i didn’t realize until after i had entered the military base that the peace sticker on the back of my car might not go over so well.

since lisa and i have such busy schedules with our kids in school, and other stuff, we always try to meet up on school holidays. so we met up with lisa and her husband matt at the beach on the camp pendleton marine base last week. (matt is a marine.) this time the kids did feel the cold, so no one got in the water-well except for anna-but that wasnt on purpose. mckenna sat in a pop up tent with blankets and snacks while we wandered over to the jetty. (not to self-buy pop up tent for mckenna at the beach-she was totally stoked about that thing.) the tide was extremely low. the water level would normally be over our heads where we were standing. so the tide pools were easily accessible and really cool. while they explored, i stayed on top of the jetty to keep an eye on the mckenna tent.

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and then matt went back to our chairs with finn so i went down to expore too.

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it was CRAZY how far out we could walk!
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not so happy about being wet. thankfully lisa came prepared and we changed her into dry boy clothes.
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(lisa just sent me the action shots of the fall)
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Anna1

her face kills me in that one! she is totally like oh crap, what happened?! (thanks mcg)

i am completely in beach mode right now-its all i want to do…

oh, and nothing came of the peace sticker. perhaps they knew that for me, that sticker signifies more than just an anti-war statement. its the theme of my life. i just want us all to be able to feel peace inside.

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43 Comments

  1. i LOVE these shots!
    they are so real and fuN!
    that last one of anna is fuNNY!
    did you get any of kenna in the tent?! LOL! that’s too CUTe she’s got it all figured out to have a great time! did she have her magazines in there with her?!
    i cant’ wait to see MORE beach shots from yoU! you rock the beach!
    tara

  2. love the long shot of all the kids exploring…what a great slice of life’s fun!!

    my husband – ex marine, but we’re also peace lovers. i’m sure there’s more marines on that base that want peace (in iraq, in the u.s., AND in their personal lives) than you can imagine.

    my son – also a finn. :)
    –janice

  3. tara you are FAST :)
    i DIDNT take kenna’s photo in the tent, and either did lisa-we are both kicking ourselves now. we will take a shot of her next time tho. :) and OF COURSE she had her magazines. she goes everywhere with them.

    janice-thank you. :)

  4. Love these T.
    Tara – Mckenna had her catalogs & magazines & MUNCHIES in that tent. When we broke the tent down, there were all sorts of wrappers in there. lol She is so adorable – I freaking LOVE that girl. I cant believe we didnt get any shots of her.

  5. Low tide is always fun. It never ceases to amaze how many different things and critters you’ll find when you look around.

    Poor Anna. That last shot of her looks like she couldn’t breath for a few seconds! I’ve done that in my life too many times to count!

  6. Always love your shots, but wanted to chime in and agree that most all military members are peace lovers. They protect us when the need arises, but most are peace-loving folks just like you and me.

  7. my hubby, now a marine for 22 years, and i met in a grateful dead chat room on the internet in 1998. few want peace as much as our men and women in the armed forces & their families. this is why we can support the troops without necessarily supporting the war.

    i am a really huge fan, tara! thanks for all you write, post, are – you’re fantastic, and i just love everything you’re about. :)

  8. Graet pics!!!
    You need to talk LISA McGARVEY into starting a blog! I am a huge fan of her work, and I also have 2 boys about the same ages.
    NOw go make her do it!!!! :-) :-) :-)

  9. Great pics!!!
    You need to talk LISA McGARVEY into starting a blog! I am a huge fan of her work, and I also have 2 boys about the same ages.
    NOw go make her do it!!!! :-) :-) :-)

  10. I definitely think you are so right with your last sentiment about peace. So true. Striving to feel peace myself. Anyway, are you TRYING to make me miss the beach??? This is making me so excited to come to Cali next month. We may have to take a day off of Disneyland to go to the beach during the day. Maybe the same day we go to Balboa Fun Zone. These are awesome pics Belle.

  11. this pics are awesome as always! and these along with the others make me miss O’side. we used to be stationed @ and lived on pendleton. my dh went to iraq for almost a year and came back and got out of the corps (he was supposed to be a lifer…so close)due to what he saw/did/experienced. believe me, the marines (and everyone else) want peace…it was hard for him to fight a battle for people who he felt would never be at peace. kwim? post some more o’side pics, please!!

  12. Hello Tara –

    I’m a huge lurker of your blog and mad photography skills and I LOVE your boys’ hair!! My seven year old, Grant, is growing his out and we’re in that weird stage where if we trim it wrong it can be a mullet, but it must be trimmed. Would you be willing to send me a recent picture of each of them face on so that I can share it with my hairdresser on Saturday? I’ve loaded a picture I took of him last Monday at Photobucket.com and here’s the direct link: http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y292/jflynn66/GrantHaircutHelp.jpg

    Thanks so much!
    Jessica Flynn
    Draper, Utah

  13. Anna’s face cracks me up. she is totally thinking “oh crap”.

    I was in Laguna Beach on Sunday and the weather was absolutely beautiful. the sun was out, temperature just perfect and huge crashing waves.

    gotta love southern CA for that reason.

  14. Anna’s face cracks me up. she is totally thinking “oh crap”.

    I was in Laguna Beach on Sunday and the weather was absolutely beautiful. the sun was out, temperature just perfect and huge crashing waves.

    gotta love southern CA for that reason.

  15. Your blog title made me giggle. Until I married into the Army I would have thought the same thing. My husband has been active duty for 18 years and has a peace sign tattoo. His comment to me when I asked about it was “Nobody want peace more then a soldier.”

  16. Love your photos and slices of your life that you so unselfishly share with us, Tara! And as a 20-year veteran of the Air Force with an Active Duty Husband, I have to ditto the other comments that just because we chose to serve our country in the Armed Forces does NOT mean we are all warmongers – we want nothing more than PEACE and time with at home with our loved ones – as much or possibly more than anyone who has not served in the Armed Forces.

    Big Hugs!

  17. I just wanted to chime in about your peace sticker. We don’t have a peace sticker but Anna has shoes with the peace sign on them that she wears everyday. My brother was in Iraq for 8 months, as part of the Army infantry. He too would NOT at all be offended by your peace sign. He too wants peace.
    I love the beach pictures too. Winter in MN is waaaayyyy too long.
    Sara M

  18. i’ve lived 2min from camp pendleton for over a year. and am related (by marriage) to 4 marines. every military man i know is a peaceful man. they are not warmongers, or battle thirsty. my experience has been that they feel a duty to protect those who cannot protect themselves. to protect their families. their country. and the downtrodden world over. they have faith that their efforts and their lives will not be wasted. they believe that they can make a difference, and are willing to sacrifice to do so. and i am grateful that i have the peaceful life that i do, because others ensure that it is so.

  19. Hi Tara!

    I read your blog all of the time… but I think this is the first time I have ever commented! I always love your pictures, and your stories, and I love your kitchen cabinets. he heeeee :-) Can I ask where you got that ‘For Real?’ T-Shirt? I know… great first comment right? How selfish am I? heeeeee! The thing is, me and my munchkin say that all of the time! (kind of sick how much we say it actually!) I think I need it. lol In fact, I know I do. ha ha

    So here I am, coming out of blog stalker lurkdom to ask about a T-Shirt. LOVE your pictures – as always! …totally miss you in the garden!

    :-)

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