Fun at the Beach

We spent a relaxing three days in Seaside with our friends Ben and Sara and their adorable tot, Flynn. Since weather at the Oregon coast is pretty fickle we were lucky to get sunshine and enough warmth to walk barefoot on the sand and wade in the ocean. Collin and Flynn were sweet together and loved playing chase, building sandcastles and of course getting as wet and as dirty as possible. Boys.

I also got to experiment with my digital SLR camera. I took a photography class and am excited to say I can now use the manual setting! And I have a better understanding of aperture, shutter speed and lighting. Of course I still have a lot to learn. Photography is not as intuitive as I thought. I have a definite respect for photographers who do this as a profession.

And then there's Photoshop which brings a whole other complexity. I'm playing around with Photoshop Elements but to get into the more detailed stuff think I'm going to need to take a class. It could take hours wading through all their tutorials...

Here are some of my favorite shots:

Sleepy babe after a hike


Riding the waves (no that's not any of us)


Nothing beats running on the sand with a stick


Ooh yucky


Love the foot prints


In Collin words, "I touch the sky!"


Flynn loves his spaghetti


Gorgeous beach sunset


Lots and lots of seagulls to chase


This looked fun


Let's catch the waves!


Haystack Rock


Up close at Haystack Rock


Can he get any cuter, seriously?


I really like the colors, contrast and composition oh yeah


Cute boys, I wish the background wasn't a tarp though. Maybe I can photoshop this one day to a beach scene.

It's been fun but it's time to move on

Well I'm officially out of the 20's.

My early 20's were full of awkward angst ridden, quasi-child, kind of moments. Feeling lost. Trying new things. Trying to hide who I was. Way too many days of being hungover. Travels. College and graduation. Living on my own for the first time. Trying to find a job I didn't hate.

Then I met THE guy. I found a job I didn't not just hate. I get to wake up every morning and feel good about what I'm doing.

And along came the baby carriage. And of course that was a total game-changer.

I grew up a lot this past decade. I figured out what love means. How friendship evolves. What it feels like to breathe in a newborn's sweet smell and know he's yours. To take risks.

To know I'm a talented writer. To understand that change isn't easy but it's necessary. I learned not to be so quiet. And to stand up. But to also value myself and know it's okay that I'm shy and not miss type A personality.

To the 30's I say bring it on sista. I'm ready for you. I look forward to learning more and trying to make sense of this crazy world.

Rub-a-dub-dub

Collin has gone through many different phases with baths. Our first experience with a sponge bath went like this:


For a while we took him in the shower with us, he actually seemed to find that soothing. But that phase quickly passed and we were back to the baby bath. And then a fun inflatable ducky that went into the bath tub.







Then he graduated to being in the big bath tub all by himself. He was loving that until a few months ago when he would scream and try and claw his way out of the bathtub.

And now he's back to a happy water tot. Mostly because of these annoying water crayons that bleed all over, cost $6 and last about a week.






He stays until his skin is puckered and wrinkly.


How dare you take me away from the tub!