Category Archives: family fun
we have 10 days left before school starts. but i will miss the water….the tans…..the heat…..kind of the heat…..and sleeping in. only ten more days.
most evenings….the sunsets into the water right in front of our bluff/cliff.
it was beautiful. school enrollment today. ……………………………………….. you can enter to win a $100 visa gift card from Degree motionSENSE how is your summer list coming along???
I am a native of Northern Michigan,and still live in the same town I was born in. After seeing your pics, and reading the comments, I am reminded of how very BLESSED i am to live in “God’s Country” Mario B., Michael Moore, and a few other well knowns have now made this area into home…you should come for a visit! Our summer list is about half way done. Only a few things left on it and some of those just aren’t going to happen! HA! love your pictures…the “golden hour of photography” makes everything look so perfect and dreamy! Oh, it all looks so dreamy… And the weather… Sigh… 🙂 Thanks for the reminder about the summer list. Ours has been sorely neglected. Maybe we need to do a fall list. 😉 Long time lurker, first time commenter… I feel like I know you even if you don’t know me. 🙂 Just wanted to say that I love your Michigan posts – I am from a suburb of Detroit, and I so love my state (despite all the bad stuff), ESPECIALLY Western Michigan. Heaven. talby is beautiful. I love monarch caterpillars too. That picture of Talby smiling on the beach looked so much like Lauren. And…the beach is our favorite. Texas lakes do not have beaches like that. Crazy, awesome, huge lakes…God is so cool. Such wonderful pics. WHAT A LOT of STAIRS. You got to do cardio every day. Awesome. 🙂 You are making me want to go to Michigan so bad!!! Those stairs remind me of a lot of things. Most of all, they remind me that God has so many blessings and good things planned for our lives. Sometimes we look at the things that He asks of us and are like, “Are you kidding me?” and the work to get there seems tremendous. But the blessing at the end of it is SOOOOOOO great! Enjoy the rest of your summer. BTW…this is my official delurk post:) where is waffle? Ahhh Michigan. We like to savor our summers here too… because come winter we’re itchin to get back outside and see some sun! We are rockin’ our summer list! Thanks for such a fun idea! We’ve checked off about 2/3 of it, and with a few more weeks of summer we just might do it all! Love the monarch caterpillars, all butterflies are just gorgeous! WOW!!! The tourism dept for the state of MI should contact you and GET those release forms signed and pay you top dollar for these photos. . .who doesn’t want to visit the beaches of northern MI after this post???? I would post these *everywhere* in my house to remind me of happy, happy days on even the crummiest and cold winter ones. You are a blessed momma, Megan. We only have 2 things left on our summer list! It’s a catch 22….I’m so sick of my kids that I can’t wait for school to start, but know I will miss them terribly when it happens. Glad you enjoyed your vacation! I really love reading your blog. Wish I could be as calm and laid back as you seem with my 5 kids. Also wishing for a Lake Michigan vaca, now, too:-) very nice. i love your ‘i-love-being-in-this-place-so-much-and-i-don’t-ever-want-to-leave face’!! go black meg..would be stunner with your eyes!! We have one week left and have gotten through about 1/2 of our summer list. As much as my kiddos can make me crazy, I LOVE summer with them, and I am not ready for school to start back up. Every time you share your pictures of Michigan it makes me want to vacation there. Even with all those stairs! 😉 Really beautiful pictures. I love those stairs…in theory. that is quite the set of stairs…bet you’ve got some toned up legs after that vacation! our summer is list coming…just not ready for school yet. 🙁 we homeschool, but i have TONS of planning to do…TONS! These pictures make me want to abandon my declaration of being done with summer. I’d go down (& back up) 223 steps for some s’mores & that sunset! 🙂 I’ve never been to Michigan but you sure make it look like an awesome vacation spot … you should contact their Board of Tourism, show ’em your blog, say “You’re welcome”! LOL 🙂 I’d go down (& back up) 223 steps for some s’mores & that sunset! 🙂 I’ve never been to Michigan but you sure make it look like an awesome vacation spot … you should contact their Board of Tourism, show ’em your blog, say “You’re welcome”! LOL 🙂 Wow, that all looked like so much fun! Wish I was one of your kids! Although I think you are a year or two younger than me! 