Weekly Summary ~ 7/5/15 - 7/11/15

Spent the week prepping for a Monarch presentation on Saturday.  I presented to the Christian Women's Artistic Connection group and a few guests.  They are a great group of ladies that get together every couple months to learn a new art.  Monarchs aren't art, but the ladies wanted to learn about them, so they asked me to present.  And we made a few greeting cards that I designed.  Nothing fancy.  

Did okay keeping up with my photo a day challenge.  I used a couple recent archive photos this week.  It happens.  :)

{July 5: Begins with "W"}

Wet. 

And soggy. 

And gross. 

Those are the words you can use to describe our month of June. So. much. rain! 16 out of the 30 days in June had measurable rain and I suspect there were a few sprinkles thrown in there during those other 14 days. Now that July is here the weather seems to be shaping up some. Still some rain but this weekend was super nice! We actually had several nice days in a row. Yay!

Anyway this photo was taken a couple weeks ago right after we had a heavy rainfall. The sun came out and made everything sparkle. And since I needed to take advantage of the little sunshine we were getting, I walked around outside with my camera. Our tiger lilies were blooming and looked so pretty glistening in the sun.

{July 6: Rule of Thirds}

This photo was chosen as one of the Top Shots of the day! WOOT!

{July 7: Vanishing Point}

When the sun is dipping below the horizon - nearly at its vanishing point - marking the end of another day. Hope to see it again tomorrow!

{July 8: Bedtime}

Keira obviously stayed up past her bedtime. Or else that was a very uninteresting book. Maybe a little of both.  :)

{July 9: Alphaphotography}

You know I had to figure out a way to include one of my Monarch caterpillars into a prompt somehow, right? Don't ask how many tries it took to get him to stay in the shape of a C for me.  :)

{July 10: Just Another Day}

Just another day of searching milkweed looking for Monarch eggs and/or caterpillars and finding none. frown emoticon I did see lots of blossoms though and several other butterflies, moths, and skippers. I will search again tomorrow. And the next day. And the day after that.

{July 11: Technology}

Thanks to technology, I was able to photograph and instantly share the photo of this super cool-looking caterpillar I found this evening. Ah, smart phones.  :)

It is a Promethea Moth caterpillar. The first I have ever found.

Linking with Tamar:

On Monday I met with Sherry to discuss the details of my Monarch presentation.  We met at Panera and were able to sit outside - it was so nice!
I had a couple things rescheduled due to weather and emergencies.  A family photo session was supposed to happen on Tuesday morning but the rain interfered once again.  And on Thursday I was to meet with my friend, Sharon, about the upcoming wedding she was helping me photograph, but she needed to make an emergency trip to the vet
Saturday I did my Monarch presentation to the CWAC ladies.  I was a little nervous because I was so used to talking to kids about Monarchs.  But I told them they were my guinea pigs for an upcoming talk to a garden club.  :)  Everything went very well and they all enjoyed my presentation.
Saturday afternoon I stopped by a graduation party of one of my senior photo clients.  Her mom and I have become friends and they invited me to her graduation party.  It was a nice time and another beautiful day.  We had so much rain in June, it was great to have nice weather finally.

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Weekly Summary ~ 5/31/15 - 6/6/15

Hey look!  It's Tuesday night and I'm just now getting around to posting my weekly pics.  {sigh}

Thursday is the last day of school.  Then we're gearing up for VBS.  Then hopefully things will slow down a little.  Although then photo sessions will be picking up.  Oh well.  In the meantime, here are last week's photos from the 365 Photo challenge on Facebook.

{May 31:  Iconic}

Digging into the archives for today's shot as I haven't shot anything "iconic" lately. And this week was way too busy to go searching.

Anyway, the American bald eagle is certainly an iconic symbol. It was officially adopted as our national emblem in 1787 because of its association with authority and statehood. (Yes, I looked that up).  :)  This particular photo was taken in June 2014 in a zoo in Virginia.

