We bring you this brief message from summer...

(Actually, these photos were taken on Columbus Day weekend at the Sleeping Bear Dunes on the Leelenau Peninsula in Michigan. Gorgeous summer-like weather!)

Love Your Shot Link-up

Canon Rebel XSi f/4.0 1/250 sec. ISO-100


Today I decided to participate in the Love Your Shot Link-up!

This is my favorite photo from our fall excursion to Michigan last weekend.

We were at a petting zoo and the horses loved to eat freshly picked grass from the palm of your hand. My son and daughter didn't like getting horse slobber on their hands so they chose to feed him hay instead.

I'm still a bit new and unsure of myelf in terms of editing so I tend to use the auto corrects and actions. I used PSE's Autosmart Enhance feature first. Then, I bumped up the saturation just a touch and added a bit of light with Pioneer Woman's Slight Light action. It was too light for my taste so I decreased the opacity to 50%. I finished up with Pioneer Woman's Define Sharp action.

Soccer Season

It was brisk last weekend (to say the least), but it was the first game of the season without rain!

Fall Fun

Is there a better way to spend a warm, fall day than playing in the sun and the leaves with your family?

The giggles and laughter filled us all with happiness. Sam, who has been having trouble sleeping, said he would remember this at bedtime to chase away his bad dreams.

It makes me realize that my kids (and most kids) love the little things in life!

Pumpkins, corn mazes, scary ghouls...Halloween is almost here!

Gruesome ghouls along the maze of maize.

Leaving the pumpkin patch with our find.

This little bit could pull the wagon and the pumpkin all by herself.

I can't wait to try making one of these next year!

I WISH I could be THAT mom

Photo by Peter Arndt on www.mountainproject.com

I try not to worry...but I do. I try to pretend that it doesn't bother me to watch my 8 year old son run across our busy urban street to fetch his ball, but it does. I try to refrain from crying when I see my 5 year old son fall down, hold his breath and turn blue, but I can't.

So this past weekend, when we visited Devils Lake State Park in Wisconsin, I tried to pretend that I was THAT mom...the one that encourages her kids to run ahead and tackle any challenge they find, no matter how dangerous. You see, Devils Lake is a midwestern rock climber's playground. The park is filled with cliffs and boulder fields. The boulders look as if they have just tumbled out of a truck minutes before rather than millions of years ago.

For two little boys from the Midwest, THIS is mountain climbing, THIS is heaven.

For ME, this family outing was 3 LONG hours of toturous worry and nausea.

Somewhere at the top of this boulder field is Joey. The guy in the navy blue shirt was a REAL rock climber--he used rock climbers' vocabulary--words that I have never heard before.

For Joey, sheer bliss. This photo was taken when he reached "the summit" with the zoom on my autofocus camera maxed out. I would not have been able to see his excitement with my bare eyes.

Sammy was okay going up, but needed a bit of help coming back down. The look on his face gets progressively more fearful. The first two photos are going up, the last photo, coming down.

This is more my style--all three of my little ones within arms reach!

Sensational scarves!

Finally...some cool, crisp autumn weather! It makes me think of Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Speaking of which, if you are interested in starting your holiday shopping a bit early, check out my friend Laura's shop on Etsy:

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=57775

Her scarves are absolutely beautiful, hand-felted scarves. The pictures don't show the incredible texture of the scarves. The top right scarf is made of silk and felted wool, so not quite as warm if you are looking for the perfect gift for someone in a warmer climate (or yourself). The top left photo is a felted flower which would make an excellent adornment to a plain coat, hat, or sweater.

For sewers, Laura also sells pin cushions.

Check out her site!

It's Autumn, but it feels like August

Ahhh, the cool, crisp days of autumn--perfect for picking apples with the family. The day started off cool and foggy, but as it progressed, we peeled off layers of clothing as it got hotter and hotter. By the time we got to the apple orchard, it was HOT and the mosquitos were as big as bats and swarming like bees. (An eery similarity to our strawberry picking outing when Lily was attacked by a swarm of mosquitos and we actually ran away from them.) It was sort of an aerobic apple picking outing as we literally ran from variety to variety, swatting mosquitos all the way! But in the end the apples still tasted delicious!