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i’ve been at the beach.

August 1, 2011

with some of my favorite people….
my family
chicago jenny and dave and their kids
and even more old friends came for the first day with their kids!

i love lake michigan.
a lot.

the beach was full of smooth rocks at the shore line this year.
so beautiful.

we dug and built castles….
and buried each other…

Erica is a photographer too! it was fun to watch her shoot….

this was her shot…..

🙂

i love this picture.
it just screams simple summer fun.

very fun to have more girls to play with….

there was lots of football and tackling….

and screaming….

and hugging.

so jen and i thought we'd like a picture of us IN the water.
we got out there not too far and turned our back on the water.

we were POUNDED by a wave that we never saw coming.
it took us both out.
we were laughing so hard and the waves just kept coming.
i don't even like to get in the water…..let alone go under completely….i was soaked from head to toe.
it was hysterical.
kind of.

and then we were redeemed!
a lovely photo taken by erica of me and my jenny….who i am already missing like CAAAA-RAZY.
boo hoo.

10 kids and 6 adults for dinner….very fun and silly…that's the good stuff.

there was a wiffle ball game with the dads and kids while the moms cleaned up dinner and chatted.

then a camp fire with s'mores in the yard.

campfire songs in 2011….on the iPad.

the yard backs up to a bluff (which is a nice word for cliff)
and down 223 steps is the beach. (ouch my calves still ache)
it's a pretty amazing place….the house itself is nothing special but the LOCATION is fabulous!

the moms….also known as the S'more Makers.

i hope you can handle lots of posts with LOTS of pictures.
cause i took like….a thousand pictures.
and this was only day one.

we are home now.
we survived the 13.5 car ride back….barely.
at the end i thought about making a run for it at one of the gas station stops.
but then i remembered how slow i run.
ha.
NO ONE likes to be in the car for 13.5 hours….especially tired cranky kids…..and their mom who took dramamine so she floated in and out of consciousness all day long.

how was your week?
what have you been up to?
can you believe it's august??????

it's nuts.

happy monday people!

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Darius Cartmell - I bet you spelled summer as F-U-N that time! All of you had smiles on your faces. You took great photos as well. But I especially like the photos of smooth stones. It’s great that you had good photographers with you that time to preserve every happy moment. How are you all doing now? I hope you’ll have more exciting summers to share. Take care!

Donna Parsley - 13.5 hours? Ha ha, well, that’s not too fun! But that trip to the beach seems worth the time spent on driving! There’s nothing like a beach trip with family and friends. It can be pretty hectic, but the time spent having fun is so fantastic!

Lisa Currie-Gurney - I SO LOVE YOUR BLOG MEG… AND ESPECIALLY THIS POST. HEY YOU PROBABLY DIDN’T EVEN HAVE YOUR RUNNING SHOES ON ANYWHO. 😉
HUGS FROM MY HEART
http://sophiemyfriend.blogspot.com/

Kasey - Geez, now that looks like some ultimate fun. Totally jealous right now 🙂

Brittany - So fun to see the fun you all had! We too just returned from a Michigan vacation and did many of the same things: beach, family, & s’mores! I found your blog this summer and have loved getting to know you and your family. Thanks for sharing!

kauai kasey - Love me some lake michigan….but i don’t miss that heat and humidity right about now;-)
Hope all is well with you…..i have been mia via blog reading as well…but i always check in with yours.
xo

Molly - oh meg it looks like an amazing trip! we want to go to michigan next summer….where were you? it looked wonderful!!!

michelle - LOVE your beach pics. so fun!!! you really captured all the elements. oh, and there is a slight chance i might actually get to meet you in person at Blog Sugar!!! 🙂 i’ll be keeping my fingers crossed that life isn’t too hectic around that time.

Staci - What fun!!!!!! Bring on those 1,000 pics!!! And yes, can’t believe it’s already August…kids go back to school in17 days..but who’s counting???? 🙂

JJ - Looks like the perfect summer day! Love that straw hat on you!

Kimberly Dial - I love posts with lots of pics. The hubs & I have been in Norfolk, VA at the Naval base visiting with our sailor son … didn’t spend much time on the beach but I did make it a point to put my feet in the Atlantic before heading back home. Looks like you & the fam had lots of fun … summer fun, isn’t it the best? YES! Thanks for sharing!

Kristy - looks like loads of fun! great pictures and what an amazing location. can’t believe it’s august, crazy! school starts for us the end of the month, so i am going to suck every minute of summer left.

Kat - Love it all!
Ah you make me wistful for summer, as we are still in winter here in Australia. (always cooler here in Tasmania too.)
I LOVE the pics of you and Jen. Beautiful, the one in the water and the glamour shot, lol.
I think we need to get together with other family friends and make summer memories,although we have a tradition of going camping/shack with family and all the cousins (9 of them) have a ball for a couple of weeks by the beach.
Ah you are making beautiful memories for your kids and capturing them so well with your pics.

Sharla - Looks like so much fun. Love the “simple summer” pic and the “redeemed” one of you and Jenny. Can’t wait to see more!

Tiffany - Great picture of you and your Jenny. Bring on the pics Momma!!!

Amy Slavik@ Little For A Little While - Looks like so much fun! What a great time of year to enjoy it too! Your hat is adorable and that pic of you and Jen is fabulous! We have a beach getaway planned for October on North Captiva Island, FL…we can’t wait! Happy August!

beth - Great pic of you and your friend Jen. Oh, and the one of all the kids sitting down and eating while surrounded by 5 standing adults cracked me up. Isn’t that the way it is? Glad you’re home, looks like it was a blast. Makes me want to plan a beach vacation too. 🙂
beth

nicki - So glad you had fun up here in the Mitten! I think I love that big lake more each year 🙂

ann - Great pictures! Love your hat. Sure looks like you have a great time! I’m back from 2 weeks in Lake Geneva, WI. It’s fun to be away but it’s nice to come home again!

julia - Fab pic of you and your bestie.

Nicole Q. - It all looks dreamy! The pic of you and your friend Jenny is perfect!! Glad you had a good time. See ya next weekend.

tara - love all of your pictures…so much fun!!!
Happy Monday~
We’re busy packing boxes cause we’re MOVING!
back to Georgia…near family.
yay for moving!

Julie - Oh my gosh…love the campfire songs on the iPad! That’s hilarious!! So very 2011! Great pictures, sounds like a great vacation minus the car ride. Love the picture of you with your sunhat on with Jenny.
Love your blog!

happygirl - Looks like a lot of fun. Warren Dune, MI was where I spent a lot of Saturdays. North Avenue beach was my FAVORITE beach when I ditched school or work. 🙂

Mindy Harris - chicago jen’s little guy is so buff! adorable. looks like a blast. glad you got to go!

Tracy - I’m jealous – please adopt me! LOL Great pictures and I can’t wait to see more! 🙂

Michele - Our family just got back from our annual trip to Lake Michigan and it was a blast. The area we stay in is near Montague, MI and it’s right on the water — not several flights of stairs away from the beach — just 8 steps down which we all really appreciate. Great friends and family, great weather, great memories of fun in the sun and sand.