This photo got chosen as one of the Top Shots for the day! WOOT! Two days in a row!

{June 1:  This is where ... }

This is where I embarrassed my daughter because I pulled over to photograph these flowers I have been admiring. They are in the front of our local VA hospital. She waited in the car.  :)

{June 2:  Leading Lines}

Nothing much to say about this except that I need to take more leading lines photos. It is a concept I don't practice often.  :/

{June 3:  Generations}

For the 2nd time that I am aware of there are two generations of gorillas at our zoo. The first baby that was born a few years ago unfortunately passed away. But this little one looks to be very healthy and happy.

{June 4:  Barrier}

While I am glad that there is a glass barrier between us and the polar bears, Kobe probably wishes there wasn't so she could get my backpack.   :)

Sharon and I met up at the zoo again yesterday. This time we didn't stay with the polar bears the WHOLE time; we did actually walk around. And we discovered that our zoo actually has other animals there! It was the craziest thing!   :)

{June 5:  Evolution}

Many believe in the theory of evolution - that humans evolved from apes. I believe that we were made by our Creator, God, in His image. I do like to visit the apes at the zoo though. They are interesting animals.  (From Wednesday's zoo trip.)

This photo was chosen as one of the Top Shots for the day!  WOOT!

{June 6:  Bucket Listed}

Today's prompt was a tricky one - without going into the archives for an old photo and with no plans to travel to any of the places on my bucket list today.  :)

But I did get to see something I haven't seen before. One of my Black Swallowtail caterpillars happened to be shedding its skin as I walked past. I have seen Monarchs shed their skin as they form their chrysalis many times, and I've seen caterpillars AFTER they have shed their skin, but never before have I watched one wiggle out of its skin. It was really cool! Now the only other things on my butterfly bucket list is photographing them mating and a female laying her eggs. I think. There may be more cool things that I just don't know about.   :)

Linking with Tamar:

I'm going to try to keep this short and sweet as it is late and I need to get to bed.  :)
Sunday we had our Bible Quizzing fundraising dinner after church.  The kids did a pretty good job helping, although I think the parents did most of the work.  I have no idea how much we raised, but I'm sure it is enough to get the kids to Boston and back.
If I didn't have to be somewhere this week, I spent time in the garden weeding.  When we first decided that my garden would be my butterfly garden, I thought it wasn't very big.  And then I started weeding it.  Now I think it is huge and overwhelming.  :)  But I'm making good progress.  A little at a time.
Tuesday we had a VBS meeting to discuss plans.  It is all starting to come together!
Keira had her dental cleaning in the afternoon.  Everything looked great.
Wednesday Nick had his field trip.  Tuesday night my friend Sharon asked me if I wanted to meet her at the zoo on Wednesday.  I didn't have any other plans (except weeding) so I said yes.  We had another great day as you can see from the above photos.  One of these days I'll post more from our visits.
On Thursday I went with my friend Sam to an art boutique to see if they would sell some of her paintings.  She does gorgeous watercolor paintings.  The lady was excited about having them there.  When Sam got to my house in the morning, she told me that I should bring some photos to see if they wanted to sell them also.  I wasn't at all prepared so I grabbed a bunch of 8x10s and sorted through them in the car on the way there.  I showed them to the owner and she loved them.  I have to get them ready for display and take them down.  I'm excited to have some photos on display in an actual shop!  Here's hoping they sell!
We also shopped at Trader Joe's and Whole Foods while we were in the area.  That was actually why I was going along in the first place.  I had never been to either place and wanted to check them out.  I bought some things at Trader Joe's, but Whole Foods is quite expensive, so we just ate lunch there.  Lunch was expensive too.  :)
Thursday afternoon the boys and I went to a local greenhouse to buy some more dill for my hungry caterpillars.  One of my potted plants isn't doing so well, so I wanted to move the caterpillars off of it and get it outside in the sunlight.  The greenhouse was really cool and the folks there were super nice.  The owner's mom helps out and we talked for a while.  I gave her a quick lesson on raising Monarchs.  :)  I also bought a Monarch picture that they had in their little gift shop.
Nick was finally done being on restriction on Saturday.  He was so excited.  He couldn't wait to start breaking the rules again.  :)
Saturday morning we had our Christian Women's Artistic Connection gathering.  Kim showed us how to make altered dominoes.  They are like little pieces of art.  Very cool!  It was a fun time, as always.  Next month I'm teaching the ladies (and maybe some kids) about Monarchs and other butterflies.

