This assignment should have been easy given that it was the 4th of July weekend. However, our holiday wasn’t as surrounded by patriotism as it usually is. We didn’t attend any parties (usually we’re invited to a handful of them), didn’t light or watch any fireworks and didn’t go to any parades. It was pretty much a quiet weekend given that we were recovering from vacation.

So I had to stretch a bit. You won’t find any pics of flags or soldiers or bright lights in the sky. Instead my pictures are more a celebration of Americana.

One way we celebrated was to attend the College World Series Home Run Derby at the new TD Ameritrade Park. We ate hot dogs and watched baseball. Only way we could have been more American is to throw in some apple pie!

It was a hot evening and so we didn’t stay for the whole thing. But Isabella had a good time while we were there. This pic of her playing with a blue ball, wearing her hat and with the baseball field in the background seemed just perfect for a series on patriotism and America!

Our 4th of July day was spent with family. We went to my parent’s house and played outside before eating. The kids played in the pool while the adults played Frisbee.

However, before the Frisbee game got going, the adults sat around watching the kids. I have a feeling this scene was played out in houses across the country – family sitting around watching kids play and fireworks go off.

The kids loved playing in the pool. Even Isabella! She seems to have inherited my innate fear of water so she was hesitant to get in. I finally got her to stand in it without crying and eventually she started enjoying herself.

I was so proud of her. I know the fear she felt and I have never been able to overcome it. So the fact that she got in there and faced it was super awesome!

I like this one of all the cousins playing. The 4 of them crammed in to the pool and splashing around! They were in there for a good hour too!

I hope everyone else had a great holiday filled with celebrations of America and family! To see more patriotic pics, head on over to I Should Be Folding Laundry!

If you liked this, you might also like:

You Capture: Purple

You Capture: Bathrooms

You Capture: Flowers

I almost skipped this week’s challenge. Apparently this was not a very “purple” week for me as I really could not find anything that was purple and photo worthy.

Until today.

See, CJ got food poisoning last night and so I had to take the day off work to watch Isabella so he could sleep and puke. As we were playing outside, I realized she was wearing a purple shirt and from there all sorts of pictures popped up!

Munchkin was playing with her sand table. Much of the sand was wet from all the rain and therefore sticky. She didn’t seem to mind though!

CHEEEEESE MOMMY!!!

This is a ground covering we have in the backyard. It’s a really dark purple color that contrasts nicely with the green around it. The lighting wasn’t the best but hopefully you get the idea.

Well, that’s all I have for purple this week. Was hoping for something more creative like I had with red and pink but oh well. You win some, you lose some. Head on over to Beth’s to see what she and others did with the theme!

If you liked this, you might also like:

You Capture: Bathrooms

You Capture: Flowers

You Capture: Games

Yes you read that right. This week’s You Capture theme is bathrooms. At first thought I was daunted by this one. How the heck are you supposed to take creative pictures of a bathroom and keep out the gross factor? Well here’s what I came up with. Let me now what you think!

Work

Much of the bathroom time in my life is spent in this one at work. As far as bathrooms go, it’s a pretty nice one. Always clean, they have Mary Kay stuff in there and its rather posh as evidenced by the next picture.

(BTW, this was taken with my new iPhone. Wasn’t sure if it would take as good of pics as my Droid did but so far I am pleased! I do like that it’s faster – doesn’t have the 2 second delay like the Droid)

Snakeskin

This is the wallpaper in the bathroom above. Snakeskin. Or at least that’s what I think it is. I remember when they first put it in. We all thought it was garish. But I’ve grown used to it and it’s kind of funky. The texture makes for an unusual picture too.

Home

This is what I find in my bathroom every morning when I step out of the shower. He’s my morning buddy.

Trader Joe’s 

I’ve only been to Trader Joe’s once and it was last week. I just happened to use the restroom while there and found these lovely paintings on the walls. I’m assuming they do that for every city they’re in. Pretty cool actually. It made my potty experience that much more pleasant.

Well there you have it. Bathroom. Restroom. Potty. Ladies’ Room. Little Girls Room. Whatever you want to call it, it’s been documented.

Beth is taking a break this week off due to the death of a close friend so you won’t get to see her take on this until next week. I’m sure it’ll be worth the wait!

If you liked this, you might also like:

You Capture: Flowers 

You Capture: Games

You Capture: Pink

It was fun getting back in to the swing of You Capture with this week’s theme. Flowers are blooming everywhere and that’s one of my favorite parts of summer – all the bright colors and gorgeous blooms!

Irises

I never knew how much I loved irises until we bought this house 5 years ago. The previous owners had them planted in the back and every year when they bloom it’s like a gift from above.

Peonies

Isabella and I have been closely watching the peonies. Everyday we’d go outside and check on their progress. They slowly grew and then produced small buds. Then those buds got bigger until one day – pop! – out came a flower! Isabella thought the whole process was fascinating. I was just happy to have that touch of pink in the yard!

Roses

I cannot tell a lie. I took this picture as I was leaving the salon. I got a few funny looks. They had these planted along the side of the building and I thought they looked so pretty. Roses are classics!

Dandelions

Isabella picked these for me. She came running over and handed me this little bouquet of fuzzies and was so proud. I loved them too. I remember picking them as a kid and blowing on the fuzz to watch it fly away. She does the same thing but she preserved this batch, well most of it, for her mama. Such a sweet girl. They are perfect because they’re from her.

For more pretty flower pics, head on over to Beth’s!!

If you liked this, you might also like:

You Capture: Games

You Capture: Pink

You Capture: Spring

It’s been a month since I’ve done a You Capture post. My life has been super busy and one of the first things to go was taking pictures. I hate that I dropped it so easily but it was either that or the house or Isabella or date nights or work or Josh Groban. You can see why photos was the obvious choice.  At any rate, I am back this week and hopefully on a more consistent basis. It was kind of nice to take a break. It was starting to feel too much like work and not as much fun. But now I’m ready to go again!

Here is a pile of Isabella’s favorite puzzles. They’re bright and colorful and she can do them in her sleep.

I love the fact that she’s wearing her new sun hat with her ice cream pajamas while holding a Santa Claus riding a bike (with a woobie in her mouth). Does it get better than that?

We’re trying to teach her that an important part of playing is cleaning up. She’s usually pretty good about it. Especially if we make it a game!

That’s it! Glad to be back to You Capture and look forward to next week’s assignment. For more photos, go check out all the links at Ishouldbefoldinglaundry.com!

If you liked this, you might also like:

You Capture: Pink

You Capture: Spring

You Capture: Smile