Seriouslysassymama - I am so jealous. The weather looks great. It is 108 here in Texas. The lakes are even hot!

tiffany m gardner - I’m so happy your back to your blog! Today my kids started school. Okc school district passed year round school…so today they went. It is always bittersweet for me. I still have my 6 month old at home but I still miss my 7 and 5 year old.

sarahkc - so i am not trying to stalk (really, i’m not) but you showed the picture of your daughter the other day and i thought to myself, hmmm those stairs look a little familiar behind her. didn’t think much of it since michigan has so many “bluffs”. then you showed these pictures and the picture of you all eating and i thought that place looks really familiar… then you said 223 stairs and i knew it was the same place my family and friend stayed over memorial day this year! what a small world considering we are from arizona! just thought that was a random coincidence! love the blog and love all the photo tips too!

Doris - lovely post, great people!
wish I was there for at least 10 minutes 🙂

Barbara - love your pics!! we are headed up to Harbor Country in a couple weeks for our anniversary (Lakeside, Michigan)…. and we can’t WAIT!! my daughter has been talking about “baycation” all week 🙂
though… we only have 1hr 45min drive from Chicago…. 13.5 hours is nuts!! Good for you!!
can’t wait to see more pix 🙂

Cindy - Love the pics…especially the “redeemed” one of you and Jenny! Beautiful! I have a Jenni in Oklahoma whom I miss like CAAAA-RAZY too!!

the domestic fringe - I adore your pictures!
Glad you’re having a fabulous time.
-FringeGirl

Kim - So fun! Great pics – would love to know what area of Lake Michigan that is…looks gorgeous.

Tanya H - Looks so perfectly fun and summery!
I’ve been doing that all summer- taking more than 100 pics every day! 🙂 I started coming to your blog for your pictures so bring ’em on! 🙂

Valerie @ Chateau A la mode - Oh my those are the best vacations EvER!!! Looks like fun. Happy August to you too.

Margaret - How fun! I’m really itching for a family beach vacation!

Ruth H. - I can really relate on the time spent in the car. We drive 25+ hours EACH WAY to visit our families each summer. My husband and I can only take so much time in the car, so we break that up over 2-3 days. Still, that’s 6 vacation days just spent in the car!!! I’m cracking up about the dramamine. My husband and I both have to take the stuff to survive amusement parks. We couldn’t figure out why we were always so mad at each other on the drive home from fun-filled days at amusement parks…..until we learned that a common side effect of dramamine is actually extreme grouchiness. Seriously!

Erica Hang - It was REALLY fun!! Thanks for letting us spend the day with you guys!

Trish - looks like fun… you should have called me and i would have stopped out and said hi 🙂 oh well, i know how vacation goes… lots of relaxing i hope. we are on vacation now… we are in north carolina, so i totally understand the 13 hour car ride 🙁 no fun!

alicia @ la famille - what a fun vacation!! we’ve never done one with other families like that, but such a good idea! oh what fun…bring on the photos 🙂

Jenn Thomas - I am glad you had so much fun! Though of you often this week what you were up to in Michigan. Hmmm always love going to the beach.
Guess what I’ve been doing – taking care of that sweet precious baby of mine. Talk with you later about the trip and when we can do pictures of Kennedy.

Katie - Looks like so much fun! What I wouldn’t give to be at the beach today!!

Sarah @ Handbags*N*Pigtails - Looks like such a great time! I know what you mean about all the pics. I think I overposted them in my posts about our trip to New England a few weeks back. We saw 5 states in one week, did and saw alot but somehow it was still relaxing.
We’ve spent the last two weekends at local state parks & gorges, hiking them. My calves ache too. But I told hubby if he keeps this up(taking us every weekend) I’ll eventually get my hiney in shape:)

Leadia Jarvis - Where did you go? I live in IL and want to take the kids to a Lake Michigan beach before summer ends….but I don’t want to do it in Chicago. Ick.

Laura Phelps - LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT….
Nick and I have been planning NEXT summer already…how we need to go back to the beach with a GROUP…because lots of kids, and beach, and camp fires with friends is just so fabulous.
This is the good stuff.
This is the part of “the journey” that reminds me to be still and relish the moment…that the destination is NOTHING compared to these glorious hours we spend among family and friends in the warm sunshine.
And Erica has awesome legs.

nancy - What a blast! I have been pounded so many times by waves. You would think I have learned my lesson by now. But, no! Inspired me to take the kiddos to the beach this week. You know you are too busy when you live 10 minutes away and have only been 3 times this summer. What a crime!

Shann - I live in Michigan Meg. I am about 30 minutes from the Lake. Isn’t it an enchanting place? I just love it. The picture of you and Chicago Jen is darling! I moved here a couple years ago and I cherish my time with dear friends from back home. There is never enough time with them, is there? Thanks for sharing your pictures. They are all fantastic! 🙂 Have a good day!!

Terrie G - Love your beach pics!! I’m working on some myself! LovE the beach!!!
Also loved your wave hit & run story….takes me back to living in Cali as a teen & doing the same thing with my brother. Can still taste the salty water! 😉
Bring on the Pics!!
ps…snapshop begins today! Thanks again!

Toni :O) - I live in Michigan and my most favorite lake in the whole world is Lake Michigan. It’s an absolute TREASURE in this state and I feel blessed to live here and enjoy it whenever we can! Glad you had a fun vacation and thanks for your tourist dollars…hah, we need it! Beach vacations are the BEST!!! Woot Woot! :O)

Jen Brandt - How fun! You got some wonderful pictures – as usual. Love the hat pic with you and Chicago Jen. Here? Busy, busy, busy week last week = SO appreciated a weekend with NOTHING planned. I actually washed windows and reorganized and de-cluttered the playroom. Woo hoo!

amanda - great memories, great photos of those memories. where did you buy your sun hat?

Holly - Meg it looks like yall had a blast! I cant believe it is august! My kids are starting school today! Today! They are getting ready right this minute! Its crazy!

Misty - Wow you’re looking mighty fine Meg especially with that tan!

Southern Gal - Looks like so much fun. We celebrated birthdays last week. My hubby turned 50 and I turned…2 years younger than him! We’re ready for our beach vacation. You’ve got me itching to get there NOW!

Bethany @ 3SonsPlus1...and... - Oh, and the wave…hysterical! 🙂

Bethany @ 3SonsPlus1...and... - I just got the best, campfire-high feeling while looking at all your pics! So much fun! The photo of you and your Jenny is beautiful! =)

Sima J - I LOVE posts with lots of pictures. I heart the first one! 🙂

Gemma @ Musings of a gem - So much fun! Looking forward to seeing more pics!
Gemma x

Ali - That looks like a lot of fun (well, not the 13.5 hours in the car bit, maybe).

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the third of july….

