When in doubt, add water...?

i had the privilege of keeping my two nieces, Harper and Saylor, for the weekend.  they live 3 hours away from us, so it was fun getting to spend so much time with them...getting to know them even better!  for example, if i hadn't kept them overnight i would never have known the way that Harper would tell me she wanted breakfast....by simply saying "Hungry!.........Hungry!......Hungry!"  let me clarify, Harper is the older of the two - almost 4 years old and yes, she does know how to speak in full sentences.  often she simply chooses not to.  needless to say, three days with three kids under the age of 4 was BUSY....changing diapers, going potty, snack time, juice, naps, fixing "boo boo's", cleaning up spills, scattering toys throughout every room of the house - you get the idea.  

they had fun just running around our house and playing with my kids.  we took them to the park and even ran a couple of errands together.  but Saturday afternoon was something special.  when trying to decide what to do with the kids for the day i remembered i had a tiny little blow up pool i bought for Sam at the beginning of the summer that we never used.  my hubby got it out and we laughed at how small it was!  the entire family - including my 15 year old daughter and 9 year old son - all hung out together around this little pool.  this is the only time i got my camera out while they were here, and i'm so glad i did!  sometimes as a photographer you have to let go and just start snapping pictures...candid, real life images.  i have a feeling these will be some of our favorite pictures for years to come.  :)