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So glad you joined up with us this week!  Loved the different takes on *Summer Treats!  Most centered on enjoying food, but we had a few treats from nature, also :)

Here are the photos that really stood out to me this week:

1) Our Peculiar Lives

I love the vibrant colors of the peach, the softness, and how tight she cropped this shot.  His little, soft boy hands are so sweet, too.



2) Janet Rose



You can just taste how cold and refreshing this treat is on a hot day.  Love the bright colors on his shirt!

Thank you everyone for playing!
I hope you will join us on Saturday when the challenge will be:

the view from here

Labels: Lens winners

Goodness, I haven't done much blogging lately, but I've been busy doing a lot of living!  ...and just hanging...reading...whatnot....

oh the places I've gone and the things I've been doing when not here on the ole' blawg...

Who's the biggest loser now, Jenn??

The Home crew went to the Orange County Fair.  It's tradition!!

Sky entered a wood-working project for the very 1st time.  It was a console cabinet for the
flat screen t.v.  We were so excited to see if he won a ribbon.  And, he did!!




Josie entered her wood burning project.  It's not the sun in the photo, but it is laying down next to her, looks like a log.  She won a blue ribbon! 

Winner!

Here's a closer photo of her entry, back when she was working on it....

Dragons. She is an artist, even with wood!

The fair is a family tradition for us.  Sadly, we go mostly for the food.  And to look around at neat stuff...and to people-watch.

I'm embarrassed for you all, Orange County...

This shocked me.  People were sitting in chairs having their teeth whitened.  Sitting there in the middle of this big exhibit room, with something propping their mouths open, for all the world to see. Has our society lost all sense of dignity??  I think the answer is yes.
Lucky for us, I had my iphone handy to catch all the scandal. 

We ate:  Greek Gyros.  Chicken strips. Fries.  Corn dogs. Beef steak sandwiches.  Funnel cake. Chocolate drizzled popcorn (which I'm pigging out on in the top photo...) I have to admit, no vegetables were consumed.  Usually we have the roasted corn, but we peetered out. I did have a chocolate frozen banana- I'm all about healthy eating...

So lovelies, what have you been up to this Summer?? 

Labels: family, Jen's world

Here's my shameless pitch.  Bloggy best-y friends, would you hop over to the Circle of Moms site and vote for my lil ol' blog for Top 25 So. Ca blogs?  Because, I have a blog...and I'm in So. Ca...and I'm a mom, and I'd love to be included with the best... it would almost be as good as chocolate. Okay, I lied, it would actually be better!

You can click the link here *Circle of Moms top 25 So. Ca Blogs  or you can click the little pink button on my sidebar.

While you are there, give my friend, Caffeinated OC Mommy a vote too!  Her blog is kind of new, and very large on spunk...click over, you'll have a good time!

You can vote once a day till August 11th!

Labels: blogging

Here's stuff I visit when I'm not here blogging..somehow surfing takes up less energy/brain power... :)

• BlogHer is coming up, squee!  Anyone else going?  This will be my first year!  I am so excited, and kind of nervous.  For those of you attending- or for anyone planning on attending a blogging conference soon, Amy over at Delusional has a great blog series about BlogHer and branding yourself.  Click on over :)

• **  How to survive the Mother Hood [get your street cred here] by Bungalow '56 ~ advice to take to heart. {{I'm swooning over her Jackie O look, so classy!}}

• **Snape Lust over at Heroes and Heartbreakers a list of 10 reasons.  Snape is the villain you hate to love, by the end of the book you loved him...here's why...

10. "...J.K. Rowling took an enormous risk, gambling the climax of her epic series on her ability to build up Snape’s ambiguity to a screaming point and then pull off an unspoiled reveal at the end. And what do we see when all is revealed? A vision of love so white-hot that it dazzles....

• What would you do if all you had worked for on Twitter suddenly disappeared?!?  Janice Croze shares about the value of Twitter followers over at MomCrunch.  With the recent glitches happening over at twitter, this is pretty timely. 

Labels: blogging

Welcome to the LEarning Never Stops Photo Challenge.

This week's theme is   ~Summer Treat. 

Linky will close 10 p.m. Monday night, 2 winners will be chosen/displayed on Tuesday night.  Please link to your entry page, not your main blog page.  Photo sharing sites are welome, please visit around to be neighborly :)

Labels: Lens

I loved looking at all the photos for this challenge.  I say almost every week that it is hard to chose just two, but this week it was really hard to narrow it down to just two picks. 

Here are the picks for this week:

1) The Missionary Mama



I can see why this little guy is her sunshine!  This photo has so much personality, and  I love how her subject is in the forefront, grabbing our eye. 


2) A Meg Moment


A fun action shot.  I love the beautiful scenery, and how she caught the swing of the subject's hair, and the golden sunlight bouncing off her hair.  Wonderful shot!

Thank you everyone for playing with us!  We had some new participants this week, I enjoyed getting to know you a bit on your blogs :) 

I hope you will join us on Saturday, when the challenge will be:

{Summer Treat}

Labels: Lens winners

I'm sharing today over at The Homeschool Village about sneaking some learning in during the Summer. Have you heard of the Magic Tree House Passport Program?  Check it out, and inspire your children to read!