July 15, 2011

this night was pretty close to perfect.
not sure how it could have been better even.
our friends had a party at their home in the country on the 3rd of july.
it poured rain from 2 – 5 PM (everyone was nervous) & then cleared up to the best evening we'd had in weeks.

the first thing my kids want to do when they get here is fish.

always.

within a couple minutes they were pulling out fish!

the problem with fishing……taking OUT the hook.
no one in our family can or wants to do it.

thankfully we have our friend joel.
a REAL fisherman.
he said "i have been doing this all my life. i'm from minnesota"
i said "yeah….we're from newton"

my mom helped annie catch this little sunfish.
as soon as i saw it i had a childhood flashback of catching those with my grandpa in his boat dock with i was
annie's age….oooooold memory…..thirty years old.

joel took some video with his phone for me….pay no attention to the finger on the lens for a bit.

sean was the only one brave enough to hold the fish in his hands.

talby wanted nothing to do with touching her fish.
they all caught a lot that day.
joel was stuck helping us for quite a while.

after the fishing….i washed my hands and i found the best part of the party!

a brand new teeny tiny baby to hold.
i held him and held him and held him.

annie wanted a turn holding him too.
we studied his itty bitty adorable little toes.

his big brother was peeking at who was holding his baby.
he came in for a kiss right after.

oh annie's face! she LOVES babies like i do…..it runs deep!

even lauren took a turn…..how could anyone resist?

swimming in the pond…..pushing each other off the dock……

the food was yummy.
the company was familar and cozy….many had known me all my life.
the scenery was stunning.

as soon as it was dark they had a fireworks show over the pond.
it was so gorgeous.
like we were in a movie or something.
the boys watched the fireworks from the dock!

it was one of those days that you can't help but be grateful and happy to be living this life.

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Melanie Daryl - Hihi! Such a cute baby! Oh well, how many fish did they catch? And was there ever a time they got scared of holding ’em? Your childhood is not complete without catching fishes. Sadly, I haven’t tried that one ‘coz I grew up in the ‘dolls era.’ Hahaha!

Kelly - I love hearing your voice talking to your kiddos on video. You have such an encouraging mother voice. Kelly

DanaD@BoysMyJoys - I’m so curious/nosey…
was there no block party this year for the 4th?
Your block parties always make me wish I lived in that sort of neighborhood!
They look like so much fun!

jessica hines - Hi Meg, I have followed your blog for a while ever since I saw it as one of my friend’s faveorites. Great ideas, beautiful photos! Love it! Hope you get the chance to check out my etsy shop.. http://www.etsy.com/shop/jlhart123…the second letter is a lowercase L even though it looks like a one..haha

Peta - You look super cute, Meg! Summer has ‘freshened you’ somehow if that sounds as nice as it’s meant to??? I am jealous of your summer. It’s winter here. My water bottle was frozen in my car this morning ….

Sharla - Just watched the video – am I hearing “Knee Deep” in the water by Zac Brown?!?!

sonja - Cute baby, cute video, cute dress, cute you! Love it all–great shots. Thanks for sharing.

Amy Slavik@ Little For A Little While - I’m from MN and have NEVER baited my own hook or unhooked my own fish! I wish I was brave and could do it, especially to show my girl it was no big deal, but I just can’t do it!!! That’s what the daddy is for! I love seeing summer through your eyes, looks like you have so much fun!

alicia @ la famille - love days like that 🙂 great pics!

shauna - what a good day.
thank you LORD for those….
and my favorite photo is of course the one where joel is helping and the light is shining over his shoulder…so perfect!
ps you know everyone loves seeing you on video right? make me look forward to september!

Courtney Hohimer - I LOVE your dress! You look super cute and awesome!

ashley jensen - Ooh this makes me miss fishing. My family are big time fishermen (and women)! I have hooked many worms, and unhooked many fish. For some reason I was never trusted with a filet knife to actually gut one but I have watched countless times and could do it with my eyes closed. I just KNOW I could.

connie - Meg,
You look amazing in these pictures the last few days!!

amy b. - love all these photos!! What a fabulous place! And it reminded me that we have yet to go fishing this summer-it’s so fun with the kids-who am I kidding, I love it too!

Kompankansas - Great post, great photos Meg. Hope all is well.

Melissa Irvin - What an awesome time! We also celebrated on the 3rd and I slept as much as I could on the 4th!

happygirl - It did look like a PERFECT day. I’m glad you captured so much of it and wrote about it. Bookmarked. I day to return to when you’re having a “not so perfect” day. 🙂

Shauna Howington - I love that your son calls you Mother. That’s what my middle child has always called me. Btw, I would love to know what kind of lens you’re using. Great photos!

Valerie @ Chateau A La Mode - Awwww, love times like that. Love people I’ve known forever, there’s a certain bond for sure.

Katie - Beautiful photographs! You’ve got the eye. Big time.

Meredith Salmon - That looks like a great time. My kids love fishing. We are surf fishermen though. My Dad has always surf fished. I love it. Also, love the dress, where did you get it???

Liz Stockham Schmidt - Love the pictures! What kind of camera did you use?

karen - so nice. your pics are so nice to look at meg!

Sabrina - yeah… if you’re from Minnesota and you can’t take a fish off the hook there may be something wrong with you. 🙂
Love your dress!

Lisa - I love days that are pretty close to perfect! Sometimes they feel too far and few between. Love the pictures and video too .

Gemma @ Musings of a gem - Really nice post, I can imagine what it was like!
I love perfect days…they will stay in your memory forever : )
Gemma x

Brianna - Meg…where is your dress from?? LOVE IT!

Cindy - Beautiful post, Meg. My girlies loved the fishing video! They kept asking me how Scott was holding that fish (because they couldn’t see the line). Guess I need to take them fishing more often! My hubby won’t even help with fishing…it’s always up to me to put the worms on and touch the fish! He says he doesn’t enjoy fishing…me neither really, but I’ll do it for my kiddos! Loved your dress by the way!

julia - okay, ya’ll know you were simming in the the SAME pond that had those fish. I really, really, really love buying things at the grocery store.

Jenna - I’m so jealous of your kids! My hubs and I have been fishing so many times since we started dating and I still have not caught one! I’ve caught seaweed, a bush, the dock and a tree, but never a fish 🙂 Bravo to them!
Jenna

tara - love those days.
beautiful shots capturing the perfection of your time with friends and family!

Robyn Farmer - Yeah for Lauren being in a picture! I always love seeing her, she’s a stunning beauty.

Dawn - Love the pictures. It looked like a lot of fun. =)

Sharla - Sounds like a perfect night.

Beth - Lovely! Love how you said “Joel was stuck with us”. We took my hubby fishing once for Father’s day. I thought it was such a good idea . . but he ended up not fishing himself and just helping the kids the whole time (while I sat and read my book). More like Mother’s day actually 🙂 Annie is so sweet with the baby!!!

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a seriously good night.