🙂 amazing photo of ur talby on the beach. ah.mayyyy.zing! Hi Meg! I totally get the “I love this place and I never want to leave” thing. It’s how I feel on the gulf coast of Florida. It’s why we’re going back May 2012. It’s why I have a hard time when we plan a trip elsewhere. The fireworks shots are great! Love that you’re sharing your trip with us. Looks like such a fun time. That is a lot of steps but so worth it. What great pictures! Those are some stairs. These photos really show that you had a great vacation. Those photos and memories are treasures that you & your family will dip into for years to come – so beautiful! And the steps? I can see that one would have to eat a lot of s’mores to have enough energy to go back up. On the plus side, all of you probably slept so well after the glorious fresh air and exercise! What a divine trip. I would love to create a family tradition trip like this. Wow looks so amazing, a bonfire on the beach sounds like heaven! 🙂 We’ve had tons of fun with our summer list! But sadly two of my favorites won’t get checked off this year…we sort of missed the window for them: catching fireflies (why, oh why are there none around our home? next year we will SEEK them out!) and picking blueberries at the berry patch (apparently the robins beat us to them this year!) But we still have a few fun activities to carry us through the end of the summer…and then we start our Fall List!! Totally think it’s my fav season…pumpkin patch, carving pumpkins, apple orchards, football games, hot apple cider…ahhhh! WOW All those steps!!! School is comming way to fast. gorgeous. a campfire on the beach sounds wonderful. The vacay looks so peaceful. The stairs are lovely, I think I’d get a bad case of vertigo on them! I have been reading your blog for a few months now and have never commented. I really enjoy your wit and outlook! We have almost completed our entire Summer List. It was so much fun to be able to do all the fun activities with my girls. Only three weeks left till school starts. What great pics, Meg. Love the one Talby took of you. 🙂 Summer list is almost done = 🙂 and 🙁 Summer List: have a baby Since we start school in two weeks I was just thinking last night of making a FALL List. We never actually made a formal summer list. It seemed everyone else but us made them. But we seized the opportunities that came at us each day and made the most of our summer. Its been amazing and I cant believe its almost over{sniff sniff}. But we’ll be moving on to new things, the changing seasons and cooler weather. Lots to look forward to:) Almost done with our Summer List, but we only had a few items on ours… just a 3-year old and me, plus newborn, so we don’t get too far! Still have to have a Poker Nite for daddy and his friends. Love your blog… next year’s list will include finding time to come meet you! What a gorgeous place =) our enrollment is next week!!!!!! We are sooo ready!! Can you believe school starts to soon?! Forms, forms, forms… that has been my week! Ugh! I’m loving these Michigan posts. Gah… I need a vacation. Is that possible with a 3 yr old and a 1 yr old? Do people even do that? I’d love to go there someday..it looks like such a get-a-way! Meg you look sooooo relaxed! And I love the last pic of Lauren, so cool. Looks like you had such a chillaxing time, Kerry x our summer break ended last week but we got a ton done! Do you make your older kids help fill out paper work for school? I totally do! ha! what a weird title. we almost always go peach picking when we are in michigan.
dave filled a basket of the peaches already on the ground (ruined ones) and made our michigan sign. i don't even like peaches. and after this jenny and i got to go out for lunch just the mommies!!! COOL STORY here: then later that evening after a day of throwing around a lot of frustration and thoughts i have been having i checked her blog to support her in the {e}book. here is what i found as soon as i opened the page: Are you a blogger or have a web based business and are running yourself ragged? check. i bought it immediately. i love that she did it. i told her that God knew i was struggling….i was telling him constantly…so He told me "say hi to jeannett today" I just bought the e-book because I have mad organizational skills and want to help bloggers be all that they can be!! Hint, hint! 🙂 Thanks Meg…have been away in Minnesota for a week so missed your posts. Love that you’re back to making me giggle. I agree with you on peaches…they aren’t that great on their own. Try them sprinkled with sugar (ok maybe I put a lot of sugar) and some cream….Yummy! here’s an idea for you… just experimented the other day with my kids. put peaches in buttered baking dish. we added blackberries too. sprinkle with a little flour and brown sugar (if they need sweetening). take a roll of pillsbury sugar cookie dough and crumble it over the top. bake in 350 oven for 30-40 minutes or until brown. serve with vanilla ice cream. it is blueberry season late july–next year do that. easy picking but not so much bending over–like strawberry picking. we’re eating blueberries with everything, it’s ridonkulous. 🙂 I need a book about the frustrations of so many ideas with NO business…at all..to speak of, and life is slipping away, and you are not using your God given talents, but you have no idea where to even begin, and why does everything seem so HARD…and well… so cool how God works 🙂 will have to check that book out! Where in michigan were you? I would love to go pick peaches but most of the orchards do not have u-pick peaches. Awesome photos as usual! We are hoping to go blueberry picking in MI this weekend. 