Salt Creek Fun

The boys and I have gone to the beach a lot these past few weeks and I have hundreds of pictures. Instead of posting them all now, here are a few that I have edited from out day yesterday at Salt Creek Beach.

This was a few days ago at Aliso Creek Beach...One of my favorite family photos!

The Angels with my angel

I took my oldest to his first Angels baseball game today. we had a blast although they lost :( We had two home runs hit towards us, we sat right behind the bullpen and he even was able to run around the bases after the game. America's favorite pastime is one of my favorite memories growing up and I love sharing it with my boys. I can't wait to do this again!

Outside the stadium

In front of the bullpen

Warming up

Trout hit a homerun today! (He's the closer one)

In our seats

Waiting in line to run the bases

On the field

In front of the Angels' dugout

A view of our seats from the field

On our way home

My youngest wanted to join in the pics before the game.

Taking a break

I am taking a break from Life's Little Wonders for the summer to pursue another writing project and discipline myself in being present...cutting out Facebook,TV and limiting the Internet/texting. Email me at acdance14@aol.com if you are interested in being a part of this new project.

Have a great summer!

Happy 4th of July!

Today was not what I expected at all, but it ended up being exactly what I needed and I still was able to have my favorite part of the night: watching the fireworks from my parents' backyard while snuggling  with my boys in a warm blanket. 

Not what I expected

I spent all day yesterday with Austin - he helped me at the Big Ring Century bike ride (water station), took him to a birthday party and then took only him to church last night. Today, I decided I was going to spend a few hours with Ryan. It didn't end up that way at first. We decided to go to the park this morning and I took Austin as well. We had been there for about 30 minutes when I heard "Mom! Ryan's bleeding really bad!" Sure enough, it looked like the top of his toe had been sliced off (with the skin still attached), it was covered in sand and bleeding.

I took Austin back to my parent's house and off to the ER we went. Spending three hours in the ER was not what I meant by spending alone time with Ryan.

We read books and sang songs through his crying and, eventually, playing Angry Birds stopped the tears. Seriously - that game does wonders for my kids sometimes.

Ryan's nurse was a girl I went to high school with and she said that a guy we went to high school with was also in the ER. It was good to see her and catch up a bit.

In the end, our tax dollars that pay for my sons' military insurance went to good use...for a band-aid. The toe looked much worse than it was. They cleaned it, cut off the skin and gave him a band-aid. It could have been worse, and well, we did get to spend a few hours alone together :)

In Awe of Creation

I admit, I am not really a nature person. I like to be outdoors - hiking, camping, beach, bike riding - but I don't live for it. I like flowers and scenery because I think they are pretty. I like the weather, just because I like the changes in weather. I have a hard time looking at the nature that God created and being in awe of God's creation. I try - but it often feels fake. I try to teach my kids that God made it all and to respect nature and to look at it's beauty from the perspective of God revealing himself through it, but I struggle doing it myself.

On Friday night, I stood in awe of God's creation and the beauty He reveals of himself through it.

It was an amazing experience to share with my 4-year-old. We were driving home from Costco when it started to rain (again.) As we sat at a red light, it started to hail. While it was hailing, the sky to our left was bright blue with fluffy white clouds and the bright, almost blinding sun peaking out from them. The sky to our right was dark shades of grey and the biggest, brightest rainbow I had ever seen (honestly.) It was my son's first rainbow that he can remember.

It was beautiful and for the first time that I can remember, I was consumed with God's majesty - His creation - His love - His beauty - His order - His perfection. I can't explain it, but if you've ever experienced this you know what I am trying to say.

While my son was so excited about this rainbow, I took the opportunity to tell him the story of Noah and why God created rainbows. As I looked at the different scenes, the bright blue sky while it was hailing and the dark grey sky with the rainbow, it was such a reminder of God's presence and when all skies seem dark and worries are pounding down on me.

Photography

I love to take pictures. I love it! I inherited it from my dad. My sister loves it, my dad's sister loves it. My uncle loves it. I am sure there are even more people in my family who love it. I grew up going to garage sales with my dad while he was searching for old, antique cameras. When my prom dates picked me up, they were greeting with cameras and fake lighting. I have so many pictures form my childhood because of it and all of the memories to go along with them. My dad bought a new camera not too long ago and I really like to play with it. I recently took it to AZ with us and took some great pictures of our friends. A lot of my close friends have started photography business and they are awesome! I just like it as a hobby :)

For my birthday this year, I bought myself PS Elements and some Paint The Moon Actions. Here are my attempts at "cool" photo editing. ***If any of my awesome photography friends are reading this (you all know who you are), feel free to give me tips and pointers.