summer fun

can you imagine a more beautiful place to kick up your feet?

pickin' berries, swimming, horseback riding, picnics at the park...can't get much better.

and best of all, i'm an auntie to another precious boy. that makes 3 babies in 5 months! hooray!

vacation

We had the BEST time on our vacation. We started the trip with our friends, the Hage's, and then we had some time with just our family, and we finished off the vacation with my family. It was beyond wonderful for us to have so much time together... just relaxing, no connection to the outside world {except for when we tuned in to watch the bachelorette, of course}.

what fireworks? they had too much fun playing in the back of the car.

the little burger shack has the most amazing strawberry ice cream.

i may have indulged in it once or twice...or four times.

the girls loved the water! it took finley a little while to work up the nerve to swim on her own.

once she did, we couldn't keep her away from the water.

pretty good self-timer shot, if i do say so

i love how pale the baby stayed. i was a sunscreen psycho!

adalaide was so easy going. she napped at the beach, poolside, in the car, and in the stroller.

our big girl went down the water slides all by herself. she was quite proud!

finley wanted to wear this dress the entire trip. i drew the line when she suggested sleeping in it.

i'm not a huge fan of purple, but i might become one. i love the way adalaide's skin/eyes look in this outfit!

waiting for her turn on the jet ski

tuckered out on the way home

here's a few videos, and you can check out some more pictures in the online album.

http://www.youtube.com/get_player

can't get enough of this laugh!

http://www.youtube.com/get_player

finley on the water slide

http://www.youtube.com/get_player

finley swimming

some random information

:: In 46 hours our family is going on holiday, and i cannot possibly put into words how excited i am. brian has worked all but two days in the last 2 months. and oftentimes he comes home after his 10 hour day and does more work {checking out jobs, writing up bids, shopping for materials}. i am extremely thankful that his business thriving, and i know that this is his busiest season... BUT... i am so frickin' excited to have lots and lots of time with him. i'm giddy just thinking about it!

:: i've had a few people inquire about my camera. it's a nikon D 3000. i think it retails for around $500. I am embarrassed to say that I've had it for 6 months and I still don't know anything about it. The only button I ever touch is the dial on top which switches the modes {portrait, outdoor, no flash, etc}. Someday I'd love to take a class to learn how to use it to it's full potential. Maybe I could even learn how to take a decent indoor picture?!

:: I've also had several people ask about the flowers that you see the girls wearing. Crazy as it is, people have even been paying me to make them!! If you are crafty at all, they are really simple to make. There's a few different styles.

One style involves cutting out and folding fabric circles. here's a tutorial

Another style is made by sewing a ruffle and shaping it into a flower. i like using linen, because i like the frayed look.

The easiest one, in my opinion, involves burning the edges of a burnable fabric. i use silk.

mostly i use the flowers as hair accessories for the girls, but sometimes i like to use them for other fun

things, like...

or

or

someone had me make over-sized flowers to embellish her adorable flower girl dresses {i wanna see a pic!}

someone else had me make pins to give away as gifts for mother's day.

and someone else used them to put on top of gifts {i love doing this too}.

i think they're a fun accessory, and i do love getting my girls dolled up for special occasions.

hope this was helpful.