Scavenger Hunt Sunday 06.29.14

Wow!  The end of June already!  We are mostly all rested up from our vacation and are looking forward to relaxing in July.  Not much planned, which is a nice change.

I want to thank Ashley for an easy list this week.  After last week, it was a much-needed break!

{pink}

Keira on a "bed of roses" ... pink, red, and white.  And, yes, I did go buy roses just so I could make this picture work.  :)  I only used 2 of each color though, so we can enjoy the rest until they die.

{wheels}

I had this idea in my head ... what if we strung glow necklaces through the spokes on our bike wheels and rode them at night?  Fun stuff!

{friends}

I took the boys to a friend's house on Friday so they could swim.  Adam was glad for the company.  He and my boys have been friends for a few years.  I couldn't get them to turn around so I could get their picture together.  In fact, they were hiding from the camera most of the time.  So you get to see the backs of their heads as they swam away from me.  :)

{emotion}

First time in the ocean = happy kids!

{sweet}

I tried a couple berries from our neighbor's mulberry tree.  They weren't as sweet as I expected.

Thanks for stopping by!  Be sure to visit our host, Ashley, to see more great Scavenger Hunt finds!

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Our 11th Week ~ 2014

Wow, am I behind this week or what?  Helping Keira and her classmate all day Sunday work on their science project really threw me off.  I'm still trying to get caught up!  But I didn't want to miss posting some pics from last week (at least the ones I didn't use for Sunday's Scavenger Hunt), so here you go!

If you saw Sunday's Scavenger Hunt, you saw that Alex helped me bake some gluten free cookies this week.  Let me just say that gluten free doesn't necessarily mean healthy.  :)  I will have to play with this recipe to see if I can make them less bad for you.  But still just as tasty.  It is a good thing that they are all gone now.

I have so many pictures of Alex playing indoor soccer that this year I decided to only take my camera a couple times.  Saturday was one of those times.  Doesn't he look excited to be playing goalie?  :)

On Friday afternoon I met up with my friend Tricia to take some head shots.  She's an actress who has been using her photo from about 20 years ago, so she thought it was about time to get updated.  :)  We took most of her pictures outside at a local conservancy, but we did venture inside and were given permission do some indoors.  They usually charge for that, but I guess the woman in charge was feeling generous that day.  Anyway, this is one of my favorites from the day - one of the indoor shots.  I had a huge picture window behind me totally lighting up Tricia's face.  So soft and lovely.

Other than teaching a friend how to use her camera on Monday, my week was pretty quiet.  The weather was typical for Pennsylvania in March.  50+ degrees on Monday and Tuesday and freezing rain and snow on Wednesday.  That caused our church to cancel Wednesday night services.  So we hung out at home and watched a VeggieTale DVD once the boys had their homework done.  (That is kind of a big deal since we don't watch TV on school nights).  Then Keira's violin teacher had to cancel her lesson on Thursday.  So I had several days of hanging out at home in my yoga pants.  :)  Gotta love days like that.

So that's about it from me.  Hope you have a fabulous week!  Tomorrow is the first day of spring - YAY!  This morning I noticed something green popping up in my flower bed.  Tulips or daffodils maybe.  Either way, it is encouraging!

Linking with Tamar - better late than never!  :)

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Project 52 - Week 42

I won't bore you with telling you how busy last week was.  Because they've all been busy lately!  Mostly fun stuff though, which is good.  Instead I'll show you some of what kept me busy.  Here are a few photos from the sessions I did last week.

Sunday afternoon I photographed this lovely family.  Nikki and I have known each other for years and when she asked me to take their family photos, I was so excited.  And nervous.  Funny how I get nervous photographing people I know and not so much with strangers.  :)  We had fun though.

Monday I taught part two of a photography workshop.  This was a follow up session where the ladies could practice what I had taught them in part one.  Nick agreed to come model for us.  He did a good job.

Alyssa was also our model.  She's such a natural in front of the camera and I just love photographing her.  We have plans for more fun photo shoots.  We just need to make the time to do them.

On Friday I photographed this little guy.  He's turning one in a couple weeks and his grandmother wanted to surprise his mom with photos.  Developmentally he's not where most 1 year olds would be, more like 4-5 months, so I didn't have to chase him around or anything.  He pretty much stayed where we put him.  :)  He was a real sweetie.  

Friday afternoon I photographed an adorable couple.  They were married last November but didn't hire a photographer for their very small wedding.  The bride regretted that and was referred to me by a friend.  So they got all dressed up in their dress and suit and we had a blast taking pictures.  She had a lot of great ideas and was open to my suggestions which made them really easy to work with.  They even drove their 1982 Porsche to get some photos in/with.  Nick, who was my assistant, loved the car.  He loved their dog (whom they also brought along to be in some photos) even more though.  They wore each other out running around together.  The bride requested that I not share any of the photos online, and as much as it pains me not to :), I must honor that request.  So you'll just have to take my word for it that I got some really great shots.  ;)

Saturday morning, after a very rainy night,  I photographed Jason for his senior portraits.  It was a damp, chilly morning, but we still had a good time.  He was also pretty easy to work with and had some great ideas of his own.

