Cotton Candy and Water Slides!

Every Kid Loves a Good Water Slide!

Yesterday we attended Maxwell's good friend's 8th birthday party.

Max was so excited about this party. He even went to bed extra early so that the night would go by quick and the big day would arrive even quicker. He was not disappointed.

The theme was "Brunch at the Carnival" .

They had the BIGGEST backyard water slide I had ever seen in my life. Shirts and shoes went flying as the kids could not wait to climb aboard and starting slipping and sliding down.

Over and Over and Over again!

In between he managed to eat pancakes, bacon, chocolate chip muffins, and brownies.

This was followed by no less than 5 cotton candy cones, 4 snow cones, and many bags of popcorn. Oh, and then, of course, ice cream cake!

And then yet again more cotton candy and even more water sliding.

They had a blast.........! Happy Birthday Sammy! And Thank-you!

Here is how I saw the fun......

xoxo S.

Maxwell's first of what seemed like a hundred trips down the water slide:

Pure Happiness:

Who wants a snow cone! ME ME ME!!!

Maxwell started out with not one, but TWO snow cones:

Then came the cotton candy:

 And Old Fashioned Popcorn:

When Zachary arrived he went first for the cotton candy:

Eventually Scott could not resist and went down with Max and Zachary:

Taking a break from the water slide. You guessed it....more cotton candy!

And yet another snow cone....but they sure did look cool and refreshing:

THE END OF A FUN PARTY.

Always Something Special at the Farm Stand

Purple Peppers

Found these beautiful purple and white peppers at our local farm stand the other day.

Who knew there was even such a thing............

How beautiful would one look in a nice summer salad?

But Maxwell decided instead he wanted to eat one like an apple....and so he did!

xoxo S.

Boys and Boogie Boards

Sandbars and Sea Stars

Yesterday my sister and I took our five boys for a morning at the beach.

It is always interesting taking boys to the beach. When Linda and I were younger, the beach meant sand, sun-bathing, and making sand castles.

Not for our boys.

They came with shovel and nets, buckets, pails, and boogie boards....ready for adventure.

They spent quite a bit of time in the tidal pools searching for sea creatures. Since we arrived just at low tide, the shore was full of fascinating sea life.

Before even getting their sun screen and water shoes on, they found tiny star fish, baby shrimp, minnows, crabs (dead and alive), and lots of green and red sea weed.

Their boogie boards became floating touch tanks, where they stored the sea life in buckets, making little aquariums. Pretty creative. (Animal Planet are you reading this??)

We could not believe all the tiny star fish they found. For me, they are the jewelry of the sea.

While standing at the shore we were informed by a 10 year old girl that all the tiny white bubbles floating in the water were not sea weed at all, but jelly fish eggs! WHAT? Don't even know if this is true, but we stood a little further out from the shore to get out of the way...just in case!

After having had their fill of the tidal pool, the boys figured they would float out on their boards to as many sandbars as they could before us MOMS called them back in. BOYS are fearless. WE, on the other hand not so much, so we called them back in after they crossed the 3rd sandbar.

The tide was coming in, and when it does, it comes in fast.

But when you are a kid, you never worry about things like that. Adventure was calling.....
Who could resist? Certainly not our five boys!
Wouldn't have it any other way!

xoxo S

I managed to get them to stand still for a quick photo.....boy were they impatient for the photo shoot to be over.

The search for sea creatures big and small (mostly small) had begun!

Tiny sea stars were the stars of the show today! Lovely!

But the open sea (or rather the sound) called......HELLO SANDBAR..here we come!

Low tide allows for a nice rest in the warm waters after the adventure....

Two Moms taking it all in......(Had to get a photo)

Hi Mom! Hey, We're HUNGRY!!!!!!

Yes, Boys are ALWAYS Hungry!!

So...what would you do when you have a day at the beach..........?

xoxo S

Summer Storms

I Love a Good Summer Storm

The other evening, after yet another hot and humid summer day, we were treated to a summer squall. Now I LOVE a good summer storm.

The sky becomes dark and moody.....almost green in color.

The air changes and become quite still.

The calm before the storm.

Then the winds pick up and the rain pours down.

And before you know it....it is over.

The clouds turn from dark...to a purple gray...to white again.

And all feels new and fresh.

I love all storms....from blizzards to hurricanes to thunderstorms.....

well, maybe not all storms....no tornadoes please.

Yes, definitely NO tornadoes.

But a summer thunderstorm...........Heaven!

xoxo S.

The Sky becomes green...and still....and then the sky opens up....

I love this shade of purple. Beautiful!

And finally white again......Did I say HEAVEN ?!!

Did I also mention, it is storming again right now.

I do love a MORNING SUMMER THUNDERSTORM as well!

xoxo S.

Lazy Summer Days

A Whole Wide World Is Waiting

The world is quite large, especially when you are still small. But boy is it great to be young with all of tomorrow's possibilities waiting for you.

This was a hot and lazy summer morning last week at our beach. I couldn't take enough photos of my three boys enjoying the surf....Inspiring!

 

A Classic American Outing

July 24,2012

My Name is Susan and I am a mother, wife, sister, friend,homemaker (yes, sorry) amateur photographer, sometimes amateur chef and definitely a dreamer. I get lots of inspiration from my home (very near to the beach and sometimes like a prairie), my family (who are ALWAYS doing things worth photographing) and the beautiful world around me (near or far, it doesn't matter). I love finding ways to capture "the moment". And I take endless photographs. Everything I see makes me stop and think "how could this look in a photo?" or "how can I capture this fleeting moment?."

Pictures tell ones story and hopefully you will won't mind me sharing some of these inspirations with you. I hope you enjoy it. And sincerely THANK YOU for taking a moment to look.

xoxo S.

Saturday at Coney Island

Last Saturday we went with my sister and her family for a family day the New York Aquarium at Coney Island. It was a wonderful day visiting walruses, stingrays and jelly fish. Afterwards we walked the boardwalk, rode the rides, and ate delicious boardwalk food. My husband rode the 84 years young "Cyclone". No one braved the ferris wheel though. Zachary's big purchase was a $5 pair of lacrosse shorts that are pink with monkeys and bananas. Anything bold and colorful suits him just fine. An old fashioned amusement park that is as fun filled today as ever. And who can resist boardwalk food? I recreated the chili cheese fries at home last night and it was a big hit!

So, what did you do last week-end?

And how will you remember it?

Just asking.......

Here is how I remember our day.....