Carnival At The Beach

This summer we took a much needed girls trip to Newport Beach, California.  We spent a lot of the time playing with my darling niece Lyla, and making up some fun activities for her. 

During the day we built sand castles, or at least attempted to before they got destroyed by the little monster. In reality we just built a giant pile of sand.  The waves were HUGE that day, because of the storm warnings over by Hawaii, so we decided to just lay around in the sand and play, avoiding the rough water as much as possible.

Later on we decided to take the little Princess, on our last night in California, to read her a bedtime story while watching the sunset at the beach.  She refused to wear the cute outfit we had planned for this so we let her be 'Punzel instead, which I loved in the end. 

If you remember my last post, Oh The Places You Will Go Little One, I had some circus animals displayed on the table.  This post represents those animals and how the books that we read in our childhood can enhance our imagination, and bring us to a world where the impossible is always possible.  It's wonderful how it came to life in my niece's imagination by playing with the circus, and reading it with a wonderful book.  This summer we all got to see the circus come to life when we went to Circ Du Soleil on the Santa Monica Pier, in California.  

What a perfect way to end a beautiful vacation.   

Fall: Sundance, Utah & Wyoming

 I grew up near Sundance, Utah.  Its a gorgeous Ski resort, with beautiful cabins, trails, and views everywhere.  Its my favorite retreat and only a 20 minute drive from home.  My favorite time of year to go up there, is in the Fall.  The mountains are covered with red, yellow, and orange leaves.  Its very breathtaking.  This past month, my sister and niece were in town visiting, and we decided to take some fall pictures of her.  Shes two now, and this was my first experience taking pictures of a 2 year old.

The first thing I learned is that she needs something to entertain her, meet the apple in her hand...

The second thing I learned, is that anytime I sat down in front of her to take a picture, she got off the rock and decided to sit on my lap.  So this is the best shot I could get...

Again... sorry Sundance, we were just trying to keep her still for 5 seconds... 

 But this is what happened to the flowers. They go down the windy little river and were so much fun.  Until the little adventurer in her, decided she needed to be in the river as well. Thats when that game ended and we moved on.

 Next she followed her Mom up a trail, and was running so much I couldn't get a good shot. You can see her Mother trying to get a shot of her with her phone.

 Which she actually stopped for that picture. However, I was down below her.

All in all, I adore my sister and my niece and any time spent with them is a good time.  Glad they came and I cant wait until November to see them again!

One of my favorite places to raft is on the Snake River in Wyoming.  I used to go up there as a teenager to go river rafting and always wanted to see it in the Fall.  So my friend and I decided to take a quick weekend trip up to Wyoming.  We drove through Star Valley, pictured above, and then onto Jackson Hole.  Utah and Wyoming had its first snowfall that morning, and this is what we experienced on our drive.

 A random little barn we saw on the side of the road.

 A red barn that I'm in love with, but I didn't realize it until after I was looking at the pictures and noticed that it was in the shot. I was so captivated by the mountains and all the color I didn't stop to see the cute red barn, hence the cut off... grrrr.

 We pulled over  a little later to get this shot and it was snowing!

Its SNOWING!!! Thats the snake river by the way.  The color of the river was just gorgeous that day! There is actually an eagle in the tree on the picture on the right, but you cant see it.  No zoom lens on this trip.

 Jackson Hole, Wy.

 I spy with my little eye a buffalo near by...

And now theres two! And yes I did climb through the grass to get this shot, but then I got nervous so I stopped.  Wish I inched a little closer, or at least brought my zoom lens.

 River in the Teton Valley

 The blue color of the river was just gorgeous! Teton Valley below.

 Driving back to the Hotel, I wanted to check out this neighborhood, because I thought it was so gorgeous! Right when we turned in, there was a big Moose!  So I quickly reached into the back seat to grab my camera, and snap a shot through the window. It stood there and looked at us for quite awhile, and then jogged right next to the car.  It was a little guy, but fun to see!

This is a shot at a nearby ranch. Most the leaves have turned and are pretty much dead, but there was still some yellow left.

A Charming Visit to the Cotswolds, England.

 One of the days that we were in England, we had the opportunity to travel out to the countryside and see the Cotswolds.  This has always been a big dream of mine, so we started the day by going to Anne Hathaways Cottage, and then to Shakespeare house.

 These are the darling mushrooms that are dotted all long the Cotswolds, along with unique flower garden.

 Gardens around the grounds.

 Anne Hathaways Cottage.

 The apple orchards on the grounds.

 Lavender Garden.

 The Trails around the edge of the property.

 Shakespears Gardens around his homes.

 Shakespears home.

 We were starving by the time we finished, so we stopped by and ate a little sandwhich and shared a pastry between the three of us.

 I grew up on Peter Rabbit and was charmed by this store, we stopped in and got my niece some darling items.

 Cant go to England and not get a shot of the telephone booths.

 I couldnt resist, after all I am A Little Cuppa Tea

 This was the first little town we stopped in, I think it was Bourton on the Water.

 I couldnt have spent all day here, the town was charming and beautiful.

 Loved the graphics on the sign.

 Below is the next town that we stopped by, though I dont remember the name.

 This is the last town that was suggested to us by a local, it was cute but didnt have the charm like the others.  Gorgeous Cathedral and graveyard though.