🙂 I love how God meets us right where we are (yay God!) I’m leaving your site to go check out the ebook. I have such a love/hate relationship w/ all things social media. sigh. I don’t want my kids to remember me pecking on a silly computer all the time, but it can also be used as an encouragement and ministry tool. Just have to keep it all balanced … (btw great pictures!) I now know that I’m obsessed with your blog. I was at the Bob Dylan concert at the Ryman last night and 2 of the guys from Kings of Leon sat in front of us and my first thought was, “Meg loves KOL!!!” I live in Nashville so obviously I don’t hang out with you, but… I did think about you at Bob Dylan last night! Isn’t that funny?! Love all your peach pictures. Wish we could do that around here somewhere…i’ll have to look into that! But we do have strawberries and raspberries 🙂 Hope you have a happy week! God is awsome and the way he gets our attention is so subtle sometimes, but when we pay attention it is so amazing! I’m glad you e-mailed Jeanette! Definitely try blueberries, raspberries or cherries next time you’re in Michigan – they’re all perfect right now! (strawberries are in June!) Pumpkin patch weather…a little nip of cool in the air mixed with warm sun and plenty of blue skies. And that wonderful shade of sunlight that only comes in the late afternoon of a midwest autumn day. Sigh! It’s 110 degrees in Olathe, KS today and summer has worn out its welcome. God is amazing! I love the way He does stuff. Wow. Meg, I love it when God does that! Awesomeness, pure & simple! YAY God! YAY you (for obeying His voice 🙂 BTW,what did you do with all the peaches … jam, jelly ….? I love it when God does that! Awesomeness, pure & simple! YAY God! YAY you (for obeying His voice 🙂 BTW,what did you do with all the peaches … jam, jelly ….? love jeannett. one of my fave blogs. love peaches. one of my fave fruits. LOVE the michigan 2011 picture. so creative. “let’s jam” sourface? KILLING me! so funny. Hey Meg, I bought that ebook too! But i don’t know Jeannett. When I was reading it though, I thought of you and wondered if you had a va:) Hope it works for you! It looks like you guys had a great time. On a related note – is it possible that I saw Chicago Jenny’s son at the Kohl’s Children’s Museum today? If so, small world! If not – he has a doppelganger in the area! 🙂 Hiya Meg…did you hear that Kings of Leon are not getting along and may possibly be breaking up? It was on our radio up here and I immediately thought of you! Hate to be the bearer of bad news but didn’t know if you’ve heard. Funny how YOU popped into my head after hearing that as I was driving to work this morning but I know how much you love them. Here’s a link about their latest concert fiasco: http://news.yahoo.com/kings-leon-apologize-concert-fiasco-180448684.html. Great Michigan vacation picks! WE in MI do have strawberry patches!!! Lots of them!!! You must not have come UP far enough!!! 🙂 I picked 3 (not 1, not 2) but 3 flats of strawberries!!! My 2 year old calls them staw*bee*rees! They are so yummy!!! Your blog is so stinking fun! I love it!! 🙂 i’m learning to recognize those whispers. when we live in a relationship with Him it’s so much easier to know. what a blessing! i wish Jeanette the best with her ebook. so great she is sharing her knowledge with others. Love the kitty cat…your family seriously must be a magnet for sweet, precious kitty-cats! 🙂 A great post Megan, I read daily, I comment, um, never. sorry. But today I cried when I read the story about God telling you to say hi to Jeanett today. I love that. Mostly I love how you KNEW God was talking to you. You know what? Most of the time I don’t think I’m listening. Thanks for reminding me to listen! You were definitely too early for Michigan peaches (I’m guessing you were here recently?), and yes, you missed the strawberries (June), but it’s been prime BLUEBERRY season! Raspberries too…cherries if you head north to Traverse City 🙂 God is good in many ways, as seen by both subjects in your post! LOVE the picture of you and Craig. hi Meg, i enjoy reading your posts. i think you are amazing…that fact that you can do so much and still focus on your family is admirable. the love you have of family is very evident in your blogging…i look forward to reading your posts and looking at your pictures…thanks for being real. I call them “God winks!” I love those God moments! When I’ve been telling God what I’m struggling with, but not really expecting a solution right then. And a name comes to me, or an opportunity, or the right thing happens. You just know, God was guiding you. I love peaches! Loved your Michigan 2011…we always find a way to do that on vacations. Meg, you do know about ripening peaches in paper bags, correct? I put 3 or 4 in a lunch size paper bag for a few days. They do ripen and smell wonderful! looks like a fun trip for you all! I will definately check out her book although my blog isnt too high maintenece yet with all 2 of my readers! ha! with some of my favorite people…. i love lake michigan.
