Family Vacation!!! And some Beach Pictures!

So this past weekend, we went out of town to Carlsbad. We (mostly me) wanted to take Sam to Legoland for his birthday before I leave on my trip. I wanted to spend some quality time with my family in case I die or something. (You never know, the plane could crash, or I could die of some strange intestinal parasite. It could happen. heh) Clayton humored me because he knows this is the longest I will have been away from my kids.

Here's a picture of Sam jumping on the bed at the hotel! Wheeeee!

And some of Sam and Owen playing in the pretty courtyard outside our little hotel patio.

We had such a nice time. Legoland was really fun. (It's really good if you have younger kids.. Just make sure you have an even ratio of adults to kids if they're under 48 inches.) I didn't take my camera into the park because it looked like rain and I also wanted to be "in the moment" instead of trying to "capture" the moment. There were moments when I wished I had, but that's okay.

So after we were done at Legoland (they close at 5pm), we headed over to the beach for a little bit to let the boys chase seagulls and find shells and get they're pants all wet and sandy. =) And for me to play with my new lens. ***aaahhhhh!*** (Picture angels singing and beams of light shining down from the clouds, haha) Yes, I am the proud owner of a nice zoom lens now, courtesy of my husband. Thanks babe!

So anyway, I haven't quite got the hang of it yet (It's way heavy compared to my little 50mm), but I was fairly happy with what I got.

Have I mentioned that I *heart* photoshop? I do. LOVE in all capital letters. LOVE LOVE LOVE. =) Check out all the cool color it can bring out in a photo! Sweet!

This one has so much technically wrong with it, but I love it anyway. (I like how Clayton is standing in the distance like "C'mon already!". )

****WARNING!!! SILHOUETTE OVERLOAD AHEAD!!!****

Just about the time all the awesome orangey light had arrived, my kids got tired of my camera. So I had to borrow a stranger's kid. Haha! (Don't worry, I asked permission, first.) She went where I asked her to and stayed where I needed her to and lookie what I got! I love it!