The Great Outdoors

#139

The girl isn't mine but I'm seriously thinking about stealing her.  No one would ever know, she looks just like us:)

#140

I'm a huge believer that kids, and especially boys, need to get outside and bond with nature.  And when your boys are as wild as mine are, it's even more important that they have that time outside to be as crazy as they need to be, expend a bunch of energy, and just be boys.  Tonight we went fishing, bike riding, and Mule riding.  The fishing was fun but nothing was biting.  Then we took the kids for a ride on the Mule just because they love it.  And finally they rode their bikes.  But my oldest son tends to think he's a little better on his bike than he really is.  So while riding down a dirt hill that was too steep for him, he lost control and wiped out worse than I've ever seen before.  He face planted in the dirt and his forward momentum kept him skidding across the ground for a few extra feet. He's none the worse for the wear and he only got a few minor scrapes on his face.  And his best friend was there to give him a hug to make it all better.  But only after Mom gave him lots of hugs because Mommy still comes first:) 

Besides the fact that the 2nd picture shows his battle wounds, I'm in love with all the creamy, dreamy bokeh!  Bokeh is a word used to describe the blurred background in pictures.  I love great bokeh in portraits and it's something I always try to achieve.  I used my Nikon 50mm lens at f/1.8 to get the bokeh in this picture.