That's it for me!  I'm heading to bed.  Tomorrow is another busy day!
Have a great week!

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Weekly Summary ~ 5/10/15 - 5/16/15

We had another busy, fun week!  Mother's Day was great!  The boys (aka Doug) made me breakfast in bed.  French toast and tea.  I'm not a breakfast eater - usually just drink a protein shake - but for them, I ate and enjoyed every bite.  :)

Last week I mentioned a Plumb CD giveaway.  I got busy and forgot to choose the winner, so thanks to random.org, I chose it today.  The winner is Jennifer Pittman!  Congratulations!

I haven't mentioned it in a while but if you ever want to check out my Facebook photography page, here it is:  Kimberly Vensel Photography.  I'd love it if you'd go over and give me a 'like'.  :)

Now onto last week's pics:

{May 10:  Something Orange}

The sun glowing behind a dogwood tree at golden hour.  {love}

{May 11:  Eyes}

Somehow I didn't manage to get a photo of eyes today, so I'm sharing a photo from last week. The eye(s) of this Julia Longwing butterfly look like a checker board. Pretty cool! 

{May 12:  Pieces}

Many little pieces make up this dandelion fluff.

{May 13:  Lucky}

While I really don't believe in luck, in the spirit of playing along with today's prompt ... 

I feel super lucky (blessed) to have spent several hours with my friend, Sharon, and the polar bears today. They were in the water MUCH longer than normal and Sharon and I had a blast interacting with them and taking pictures. This is Kobe. She's 14 years old and is AMAZING!

{May 14:  The Human Condition}

The connections we make and the emotions we feel aren't always with other humans. Love and admiration for God's creatures is indeed part of the human condition. After all, He did put humans in charge of them. 

{May 15:  Under Pressure}

Nick was under pressure this afternoon during his 1600 meter race. He was determined that he "wasn't going to get beat by a girl. No way. No how."   :)  Boys!

He did great and finished in 5th place! He was in the back of the pack in the beginning - starting out slow - but he really picked up the pace and passed several of the other kids during the 3rd and 4th laps. I'm so proud of his effort!

This photo was chosen among the Top Shots of the day! WOOT!

{May 16:  Connections}

I would have to say these two frogs were feeling a connection, don't you think?    :)

Linking with Tamar:

Sunday afternoon my mom and sister came up.  Linda made an incredible apple pie.  I broke my sugar fast for the day just so I could have some.  And some chocolate chip cookie pie that Keira made.  I had a slight headache on Monday - probably because of all that sugar.  :)  We played UNO as usual.  The kids love playing UNO with them.  Doug made dinner.  It was a great day!
Monday night we attended Keira's National Junior Honor Society ceremony.  She wasn't really into it.  I guess knowing that she's going to be cyber schooling next year (her choice) is making this year's events less exciting to her.  Either that or she's just ready for school to be done.  Maybe a combination of both.  :)
Tuesday morning I went to the boys' school to take some pictures for the yearbook.  A couple students and staff members needed their photos taken.  The kids are much more cooperative than the adults are.  :)
Wednesday I met my friend, Sharon, at the Pittsburgh Zoo where we spent the entire time with the polar bears.  Fifteen minutes or so after arriving, Kobe, the female, jumped in the water, followed shortly by Kona, the male.  They were in and out for the next four hours.  That is the longest they have ever been in the water while I've been there.  Sharon, who visits them more often than I do said the same thing.  They were so fun to interact with!  So playful!  Kobe was very interested in my blue back pack.  She tried to bite it through the glass many times.  (That is what Sharon is holding in the photo from the 13th).  She must have thought it was one of her toys.  I can't wait to go back and visit them again!  Hoping to post photos of our visit soon.
Thursday I went to get my car inspected and fixed (again!).  The same thing they "fixed" back in April.  Which still isn't fixed.  :(  Good thing it is under warranty.  While there I had the pleasure of meeting a World War II veteran, Chester.  He's 91 years old and was a joy to listen to.  We told him he should write a book about his life.
After a PTO meeting, I had to dash out to a Monarch presentation.  I spoke to 22 Girl Scouts about Monarchs and other pollinators.  It was fun.  Every time I speak it is a completely different set up that I need to adjust to.  This time I actually took notes to refer to.  I had written them out while waiting for my car to get inspected/fixed.  It went really well.  Several of the kids there had raised Monarchs in 1st grade at school.  And I believe I inspired several of them to try to raise more outside of school.
Friday evening Nick ran the 1600 meter race at the 6th grade track meet.  (See the photo above).  He likes running and thinks he'll stick with it.  Afterward we stopped and ordered pizza, then met Doug at Home Depot so I could pick out a toilet for our newly-remodeled bathroom.  The original one that I had picked out wasn't going to fit.  :(  Then Nick and I stopped to pick up a couple half gallons of ice cream (instead of going to DQ to celebrate his effort at the track meet), picked up our pizza, and went home to relax.
We rented the movie UNBROKEN and watched it Friday night.  Wow!  An amazing story.  If you haven't seen it yet, you must watch it.
Saturday morning Honey and I went for a walk, came home and did some planting.  Doug helped me plant my Spicebush trees and Black Cherry trees - both host plants for butterflies.  :)  After a shower, we headed over to the Spring Garden show at a local park.  We made sure to visit the Master Gardener's area and talked to the ladies we had met last month while volunteering at another local park.  I bought some dill plants (another host plant) and some Shasta Daisies.  Then we went to my niece's birthday party.  It was a bowling party.  The kids had fun bowling.
Oh, and I did week 2 of couch to 5K over again since I had missed running all the prior week.  Today I started week 3.
It was a fun week!

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Weekly Summary ~ 5/3/15 - 5/9/15

Not much to say today so I'll get right to the pictures from last week.

I will mention the giveaway that I am hosting though.  Go check out this blog post for your chance to win a CD from Plumb.

{May 3:  Color theory}

Not sure if I got this one right, but the soft greens and purples in this photo are very soothing to me.

{May 4:  Rough}

Don'tcha think?  Ouch!

{May 5:  Falling}

I decided to dig into my archives today and share a photo of the famous Fallingwater house that Doug and I toured in 2011. It was built by Frank Lloyd Wright for the Kaufmann family between 1936 and 1939. It is built over a waterfall and is one of a kind. Now owned by the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, it is a much-visited national monument. If you'd like to learn more, check out fallingwater.org.

{May 6:  Inanimate object}

There's nothing like a fresh, new box of Crayola crayons.

Surprisingly, this photo was chosen among the Top Shots for the day. WOOT!

{May 7:  Tickle the senses}

My neighbor's lilac bushes are starting to bloom and they smell divine!

{May 8:  Minimalist landscape}

It is hard to get minimalist landscape pictures without trees in the background when you live in western Pennsylvania. All these rolling hills. Not many big wide open spaces.  :)

This photo was chosen as one of the Top Shots for the day! WOOT!

{May 9:  Cars}

This rusty old car is part of a bigger display of antique items on a road that we traveled today. I have passed it before but today I was brave enough to stop and take a photo.  :)

This photo was chosen as one of the Top Shots for the day! WOOT! Two days in a row!

