CA Girl

Growing up, this CA Girl lived a whopping ten miles from the beach.  There were countless beach trips in my childhood and teen years.  I loved the beach.  I still do.  I don't even mind "stealing the beach."  The amount of sand you take home in your suit. Living where I do now, going to the beach is something to be carefully planned, and also not a regular thing.  We all love it though.  So instead of going on the 4th of July like all the other crazy people did, we went the next day. The top left picture shows a bridge we pass under on the way to the beach.  It's been there as long as I can remember.  I think it is so interesting.  Emily didn't want her picture taken, but I was sneaky.  Kristin and her bestie were all too happy to pose.  Ryan was too into LILO & STITCH too care.  Why oh why am I jeans at the beach????  Because it was only 64 degrees.  Brrrr.  Surprisingly, the water was warm, but the air was not. Rich and I were wimps.  We cuddled

When we first moved to our CA home five years ago(it will be officially 5 on my birthday!), our neighborhood was quiet.  Almost tumbleweed quiet.  I remember having pangs of guilt when my kids would play outside.  They are noisy.  But then, kids are supposed to be noisy right?  And no one ever said anything to me.  It was great.  My kids were allowed to be noisy and play.  They loved it, and I loved it.  There was one thing missing.  More kids.  My street was sadly lacking children.  My kids were happy and fine, but I wanted kids on the street.  Then last year, a family moved in and I got my wish.... This family has three children ages 9, 7 and soon to be 5(now).  At first I welcomed them over because it meant kids could play together.  But soon it was a habit, and a bad one.  The mom would say my kids could come over to her house too, but it never seemed to happen.  My food was being eaten, juice was being drunk, and I was growing tired of being the babysitter.  I decided they could

Are you on Instagram ?  Do you have a smart phone or iPad?  This is an app that makes picture taking lots of fun.  And then there are challenges presented by users each month to make it even more fun!  I participated with FATMUMSLIM and her "Photo-a-day" challenge for June.  And now, I am linking up with Emmymom and Janette to show you some of the pictures I took. The Left side top to bottom:  My Mornings:  at that time it was driving and lots of it.  Taking kids to school and Rich to work.  2.  Close up:  our cat's eye.  No easy task, but I got him.  3.  6 o'clock.  It was six at night and the kids were having a water balloon fight.  The Right side:  The weekend overall:  Water balloon fight, Ryan got his fan page(I control it) pool party. Last:  Low Angle:  Ryan builds an army for battle Left to right (top)  Yellow:  A yellow rose in my mom's yard, 2.  Your favorite picture:  this one speaks volumes but if you want the story go here .  3.  Sometime