w is for...

water colors

wings...watercolored wings

 wrinkled nose...i love that nose

wac-a-mole...winner!

war...winner!

woah we are w is for way up high!

waffles for dinner...a great way to wrap of w-day!

picmonkey!

i had to share this great find! 

an easy, fun, free, online photo editing software called picmonkey.

vintage

as you can probably tell - i love to take an occasional photo here and there.

but when it comes to editing, i'm completely overwhelmed
by adobe photoshop, lightroom and even picasa. 

black & white

i feel like everytime i try to edit my photos to give them a more vibrant, vintage, black & white or even add text it turns into a big fat washed out failure. 

adding a message

 also, as a non-iphone owner - i'll admit i've been a bit envious of the old-fashioned

instagram photos that friends capture.

i love the vintage look.  

instagram-esque

 well i found a solution - picmonkey! 

it's super easy...and a bit addicting if i do say so.

vibrant color

it has an easy-peasy collage feature too. 

how great is that?!

4th of july highlights collage

go check it out - you'll love it!

sunset harvest

one of my favorite post-dinner summertime activities is taking a drive up to the community farm to water and harvest the veggies in our garden plot ... a sunset harvest! 

here are a few snapshots from one of our recent visits.

 

 luckily this time we made it back home with a near full basket of goodness. 

usually the kids have munched their way through the harvest or shared it with the animals.

 and here is my personal highlight of our evening...this daisy photo with my little ones!  

oh how it warms my country girl heart!

i heart america

i hope you all had a most wonderful 4th of july. we sure did!

i love that we were part of an american community across this country that were...

firing up the grill

wearing red, white and blue

licking ice cream

running through sprinklers

eating hamburgers, hot dogs, baked beans and potato salad

waving sparklers 

smelling of sunscreen and bug spray

slicing watermelon

watching fireworks 

wearing glow-in-the dark bracelets

tears welling while patriotic anthems play

celebrating with dear friends and family

sharing what it means with our kids

remembering what it means to be an american

oh how my my heart swells with love and pride that i am american. 

that i am part of this country.

one founded  236 years ago on the principles of freedom, liberty and faith in god. 

i heart america.

4th of july highlights

v is for...

continuing our journey through the alphabet! v is for...

volcano...a v is for very cool diy science project

vegetables from the garden...

veterinarians for their stuffies

vibrant vase..ella and i prettied up a plain ol' vase with some fabric strips

v day gymnastics...

dear self

dear self,
today you broke out in tears on the way back from the grocery store.  no grocery store mishaps. no tear jerker music on the radio. just you, your thoughts, and an overwhelmed heart.  oh how you needed that cry.  you came home and wrote this letter to yourself...

last week completely kicked your butt.  work was insane - thanks to supreme court ruling on health care reform and an intense campaign to get marketing plans drafted, communicated and delivered.  your head hurt alot.  your time with kids was stressful and distracted. things fell through the cracks.  you were a mess. but you survived.

you just turned the calendar to july - yet you don't know how it's possible that june is already over.  get over it.

take a few minutes to breath and gather yourself before putting the kids to bed.  this time is meant to be comforting and snugly for you and the littles...not a rushed, grumpy, life threatening battle simply because you and your tired body are done.

when you buy pineapples at the grocery store, please take the few minutes to cut it up and share it with your family.  they are not meant as counter decor or to tempt fruit flies in your kitchen for the week.

book a babysitter and get a date night on the books asap for you and wes.

remember that your paint-splattered pedicure and the kids paint-stained legs was worth the mess caused by a "family" fence painting project.

make sure the friend you made cry last week, knows how much you love and cherish her friendship.

write things down - your memory stinks these days.

get yourself in the word. summer vacation does not mean your bible collects dust.

try to limit yourself to 3 freeze pops a day (vs. 6-7)...and stop sneaking the kids favorite colors.

remember that you are pregnant and that the little one and his/her big brother and sister needs a happy, low-stress, loving and peaceful mama...and that wes needs a adoring wife not a whiner.

forgive yourself.

note: this was not written in an attempt to gain sympathy or as a way to gain encouragement from sweet readers.  just keeping it real and reminding myself that with these crabby moments come blessings, if only i'm not too wrapped up in myself to embrace them.