"Hands-On Fun" Photo Challenge

"Hands-On"

This is my entry for the iheartfaces.com photo challenge this week.  This is one of my favorite images from a family portrait session.  He looks just a little worried, but he's in good, loving hands.   

When I first heard the theme for this week's challenge, I didn't think I'd come up with much.  It was surprising how many worthy images I did find - some nearly forgotten about.  I'll be posting some of my other choices soon.  Check out the other great images at iheartfaces.com

Favorite Places

Places I Love

A photo challenge at iheartfaces.com has me thinking about my favorite places. I thought of some of the amazing places we've travelled to - Italy, and Peru - and some of the beautiful places we've seen while hiking and camping. But really, my favorite place is here, this community where we live in the Pacific Northwest.

We are blessed to live in one of the most beautiful areas of the country. There is also a commitment to public spaces that you don't always find. There are some wonderful parks all around the region.

One of our favorites is about a mile away from home. It is on Lake Sammamish, and has lots of open space to run around in, as well as a playground and a beach. One beautiful day in May, I persuaded my husband to leave work early and we headed to the park. In the summer it is a really busy place. But on this gorgeous spring day, it wasn't very crowded. The kids enjoyed the playground for a while, but they seemed to have the most fun picking dandelions and buttercups.

This was a couple of years ago now.  I'm really thankful to have these photos to help remember that day - just an ordinary day, really, sharing a few hours together as a family.