of sandy beaches, anniversaries celebrated, kites flying high, kid-os running about & cold drinks in hand to boot :) This year instead of the standard khaki & white we wanted to mix things up a bit with some color, blue, of course! Sand, sun, surf, & all smiles from this family of four ♥ Happy Thursday everyone! Weekend is just around the corner, yay!

Psst~ my blogoversary is tomorrow :) two years in the making, i'm kinda excited!

More "blue":

More "togetherness":

Wordless Wednesday: The Boy & The Butterfly

happy wordless wednesday!

Touch-Up Tuesday: Babies Smooth Skin

It's no secret... not all babies are born with smooth silky milky skin, but that doesn't mean we can't capture them in such a way :)

Here are a few editing tips that may help you out!

To start this image off I zoomed in, started in the top right corner & worked my way around her face, removing blemishes with my healing brush in Elements, then slightly edited her skin tone, removing redness. Next step was to slightly crop, then use my burn tool to completely darken the background & around her body. Added a bit of focal soften around her face, slight vignetting & voila... finished!

See not too much to it, but a wee bit of editing brought this image a long way. Plus she's my sweet little niece & that face could melt any heart♥

Hope this helped & happy editing!
More touch-ups:

shoot & tell with a hint ...

{of color} childhood treasures

"if you search the world for happiness, you may find it in the end, for the world is round & will lead you back to your door."

The Paper Mama Photo Challenge - {a hint of color}

thanks to Chelsey for hosting

such a sweet photo challenge!

quote by~ r. brault

{bokeh} world's smallest beauty

"love of beauty is taste, creation of beauty is art."

thanks to Natalie for hosting

such an awesome challenge!

quote by~ r. emerson

i am also considering both images to be very {up close & personal},

a photo challenge hosted by Paper Heart Camera

happy tuesday everyone!

Scavenger Hunt Sunday on Monday!

{colorful}

took these at the soccer field on saturday, Orion & his teammates played a fabulous game!

{miniature}

alternate blog header shot yesterday... see the wee acorn :) that represents my littlest bean!

let me know what you think, still trying to decide between what i have up & the above image, can't choose!

{water droplet}



this is an old shot but as i just stumbled across Ashley's fabulous scavenger hunt haven't had all week to gather images.

{bedhead}

this too is an older image, once used for a wordless wednesday called "bad news bedhead" :)

{eyes}

one day earlier in the week, Ethan & i stood out front chasing butterflies, he tried very hard to get one to land on his finger, it was very sweet!
probably the last time we get to do that before they are all gone for the season!

really loving this concept & looking forward to seeing what everyone has to share for next week & thanks to Ashley for hosting!

{on the hunt for}
1. golden
2. smell
3. fruit
4. simple
5. sports
happy scavenger hunting!

The rules are simple:

1. Anyone can participate.

2. You're encouraged to take five new photos this week for the challenge.

3. If you get stumped, you may use one photo from your archive (although I'm not too strict about it - I do my best to take fresh shots).

4. Link up on Sunday (or Tuesday at the latest).

5. Have fun! 

Nestling into Autumn

"seldom do we find ourselves nestled in the exquisite & eternal ocean of here & now...

fully awake to the present moment, you will discover the glorious light that dwells within you."

The acoustics of this season are different & all sounds,
no matter how hushed, are as crisp as autumn air.
Happy Autumn!

quote by: D. Linn

My love of a lifetime has become a life time of love...

"i love all the moments we share, but none more than moments like this... a quiet moment to tell you that i love you & that i love being married to you."

"we've grown into this life one day, one challenge, one celebration at a time... we've become a family with a crazy, funny runaround life. we've built a home, filled it with warmth & caring, made it a place where love & dreams can grow...

and it all begins with love, the love you give every day. i'm so thankful for the life we share & the happiness we've found together."

"when we fell in love, i gave you my heart. when we got married, i gave you my world. and as long as i live, i will give you my love."

"the star that makes love's dream come true... was shining on me when i met you."

"i thank my lucky stars each night that i have you to hold me tight."

"how many can say they have a true partner, friend, & lover that they can count on in good times & bad?
how many can say their love is even stronger for all they've been through together? only a lucky few... like me, thanks to you."

"everyday love is the kind of love that's in it for the long haul."

"everyday love isn't afraid to wash the dishes or take out the trash."

"everyday love finds the romance in the kiss on the way out the door or the call in the middle of the day."

"everyday love is what i'm so lucky to be sharing with you."

"i am grateful that the love between us spans all real & imagined distances... i am glad that we are drawn ever closer."

"in a world of rush & crush & crowds, it all comes down to this... a tender word, a gentle touch, a smile, a look, a kiss, it all comes down to faith & trust,
it all comes down to whether we're going it alone or know we're in this together...
in a world of hype & hurry, in a world of push & shove, it all comes down to you & me, it all comes down to love."

HAPPY SEVENTH ANNIVERSARY BABY!!!!!

it has been a magical seven years, filled with smiles & laughter, joy & happiness, emotion & love!

here's to many more magical years & anniversaries to come... i love you baby♥

**note: i know! i'm soooo behind in posting this, as our anniversary was a month ago, aug. 23rd!!!! but better late than never right :) also, i thought it would be nice to pull out some of the cards we've given each other over the years (it made for a fun/weepy read), but gave me the idea of using the sentimental sayings within for our anniversary post. so the quoted sayings are from various cards we have shared with each other over the past seven years of marriage, one i was even given twice! thank you for making my everyday worth living, love you babes!**

Sugar & Spice & All Things Nice

that's what our sweet little niece...
Miss Emma Claire is made of!