A few of my favorites....

I love sunset pictures....and I loooooove beach pictures. The combination of both is amazing! The following are some of my favorite pictures from our recent vacation....

I need your help with the next two pictures. The image is one of my favorite from our trip and I am planning on framing it in our home, but I can't decide on the editing that I like the best!

Help me decide please!!

In color...

Or desaturated...

Florida Vacation

This vacation has been one of my very favorite family vacations we have taken....just relaxing and spending time together on the beach. In my opinion that is a perfect vacation. Here are a few pictures...

One of my favorite parts of the vacation was when my little ones would wake me up bright and early in the morning and ask if we could go look for shells on the beach. Such special memories as we walked for miles, looked for special treasures, and watched the sun rise. We discovered crabs, starfish, and conch shells with mussels inside. Our very favorite treasures were the beautiful sand dollars.

This is our condo...right in front of the beautiful ocean! We ate breakfast every morning on the veranda and watched dolphins jumping and playing in the ocean!
The beach in front of our condo was perfect....

We played in the ocean day and night....and both kiddies loved it! The next few pictures were actually taken right after we arrived - we couldn't WAIT to hit the beach!

Jumping the waves was one of our favorite activities - loooove this picture of Eva!

Jaden loved the beach but had a few fears too....he didn't like pelicans or crabs (which makes sense), he was terrified of driftwood (hilarious), and it took him all week but he finally made peace with seagulls...

I looove miniature golf courses in the south....so fun!! Our family had a wonderful time miniature golfing one evening after dinner. Eva and Jaden LOVED it and Eva even got TWO hole in ones (that were totally legit)!!!

Eva and Jaden both spent a lot of time "surfing"! Matt and I also tried teaching them to boogie board -which was pretty funny!!

Walks on the beach....as anything better?

We built a LOT of sand castles...

And Eva and I turned Jaden into a mermaid!!!!

Dinner our last evening there...

Jaden and Eva are both amazing little travelers. On our last leg of our flights we let them sit together with Matt and I across from them....they did wonderfully (obviously little guy was a bit tuckered out)!!

Thanks for letting me share! I have just a few more pictures that I'll post soon (they are a few of my favorites that I'm planning on framing in our home).

Hope ya'll had a wonderful Turkey Day!!! Special thanks to my in-laws for an amazing Thanksgiving meal!

Ahhhhhhh.....

This Happy Housewife just returned home from a much needed vacation with her family. It was amazing.....one of my favorite family vacations we have ever taken. Just spending seven solid days with the people that are my world was enjoyment within itself....but when you add a beach to that mix I am in pure heaven. I've always been a beach girl at heart...

Of course I have a ton of pictures, and since I use my blog as a diary of my days my next few posts will be loaded with pictures of our trip.

Stay tuned....

Never. Stop. Learning.

I've heard this quote before. Actually, I've heard it numerous times. Maybe because I am a former teacher it always kind of stuck with me.

But I don't think I've really appreciated it until the last year or so.

This past year Eva has started school and I've started on a new journey with photography. I looove to watch Eva as she comes home excited about something else that she has learned....I love her eagerness to share it with me. I always want to encourage that. I always want to nurture it.

I, on the other hand, have finished my official schooling (at least for now). After a total of 19 years of schooling I currently hold a Masters Degree in Elementary Education. I have so many people ask me if I feel like I am wasting my degree because I no longer teach.

Are you kidding me?

I personally don't think any amount of learning can be considered "wasted". Sooo much of what I learned during my courses in teaching prepared me for the kind of mother I am....so much of what I have learned and experienced as a parent prepared me for the type of images I capture with my camera..images that I know would be precious to me as a parent. It all is a process and every. single. part. has helped to make me who I am today. And yes, like my 4 year old daughter I still get excited when I learn something new with my camera and I can't wait to share it with someone!

Learning is never wasted. Ever.

This happy housewife will be taking a small break from blogging for just a few days....but while I am "out" I am curious...what are you learning? How are you growing? Please share!

Tennis Anyone?

Our little girl has started Tennis lessons! She is sooo extremely excited! Every day she wakes up and says, "Is today my tennis lesson?!!!"Eva has great hand-eye coordination (she has since she was a baby) and this is the first sport she has tried that has put that skill to good use. It was soooo fun to sit there and watch her hit the ball with her instructor...the whole time a HUGE smile plastered to her face!

Way to go Eva...we love you!!


PS. Her new favorite saying is, "See ya on the court!"

Happy Veteran's Day!

Just wanted to let all the Vets out there know that I am thinking about them on this special day!! A special shout out to my own dad!! My dad was in the Marine Corp. and served in the front lines of Vietnam. I have never in my life met a man more proud to be an American.

So proud of you dad.

Love,
Jamie

PS. Yes, my little ones will be sporting their USMC sweatshirts today in support of allll of those that serve!!!

