You Capture - Water & Purple

I love the blooms that come from lily pads.  so pretty.

when I think of or see lily pads, I think of toads & frogs, and when I think of or see toads & frogs, I think of Prince Charming ... and this was before Princess & The Frog.

(I'm actually not a fan of that movie; watched it once and the voo-doo struck a cord with me to make our first and last time watching it.)

Can't say I'd kiss one to find out if he was my Prince Charming ... would you?

I do like Kermit though. :)

These pictures were taken at the gardens at Turtle Bay in Redding, CA.  We seemed to have the place to ourselves.  it was very peaceful & just beautiful.

Water

Purple

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You Capture - Pretty

when one becomes a good photographer, do pictures even need a caption? 

I'm not claiming to be there yet or anything, I'm just asking.

Pretty

find something pretty

get out your camera

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YOU Capture - Youth

ok so here's a no brainer - my kids are a constant reminder of how young I am not.  I am no longer able to live carefree ... not like a child can ... because I'm always the one saying "no, don't touch that" or "what do you say?" or "did you remember to flush?"  as a mom, you are always [trying] to make sure your little ones get in the habit of dotting the i's and crossing the t's.

but also, without them, I'd forget all about silly time, extra hugs & kisses, funny jokes, and rapsberries on bellies.  good times.

remember doing this as a kid?  this is my Elliott, realizing I was far away taking pictures ... doing something, anything apart from him.  you see, I'm still his absolute favorite person in the world.  he's running to give me a hug, because its been 5 whole minutes.  I love his love.

the 2 in the back are my eldest son Samuel, and his friend Porter.  boys doing what boys do.

after Elliott reached me, he found this guy on the shore ... its dead, but still a great little biology lesson.  he's not afraid in the least, and THAT is what I love about kids the most.  no fear.  so willing to touch and learn.  no hesitation and all faith.

this part of youth needs to continue to be rubbed off on me ... every single day please!

join us, its fun!

YOU Capture - Circles

I was not at home a few days this week.  we were able to stay at a condo in downtown Waikiki, which was a fun change of pace for the kids & I.

it was here that I was in search of circles ...

Sam couldn't stop laughing.  then I couldn't stop laughing.

this was the best either of us could do!

but I do LOVE these baby blue circles.

your typical hawaiian decor.

what's a vacation rental without the gaudy golden fruit?!

1/2 the reason I came was for these circles.

the laundry was free to do, so EVERYTHING came along to get clean.

it's me ... and a circle, my Nikon D40

what kind of camera do you use?

Sam actually won this in the usual rip-off grabby-game in the arcade

... that's what I call it anyway.

and tonight we're home in time for this circle.

sunsets never get old.  never.

in case you missed all the links, visit HERE for this:

YOU Capture - Outside

being in Hawaii just 6 months, I have sooooooo many pictures of the beach.  I love them all.  its difficult not to take a beautiful shot.  they don't call this place paradise for nothin'!

but for this YOU Capture, I wanted to show you something different.

I am no world traveler, but I have never seen these trees anywhere else.  I still don't know the name, or should I say, I haven't done any research on the who/what/where/when/why of this tree.

there are a lot of them around Honolulu, and zero around my neighborhood which is only an hour away.

the boys thought it was pretty neat too.
here, Samuel's Tarzan-instinct is taking over.

the established branches grow roots.
they hang and grow until they reach the ground.

a twisted mess.

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YOU Capture - Sweetness

love

what can I say?

Samuel loves all creatures alike.

capture your moment of sweetness and join us @

I Should be Folding Laundry.

YOU Capture - Kindred

I love all the carnivals going on in blogland!  I'm trying to find ones that I can get into ... YOU Capture is one I can get into.  thank you!


read about how to do it here, and then join everyone at I Should Be Folding Laundry.




 kindred - what a great theme to take pictures of!


for me, this is easy.  I have 2 kids, and although they are nearly 4 years apart, they look like twins ... of course they're different sizes, but look at the pictures and you'll see that clearly they are brothers.

climbing trees together

waiting for lunch ... mama, I'm staaaaaaarving!

Elliott says "just kidding"

bathtime got quiet.
I knew no one was drowning, so I got the camera ready.