Linking with Tamar:  (late again - sigh)

Sunday we had a meeting about the upcoming Bible Quizzing trip to Boston.  Nick is pretty excited to go.  I have no desire to spend 14 hours in the church van again.  :)

Monday I spent the day at Phipp's with my once-Facebook, now in-real-life friend, Sharon.  We "met" in the FMS PAD Facebook group and realized that we lived near each other.  We both love photography and Phipp's so we decided to meet up and spend the day shooting.  It was great meeting her!  In fact, we are meeting at the zoo tomorrow.  She is the "polar bear whisperer".  Her photos of the polar bears in the water are spectacular!  So I'm hoping that she'll rub some of that off on me and I'll get some more good shots of them.  She calls me the butterfly whisperer.  :)

Tuesday I spent the day gardening.  Weeding and planting. 

Wednesday was Grandparents' Day at the boys' school.  My in laws came to visit with the boys.  I was having a rough morning so I decided to stay home.  I usually go to help with PTO stuff, but they had plenty of help so it was all good.

Thursday was Alex's field trip.  I was picked as a chaperone so I got to go to this one.  It was fun.  We saw an IMAX movie at the science center.  That was a new experience for both of us.  We saw the movie, Born to be Wild.  After lunch we walked over to Heinz Field and took a tour.  It was neat.  The kids certainly enjoyed it.  None of the Pittsburgh Steelers players were there though.  :(
Thursday night was Keira's school orchestra concert.  Doug brought the boys and my in-laws came also.  I had to take Keira early so she could make sure her violin was in tune.

Friday the kids had a day off of school - an Act 80 day.  Since the consolidation was voted in during Wednesday's school board meeting, the teachers needed an opportunity to meet at their new schools.  We didn't do much.  Stuck around home most of the day.

Friday evening I had a prom photo session with one of the seniors I photographed back in the fall.  She looked like a princess.  :)  Hopefully I will share those photos soon.

Saturday Keira and I went to my mother-in-law's church for a mother-daughter banquet.  It was really nice.  They had a medieval theme.  There were grapes and bread with comb honey on the tables for appetizers.  Then we had this super delicious salad and shepherd's pie for our meal.  The shepherd's pie was like a turkey pot pie except with mashed potatoes on top.  Yum!  

On the way home I stopped and took the photo of the car that is pictured above.  I have never been brave enough to stop.  I'm not one to trespass on someone's property for the photo.  Knowingly, anyway.  :)  But I was assured that the owners put all that stuff there for the purpose of people to stop.  No one yelled at me, so all is good.  

When we got home, I changed into my gardening clothes and went back to pulling weeds and planting.  I planted my dahlia tubers in the front.  I still have more to plant but this week is so busy, I don't know that I'll get a chance.

I think that about covers last week.  I'm sure I forgot something but this is long enough.  :)

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Weekly Summary ~ 4/19/15 - 4/25/15

Another fun but busy week.  I started the Couch to 5K training program.  I hadn't planned to start but my friend Rainey said she was going to start so I offered to do it with her.  Last week went pretty well.  The one-minute running intervals mixed with the 90-second walking intervals weren't too bad.  My shins kept cramping up though.  I had to stop and stretch them multiple times.  To think I used to run a full 5K once upon a time.  Oy!  :)

Did I mention that I stopped eating sugary junk?  The Monday after Easter was the last time I ate something like that.  So far I have lost 5 pounds.  I usually weigh myself on Mondays but I forgot today, so I'll do it tomorrow.  Hoping I'm down a couple more!

Continuing with 365 Photo's challenge ... opposite month is proving interesting.

{April 19:  Mine}

This magnolia tree, that is just beginning to bloom, resides at a local school. But every spring I wish it was mine.  :)

This photo got picked as one of the Top Shots of the day! WOOT!

{April 20:  Theirs}

Our maple tree is theirs, as long as they wish to stay.  I love seeing all the different birds in our tree.

{April 21:  Neat}

The tiny flowers growing in the middle of the bigger flower look really neat to me.  (This "flower" which is probably actually a weed is not all that big.  Maybe about the size of a nickel.)

