Janessa Turns Two: A Day at the Lake

June ended with an early celebration for Janessa Belle's second birthday! 

My baby girl is two!

Could someone please just stop that darn clock.

Enough is enough with my kiddos growing up so fast.

But I do love it, I love watching them grow and learn and see their little personalities develop. 

And now our sweet, full of life, exuberant little girl is two.

Tear.  Smile.

We celebrated her birthday with Papa and Grandma who drove up to visit us for a week.  The day after they arrived we headed to Lake Sakakawea, rented a boat for the day and celebrated Janessa's birthday out on the lake.  The kids had a blast playing in the water, riding on the pontoon boat and spending time with their best buddies, Papa and Grandma. 

Outtakes

If you have the misconception that I get great photos of my kids and that my kids are just fabulous models all the time, this post is to prove that misconception wrong! 

I take hundreds of photos most every time I get my camera out, literally!

And I take hundreds in hopes that there are one or two good ones in the mix.

Then there's the dynamic of my models, the kiddos. 

My explanation... they are kids.

End of story. 

Oh, right, and we bribe them with treats when I really, really want a "cute" photo of them. 

There. I said it.  I'm glad I got that off my chest.

And to fill in for the rest there are blurry photos, awkward photos, silly photos, photo bombers and random photos that make you wonder what you were doing when you pushed the shutter button.

Most are deleted, and some I save and never edit and they are not really usable, and I have no idea why I still save them.  Probably because they are still pictures of my kids, precious memories, but ones I chose not to share.

And sometimes I share photos that aren't great but when it comes down to it who cares if the composition of a photo is perfect.  If it shares a story of my family then it's worthwhile to me. 

Sooo, here are some recent outtakes.  Enjoy! 

What Happened to June?

I know I went missing in action for the month of June.  But I just couldn't write after my Grandma passed away.  And as Nathan and I looked back we realized that not only could I not write for a time, I didn't even pick up the camera to take pictures.  It seemed like it all was just put on hold during my time of grieving.  Thankfully I joined Instagram shortly after my Grandma's memorial service and it filled in a little where I totally lacked in pictures from my regular camera.  But I also missed capturing a lot of fun memories along the way.  Like our first camping trip of the year which included out sweet little Elijah who was only 3 months old.  The kids had a blast, and I did as well but I don't have pictures to show for it.  It was Nathan's birthday and Father's Day celebration after all. 

Boo! 

Complete fail! 

For Nathan's birthday, which also turned out to be Father's Day weekend, we decided to head back down to Bismarck and camp in our tent for the first time this year.  We also spent the day at their outdoor water park and had a great time!  The kids had a blast camping and we couldn't have asked for a better weekend.

We also took a trip to Minnesota for a family camp.  I happened to grab my camera and snap a couple pictures as an afterthought.  Again, it was another great weekend.  My Zeke was totally in his element, with lots of people and kids to play with.  It was a wonderful weekend filled with lots of fellowship and fun.

There were a couple little projects worked on around the house but mostly life was just happening. 

And the last weekend of June my parents arrived after two long days of driving to get here and we filled our time with lots of celebrations, fun and projects. 

So the month flew by and before we knew it, it was over.  With few pictures to show for it.  And that makes me sad.  But thankful for all the fun we enjoyed together!