• Summer is time for creative learning fun ~guest post @ The Homeschool Village

So, bloggy friends, do you have a deep-seated need/compulsion to keep the learning happening even during the Summer? Or, do you give your kids and yourself a much needed break?  Or, do you do a light schedule with lots of down-time? 

Labels: guest posts, homeschool

Welcome to the LEarning Never Stops Photo Challenge!

The theme this week is ~You are my sunshine.

Link up to your entry page, not your main blog page.  Photo sharing site entries are welcome.  Visit around!  Two photos will be chosen and displayed on Tuesday night.  Linky closes 10pm pacific time Monday night.  Can't wait to see your photos! :)

Labels: Lens

heading the wrong way fast!

Labels: Wordless Wednesday

Thank you for joining us for the *Red, White & Blue edition of the L.E.N.S. Photo Challenge.  Here are the two picks for this week:

1) Seven Steps Up


how can anyone resist this?  Love all the red, white & blue in this shot, how sweet little Chloe fills up the frame, and how the white of the blanket fades into the background.  Wonderful shot!




2) Janet Rose



A happy photo!  Love the traditional red, white & blue in this shot, plus how the bright blue of the water fills up the frame.  Love it!

thanks for playing!  I hope you will join us next week when the theme will be:

You are my sunshine

Labels: Lens winners

...For your consideration:  if you fudge on your child’s birth date so he can have a facebook page, are you chipping away at your own integrity in his eyes?  Does the end result (a fun facebook page) really justify the means (dishonesty)?  If you sneak snacks into the movie theater, even though a sign at the entrance says “no outside food or drink?” what are you teaching?
Everyday, as parents, we are faced with these tiny, little choices.  These tiny little choices will add up to a weight of truthfulness and integrity.

Integrity for our boys will not start in college, when he decides whether or not to cite a reference for a term paper.  I’ve learned that integrity starts at home, with the little eyes that are always watching me.

I am writing today at The Mothers of Boys Society about integrity.  Click over to read the entire article.

I Spy {someone is always watching me} M.O.B. Society

Labels: devotional, guest posts, mothers of boys society

The Laws of Harmony by Judith Ryan Hendricks is a book about love, loss, strong women and friendship.  The story starts out with Sunny Cooper trying to force her boyfriend to level with her and tell her what has gone wrong with their relationship.  Something is wrong with them...money problems? another woman?  She's at a loss and he's not talking.

A tragic accident changes her life, and the story follows Sunny as she remakes her life, all while her childhood memories color and influence her feelings and choices.  You see, Sunny grew up on a hippie commune in New Mexico- and while she despised parts of her childhood, you can see that it also contributed to the caring and very strong woman she has become.

Her thoughts, memories and journey in this story are gripping.  I think she does what all of us sometimes long to do, step out and claim a full life in a new, beautiful place.  There is a bit of mystery in the story, a few big surprises, and a few possible love interests. I enjoyed how real the author made the people in this story, how real she made the places feel, and how authentic Sunny's experiences were.

The end was warm, full and satisfying...though I can be a bit simple and kind of like everything to be all tied up neat and happy at the end- I didn't exactly get that, but the author gave a satisfying nudge in that general direction.  I closed the book satisfied, happy and feeling warmed by this story of grace and strength. 

*like to read? You can join the challenge here

Labels: 52books/52weeks, book review

4th of July parade, our neighborhood, 2006

Welcome to the *Red, White & Blue edition of

the LEarning Never Stops Photo Challenge!

Link up your photo that fits this theme!  Try to visit around and be neighborly.  Linky will close 10 pm pacific time, Monday night.  Two winners will be chosen/displayed here on Tuesday night.


Link up!

Labels: Lens

 It has been a pleasure to  link up with The Homeschool Village for their garden challenge.  I have so enjoyed watching the progress of our garden, through my monthly photos- something I would have missed out on if not doing this challenge.


Here is the garden way back at the end of April.  Just a few things in the garden.  My photos for the March challenge were of our potted plants, we did not have anything beside the blackberries, in the ground yet.


Here is a current look of the garden at about 2 months later.  Our garden has for sure taken off!   The huge plant front and left is a zucchini plant.  In our garden right now, we also have a cucumber plant, several varieties of tomatoes (including little cherry tomatoes) bell peppers, chili peppers, green onions, green beans and corn.





We have a few stalks of corn.  Not too many, because they would cast too much shade.  There is nothing like corn on the cob, just minutes after you picked it.  I like the morning glories the kids planted with them this year, makes the corn kind of impressionist, don't you think?

A Bible verse we have been discussing here at the house, in relation to our garden is this one:

Labels: garden

Thanks for playing everyone, I loved seeing your photos of learning happening!

Here are the two picks for this week:

1) The Pelsers


serious learning is happening here in this kitchen!


2) These Grace Filled Days




this is a great photo, great close-up shot! 

Thank you everyone for joining us! 

I hope you'll link up on Saturday, when the challenge will be:

Red, white & blue

Labels: Lens winners

Amie & Demi learn about the Pilgrims & the Mayflower crossing while visiting the Mayflower II

Welcome to the LEarning Never Stops Photo Challenge.  The theme this week is

 link up a photo that highlights this thought. 
Linky will be open an extra day because of the holiday & will close 10 pm pacific time on Tuesday.

Please link to your entry page, not your main blog page.  Photo sharing sites are welcome.  2 winners will be chosen and displayed on Tuesday night.

Labels: Lens