July 9, 2011

this week has been busy.
stuff every night and craig and i in different towns at different sports.
i had the three youngest for sean's baseball game.

then out for ice cream afterwards.
yes….still sporting the 4th of july face tattoo….4 days later….i promise to bathe her soon.
(she just swims non stop and i forget!! she seems like she is always WET!)

oh they were laughing!
i don't recall why but it was VERY funny.

so funny that sean laughed so hard he cried.

we got in the car and i said "let's go see the turtles!" and there was a loud "YAY!!!!" from the three.
i was so happy to hear it.
we realized we had no food in the car for them so i pulled into the gas station.
i walked all around the store and finally decided on a box of cheerios.
over priced for cereal but worth every penny for fun.

it's a beautiful place.
quiet and calm and green!

these are ALL turtles….there are a TON!

and they liked cheerios!

he was big.

but HE WAS THE BIGGEST.
he would come up about that far and as soon as my camera would go up to my face he'd be gone!

they all have moss on their backs….i'm not a scientist….i have no clue why.

there is the big guy in the center.
and the "small" ones are dinner plate size!

the kids were very happy to be there.
the weather was fantastic.
we walked around the pond searching for frogs and snakes.
i am thankful we only found frogs.

we found a ginormous tree to climb.
it made me remember how much lauren used to love to climb trees.
when she was talby's age she would&#3
9;ve been WAY in that tree….the higher the better.

love nights like that…….so much.

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Anne - I love, love, love, love, love, love, love your blog. Like SO much! Some baby oil on a cotton ball will help get the temporary tattoo off with less scrubbing. Someone told me that trick a while back and it really works. The mossy turtles are too funny!

Logan - Precious post, Meg. I loved everything about it and it brought back great memories of doing fun, cheap entertainment with my daughter and her best friend (like a 2nd daughter to me) when they were young. Love it!

Lauren - Man on man that big turtle gave me the hee bee jeebees…. Love this post. Love your take on mommyhood. Makes this “future-someday-still not sure” Mommy smile 🙂

Kayla - Oh my word….how creepy is the picture of that huge turtle?!?! I don’t think I have ever seen that many turtles all at the same time! Awesome! I love the look on concentration on the kids faces as they are feeding them! What a fun and over-priced Cheerios aside, a relatively cheap way to make memories with the kids!

Kat - The thing beautiful memories are made of!
You are a great Mum to make time to do the fun little things. They will always remember that 🙂

Molly - i love how even though your life is busy you take the time to make wonderful memories with your kiddos. you are an inspiration!

Andy - What a beautiful day

robin - what a GORGEOUS tree shot!!!

Kate @ Songs Kate Sang - Do you know how cute I think it is that you circled the turtles! A.dor.able.

amy jupin - anna said, “that is turtle central!”
🙂

Lisa Currie-Gurney - SO GLAD TO SEE YOU AND YOUR SWEET PEEPS ENJOYING SUMMER AND ALL GOD OFFERS, WITH NIGHTS LIKE THIS FOR MEMORIES TO CHERISH IN THEIR HEARTS AND YOURS. ITS LIKE EACH DAY AND EVENING IS A GIFT ALL ON ITS OWN…
PHOTOS ARE JUST GREAT!!!
HUGS FROM MY HEART
http://sophiemyfriend.blogspot.com/

jcole - Haven’t seen Lauren in a long time! Will she not let you post her picture anymore? She is a beautiful girl – just wondering???

This Farm Family's Life - I’m glad someone else considers swimming a form of bathing!;0)
http://www.thisfarmfamilyslife.blogspot.com

Michelle from Australia - The pic of the children up in the tree looks the stuff that dreams are made of. Titled Perfect Summer growing up!

Breeanna @ A Brilliant Melody - those turtles are awesome! how fun! What a beautiful day 🙂

Jana - Love the Arboretum and love reading your blog!

Andrea - Just stumbled across your blog (from my friend Jenny and Jennyonthespot.com) and LOVE your website, photos and ideas!!!

rachel - My husband was a biology major in college, and so I had to ask him about the mossy shells. Apparently it’s a good thing. It means the pond is clean and the ecosystem is healthy. Random, but good to know.

jennibell - It makes me so happy when I see a post titled “best” or “great” or “awesome” or something like that!!! I just know I’m in for a super-fun post with a good idea for spending time with my kids or hubby. Once again, Meg, thanks for the inspiration!!! And smiles 🙂

sarah - Looks perfect!
Love that one of Sean laughing. Makes me smile.

amy - i love nights like that, too…so much!

Debby Graber - Which pond is that? West lake? Love the turtle pictures! We have seen some here too behind our house at our lake. I’ll have to take Hannah and Sophia out with Cheerios and see if we can attract more.

patti - I didn’t know turtles liked cheerios, packing up cheerios and heading across the street to pond….

Becky - Looks like a ton of fun!
I saw this link today and it had your name written ALL over it! Check it out,’cause I KNOW you’re gonna wanna do it with your kids!
http://www.thegunnysack.com/2011/07/magic-potion-rainbow-drink-tutorial.html

Kristi Visser - Entertainment at it’s best–unplugged and outside! Looks like it was worth every cent of the overpriced cereal.

Christy - Love the pics! These are great. I take my son to a local park at sunset so we can feed the bunnies that live there. So much fun. No video games, TV, just us & the bunnies.

james @ agirlcalledjames - your pictures make me smile.
i love the turtle pictures.

Tanya H - That is so cool! I’ve never heard of wild turtles except in the ocean! yup, I’m a desert girl.

Leah - Great picture of the kids in the tree. Isn’t it fun how you just find something like feeding turtles and it turns into an awesome adventure. We had an impromptu outing like that where we fed ducks a few weeks ago. It was BEAST.

rae - wow! that turtle pond is so amazing!

Jessica R - Where is this little turtle pond? I want to take my kids there! Looks so fun. Great pics!

Lisa - Haha! “I promise to bathe her soon” You just made me so happy with that one line. My 4 yr old went almost a week without a bath cause of all the swimming she has been doing. Unfortunately she has curly hair. I almost couldn’t get the tangled mess brushed out! 🙂

Holly - ok the big turtle looks huge! Awesome shots!

Laura Phelps - what? you’re not a scientist? Funny. I thought you were 🙂
Please send the turtle eating cheerio shot to Cheerios. It is adorable.
Just bathed Luke and Annie yesterday..can not tell you the last time they were in that bath.
The memory of Lauren climbing trees got me a bit weepy…
and seems like Nick and I do what you and Craig do..travel teams are killing us.
good summer fun
awesome

Lisa - Meg, just the best post. The photo of the turtle with the Cheerio in his mouth made my day!! Your family is so sweet and so good at finding the pleasure in every day. Love it!

Mindy Harris - awww a turtle feeding excursion..love it.
that last picture of the tree is amazing!

Sky - So fun! I like the picture of the turtle with the Cheerio in its mouth 🙂

alicia @ la famille - those turtles were crazy! almost tame! looks like a great night: ice cream and turtles…nothing better 🙂

melissa - i have SO missed your posts this week….i know you’re a busy gal.
love the cheerio in the turtles mouth. fantastic shot!
that annie cracks me up! i love her smile!

