Give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread - Proverbs 30:8

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Summer Fun


taking a moment to find joy in the little things

{pretty}
We had another beauty-filled week! After a hectic, exhausting week of VBS at our church, we headed to the coast for a day of rest and relaxation. It was supposed to be a scorcher in the valley, and the beach sounded like the perfect place to be. It was very foggy and cool when we first arrived, but after a couple hours, the sun broke through and it looked like this.











{happy}
This picture just makes me smile...childhood unedited! 



It's always fun to have close encounters with other creatures (well, I guess that depends on the creature....I certainly don't want a close encouter with a skunk, rattlesnake or grizzly bear)




Lately every time I try to teach the girls the next part in their piece they whine and balk. So today I wrote it all out on a huge piece of paper and taped it to the wall in the hallway. Then I stood there and played it by "reading" it off the wall. They were thrilled and immediately gave it a try themselves. I'm sure the novelty will wear off eventually, but for now it's exciting and inspiring them to practice. 



garden goodness....

{funny}
When I lifted the garage door the other day this dead salamander was hanging in front of my face. Its tail was caught in a spider's web. Freaked me out a bit!




I did a little photo shoot with the girls this week and these are some of the outtakes.




{real}
40 days until I enter a new decade of life...
Can it be possible? I don't feel like I'm almost 40.
I remember when my parents turned 40. We had big over-the-hill parties with lots of black decorations.
Hopefully this next decade will be full of wisdom and maturity.
One can hope....


27 comments:

  1. I love that broken tree with the mist.

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    1. Isn't that a gorgeous tree? It just stopped me in my tracks and I had to look up at it for a while.

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  2. I love getting to experience the beauty of your family adventures through your amazing photos!

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    1. I'm so glad you keep coming back. I'm thinking we should get together again sometime soon...

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  3. Oh,the salamander! Ha! Why is it that our parents seemed so old and 40 was such a big thing? I don't FEEL like it's as old as they seemed, you know? It really does seem like people are younger or something now but perhaps that's just cuz we're the ones getting older and our kids will be saying exactly this in a few decades, too!

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    1. It's weird because my girls don't seem to think 40 is old like I did of my parents. I must have been conditioned by them or their friends...

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  4. Beautiful images! I remember (very young) celebrating a birthday for my comical grandfather and he told us he was 50- and we teased him about being old- a half a century! Turns out when we were older we realized he had the last laugh- it was his 75th birthday that we were celebrating.

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  5. I really enjoyed your post! Regardless of the season, the beach is always the best place to be (except maybe in a hurricane!) Your butterfly capture is amazing and the little tree from on top of the flower made me giggle! Thanks so much for sharing.

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    1. or maybe tsunami : )

      Thanks for stopping by!

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  6. Beautiful photos, Jill. That salamander would have freaked me out too. That frog (think that's what that is) on the yellow flower is pretty freaky but cool looking also. Your girls are adorable. I still love that you all play the violin. I've actually enjoyed the first four years of being in the 40's. 45th is two weeks away. Hoping your summer fun continues. I'm off to CA next week for some beach time!! Blessings.

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    1. If you ever come this way we'll give you a personal violin concert : )

      Turning 40 doesn't freak me out...just can't believe it's happening. Have a nice vacation and happy birthday!!

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  7. The frog on the flower! Beautiful shot.

    And I would have totally freaked out about a salamander hanging for them ceiling! Who would expect that?

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    1. Thank you, Adrie. I love finding the frogs in interesting places. Last week I brought one in the house with the lettuce I cut. Didn't mean to : ) and I was surprised when it jumped onto the window.

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  8. Your little adventure always leave me a little jealous. but that is okay becasue I know someday ill be in the mountains again.

    And, what a creative momma. Great job on coming up with a way to entice your kids on to the next step of their piece.

    That salamander would have freaked me out. Poor little guy. And, I am with you on the skunk, bear, and snake!!

    The frog on the flower... my favorite :-D

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    1. Obviously, I did not proofread my comment ;-)

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    2. Most weeks our little adventures make me TIRED! But it's worth it to create lots of family memories.

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  9. What a creative way to practice their music! Love the outdoor trip pictures!

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  10. These are all so full of joy in the little things of life...even being freaked by a dead hanging salamander! Your garden bounty looks so good!

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    1. The garden bounty is good - now I just have to figure out how to eat it all or freeze it.

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  11. I love that you wrote "childhood unedited." Kind of the direction I'm trying to go with my own children and those two words together sums up my vision quite nicely. God Bless!

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    1. When I first saw her up there I started to tell her to get down...but then I realized she really wasn't doing anything wrong or dangerous - she was just being a 9 year old!

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  12. Write next violin lesson in magic marker on the ceiling. That'll get their attention, huh? No? Oh, ok. Just trying to be helpful.

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    1. They would LOVE that...especially if it meant they could practice and play laying down.

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  13. That looks like truly amazing coast line, so beautiful

    mollyxxx

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    1. It is amazing and beautiful - takes my breath away every time I see it.

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  14. Beautiful pictures! Some look like postcards!

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