I Love The Smell of Chlorine and Sunblock in the Morning
it smells like victory.
Did you know Tessa turns TWO on Wednesday?! How exciting to have a two year old - "This is my daughter, she is two." I get to say that now.
We decided not to do a party again this year for her, and instead we are going to just keep doing what we have been doing with these summer days. She has been having so much fun, why ruin it with a party. We are really trying to squeeze the most out of this time off we have before everyone starts working again. This has been one of my most favorite summers of all time, but I feel like I keep saying that every year. Do I? I will have to go back and check my records.
We shipped ourselves away for the summer, and spend most of our time at "Camp Gido", where we have been making sure Tessa makes her full transformation into a fish, and that LB learns how to catch them. Between the pool, the lake, and the fluffy green grass, I'm not sure these kids are going to remember what shoes are. It has been a barefoot summer for sure.
The afternoon rain has been cooperating so far, and gives everyone a nice break and reason to get out of the water, and when the clouds start to break apart in the sky and the storms move off, it makes the sunsets over the lake really spectacular. Too bad we don't like to drink Corona, because every time at sunset when I walk by those two chairs pictured at the bottom of this post, I keep thinking that I am supposed to be sitting there drinking one, and toss my phone in the water.
** All photos taken on land with a Canon7D mounted with the 24mm 1.4 lens, underwater photos taken with the Kodak Sport underwater thingy, it's super fun.
Posts
46 comments:
I love every single picture on here. You guys are having so much fun, it's obvious and I envy you.
Keep posting about it, it brings a smile to my face. Thank you.
xxx
Ha! The dog looks cold or scared or totally unsure of what is going on. She's so cute.
@Roxy- That dog is camera shy. She gets a camera pointed at her and she gets that cowardly look. I can't tell if it is cute, or shameful :) She is also terrified of thunder storms. Like shaking like a leaf afraid. We think she was stuck in some storms when she was out on the street. Thank you for the comments, I am glad these make you smile.
I think you guys should adopt me.
@Kathleen - you know you can come visit any time you want this summer. You know this.
ONE WEEK!!! That dock scares me!! <3
What a beautiful bunch of photos. I'm loving the relaxed, easy feel of your wonderful summer posts (especially since it's freezing cold in Australia at the moment!)
I also cannot believe that Tessa is almost two! That means that I've been following along with your beautiful little family for OVER TWO YEARS!
Sometimes I forget that we don't really know each other and we actually live 1000's of miles away, on opposite sides of the earth!
Oh how I wish we were neighbours!
Lots of Love
xox Hannah
These photos are great.
Gosh how I would love my summer to look like yours (rather than the four beige walls of my office.)
Looks like the kiddos have wonderful memories in the making. :)
Oh my god! The dog is so sweet! Absolutely lovely!
Great picture (as always).
Have a nice day
Selena
No way Tessa is 2! Impossible! Because that makes me 2 years older than when I began reading this blog...crazy. Wonderful, wonderful photos. The one of Cole and the children underwater holding hands should be on the cover of a magazine. Your family will be so, so glad that you took these photos and preserved these memories. Thank you as always for sharing :-)
your family is so exquisite and real. these shots made me so crazy excited that we are moving back to florida in september. i can't wait to get home.
Jet Skis? Now I'm officially jealous!
kids underwater! i can't believe it! you guys must be spending some for serious time at the pool-beach-lake, seeing how comfortable the kiddos are!!! amazing shots.
and that green grass. man, i cannot get enough of bare feet here either.
happy summer, y'all!
Tessa seems like a fantastic swimmer. We did the lessons with my daughter but she's kind of a scaredy cat. It doesn't help that our swim "season" is like 3 seconds long so we don't get much practice. I definitely need to experience this Florida place. Glad you guys are having fun, thanks for sharing the photos.
I really love these photos. I really think I should figure out a different way to say that, since I feel like I do the same on every post!
I just glanced at your response to Roxy (about your sweet pup); apparently dogs sense the difference in electricity in the air before a thunderstorm, so rubbing them down with a dryer sheet can help if they feel anxious (lavender scented would probably help- haha!). Or maybe she's just a scaredy cat/dog! ;)
Ha, that's funny you mention her transformation into a fish. SpouseMan and I were watching Ponyo, and he mentioned that the little fish/little girl reminds him of the little girl from "that blog", meaning Tessa. Iiiiif you haven't seen it you should, because he's totally right. We watched it streaming on Netflix if you have that.
Your family is looking as awesome as ever! IF every summer makes you say "this is the best summer" the I'd say you're a lucky guy!
precious, per usual! tessa is looking more and more like a little GIRL and not a baby! amazing. also, LOVE cole's hair in this post. love love love. (and want.)