Erica is a photographer too! it was fun to watch her shoot…. and hugging. so jen and i thought we'd like a picture of us IN the water. 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. the moms….also known as the S'more Makers. we are home now. how was your week? it's nuts. happy monday people! 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! 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! I SO LOVE YOUR BLOG MEG… AND ESPECIALLY THIS POST. HEY YOU PROBABLY DIDN’T EVEN HAVE YOUR RUNNING SHOES ON ANYWHO. 😉 Geez, now that looks like some ultimate fun. Totally jealous right now 🙂 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! Love me some lake michigan….but i don’t miss that heat and humidity right about now;-) oh meg it looks like an amazing trip! we want to go to michigan next summer….where were you? it looked wonderful!!! 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. 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???? 🙂 Looks like the perfect summer day! Love that straw hat on you! 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! 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! 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. Love it all! Looks like so much fun. Love the “simple summer” pic and the “redeemed” one of you and Jenny. Can’t wait to see more! Great picture of you and your Jenny. Bring on the pics Momma!!! 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! 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. 🙂 So glad you had fun up here in the Mitten! I think I love that big lake more each year 🙂 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! Fab pic of you and your bestie. It all looks dreamy! The pic of you and your friend Jenny is perfect!! Glad you had a good time. See ya next weekend. love all of your pictures…so much fun!!! 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. 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. 🙂 chicago jen’s little guy is so buff! adorable. looks like a blast. glad you got to go! I’m jealous – please adopt me! LOL Great pictures and I can’t wait to see more! 🙂 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. I am so jealous. The weather looks great. It is 108 here in Texas. The lakes are even hot! 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. 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! lovely post, great people! 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 🙂 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!! I adore your pictures! So fun! Great pics – would love to know what area of Lake Michigan that is…looks gorgeous. Looks so perfectly fun and summery! Oh my those are the best vacations EvER!!! Looks like fun. Happy August to you too. How fun! I’m really itching for a family beach vacation! 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! It was REALLY fun!! Thanks for letting us spend the day with you guys! 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! 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 🙂 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. Looks like so much fun! What I wouldn’t give to be at the beach today!! 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. 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. LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT…. 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! 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!! Love your beach pics!! I’m working on some myself! LovE the beach!!! 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) 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! great memories, great photos of those memories. where did you buy your sun hat? 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! Wow you’re looking mighty fine Meg especially with that tan! 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! Oh, and the wave…hysterical! 🙂 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! =) I LOVE posts with lots of pictures. I heart the first one! 🙂 So much fun! Looking forward to seeing more pics! That looks like a lot of fun (well, not the 13.5 hours in the car bit, maybe).
this night was pretty close to perfect. always.
joel took some video with his phone for me….pay no attention to the finger on the lens for a bit.
after the fishing….i washed my hands and i found the best part of the party! his big brother was peeking at who was holding his baby. even lauren took a turn…..how could anyone resist? swimming in the pond…..pushing each other off the dock…… the food was yummy. as soon as it was dark they had a fireworks show over the pond. it was one of those days that you can't help but be grateful and happy to be living this life.
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! I love hearing your voice talking to your kiddos on video. You have such an encouraging mother voice. Kelly I’m so curious/nosey… 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 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 …. Just watched the video – am I hearing “Knee Deep” in the water by Zac Brown?!?! Cute baby, cute video, cute dress, cute you! Love it all–great shots. Thanks for sharing. 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! love days like that 🙂 great pics! what a good day. I LOVE your dress! You look super cute and awesome! 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. Meg, 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! Great post, great photos Meg. Hope all is well. What an awesome time! We also celebrated on the 3rd and I slept as much as I could on the 4th! 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. 🙂 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! Awwww, love times like that. Love people I’ve known forever, there’s a certain bond for sure. Beautiful photographs! You’ve got the eye. Big time. 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??? Love the pictures! What kind of camera did you use? so nice. your pics are so nice to look at meg! yeah… if you’re from Minnesota and you can’t take a fish off the hook there may be something wrong with you. 🙂 I love days that are pretty close to perfect! Sometimes they feel too far and few between. Love the pictures and video too . Really nice post, I can imagine what it was like! Meg…where is your dress from?? LOVE IT! 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! 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. 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! love those days. Yeah for Lauren being in a picture! I always love seeing her, she’s a stunning beauty. Love the pictures. It looked like a lot of fun. =) Sounds like a perfect night. 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!!! this week has been busy. then out for ice cream afterwards.