Joanna - What a wonderful night!

x♥x♥, gina - That closeup of the turtle with the cheerio in it’s mouth is MONEY! looks like a fun, fun time. 🙂

Jamie Burdorf - I felt like I was having fun right along with you! Love the photos! What a great bunch of memories. 🙂

Jenna - that was majestic 🙂
Jenna

Pamela Gordon - Awesome post of a fun summer evening. I love the huge willow tree with 3 kids living in it. LOL What sweet memories you’re making! Enoy your weekend. Blessings, Pamela

Kimberlee - What do I love about this post more?
Sean laughing so hard he cried?
Ice cream?
Overpriced Cheerios for turtles?
Trees big enough to hold three kids?
I’d say that was a great night!

Kimberly Dial - I love nights like that too … what a memory making momma you are Meg! Thanks for sharing!

Kerry - oh the pic of the turtle with the Cheerio in his mouth is fantastic!! So cool xx

Southern Gal - That huge turtle reminds me of the snapping turtles at the lake where we spent our summers. We would NEVER fall while skiing because we just knew wherever we fell a HUGE snapping turtle would be right there! It kept us on our skis anyway. Your pictures are always the best. Thanks for sharing.

Heather Barry - Meg, your photos are the best! The turtle with a cheerio in his mouth is HILARIOUS:) I can’t stop laughing

Katie - Lovely post, Meg. Almost felt like I was right there with you.

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it was a good one.

July 5, 2011

we were invited to our friend's pool party for the fourth.
it rocked.

🙂

annie's two buddies.

the kids liked to be thrown by craig!

two of MY buddies…keeping cool with their toes in the water.

after a few hours in the pool….the snow cone machine came out and everyone got to make their own.

annie made me a pineapple one….yummy!

the party house has a turtle habitat in their backyard.
they brought them out for turtle races.

i love turtles…i think they are adorable!

talby was a tattoo artist helping the hostess with her very own AMERICA face tat.

and the fireworks began….

a closed off culdesac is the best place for fireworks!

we love america. usa! usa! usa!

my family is in love with fireworks.
i have still never lit one and have no desire to.

once it was dark we had wonderful seats to a professional level fireworks show…the REAL deal…right there in the culdesac!
it was amAAAAAAAAAzing.
some i had never seen before.

our fourth was really fun.
the kids crashed in bed and slept in until 9:00!
loved it.

how was yours?

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Kirsty - Hi! This is my first time at your blog and I have my boys sitting here with me (3 guys under 6) and they’ve been scanning this post for ages now! Talking about every picture – so funny. 🙂 So your family is a hit at my house and I don’t know you at all. Funny how this works.
Best,
Kirsty
Love to have you check us out at loveliesinmylife.com

Ali - Looks like such a fun 4th! I can’t believe all the terrific colors, striped pool towels, colorful swimsuits, sprinkled cupcakes, strawberries, blueberries, your polka dot shirts w/ red cardigan, fireworks packaging…ahmazing!
Wow, turtle races, fun floats, a snow cone machine, pool time, sparklers! So all American! You and your friends know how to celebrate!
~ Ali

Tiffany - i’m shaking my head, only Meg would have a friend who has a dang turtle habitat for turtle races. how kool is that!? i luvd my front row seat to the festivities in what felt like 3DHD, it’s like a sitcom here 🙂

tara - love the pictures from your 4th celebration with friends. your pictures are so CRISP.

Katie - Awesome pics! Just wondering…what mode are you shooting in for the pool and sparkler pics?

adrienne - those are amazing pics of kids with the sparklers… love the heart by talby

Cindy - The turtle race pictures rock!

andrea - My daughter was jealous of the pool! Also, she asked how you did the pictures with the sparklers. I tried to explain about long exposure time but I think I will just have to show her. She really wants to try.
Turtles are my FAVORITE animal. There is just something about them that makes me go “Ah, aren’t they cute!”

Julie - Glad you guys had such a fun 4th. We had thunder and lightning. I saw this and thought of you so thought I would share.
http://pinkandgreenmama.blogspot.com/2010/06/kids-craft-rainbow-sneakers.html

Tanya H - I love to watch fireworks but I am scared of them. 🙂 We went to the city show with some friends who saved a spot NEXT TO the caution/safety line, and we were pelted with firework debris. Everyone thought it was great – even the little kids- but I didn’t! LOL!

crystal beutler - Awesome firework pictures! Did you use a tripod? You HAVE to show me how to do that at Blue Lily Park City!!! Don’t you just love the 4th! I do, except for the part when I worry someone is going to catch on fire …. which happened once at our annual family picnic. Luckily it happened to my cousin, a fire fighter. Kind of ironic. 🙂

Alice H - Glad you had a good 4th…we celebrated the 4th on the 3rd by going to Rhema for their annual firework show and concerts. It was a lot of fun!
How do you do the pics with the sparklers???

Laura Phelps - we had a great fourth too! pool party at a friends…with yummy peach sangria, bbq, and fireworks. Fire works scare me…not REAL ones..the blow up in your face kind that Nick bought. But my kids love them. I am glad you had a great holiday…I love the USA to..one nation UNDER GOD….:-)

Megan - Saw this sign and I thought of you.
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QmTHyHi2vks/Tg8LHAmZy8I/AAAAAAAADX8/pCCRQL1Zko0/s1600/my+home.JPG

Lisa Currie-Gurney - LOOKS LIKE WE WERE BOTH SO BLESSED ON THE 4TH… WHAT A MARVELOUS GOD WE SERVE. I’M STILL ENJOYING THE BLESSINGS OF THAT DAY.
HUGS FROM MY HEART

Jenna - that looks so fun! i just love pictures of sparklers at night 🙂

Kimberly Dial - Looks like lots of fun was had by all! The 4th is such an awesome celebration of such an awesome country! Thanks for sharing!

ashley jensen - I love that the dog was in the pool with everyone! Puppies gotta stay cool too! We had a fun 4th. Dinner with the my in laws, frozen pie, beer, tons of BIG fireworks. Their neighbors put on just a good of show too so there was a lot of hollerin at each others display!

heidi @ wonder woman wannabe - looks like a grand ol’ time! 🙂 we celebrated in downtown minneapolis – it was a GREAT show! can’t wait until my youngest learns to sleep in – even though he got to bed at nearly 11, he STILL woke up at 7am. loooong day yesterday. 😉

Doris - Lovely pictures!

Gemma @ Musings of a gem - Sounds great! Wish we celebrated like that here : )
Gemma x

Jen - my 4th of july was great. time in the pool and a BBQ with friends. but my favorite 4th of july ever was one spent in kansas when i was in high school. your pics reminded me of it. no one beats kansas on the 4th of july 🙂

melanie - Read my recap here!
lotsa of time spent with family and friends, great food and i love talking with my old auntie 🙂
http://melsidwell.com/2011/07/04/circles-of-life/

Amy Slavik - I love fireworks! What awesome pictures you got of them! My girl didn’t last to do sparklers, so we’re bringing them up to a friends cabin this weekend. Any tips on how you got such great pics of them? Happy 4th!

mel @ the larson lingo - what a fun 4th you had! Our 4th was fun…pre-parade breakfast with friends, parade & then pool party at our house. It was a great day 🙂

Jenn - Looks awesome! We spent the morning at the lake just putzing around the rocky beach, followed by a nice li’l BBQ at home. In bed by 9:00 🙂 No fireworks here, as it’s wildfire country, but we didn’t mind. JEALOUS of your sno-cones!