LOVE these photos. I am turning into a summer lover too now that I have kids. It sounds like you're having a grand start to summer.
Love the pictures! Especially the umbrella one. How do you get the Tangerine to swim like that? My 16 month old has no fear of water but he is struggling with going under. Weird!
That photo of Cole holding hands underwater with Tessa and LB made me think "gah,I hope this is blown up and framed in his house!" but then again, so did the rest of the photos.
(do you just have a thousand pictures on your walls? or one of those digital frames? you have to display these at all times, they're phenomenal)
@Alice- Cole and I have been doing lessons with her for weeks. We read that kids that don't mind keeping their eyes open in the water have an easier time with things, and we got lucky with her. She doesn't mind at all. Like most things with Tessa, we just got lucky.
@Nikki- I wish we did. There is one small photo on the wall here. We have just never gotten around to doing it. Such a bummer. We need to get on this.
these should be the posters for the FL travel bureau -
awesome, just awesome - that pic of the three underwater is just spectacular - thanks for sharing =)
You make me want to take pictures.
love love love these pics, especially the underwater ones :)
These moments are priceless! I love it!
Wow! Look at LB and Tessa swimming! They look like total naturals. That is really really cool. Is that really young for Tessa to swim? I'm totally impressed.
happy birthday Tessa! :) can't imagine she is so big already!!
your summer looks amazing:) this reminds me to go for a swim:) and i think your kids have the same age difference as mine so in sth like two years they should be able to play together!:)
A.:)
i love the smell of chlorine. as a lifelong swimmer, recreational and competitive, it reminds me of my youth in the best way. and add sunscreen to that and i melt into 1985.
my babe has the same striped suit. target is our friend, no?
and cole & i have the same hair at the mo'.
utterly adorable all the way round.
All of theses summer posts are reminding me of growing up in Tampa. That said, my childhood was not nearly as magical as the one your are creating for LB and Tessa. You and Cole are doing it right!
Wow... I love all the pics - but that one of Cole and the kids under water is priceless. Love the one of Tessa picking the dandelion too... and the one.. see I could go on forever. Beautiful pics! Keep on enjoying your summer!!
Love these. I think I'm having the best summer ever, too.
and your family & photos are amazing!!!
Love all these photos, and thanks for answering my "how did you do the underwater photos" question before I ever asked it!
OMG, the picture of Tessa's little toes in the grass is just too stinkin cute! And the underwater pic of Cole and the two kids is adorable!
I was just going to ask another question since you answered my first one...are you and Cole doing the lessons or taking her somewhere? Can you give me some pointers if you are doing it yourself?
Thanks!!
@Alice- We are doing the lessons ourselves, but we are in no way qualified to be giving out pointers. Tessa for the most part is a natural, and so it makes it manageable. If she was scared, or showing difficulty we would get her in lessons ASAP. Sorry I can't help.
Good luck.
SO i am mainly just a reader not a commenter.. But i HAD to comment on this post, these pictures are SO beautiful! you're work is amazing :) i love it all. Tessa is the same age as my daughter Arli, and they have a very similar look, so i LOVE lookin at pics of her. beautiful!! Oh and whered you get those goggles for her?
OH and I just had to pin that pic of tessa looking down in her swimsuit.
@Michelle- Thank you for saying hi and the compliments on the photos :) We got those goggles for the kids & Cole at Sports Authority but I have seen them all over the place. She hated the smaller traditional goggles on her eyes, and the mask covering her nose didn't work. She loves these and never takes them off.
LOVE the shot of all three holding hands. I just got an underwater camera (olympus tough) and am still trying to figure out the timing. I told my kids to "swim in slow motion!" Ha!
Ryan - I've noticed that I often leave your posts open in a separate window throughout most of the day (like this one).
I really enjoy them. I guess it feels wrong to cruise by them in my google reader.. so I have to leave them open to soak it in properly.
Just an observation. I'm closing this window now..
So, I usually get teary eyed over the gorgeous photos of your babies and a tad bit jealous over your so-much-more-than-cute wifey,
but this time it was that picture of your puppy that grabbed at my little heartstrings.
One of my favorites!
love, rudi
you take the most beautiful pictures of you and your babies! and congrats on T turning 2! mine turns 1 on Monday and the other one turns 3 in august! yay!
Lovely pictures! as always. Happy birthday, sweet Tessa!
These photos are beyond gorgeous. What do you use for underwater shots? (I'm sorry if you've asked and answered this a million times)
Ooh! I just bought this lens and it arrives from B&H tomorrow. Seeing your photos got me even more excited for it to arrive - great shots!
Post a Comment