love nights like that…….so much. 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! 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! 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 🙂 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! The thing beautiful memories are made of! i love how even though your life is busy you take the time to make wonderful memories with your kiddos. you are an inspiration! What a beautiful day what a GORGEOUS tree shot!!! Do you know how cute I think it is that you circled the turtles! A.dor.able. anna said, “that is turtle central!” 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… Haven’t seen Lauren in a long time! Will she not let you post her picture anymore? She is a beautiful girl – just wondering??? I’m glad someone else considers swimming a form of bathing!;0) The pic of the children up in the tree looks the stuff that dreams are made of. Titled Perfect Summer growing up! those turtles are awesome! how fun! What a beautiful day 🙂 Love the Arboretum and love reading your blog! Just stumbled across your blog (from my friend Jenny and Jennyonthespot.com) and LOVE your website, photos and ideas!!! 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. 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 🙂 Looks perfect! i love nights like that, too…so much! 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. I didn’t know turtles liked cheerios, packing up cheerios and heading across the street to pond…. Looks like a ton of fun! Entertainment at it’s best–unplugged and outside! Looks like it was worth every cent of the overpriced cereal. 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. your pictures make me smile. That is so cool! I’ve never heard of wild turtles except in the ocean! yup, I’m a desert girl. 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. wow! that turtle pond is so amazing! Where is this little turtle pond? I want to take my kids there! Looks so fun. Great pics! 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! 🙂 ok the big turtle looks huge! Awesome shots! what? you’re not a scientist? Funny. I thought you were 🙂 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! awww a turtle feeding excursion..love it. So fun! I like the picture of the turtle with the Cheerio in its mouth 🙂 those turtles were crazy! almost tame! looks like a great night: ice cream and turtles…nothing better 🙂 i have SO missed your posts this week….i know you’re a busy gal. What a wonderful night! That closeup of the turtle with the cheerio in it’s mouth is MONEY! looks like a fun, fun time. 🙂 I felt like I was having fun right along with you! Love the photos! What a great bunch of memories. 🙂 that was majestic 🙂 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 What do I love about this post more? I love nights like that too … what a memory making momma you are Meg! Thanks for sharing! I love nights like that too … what a memory making momma you are Meg! Thanks for sharing! oh the pic of the turtle with the Cheerio in his mouth is fantastic!! So cool xx 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. Meg, your photos are the best! The turtle with a cheerio in his mouth is HILARIOUS:) I can’t stop laughing Lovely post, Meg. Almost felt like I was right there with you. we were invited to our friend's pool party for the fourth.
our fourth was really fun. how was yours?
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. 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! 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 🙂 love the pictures from your 4th celebration with friends. your pictures are so CRISP. Awesome pics! Just wondering…what mode are you shooting in for the pool and sparkler pics? those are amazing pics of kids with the sparklers… love the heart by talby The turtle race pictures rock! 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. 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. 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! 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. 🙂 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! 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….:-) Saw this sign and I thought of you. 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. that looks so fun! i just love pictures of sparklers at night 🙂 Looks like lots of fun was had by all! The 4th is such an awesome celebration of such an awesome country! Thanks for sharing! Looks like lots of fun was had by all! The 4th is such an awesome celebration of such an awesome country! Thanks for sharing! 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! 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. 😉 Lovely pictures! Sounds great! Wish we celebrated like that here : ) 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 🙂 Read my recap here! 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! 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 🙂 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! 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! 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! how fun!! i have so enjoyed seeing everyone’s July 4th pictures pop up all over bloggerland today…great photographs, meg! 🙂 Looks like SO much fun! I’m amazed by the fireworks! 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. fun, low key, invited new neighbors over for homemade ice cream and also family – two ice cream eating parties. 🙂 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? 🙂 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! That looks like so much fun! I wish we had a pool. 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 🙁 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!!! |
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april - oh to be young again! my son starts school in 2 days!!! wow….hes gonna be a 5th grader…scary! on a side not i used your cheesecake recipe in a jar! thought you might like to see it:
http://gingerbreadgirl5.blogspot.com/2011/08/recipes-cheesecake-in-jar.html
happygirl - I keep reminding myself of the lovely spring we experienced here in the mid-Atlantic. The summer, Blistering. 🙂
Su@TheIntentionalHome - I am counting the days til school starts too 🙂
Would you mind sharing what kind of camera you have. I am in the market for a new one. Thanks for the creative inspiration!