{April 22:  Messy}

Squirrels are just plain messy. Especially when they get into my bird feeders. I don't mind them eating the bird seed on the ground, but I get upset when I see them in my feeders making their messes. This one is kinda cute though. Looks more like a chipmunk than a squirrel.

{April 23:  Fast}

I had to be pretty quick on the shutter button in order to capture this "Dory" fish at the aquarium. They move really fast!

{April 24:  Slow}

I had to use a pretty slow shutter speed in order to show the movement of this pinwheel. Alex was happy to help me achieve my goal.

{April 25:  Up}

Our dog, Honey, will often go look up our maple tree to see if there are any squirrels hanging out up there.

Linking with Tamar:

As I said, I started the Couch to 5K training program on Sunday.  I ran again on Tuesday and Friday.  So far, so good.  I bought myself a new pair of running shoes after the first run.  I felt like I needed more cushion if I'm going to do this.  :)
Monday I dropped my car off to get a couple irritating noises fixed.  My friend, Jenn, came by to pick me up and we went to Panera for lunch.  Our friend, Kiersten, joined us a little late.  The garage said they fixed the noises, but now that I've been driving my van for a few days, I don't think so.  Good thing it didn't cost me anything.  But now I will need to make another appointment so they can actually fix it.  Hopefully.
On Wednesday I went to St. Luke's Lutheran School to talk to a 6th grade science class about Monarchs.  My friend, Melissa, their teacher, invited me.  That was the oldest group I have spoken to (formally) about Monarchs.  They were really a great group of kids.  Lots on input and questions.  One girl in particular caught the bug.  No pun intended.  She was like, "I'm gonna do this!"  Meaning raising butterflies.  Yay!  That excites me!
A few days this week I spent repotting some of my starter plants.  I needed to thin some out.  I'm nowhere near done yet but I don't know where I'm going to put everything.  If it would only warm up and I could plant outside!  I told my husband that I need a greenhouse.
On Saturday the kids and I went to a local state park to help with some work they needed done.  They were pulling an invasive, non-native plant.  We showed up with our gloves and willingness to learn and help.  The kids did pretty well.  They started to get a little grumpy near the end because they were getting hungry - despite all the snacks that they ate while we were working.   So we went to lunch afterwards.  A late lunch.  Or an early supper.  :)
The ladies we were pulling weeds with are part of the Penn State Master Gardeners group.  I was telling them that I will be speaking to their group in July about raising Monarchs.  They were excited to hear that.  They tried to talk me into joining the Master Gardener group.  I told them that I'm not a gardener (yet) and have much to learn about all of it.  That didn't seem to matter to them.  So we'll see.  Several of the ladies said they have butterfly gardens at their homes but have never actually raised a butterfly.  I can't wait to teach them how!

That was pretty much my week.  Hope you had a great one!  And this one is even better!

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Weekly Summary ~ 4/5/15 - 4/18/15

My apologies for not posting last week.  It was a week of deadlines and blogging just wasn't high on the priority list.  So that means you get two week's worth of photos today.  Oops!  :)

Continuing with the month of opposites in the 365 Photo group on Facebook ...

{April 5:  Black}

After celebrating Easter all day with my family, I realized I hadn't taken a picture for today's prompt. So I used my fall back - a silhouette of our neighbor's tree at dusk.

{April 6:  White}

The tulips I bought from a friend recently are two-toned white and pink. They are so pretty!

{April 7:  Ahead}

Spring is always such an exciting time. So much potential lies ahead. It is like the slate has been wiped clean and we can start anew. I love spring.

This photo got chosen as one of the Top Shots for the day!  WOOT!