It was like totally gnarly dude....

This Halloween season Matt and I were invited to two different 80's parties....too fun! I love to go to costume parties!

It took me awhile to come up with my outfit....tights, gloves, jewelry, etc. I had to make sure everything was just right...obscene amount of bright make-up (check!)...sky high bangs (check!)...fingerless lacy gloves (check!)...etc.

Matt, on the other hand, came up with his outfit about 15 minutes before we walked out the door...and it rocked! Why did it rock you may ask? Well....everything he wore he pulled out of a tub of high school stuff we have in the basement and it was hilarious! He was pretty pumped that it still....er..."fit". I had to inform him that just because he can get it on does not mean that it "fits" - ha! Regardless, his outfit was one of my favorites and he enthusiastically informed me by the end of the evening that it was soooo comfortable he may be wearing it a lot more often....grrrrrrrreat. Ha!

Enjoy some pics of our evening...

Me and my Hottie!

My sis and her main squeeze!
Our neighbors, Rod and Jamie

Some of the guys from the neighborhood.....love the Risky Business attire!

The whole crew from one of the parties...

Unfortunately I do not have pictures from the other party....I decided not to bring my camera so I could focus on tearing up that dance floor....like I said....totally gnarly.

Brain Potpourri...

I never thought I would say this....but I've got a little blog writers block! Normally my mind is chuck FULL of things to share with you...but today....NOTHIN'.

Sooo...I thought I would share a little brain potpourri with you...ya know all those random thoughts that seem to just float in and out of your mind in the course of a day?! Ya, well here have been mine lately...

1. I've put away nearly all of my children's Halloween candy and they haven't asked for it. Not even once. Yes, in case you are wondering I am doing my victory dance. Now their father, on the other hand, seems to have found the stash and I found a snickers wrapper on the livingroom floor this morning. Busted.

2. We attended an 80's party last week and we have another one this weekend....gotta love the 80's. Gotta love the fact that my husband didn't buy one single thing for his costume for the party - he used resources he had here at home - and his outfit ROCKED. Pictures to come after the party this weekend...

3. We took our toy donations to the church this morning and it was awesome....kids were sooo good about it and Eva even colored a picture and left it for the children. Awwww.......

4. Do you ever have an Elaine moment when you hear something astonishing and feel the need to shove the person in front of you and yell, "GET OUT!!!!" I do. I had one today...but it was something I read on the computer and unfortunately you can't shove that. I did however yell, "GET OUT!!!"...which was funny since I was the only one standing in the room.

5. Photography has really taken off....a lot more than I would have imagined! I was recently contacted about photographing an adoption process at the courthouse for a family. I thought that was pretty cool!

5. My son has been telling everyone he wants to be a drum when he grows up....which comes out "Me want to be dumb"....which I think is absolutely hilarious.

6. Eva, Jaden, and I sat this morning and sharpened each and every one of their crayons into a perfect point. Is it odd I get sooooo much satisfaction from that?! I looooove sharp crayons!

7. I had girls night last week with a group of ladies I have been meeting with for over 5 years. This time we decided to get together, have a bonfire, and enjoy some...er...adult beverages. All of our husbands chuckled at the idea that we were going to have a bonfire thinking we wouldn't be able to get it started. Well....I'll be darned...I hate to admit it but those boys were right!! We even dumped lighter fluid (I'm sure my mom is freaking out as she is reading this) all over the whole thing and it STILL wouldn't start! Soooo we sat there with a fireless pit and just enjoyed our beverages until one of our husbands came over and started the fire.....jeez. We would make horrible girl scouts.

I think that's it for now friends!!! A few random thoughts...and one random story!! Ha!!! Hope you are all having a great day!!

Hugs,
Jamie

Pack em' up and move em' out....

After having children I quickly learned that toys can overtake your entire house. It's a bit crazy how quickly they multiply....a bit like rabbits.

Soooo, about twice a year we weed out the toys and get rid of the ones we don't use. This year a friend told me that a local church is accepting donations of gently used toys. They are collecting them for about a month and then they've selected some needy families in the area to come in and "Christmas shop" for free.

How cool is that?!!!!

I was pretty pumped because this just goes right along with my ongoing lesson in teaching my children to give to those in need. On top of that, the Holidays are quickly approaching and we needed to make room for more trinkets and treasures they will be sure to accumulate. So today we got packing!! It got a little messy....

But in the end we went through closets, drawers, and our entire toy area! Toys were sorted according to keep, trash, and give away. The toys we were donating were all boxed up (except the large ones) and piled high ready to load into my car!

I was proud of Eva and Jaden....they really put some effort into this whole process this morning and easily said goodbye to the toys they no longer play with or have outgrown. I'm going to make sure to take them with me when I drop the toys off so they see more of this whole process of giving.

In the end....it's a win-win situation for everyone.

I love that.