Perrin - Oh,, that photo of your daughter jumping into the pool is just amazing. So cute. I’m sort of sad to see the end of pool trips coming so soon, for us tomorrow! Ugh.
Valerie @ Chateau A la Mode - Summer goes too fast…or does it 🙂
Amy Slavik@ Little For A Little While - Wow, that went fast! How did you make out on your summer fun list?
Sarah - Not that you are counting or anything. 🙂 I know EXACTLY how you feel.
flor - I completely understand. School starts back up for us next Monday.. and I’m looking forward to it to be honest with you {as I’m sure my kids are too}. This summer went by so fast, I feel like I didn’t get to do as much with them as I had hoped for 🙁
Sarah @ Handbags*N*Pigtails - Yup, we start two weeks from tomorrow(girls and I). Most schools around here dont start until after labor day though. Its rough at the end of the year when they dont get out until mid-late June. By then it feels like summers already been going for weeks for others.
I will miss the summer. So many chnages for all of us here(with me going back to work-teaching 3rd grade- after 8 years of being a SAHM). Pray for me!:)
tara - I wanna be jumping into that pool…this orlando heat is ridiculous.
Janie Fox - I always felt like doing cartwheels in the front yard when the school bus drove off. Is that bad?
colette - i am also loving the pool, heat, and sun way too much this year! so not ready for it to be over. for us, we have about 30 days left of it. gotta pack it all in. it flies by too fast.
love your jumping pics, btw!
Katie - Man I wish I was jumping into a pool! I can’t believe there are only ten days left, where has this summer gone too?! I’m not ready!!!!
Emily - Crazy my son does not start until Sept 21 . . . .
Leah - It did feel like a loud summer. And so hectic this year. I don’t remember last summer feeling so hectic! I’ll be counting down your 10 days with you!
Kate @ Songs Kate Sang - Our school starts Monday… It seemed to go by faster than ever this summer.
Terrie - Can you believe summer is almost over? Wonder how many ‘heat’ days we’ll have? 🙂
Janine - 10 days!! We have another month! We start the summer vacation late though. It’s nearly July by the time the let the kids finish. Get off just in time for the 4th and back just after Labor day. It goes by too fast. Enjoy it!
Kristin - Thinking of back to school, I was browsing lunch box ideas. This rainbow bread made me think of you!
http://lunchfitforakid.blogspot.com/2010/09/recipe-rainbow-pain-de-mie.html
kasey - you can still have the heat and the tan…just minus the kids;-)
Yeah for school!!
karen - did you put annie in swimming lessons or did she learn on her own?? i’ve got to put my almost 4 year old soon!
D. Jean - Love your photography. Just catching up. Looked like a great vacation. Too much fun.
Holly - Meg once school started here I switched over to “Im ready for fall” mode! I will miss the summer fun, but we have had some great saturdays the last couple of weeks since school started!
Julie K - Lucky you!17 days for us …
I love the swimming suit butt cheeks – my favorite. 🙂
Lisa Currie-Gurney - 😉
HUGS FROM MY HEART
alicia @ la famille - 10 more days? holy moly y’all start school early! enjoy your little kiddos, but enjoy your time alone too 🙂
beth - Wow, only 10 days? We have about 3 more weeks of summer. I have very mixed emotions. I, too, am ready for quiet, but since my husband works at school, I know how crazy busy the school year can get.
Are her fingers crossed in those pics? Too cute–love the bright colors! Our poos doesn’t allow cameras (no idea why-silly) so I can’t get any cute water pics. Yours are adorable.
Lorilee - I am not looking forward to school starting yet. I will have to go back to school too, as a teacher. I really need just a few more weeks to catch up on a few more household chores! I just got my fridge pulled out and vacuumed behind!
Blessings,
Lorilee
Aimee - I will miss it all this year. This is the first 100% enjoyable summer I’ve had since having kids.
Of course, I will mostly miss the sleeping in.
Penny - It is always bittersweet to have them go back to school. I am looking forward to school starting, it means I will also be back to work! But I am going to enjoy this last month! We start back on Sept. 6. My college girl goes back on the 19th of August. It is my baby’s last year of high school. This will be bittersweet! Enjoy these last few days, before we know it the snow will be flying and we will all be complaining about the cold! 🙂