Julie - we spent our 4th poolside, eating, and watching fireworks with friends and family. it’s always a lot of fun and especially so this year because the only incident we had was my 4 year old mooning the party. ha!
during the “grand finale” of our fireworks show, the firework was shooting sparks down and out… they were coming so close to us. i screamed out “oh my gosh i don’t like these!!” i got a lot of flack from the other adults for that.
it sounds and looks like your day was a lot of fun. and yay for sleeping in until 9. my kids don’t know about that yet. *yawn*

Leah - We had an awesome Fourth! Made patriotic ice cream (recipe on my blog), community 4th of July parade and carnival, kiddie pool and popsicles at home, BBQ dinner and fireworks. Great day!

Jennifer - how fun!! i have so enjoyed seeing everyone’s July 4th pictures pop up all over bloggerland today…great photographs, meg! 🙂

Aimee - Looks like SO much fun! I’m amazed by the fireworks!
We had a Fabulous Fourth, too. (Although I’m now wishing for a friend with a pool…or a boat.) 🙂

Michelle - so glad to know i’m not the only one with a distaste for fireworks! Texas is in a bit of a drought, so no fireworks for us, but can’t say I minded.

Kelly - fun, low key, invited new neighbors over for homemade ice cream and also family – two ice cream eating parties. 🙂
fun turtle races, tats and goodies. fireworks make me nervous too. GREAT photos though

alicia @ la famille - good. no fireworks display because we had a HUGE storm last night, but other than that it was lovely. hung out by the pool all day…ate way to much. what could be better? 🙂

bobbie - ours was rough, kids fought the entire day. But we used to have a turtle in a habitat and loved it!! I’m hoping to get some more soon. I still have the cedar box for the turtles in the garage and I won’t get rid of it even though my husband is begging me too. Great pets!

Sarah - That looks like so much fun! I wish we had a pool.

donna - amazing pictures once again. what was your camera settings for the fireworks – i tried to take pics with my cannon rebel and they did not turn out 🙁

megan - nice! friends with pools are the best! 🙂 ours included a parade and watching fireworks over the lake in our boat. didn’t get home til midnight though. everyone here slept until 10:30!!!
happy belated 4th to you, meg.
love, megan

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buckets

July 3, 2011

new word at the house after BEAST is now BUCKETS.

WAFFLE!!! GET OUT OF THE SHOT!

i wonder what sean and talby were giggling about……

high five with Dad.

4 more points for the win.

craig and annie won.
because you have to move out of the way and let the 6 year old dribble in for a lay up.

you just have to.

the best part about all of this……the next night……the kids went out on their own and played together.
without us.
for fun!!!!

it was beautiful…..like father of the bride in the making.

hope you have a great fourth of july!!
and safe.
firecrackers make me a little….anxious.
we are partying tonight and tomorrow too.
super happy about it all.

yay america.

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jaz - Our family used to do this all the time – play b’ball together. So many memories of back yard comps. I miss not being able to experience that with my children. There is so much I wish I could show them and do with them – snorkeling and doing bombies is another…

Flower Patch Farmgirl - Hey – I went to Newton! The Ohio one.

Lora - Love it! My brother had a basketball net when we were growing up. It was at the edge of our gravel driveway and he played every day on his way out to do chores at the barn. Ah….I think I’m gonna buy my kids a bball net for my birthday!

Kim - Love it! Being Canadian we celebrated on Friday. Happy 4th of July!
The word at our house right now is “junk”.

leonieke - wow, what a big house and garden you have, must be pretty to live in such a place!
what are the traditions in america with the 4 of july?
is it a family get together day?
have a nice party!

Gemma @ Musings Of A Gem - Happy 4th of July!!!
Gemma x

Chicagoemma.blogspot.com - Father of the Bride basketball clip gets me every time!

flowerpowermomma - YES I agree… YEAH America and all our freedoms won by the sacrifice of others.

karen - have fun party animal!! happy birthday America!! xo your nieghbour, Canada.

Lisa - Nothing brings more joy to my heart than when my kids are playing and laughing and having fun together!! Love love love those moments!

alicia @ la famille - just got home from partying (it’s 9:30pm)…3 day binger 🙂 yeah for the 4th!!

DanaD@BoysMyJoys - When did Talby sprout those long legs?
Shouldn’t she still be as little as Annie is in these pictures? 🙂
And speaking of Annie, when did she get so tall, too?
They are growing up!!! 🙂
I find myself telling my boys to ‘slow down their growing up’ all the time.
Hope you have a great 4th!

erlfisher - Oh Waffle! You can stay in the shot because you’re so cute!

happygirl - Basketball, 4th of July weekend, family, FUN!!! You’ve got it ALL. LOVE.

steph - love, love, LOVE how your kids are so athletic!
hope mine are like that as the years go by too! 🙂

james @ agirlcalledjames - aww that’s so cool

Randi - I love seeing families play together … and I love it when my kids play like that. Happy 4th of July!

Katy @ Live Laugh Love Craft - It’s been a good weekend. Family, friends, bbq, pool.. Good stuff. 🙂 Love this pics, as always. Happy 4th, Duerksen family!♥

Michelle from Australia - I love Annie’s purple singlet top. I think you Americans call them tank tops?? Happy 4th!

Staci - Happy 4th to The Duerksen’s!!! Forgive me if I spelled your name wrong..i”m too lazy to go check 🙂

heidi - They were laughing about her sweet robot moves. 🙂 totally looks like she’s doing the robot in that picture!
Happy 4th!

Gina - I totally appreciate Scott’s Newton gym shirt. I definitely owned one of those back in my day. 🙂

This Farm Family's Life - Happy Fourth to you as well! Love all the action shots. Have fun partying it up!
http://www.thisfarmfamilyslife.blogspot.com

Terrie - ‘Waffle!!! Get out of the shot!!!!’ too cute!
Great pics, great memories!! We used to play horse in our shed. We had H-O-R-S-E spelled out on the metal door and used magnets to mark each others letters. Let’s just say that we had some fun slamming them on the doors with gusto! Lots of great memories!
How in the world do they play in flip-flops?
Have a safe & HaPpY 4th!!

Kerry - oh cute!! I love Father of the Bride, thats my fave clip in the movie, makes me chunk buckets every time 🙂
such cool memories for your kids Meg, love it. Happy 4th of July to you! xx

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a lot

June 28, 2011

our neighbor bought this a few years ago and gets it out a few times each summer to play!
who wouldn't like this?
the grown ups were getting so hot we were considering going down…..

she fell off the ladder to the pool.

embarrassed but ok.
phew.

ok…i am off to the pool.
see ya.

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Alice H - I can just hear my children saying “mom, you don’t even care about me enough to put down your dumb camera!” Love these slides, we rented one for an end-of-the-year baseball party along with a dunk tank (for the coaches to get in!) and the boys (along with their siblings and parents) had so much fun!!

Chris - Great pictures!

