We drove to Wisconsin and back on Saturday for the Balch family reunion, then spent Sunday with my side of the family for my mom’s birthday. The kids had a great time.
So did we.
My Life
Family Weekend
Previous Post
FUJIFILM FinePix X100 Camera
Next Post
Straight Out of 1984, By Way of 1969
Cat @Breakfast to Bed
June 28, 2011 at 10:29 amoh my gosh, that face!! love.
michelle
June 28, 2011 at 10:30 amaugust in stripes!!!! too too cute!!! i die!
Sarah Hettervik @ http://agirlintransit.blogspot.com/
June 28, 2011 at 10:40 amSo CUTE! Your family is so sweet!
– Sarah
Jen @ RamblingRenovators
June 28, 2011 at 10:43 amEleanor looks such a big girl now with August also in the photos. He’s such a handsome boy.
valerie
June 28, 2011 at 10:52 amso nice & summery! love eleanor’s bubble wand!
Shannon
June 28, 2011 at 10:59 amI love the coloring of these! Beautiful!
Casey
June 28, 2011 at 11:01 amthis is going to sound weird… Every time I hear your last name I think about 2 kids that my brother and I grew up with as they share the same last name; same spelling too. Now that you mention your fam hails from Wisco I have to ask… Are you related to Trisha and Robert Balch of Sun Prairie, WI?
Making it Lovely
June 29, 2011 at 9:21 amNope. The only relatives that still have the Balch name (besides us) are in Iowa.
Little Edie
July 1, 2011 at 11:07 pmAhh, you are and you just don’t know it. They did DNA testing on all 4 branches of the US Balches and it confirmed we are all related.
There is a great website where you can trace Brandon’s family back to the founding families. I’m twelth generation decendant of John Balch who came from England to Delaware in 1658.
Super geeky, I know. :-)
Sanja
June 28, 2011 at 11:13 amOh, he’s the cutest little guy! So much resemblance to all three of you in his face :)
Kate
June 28, 2011 at 11:22 amLooks like a great weekend!
We do our trips in reverse from yours. We live in Wisconsin and visit our family in the Chicago area. :)
Taylor
June 28, 2011 at 11:41 amYour hair looks lovely in these shots!
Jessie
June 28, 2011 at 11:47 amBeautiful pictures! Love the happiness in them!
Leslie
June 28, 2011 at 12:07 pmYour little humans are absolutely adorable. That face!!
Erika
June 28, 2011 at 12:50 pmWhat a sweet family. Great pics and thanks for sharing.
Cassie
June 28, 2011 at 12:56 pmCute! What a fun peek at your family. xx
Rachel
June 28, 2011 at 1:54 pmSounds like a great family weekend!
I have a wierd question…that these pictures make me wonder…
Elenor and my daughter are the same age and have very similar hair…or so it seems from the photos.
How do you cut her hair? Will she go to a barber?
Any tricks or secrets?
I thought I would just ask.
Making it Lovely
June 29, 2011 at 9:23 amWe went to KidSnips for her first haircut, but I don’t want to go back. It’s probably great for kids that won’t sit still otherwise (they watch TV while they get the haircut), but Eleanor will sit without the gimmicks. I’m not sure where we’ll go next. I’m thinking about doing it myself, but I don’t know if I will.
Karen
June 28, 2011 at 2:04 pmThe photos are beautiful. Can you share with us the technique you use for tinting them? Do you use Lightroom? What a happy family!
Making it Lovely
June 29, 2011 at 9:25 amI don’t have Lightroom (though I’m considering getting it). I used Photoshop actions from Totally Rad.
Funnelcloud Rachel
June 28, 2011 at 2:18 pmOh my goodness, August looks just like a bald version of Eleanor! So adorable!
stevee
June 28, 2011 at 2:33 pmHer haircut is so cute! These are charming shots.
Nuit
June 28, 2011 at 3:47 pmawwwwww everybody looks so cute!! love Eleanor’s little outfit! x
Kathy
June 28, 2011 at 3:55 pmHi Nicole! Congrats on the deal with the paint co to redo your office. That’s so cool. I will be curious to see how you end up dividing your time and tasks between your two office spaces once you are set up in your basement. How will you divide your supplies between the two?! …. I enjoyed seeing your adorable family photos today. A couple of observations: Eleanor reminds me so much of my eldest son when he was her age. Is it my imagination or do I see a very serious side to her? She seems to really think about things a lot. Is she cautious? And does she contemplate and study a new thing quite a bit before deciding whether she approves of it or not? My son was just like that and now he is an engineer. :) And today it was so fun to see how much August looks like you! Does that mean Eleanor looks like Brandon? Aha! i knew I had seen that serious expression somewhere else before. In her Dad! But one thing with Eleanor… she has a lighter, smiley side to her as well. My son – not so much until he was much older! I think it’s because they are SO smart — they are busy figuring out what makes things work most of the time! I’m curious to know whether I am completely off here or not.
That’s all for now. I hope you are getting the glorious weather we have in Minneapolis today.
Making it Lovely
June 29, 2011 at 9:27 amYes, Eleanor has always been very serious. She’s a goofy, fun kid too, but people always pick up on her seriousness. She’s a smart little girl, and very much like I was as a child.
Marlena
June 28, 2011 at 4:04 pmFun! And funny – I’m from WI and was in Chicago this past weekend and realized that I could have posted a question asking you for family-friendly but delicious eating locales in the city. We ended up stumbling across one, but if I go again do you mind if I ask?
Making it Lovely
June 29, 2011 at 9:29 amI always like Portillo’s, and there are a bunch in the Chicago area. Get an Italian beef w/ mozzarella and sweet peppers, dipped… yum.
Miss B.
June 28, 2011 at 5:30 pmThese are all so perfect but the last one? My goodness is that cute overload or what?!
Katie
June 28, 2011 at 5:40 pmThese pics are adorable, and your processing just pushes it over the top! So sweet…
Diana Smith
June 28, 2011 at 6:35 pmwhat a beautiful family you have Nicole! I am so excited to have another one!
Joi
June 28, 2011 at 6:51 pmYou guys look like such a fun family!
Ann
June 28, 2011 at 6:57 pmI too am very curious how you get that vintage look to your images. I know photoshop pretty well and have a decent camera, but lack the knowledge on getting that look. Can you share your secrets? Thanks!
Ali
June 29, 2011 at 8:24 amLooks like a great trip to see family! The pics are so fun!
~ Ali
Ashlea Walter
June 29, 2011 at 9:24 amCurious about the images too – you made them lovely, indeed!
Making it Lovely
June 29, 2011 at 9:32 amI used Photoshop actions from Totally Rad. More specifically, here’s what I did.
Adjust the levels.
Adjust the curves to warm up the pictures.
Boutwell Magic Glasses action, at about 70%.
SX-70 action, w/ the softness layer at about 50% and the entire action folder w/ a mask at 30%.
Sasha
June 29, 2011 at 10:15 amI love that A has quirky facial expressions just like E does! And his stripes…adorable. So glad you all had a wonderful time spent with family!