{April 8:  Behind}

My first blooming daffodil looks much better from the front than from behind.  :)

{April 9:  Brave}

I have several necklaces that I wear from time to time. This was today's choice, which ended up being the right one. Not only for this prompt but because we had a tornado warning in our area this evening. And now that it is still thunderstorming, I keep telling my dog that she can be brave too. I don't think she's convinced though. :)  Guess I know what tomorrow's photo will be.  :)

{April 10:  Scared}

Honey was so scared during last night's thunderstorms. She couldn't seem to get close enough to me. At one point she decided it was safer to lay under my desk at my feet. The storms continued through the night and finally subsided this morning. She's feeling much better today. Although she still followed me around all day.  :)

{April 11:  Many}

Honey and I went for a walk on the bike trail this morning. We saw many of these "weeds" along the way. It was a great morning for a walk!

{April 12:  Few}

Imagine my surprise when I discovered a few of my Johnny Jump Ups survived our bitterly cold winter and are growing in our flower bed.

{April 13:  Hot}

Today was an absolutely glorious day! The temperature got up to about 77 degrees F and the sun shone most of the day. The kids and I spent most of the afternoon out in the sun, which felt pretty hot, but oh so good. No complaints here after the record-breaking low temperatures we had this winter. I hope we have many more days like this!

{April 14:  Cold}

Snakes are cold-blooded animals. This particular one was caught by NIck while we were out on a nature walk back in the fall.

Sorry for the archive pic today but it has been a busy one!

This photo got chosen as one of the Top Shots for the day!  WOOT!

{April 15:  Tame}

Our sweet golden, Honey, is very tame. Not much gets her worked up. Except maybe chasing an occasional squirrel.  :)

{April 16:  Wild}

I found these cute little flowers growing on our hillside yesterday. I don't know if they are wild flowers or if we planted the seeds to grow them. Either way, they are a welcome sight.

This photo got picked as one of the Top Shots for the day! WOOT!

{April 17:  Curly}

Found this little curly cue plant while walking around the yard today. I have no idea what it is, but I was happy to see it.

{April 18:  Straight}

My church's steeple points straight up to the sky.

Linking with Tamar:

A quick rundown of our weeks: (feel free to skip this part)  :)
On Easter Sunday I hosted everyone at our house.  We celebrated Easter and Nick's birthday on the same day since everyone was here - instead of asking them to come in two weekends in a row.  The weather was pretty nice and everyone had a good time.
Monday I attended a community meeting at our school regarding the proposed consolidation.  It ended up being a big pep rally about consolidating.  I didn't really learn anything new.  I did get to put a face with a few names though.
PTO meeting on Thursday - making plans to end our school year with a bang, which might be the last one ever at our building.  :(
After PTO the boys has Bible Quizzing practice.  I was supposed to help but ended up not having to so I had a couple hours of peace and quiet at home.  Keira was at worship practice.  Doug was home but he was working on the bathroom.
On Saturday Doug put the tub and shower walls in the bathroom.  We ended up missing the last symphony concert of the season because we couldn't get showered beforehand.  Not a big deal, but I was kind of bummed.  We were finally able to shower late that evening.  It is nice having the new tub/shower in!
Also on Saturday Alex and I were outside enjoying the nice weather when an ambulance and several first responders went to our neighbors' house behind us.  We prayed immediately for the situation but didn't hear anything until the next day when Charlotte called.  Turns out our neighbor, Ken, passed away.  He'd been having renal failure for a while and was doing dialysis.  He laid down for a nap Saturday afternoon and never woke up.  :(   My heart breaks for his wife, Charlotte.
Sunday after church the kids and I walked back to visit Charlotte and offer our condolences.  She gave me a big hug and cried and cried.  They didn't have any children but they do have family nearby - nieces and nephews and cousins - so she is not alone.
Monday was Nick's 12th birthday.  We went to Arby's for dinner, ran a few errands, and then went to Dairy Queen so the kids could get ice cream.  I was tempted to get something but resisted the urge.  Yay me!  :)
Tuesday, April 14, I visited Community Women, the Bible study that I have been attending for a couple years.  I took a break this semester and was missing the ladies.  Tuesday was a work day so I told them I would come.  It was great seeing everyone.  Even though I had to leave a little early to go to Ken's funeral.
The funeral was a nice service.  Very private.  Only family and close friends were there.  Charlotte was surprised to see me, but I had told her I would be there.  She invited me up to her house afterwards where they would be having "coffee and donuts".  I don't drink coffee or eat donuts but I went anyway.  :)  They ended up having pizza, donuts, and pie.  Honey came with me and stayed outside the door the whole time.  After about an hour she barked to let me know it was time to go home.  :)  It was nice meeting Charlotte's family.  
I forgot to mention that the Monday after Easter was the last time I ate sugary desserts.  I ate too many between Sunday and Monday and decided it was time to take a break.  So going to Charlotte's where there were donuts and pie was a bit of a challenge, but I stayed strong.
Charlotte introduces me as her neighbor who raises Monarch butterflies.  It makes me chuckle.  She wants me to teach her about Monarchs this summer.  That makes me happy.  She has about 22 acres - lots of room to grow milkweed.  :)
On Wednesday we got hoagies for dinner.  A friend was having a fundraiser for her girl scout troop.  They were really good hoagies!  And I love not having to cook dinner.
I also had the privilege of speaking to a Daisy troop and a Boy Scout troop about Monarchs that evening.  A friend invited me to come.  The kids were adorable.  So attentive and well behaved.  Mostly.  They love asking questions and telling their stories.  Hopefully a few of them will catch the "bug" (no pun intended) and start raising their own butterflies.
Thursday was a repeat of last week.  The boys had quizzing practice and Keira had worship practice.  Except this time Doug wasn't home.  He was helping with a plant shut down all week, which means long days.  Hopefully they got everything fixed that needed to be fixed.
On Friday morning I met my friend Nikki on the community trail and we walked for about an hour.  She had asked me to have breakfast or lunch with her and I suggested that we walk instead of eat.  It turned out to be a great idea.  I hope we do it more.
I had my 6-month dental cleaning at 1:15.  Walking in the door of my dentist's office I got my happy buzz.  When I reach my 10,000 steps on my FitBit, I call it my happy buzz.  :)  I think that is the earliest I have ever reached my goal for the day since I have been wearing this thing.
Keira stayed after school to help set up for an art show so we picked her up at 5:30.  We ran to Sam's to pick up some ice cream treats for her to take to a sleep over and some dinner rolls to have with supper.  I had made chicken noodle soup and promised Charlotte I would bring her some.  She was coming down with something - probably from all the stress she had just encountered with Ken's illness/death.  We took the soup and rolls up to her and she was so grateful.  She wanted to hug me but decided not to so she didn't give me her germs.  :)   Alex and I dropped Keira off and then went to a local elementary school to check out their magnolia tree.  It was just beginning to bloom.  You'll have to wait until next week to see some photos from it.  I used one as my photo of the day on Sunday.  Unless you follow my facebook page, Kimberly Vensel Photography.  Then you can see it sooner.  :)
Saturday morning the boys had their Bible Quizzing Invitational.  Alex earned a Bronze award and Nick a silver.  Nick qualified to go to Regionals in Boston in June.   Quizzing days are long days.  I have a hard time sitting there doing nothing for hours and hours, so this time I took my sneakers and walked around the cul de sac for about 45 minutes in the morning.  It was actually getting hot being out in the sun.  No complaints here!  I ran to Panera to get a salad for lunch (didn't want to eat a hamburger or hot dog there) and came back and ate lunch with the kids.  Then I hung out with the younger kids while they did their memory verses and went outside to the playground.  I ended up getting sunburned on my arms and neck.  It was such a nice day!
We were supposed to go to the art show that Keira helped set up for but she was tired from her sleep over (you know they don't sleep much at sleep overs) and ended up sleeping through most of it.  So we missed it.  Alex wanted to go without her but that kind of defeated the purpose.  She had photos in the show and I wanted to go see them WITH her.  Oh well.  We popped popcorn and watched a movie.

Okay, if you made it through all of that, I'm impressed!  :)

Thanks for stopping by!  I'll try not to miss another week.  It is hard to remember everything when I go that long between posts!

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