Gemma @ Musings of a gem - Heehee…poor Annie!
x

Jen Brandt - I want Annie’s suit! How cute!!!

Sarah - I don’t want to sound like a debbie downer, but please don’t let any of the children do a head flip like in the first picture.Those ladders aren’t firm enough to withstand the weight of such a tall child and could cause them to fall… on his head… risking a head and or neck injury. Just sayin…. Apart from that it looks like great fun and that Annie of yours is beautiful even with a face full of dirt and sorrow. Happy Summer!

shauna - she needs a strawberry milkshake.
all i could think of is how annoyed she probably was that you were taking all those pictures of her while she was suffering!
Ha!
my kids love it when i do that!
they’ll thank us for the laughs later…

AshleyAnn - Those pool ladders are horrible for falls….you did spell pool ladder correctly though. Way to go!

Tiffany - 🙁 extra scoop of icecream for annie 🙂

kat - Bless her heart, poor Annie!!!

Amy Slavik - Poor thing, but it made for some great photos! Hope she got back up there 🙂

Leslie - awww that poor thing. The slide looks like lots of fun!! I would find it hard not to try it out!
Have a fun wednesday

se7en - Oh poor annie!!! Glad she is okay!!!

april - these sunny pictures made me smile…<3
xoxo

Kimberly Dial - Poor girlie! 🙁 but it looked like she was having big fun prior to that 🙂

Lisa - My 10 yr old daughter would love Talby’s bathing suit! She is way into peace signs…. I’d love to know where you got it. 🙂

Sarah @ Handbags*N*Pigtails - I so need some trips down that thing. Right now we’re scraping our front porch floor boards. Living in an old home(1860) means we will never be bored! I cant wait for a front porch retreat! Im hot, my hands are just about blistered into oblivion and I want to go swimming. RIGHT NOW.

amy b. - who doesn’t love a gigantic wet slide? summer’s awesome!

Kori - aww…poor thing! embarrassment is almost always worse!! 🙁

Katrina - I have a fun collection of those pictures myself of the kids crying over something ridiculous. Like the time my daughter decided to “pluck” her eyebrows using my razor. So funny.

Georgia - im glad shes ok, i love the way u take photos of her all muddy and embarressed! haha bless

Jess Mead - Poor thing! That would be embarrassing! She is a cutie!!

Mindy Harris - i love these pics. annie is so cute and still has a bit of a baby face, like sean’s.
talby is so beautiful!

Sarah - The photos of Annie with dirt on her face looking all pitiful…SUCH good photos! Some of the angles are really good, and even though your subject probably won’t be happy with how much evidence you got of her fall, the photos look really great! 😉

Kimberwidmer.wordpress.com - Dude. What kind of crazy neighbor OWNS something like this!! Dang… that’s my kind of neighbor! Love Annie’s face as she’s going down the slide… kind of petrified enjoyment-ish.
Thanks for sharing a window into your summer {Albeit a bit more of a window than Annie’s probably comfortable with! Poor thing!}

Holly - bless her heart! Glad she is okay! Have fun at the pool!

Jenna - That’s every kid’s dream! (Until you fall off the ladder…) Glad everyone is ok and had fun!
Jenna

Jodi @ The Un-Soccermom Blog - poor kid!! glad she’s okay!
that slide looks like FUN! we need something like that for VBS!

Valerie @ Chateau A La Mode - That’s what life is all about, especially in the Summer!

Shannon - Great entertainment for a lazy Summer day! Looks like they had a ton of fun 🙂

Katy - PS- It was a pleasant surprise that this post wasn’t titled “Tuesday…”
LOL, just giving you a hard time. 🙂

Katy - Looks like a blast! Wish they made Annie’s bathing suit in my size. Although I am positive it wouldn’t look NEARLY as cute on me as it does on her. 🙂

happygirl - Don’t ya just hate it when someone sees you fall down? And then they take pictures. Oh mom. 🙂

rachel - looks great fun x

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summer is my fave.

June 22, 2011

the new crocodile in the pool has made everyone happy.

my holly hocks and purple coneflowers are blooming.

kids love bubbles.

these pictures are funny because less than an hour before we’d had a hail storm….pretty wild.

they looked like ping pong balls bouncing all over the yard.

so weird.

my girls are so nervous about storms that i am just ready for this storm season to be gone.
i love the rain.
and all the dark clouds and thunder but they don’t….too scary.

we are checking off our summer list….check check check.
crafts and bike rides and sonic runs….

summer is my fave.

………………………………………..

………………………………………….

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גני אירועים בחדרה - I like summer most. There are changed the environment in summer and change season. The mood is very romantic at every evening with some special friend.

Jenna - Summer is the BEST. Love the bubbles! When it hails like that, it always seems to me like it is being spit up from the ground rather than falling from the sky …

Mollie - I love the flower pics! I just got a Canon T3i for fun and to grow my photography hobby. I have NO idea what I’m doing yet, though. Can you explain how we got those colors in those pics? Was it camera settings or editing software? Any quick advice would be awesome!! all your photos are great!

Ana - Aaaah, your house, YOUR HOUSE!!! Just dreamy.

Loni - Love the energy in the weather before a storm. We have moody weather here in Texas too!
http://meyerskids.blogspot.com/

Lindsay - so…i totally feel like a stalker. i happened upon your blog via lifeingrace. i LOVE your pictures, then noticed the donut whole and realized you live near by…only to see your house in the background of the bubble pictures…you live around the corner from me! LOVE the blog, feel free to email me seeing as how we’re neighbors!!!

Jemm - Love your summer pics!! Ha ha I posted about Kansas weather today too 🙂

Southern Gal - That one long bubble looks like a foot with toes! Cool pictures.

amy - ahhhhh…..summer. love every little thing about it. well-except the humidity…and the whining.. : ) hahahaha and bu-bye john rambo!!!!

Kristy - love summer too!!! love your photo’s meg. love the bubbles too. heck, i love it all!!

Gemma @ Musings of a gem - Just to let you ladies know I’m having a little giveaway on my blog.
Open internationally!
Gemma x
http://musings-of-a-gem.blogspot.com/2011/06/summer-giveaway.html

alicia @ la famille - um…hi! i’m back. what’s up with this john rambo?! i saw he commented on another post of yours. go ahead…boycott us, dude. i’m sure none of us will mind!!
anyway, just wanted to tell you i did the butterfly project with my kiddos and posted on it today 🙂 just thought you might want to take a peek!

Tiffany - Your flowers are so pretty. its like they are right here with me, popping out the screen. summer is my fav season too, I always thought it was because I’m a Summer baby.
(oh no John Rambo is baaaaaaaaaaaaack!)

John Rambo - BOYCOTT AMERICAN WOMEN
Why American men should boycott American women
I am an American man, and I have decided to boycott American women. In a nutshell, American women are the most likely to cheat on you, to divorce you, to get fat, to steal half of your money in the divorce courts, don’t know how to cook or clean, don’t want to have children, etc. Therefore, what intelligent man would want to get involved with American women?
American women are generally immature, selfish, extremely arrogant and self-centered, mentally unstable, irresponsible, and highly unchaste. The behavior of most American women is utterly disgusting, to say the least.
This blog is my attempt to explain why I feel American women are inferior to foreign women (non-American women), and why American men should boycott American women, and date/marry only foreign (non-American) women.
BOYCOTT AMERICAN WOMEN!

