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Only Because It Was Bath Night

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Last night? Spaghetti night. Also? Bath night.

For some reason, I just felt like letting the kids just get messy. After all, a thorough scrub-down was in the plan after dinner.

They didn’t disappoint.

Little Roo (with his fresh boo-boo under his eye) grabbed his plate and dumped it.

 

And this is why I take so many pictures… to get money shots like this. My beautiful, messy boy.

The noodle on the left? Got there by itself. The ones on the right? Well, Big Roo had a hand in that.

And then the goofiness started.

Despite all the craziness of two kids (yesterday the highlight of their day was running and scream through the house), THAT silly, brotherly love makes me melt.

I Just Chose Six

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Out of the 100+ pictures I took for Easter, I narrowed it down to six to share with you. I’m sure you’re grateful because how many pictures of kids hunting eggs can you possibly look at, right?

Super interesting stuff

The innocent, peaceful pose I get when I say "look at the camera!"

The first time I've ever bought matching outfits (other than Christmas PJs)

I love how Burt the pink bear has mulch all over his head.

Oh, that smile! ::melt::

Such a sweet picture I had to do something different with it.

Guest Post: Five Must-Have Shots to Take in Yosemite National Park

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Happy Hump Day, everyone! Today’s guest blogger is Debi from Go Explore Nature.

Debi was one of my first blogging friends. I was new and timid, wondering “who on Earth is gonna read what I have to say?” Then Debi came along on Twitter, told me about the #playoutdoors hashtag and well, made me feel WELCOME into this great big blogging world. She blogs about getting kids and families outdoors and I know I can always go to her site for inspiration!

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This post is 100 percent inspired by my lovely host, Melissa. Honest! I loved her post, Five Must-Have Shots to Take on Your Next Beach Trip so much, I wanted to share my own version for a favorite national park of mine, Yosemite.

How do you get terrific shots when visiting a place so picturesque it makes your photos look fake? I’m certainly no expert, but here are a few things I tried on our recent visit to the family cabin.

1. Where you hiked

If you’re visiting Yosemite, you’re going hiking. (And if you aren’t, you should be!) Taking a photo at the trailhead is an easy way to remember where you went, how far the hike was and who went with you. Word of advice: Take this shot before the hike, not after.

2. The waterfalls

Yosemite National Park is well known for its waterfalls – trust me, I have countless pictures of them to prove it. This year, I tried something a little different. I took some fun shots of the kids (and me, too, I swear!) goofing off in front of each of the falls we visited. No surprise that these pictures turned out to be some of my favorites.

3. The big trees

I love the trees in Yosemite. I swear they just smell good. But how to get a decent shot of one that captures their grandeur? This idea comes courtesy of our family’s biggest explorer, dad. He always takes self-portraits, but this one with our little explorer (2 years old) really gives you an idea of just how tall those giant sequoias are.

4. The river

My kids can’t even swim yet, but we spent two full days hanging out at the river.  The trick here is to focus less on the river itself and more on what your kids are doing. Mine loved hunting for rocks, then tossing them back in to see which made the biggest splash or how far they could throw them. I love the look of excitement on my little guy’s face in this picture. Musta been one huge splash!

5. The nature play

When you aren’t touring Yosemite Valley’s iconic natural surroundings, what are the kids up to? These are the moments you’ll want to treasure, trust me. I took a ton more pictures this year of my kids playing in nature than I did of the previous four items on this list. And I’m glad I did because among all those shots were some real winners.

I realize that not all of you have been to Yosemite National Park. But I’m hoping some of you have been to at least one national park (come on, people!). What are your favorite shots to take – you know, the ones that make you feel like you really captured your experience?