As you know we’ve had family in town the last couple of weeks and have been all over the Twin Cities showing them around. Last week we stopped by the Como Zoo for the kids. Our first stop was into the Blooming Butterflies exhibit. If you’ve never been to one of these it’s an amazing experiance. Butterflies from around the world fly freely in an enclosed tropical garden.

If you’re lucky enough one will even land on you! The Little Peanut has got to be a lucky charm because she had two butterflies land on her. I wasn’t quick enough with the camera to get the first one but when the second one landed I was ready.

Here she is with her Auntie rocking the sunglasses and butterfly!

{this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Just this past weekend the Little Peanut discovered that she too can wear daddy’s baseball cap. She doesn’t just wear it any way though. She has to wear it backwards!

She’ll put it on say “hat” and then carry on with whatever activity she was doing… reading, playing with the iPad or her train set. It’s so adorable and I’m so happy I was able to get some photos while she was in a good mood and before she grew out of the phase.

Don’t forget to check out i heart faces for more!

How fun is this week’s theme? While I’ve visited many wonderful cities of the US I know there are many hidden treasures that I will never get to. I think this theme is a great way to discover new places.

Born and raised in the suburbs of Minneapolis, MN has made me a city girl. I only discovered this when I went a few hours north for college only to return to The Cities after the end of my freshman year. Here are some favorites of the many photos I’ve taken in and around Minneapolis.

These first three are from various walks I take with my girl along the Mississippi River front.

This next one is of the Minneapolis light rail on a chilly winter day.

It’s all about babies at i heart faces this week.

I’m so excited to see all the entries because who can resist little baby, (especially newborn) photos? There are already tons of amazing photos that had me swooning. Go now if you haven’t checked them out yet!

This is one of my all time favorites of our Little Peanut. She was only a few hours old and hadn’t even had her first bath yet!

{this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Ok 4 words, she loves this thing!

I’ve been a follower of i heart faces for awhile now and have either 1) always missed the deadline for the photo to go up or 2) never had the right photo. This week I got lucky on both counts! It’s a non-competition week which means photos are accepted all week. When I saw the theme was barefoot week I knew exactly which photo I wanted to share.

This was taken in Puerto Vallarta on a day trip to Yelapa. We were on the boat on the way back to PV when I looked up and saw these dangling feet from the second level of the boat. This shot always reminds me of lazy summer days.

This week is barefoot week at i heart faces to raise awareness about Soles 4 Souls. Soles4Souls is a Nashville-based charity that collects shoes from the warehouses of footwear companies and the closets of people like you. The charity distributes these shoes free of charge to people in need, regardless of race, religion, class, or any other criteria. Since 2005, Soles4Souls has given away over 7 million pairs of new and gently worn shoes (currently donating one pair every 9 seconds.) The shoes have been distributed to people in over 125 countries, including Kenya, Thailand, Nepal and the United States. Soles4Souls has been featured in Runner’s World, Ladies’ Home Journal, National Geographic’s Green Guide, and The New York Times. It has appeared on CBS, ABC, NBC, FOX, BBC, CNN and thousands of regional news outlets across North America. Soles4Souls is a 501(c)(3) recognized by the IRS and donating parties are eligible for tax advantages. Anyone can join our cause, and we need your help.

Joining the tradition of some of my favorite bloggers!

{this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

We had a lot of fun picking photos for photo month. I had a good time strolling down memory lane looking at old photos from my travels to Mexico and Asia. I hope you enjoyed it as much as we did.

Here’s a roundup of our photos. Click on the thumbnail to view it larger. (Adobe Flash is required.)

A few summers ago we went to Thailand. Our tour took us to Bangkok and Pattaya. We visited a flower garden and I was awed by this rock sculpture fountain.