Gemma @ Musings of a gem - Hi Meg!
Love your ‘soft’ pictures, they are very relaxing : )
That weather is crazy!
Gemma xXx
http://musings-of-a-gem.blogspot.com/

leonieke - i’m a bit jealous; reading this summerblog while outside it’s raining so hard here in the netherlands,… no summer here!
enjoy yours!

christine e-e - your bubble pics… amazing! your daughter’s expression is priceless. those blue shoes = adorable… are you wearing them or do they belong to another person in your family?

shauna - indoor framing? in. your. framing.
dumb predictive text.

shauna - dude. these are my favorite photos i’ve ever seen you take.
you are getting good little momma!
i love the creativity indoor framing and the editing…

james - your pictures take my breath away. they are just amazing.

meaghan - what the crap! your pictures look amazing! what have you done??

Jess - LOVE the picture of Annie on the crocodile!

Jeannette in Plant City, Fl - My 5 year old was looking at the pictures of your beautiful flowers with me and when I scrolled down she screamed ” that’s my bathing suit too” and ” mommy I want to make BIG bubbles in my bathing suit just like Annie” it was too cute!!! We live in Florida and summer and afternoon thunderstorms go hand in hand…..I love them, as long as I’m not driving in them 🙂

Lindsey - Love the processing on these photos… I can see the hazy summer heat.

Kimberly Dial - Summer is my fave too but I’m with your girls when it come to storms. They occur all to often in the summer here in WV too & I’m not a fan! :/

hannah - delightful. these photos make my heart sing! summer is my fave, too 😉

rosita - beautiful pictures. i love the hollyhocks!

Margaret - Great flower pics! I LOVE summer storms–we’ve been having sunny skies in the morning and then afternoon/evening thunderstorms and they have been so nice…they don’t keep me from going crazy inside with my little one all day and they give off the perfect after dinner movie watching/snuggling atmosphere in the evening.

melissa from two little tots - summer is my fave too, but we have had so much rain and cold weather, it doesn’t feel like summer around here. i wish we could put on our swimsuits, play in the water and in bubbles! love the pictures!

Carolyn - Beautiful flower pictures! Happy Wednesday!

Amanda - summer is my fave too. long days, lots of sun. kids can be outside most of the day.
we outlawed bubbles at our house last summer. our boys couldn’t figure out how to not just pour out the giant 2 gallon jug. rrrr
their 5 now, maybe we can give them another shot. making those giant bubbles looks so dang fun!!
nice new running shoes! are you running in this heat?

Erin Kirby - what lens did you use in the photo with all of the hail on the ground? i love the depth of field! what were the settings? thanks!

Anne McD - ….sigh….your photos make me want to move to Kansas 🙂

Nancy - ahh to be a kid, frolicking with bubbles. those summer evenings are just the best. we just started summer and have June Gloom here. A tad of a bummer.
I have a rainbow art project on my blog that is inspired by your love of all things rainbow. Check it out if you get a chance. Happy bubbles to yoU!

Amber - summer is my fave, too. these pics are DREAMY.

Emily - Oh, the late evening lighting!!! I love it. The rosy color of the flowers, your house lit up, your kids with bubbles…Idyllic. 🙂

Janelle - i entered to win the 100$ dicks gift card and thought my first post didn’t go through so i reposted, to find out the first one DID go through so now i have 2 posts. Don’t know how to remove the first one, so if you can somehow that’d be great, cause i would love to still be eligible to win the giftcard! Thanks! 🙂 Love your blog!

Stephanie - LOVE the bubble pictures!!! Annie’s facial expressions are priceless!! The big bubble in the 4th picture looks like a gigantic foot with toes! Awesome! I find blowing bubbles very relaxing! I too would love to know the secret to the coloring on the bubble pics!! They are fabulous! <3 🙂

tara pollard pakosta - I love summer but we are sick of storms here in the western suburbs of chicago! DONE with it!!!
xoxo
tara

alicia @ la famille - oh summer is my absolute fave too! and just look at your house in the background of those bubble pics! i want a tour, ms. meg! the storms have been so crazy lately, haven’t they!!?!

Alisa - Have you ever read Thundercake by Patricia Polacco? It is one of my favorites, because (at 41) I am not a big fan of storms either.

Kate @ Songs Kate Sang - Those photos are beautiful!

Kristy - Such beautiful pics Meg! I love the one with Annie and the bubbles and your beautiful house all lit up in the background. I’m also wondering if you used photoshop on the bubble ones?? I like the curve of those photos too. I remember awhile back you said you don’t use photoshop. Maybe Picnik?

Leah - Hey Meg! My daughter and I got crafty with the butterfly art idea. You are so right it’s the best crafts! Thanks for the inspiration. Check it out: http://leahsthoughts.com/2011/06/21/getting-creative-butterfly-wall-art/

Candice - How fun! I so wish we had a yard or even some kind of outdoor space for my kids, we live in an apt. and it has no outdoor area of any kind so we cant do anything fun like this:( but I can live through your photos, which by the way are AMAZING! I cant wait for the day we can have at least a patio to play on! thanks for sharing.

kylie - Love your pics!! Did you use a photoshop action on the one of Annie and the bubbles?? If so, I’d LOVE to knonw which one!!

Jenna - b.e.a.utiful! pics!
Jenna

Valerie @ Chateau A La Mode - Summer is so my fave too!

Secret Mom Thoughts - I love summer too!

Laura Phelps - LAST DAY OF SCHOOL FOR US TODAY!
WOO HOO
bring on SUMMER!!!
and when I see your pictures, I still can not believe I was at your house..almost to the year!!!!
good summer memory….

Terrie - Love the flower pics! I just got done shooting some of mine and a visitor in my backyard. Who said turtles are slow? Kids love bubbles? So do some of us adults! Especially the BIG ones!! LOL!!

amy kolz - i love this post. the pictures are beautiful. i live on the ocean and yet, this post, these photos, made me feel all summery today.
amy
http://www.amykolz.com

Holly - I am loving summer also! We have had our share of wild storms here lately. I love them and so does my boy. We should be storm chasers!

Oursoutherngrace.blogspot.com - these pictures are fantastic! Captures the essence of summer per.fect.ly.

Jodi @ The Un-Soccermom Blog - Adults love bubbles too! At least this adult does. :o)

Karen Lehmann - i want that bubble wand!

julia - The black and white pic is FANTASTIC!

Chantelle - mmm, i wish i could chomp on those hail balls! summer ROCKS!

mandy madison - The photo of Annie with the goggles is pricesless! Adorable.

happygirl - I LOVE your hollyhocks and coneflowers. I miss having flowers. Something about working full-time and living in the woods is detrimental to flowers. Love the tone of your pics. Is it a special filter or setting or just the lighting (recent storm lighting)? Anyway. I’m glad you are having a good summer. I am too.

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