whats the deal...

with duck tape? when I was growing up, it was silver and purely for utilitarian uses like holding together my dad's suitcase or fixing something random around the house. and, I thought it was duct tape (you know, to tape ducts), but its actually duck tape. who knew?

but now...it comes in all sorts of fancy colors and designs

and its not so utilitarian

except for the fact that I got some work done around the house while the girls created :)

weekend recap

this weekend was a whirlwind...spent largely in a pool with goofy kids, sangria (for the adults of course), cookouts and good old fashioned fun with family & friends.

we also had a milestone for my girl, who swam without holding her nose while underwater for the first time (i celebrate the small things around here)

we had a few giggles over her puffy goggle eyes

...and relaxed on our driveway while our neighbors tore.it.up with some serious fireworks

hope your 4th of July was fun & safe!

rocky mountain high....

our weekend in Colorado was absofreakinglutelyfabulous

it was just what we needed...a getaway for just the two of us for dave's long overdue birthday celebration. i had never been to Colorado, so i was totally looking foward to experiencing some serious mountain air. this was our view on the way to our gracious hosts' house. i cant believe this is their backyard...they get to see it every single day.

the main reason for our trip was to see our favorite band at Red Rocks Amphitheater. it has been a venue we have been wanting to see them at for a looooong time and although it may seem a tad ridiculous to fly across the country for a concert, it was totally worth it (and it was a 2 show event, so we at least got our money's worth and saw them twice!)

this is the entrance to the park....i waited patiently for a shot with no car going through the tunnel, but now i kind of wish there was one there to show the scale of this thing. its pretty impressive.

{inside the park and view from the top of the amphitheater}red rocks everywhere....

this shot is midway down the amphitheater. its not a great shot, as we were there during the day and midday sun was bright above, but its a shot of where the band played and the gorgeous rock at the back of the stage. on either side sit the two huge rocks that enclose the amphitheater.see where the girl is walking in the lower left corner? This again is midway down the seats, and where we sat at night for the shows. the rock on this side is Ship Rock.
and this shot is taken from where we sat, showing the other side, Creation Rock. the sound bounces off the rocks, making the music sound crisp and perfect.

the inside of the visitor center had a really neat hallway with history of music at Red Rocks, back to the first concerts held there in 1910, including a list of all of the performers and every year they have played.

i wanted to take my camera in at night for some concert shots and to get the views of the skyline lit up, but security put the kibosh on that. since i didnt want to get arrested so far from home, i complied.... i was pissed for a short time, but then decided it wasnt worth my energy and took some crappy shots on my ipod for the memories. they will certainly do.

to say that this weekend was amazing is an understatement.
the music - fabulous
the mountain air -magical
Coloradans - welcoming
the weekend away with my love - unforgettable


happy birthday, dave. you are my climb to safety.

A....

i *heart* this girl so much that sometimes it hurts.




thats all for today!

leprechaun houses and fairies...

my girls are suckers for good old fashioned, make believe fun. when we go out and about, often our adventures take us to places where there are plenty of opportunities for hunting leprechauns and leaving presents for fairies.

so, on father's day, I found myself with 4 hours of time alone with my gals while the DH went golfing with his dad.

i knew the perfect place to take them exploring...it was an hour drive, and a place where I did a client session a few weeks ago that I kept thinking about. it did not disappoint and they found lots of little barns and sheds to call out to the leprechauns, and perfect hidden walkways to search for sleeping fairies.

little C was a tad perturbed that the leprechauns didnt answer the door...again. poor kid cant catch a break, they never seem to be home :)

but she rarely stays mad all that long and was soon hopping all around the nearby bencha few months ago, I did a client session and the little girl wore her mom's wedding dress. after Big A saw those photos, she nagged me non-stop to take mine out of the box so she could wear it. I decided against it, but came up with the second best thing...a very old, quite worn frilly dress, repurposed as a long skirt for her to run around in.

the skirt/dress is not pretty, but it served its purpose.


and then we finished off our day in eden with a picnic lunch and a trip to the mall for some new flip flops.

have a great week!

i survived!

last weekend, we went camping with our friends...who happen to be pretty experienced campers, whereas D & I are not. actually, it was my first time camping. ever.

My friend tried to prepare me for what it would be like...no running water, no plumbing, waaaaaay in the woods, sleeping upstairs on cots, locks on the windows to keep bears and other animals out, etc...

she did a great job, because it was just as I had envisioned the weekend...relaxing, fun, good outdoor air and beautiful scenery.

this was camp G&W for the weekend...Big A was her usual self...being goofy and living it up in the dirtand mastering her roasted marshmallows. her technique is amazing and she gets just the right char on those suckers. trust me, I ate a lot of them.Big P kept her creative juices flowing by impromptu painting sessionsand she fully embraced our photo scavenger hunt we did on our hike.Little C was up to her usual antics and did a lot of hanging aroundand the littlest P was a true joy to spend time with...we didnt have the easiest of starts in our relationship (bad first photo shoot w/ an unhappy one year old), but she warmed up to me and I loved hanging out with herwe ended our first night by making a welcome sign for tinkerbell (because fairies live in the woods) and the girls made a few little homes for them to bunk in overnightand super delicious s'mores and a roaring fire...
we came home filthy, dirty and smelling pretty bad, but it was a great weekend and hopefully a start to a new tradition with really great friends. and, i lived to tell about it, which makes it even better.