{WW} - Surfing!

When learning to surf.........

it is most helpful.............

to have a Daddy that is willing to be your surf board Valet.

Happy Wordful Wednesday!Head over to Angie's to read more WW's.

Sunday Citar

"Paradise is where I am" - Voltaire

This is one of my favorite quotes.

Want to read more?

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PSF- Balance

Finding your balance and having a plan while visiting the tide pools is very important.

You must map out your every move.

You must test every rock for it's stability and slipperiness.

And you must make sure not to step on anything that you can hurt or can hurt you!

What does all of this mean for a picture taking mom?

It means loads of pictures of you in unnatural poses!  

But that's okay, because it is pictures like this that tell a story.  

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

Macro Monday -- Sea Life

I don't have a macro lens anymore, so I can't get those super close shots, but I do enjoy getting up close and personal with my telephoto lens.

So I am going to play along with Lisa's Chaos Macro Monday! This first picture is what a sea anemone looks like when the tide rolls out and leaves it exposed to the world. 

I love how it tries to hide and protect itself with a bunch of ocean litter.

What kills me is that many visitors to the tide pools don't recognize that these clumps of broken shells are living creatures and they stomp all over them in their tennis shoes. Ouch!

I'll bet if they realized they were walking all over this lovely creature they would be much more careful!

PSF - Let's go to the beach!

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

On Saturday morning I woke up to the sound of rain falling.  We don't get rain very often so it was a welcomed sound.

When I walked into the dining room I could tell by the way the sky looked that there had to be a rainbow somewhere outside.  I wasn't disappointed.  This rainbow (unlike the last one I shared a few months ago) was not only a complete arching rainbow that reached from one side of the valley to the other.....it was also a double rainbow.

In between storms I decided to take my Canon down to the beach to practice using some new found camera knowledge.  It is so nice going to the beach this time of year!  Why?  The lack of people inhabiting the sand!

I did however find a lot of seagulls hanging out!  It was late in the afternoon and the perfect time to get a few reflection shots.  

The late afternoon is also good for taking shots of long shadows.  I wished I had the nerve to ask these surfers to pose for me.  Because I would have moved just a little more to the left in order to capture the great shadows they were casting.

As it so happens, I was being quick so that I wouldn't get caught taking their picture.

After photographing the backsides of a few more unsuspecting surfers I decided to sit down on some rocks near the waters edge and see what I could find to shoot.

I found the above sea weed bobber thing-a-ma-jiggy and while I was concentrating on getting the exposure and focus just so the water came up and covered my feet!

Crap!  I should know better than to wear anything but flip flops to the beach, but it was cold and.......oh, I have no excuses!  I should have known better.

The water that rushed in was cold but it felt oddly warm and comforting once inside my running shoes.  My jeans on the other hand felt horrible.  Heavy, sandy and rough!

I hope you enjoyed this little trip down to the pacific ocean?

Cheers!

Wordful Wednesday - Beach scene

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On Sunday the girls and I went down to the beach.  Before hitting the sand we stopped in at a couple of stores on the main street that I have been wanting to visit.

Since it was Sunday the beach bars were over flowing with  football fans.....young loud football fans.  It was kind of funny how they were every where.  They were scantly clad, overly excited and they were reeking of beer (and probably the left overs of a fun Saturday night).

As we passed by a group of good looking college aged kids my older daughter said, "Wow, everyone is so fit down here."

I laughed at her comment because it was true.  We were surrounded by a lot of hot looking 20 somethings.

I am 41 and I don't consider myself old, but walking down the street with my two young daughters and all of these tan wrinkle free 20 somethings I all of a sudden felt very old!

You would think that it was their young bodies that made me feel old.  Nope, it was the fact that I was probably the only one in the crowd that was annoyed that the self centered youngin's ignored the "No bike riding on the side walk" signs and freely darted between the crowd with their beach cruisers!

Just call me Grandma!!!

Photo Story Friday - New Friends!

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

This past summer we had the good fortune to make friends with a new family while we vacationed at the Ranch.  The mom and I hit it off right away and our oldest girls soon became quick friends.  

Both girls are only a few weeks apart in age and had a lot in common, which means Vicki and I also had a lot in common!  

By the end of the week the two teens were attached at the hip and sharing each other's clothes!  It was sad when we had to say goodbye, but we all promised to stay in touch.  
So that is just what we have done! During Thanksgiving we had the opportunity to meet up again!  They drove down near us to go hiking and then traveled about an hour and half away to have Thanksgiving with family.
We jumped at the chance to spend an afternoon together!  My friends sister generously opened her beautiful home to our family.  We spent a few hours chatting and catching up and getting to know Vicki's husband (he didn't come to the Ranch) and her sister.
After munching on some yummy Thanksgiving leftovers we took to girls Ice skating down at the beach!  Yes, that is the way we roll here in Southern California!  We Ice skate under the shade of palm trees.

After ice skating we headed down to the beach.  Since it was late and we were going out to dinner we asked all four girls not to get wet.  Of course the big girls thought they could keep from getting wet if they just rolled up their skinny jeans.  

Which really means, we will shake our heads, agree not to get wet, but ultimately we are going to do what we want.  "I mean like what's the big deal MOM it's only water!"

So we gave up and just let them be kids!  Because really, it isn't just water......it's fun and when you are a kid what is more important than having some fun?