I have two more seniors to shoot this week and a couple more sessions in the works and then I might get a break.  I've really been enjoying myself but I have so much editing to do, I feel guilty doing anything else.  Like writing this blog post.  :)  Which is why I need to go now!

I hope you have a great week!

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Scavenger Hunt Sunday 10.13.13

Hello!  And welcome to another Scavenger Hunt Sunday!  Today also happens to be my oldest brother Dave's birthday.  Happy birthday, Dave!  (Although, I don't think he's ever seen my blog, so he's not going to see this.)  :)

Anyway, another busy week is over.  And another is just beginning.  This is the busiest I've been - ever - when it comes to photo shoots.  I have one today, weather permitting - and four next weekend!  Hoping the weather cooperates for those also!  We've had such a nice stretch of weather - warm and sunny - and the forecast shows that it is about to come to a screeching halt.  :(

Enough about that though.  You came here to see my scavenger hunt finds, so let's get to them.

{m is for ...}

Maize.  As in corn.  Specifically Indian corn, which we picked up on our visit to the pumpkin farm on Saturday.

{what you saw today}

Sorry for the creepy spider photo, but it is was what I saw on Thursday.  A spider with a stink bug all wrapped up.  Good spider!  :)

{corner}

This one stumped me.  Until I remembered the order I received from Mpix this week.  The wallets have rounded corners!  How cool is that?!  Although photos of photos don't really do the photos in the photo justice, ya know?  :)  And I could really use a manicure.

{pink}

You would think my daughter, Keira, would be the one in pink.  But, no, it would be Nick.  He loves pink.  And frankly, he looks good in it!  Must be the brown hair and eyes.  :)  On a side note, why is it so hard to get my kids to cooperate for a group photo?  I bribe them and everything!

{hands}

Alex picked this tiny white gourd at the pumpkin farm.  He loved that it could fit in his little hands.

Thanks for stopping by!  Hope you have a super fabulous week!

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Aaron

Recently Aaron had his 5th birthday and his mom, a friend of mine, asked if I would take his pictures.  It is hard to believe that he is five already!  I remember him being toted around in an infant carrier!

We had fun even though I had a tough time getting him to smile for me.  I tried telling jokes, making weird noises, bribery.  All the tricks I know.  I did manage to catch a couple slight smiles.  And some pictures that I'm sure his mom will love.  Here's a few from our session.

He looks so grown up in this picture!!!

Near the end of our session ... he looks like he's thinking, "are we done yet?"  :)

I made him this #5 on my Silhouette.  He loved it!  He took it home to add to his scrapbook.

See, I did manage to catch at least one smile.  :)

He's such a cutie!

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Nathan - 16 months

My friend, Jennifer, asked me to take her son's pictures when he turned one.  Well, that was back in June and we had so much crazy stuff happening between the two of us this summer, that we never got around to it until October.  So instead of Nathan's one year photos, here are Nathan's 16-month photos.  :)

This stuffed monkey isn't usually far away from him.

Jen said he didn't really like being in leaves so we only made him "suffer" for a few minutes.

Those eyes just make me melt.

It's hard to believe he ever used to be this little ...


Thanks, Jen, for giving me the privilege of photographing your sweet little boy!

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Week 41 & 42 in Pictures

Hi there!  Remember me?  I'm finally back in business now that my new laptop is here. I ordered it on Thursday evening after finding out from the computer repair guy that he could not fix my Gateway.  Well, that's not entirely true.  He could have replaced the processor.  But after spending around $300 on parts and labor, that may not have fixed the problem.  So I opted to have him not fix it and we bought a new laptop.  An ASUS.  It shipped on Friday and was delivered on Saturday!  And I didn't even pay for expedited shipping!  I was glad I didn't since it came so quickly anyway.

Of course it didn't come until around 4:05 p.m. when I was planning to leave at 4:15 to go to my friend, Laura's, for a girls' night filled with hot soups, fresh breads, games, and fun.  So I ended up leaving a few minutes late 'cuz you know I couldn't leave without at least checking it out first.  :)

I spent most of Sunday getting it ready to run.  Burning recovery discs, updating Windows, installing Photoshop Elements, etc.  It felt good to be able to edit some photos today but it took a while to get back into my normal routine.  I had to re-do a couple because I forgot a step or two.  I'm blaming that on my cold which is making my head sort of foggy.

Anyway, I hate to overload you with pictures, but since I didn't post last week's pictures, you get two week's worth in one post.

{Sunday, Oct. 7}

I had taken this for the October 14th Scavenger Hunt prompt "water drops", which I ended up not participating in because of the laptop.  Or lack thereof.

{Monday, Oct. 8}

Woke up to a foggy morning.  Glad I didn't have anywhere to go.

{Tuesday, Oct. 9}

I had the pleasure of photographing Anna at her family's beautiful farm.  We had a great time!  Here are more photos from our session, if you are interested.

{Wednesday, Oct. 10}

My not-so-great attempt at foodtography.  :)  I was excited about making homemade dinner rolls and tried to capture that.  Obviously I need more practice.

{Thursday, Oct. 11}

Alex had helped me try out a new location for photo shoots.  We took Nick's little pumpkin along since Alex's is huge.  I truly have no idea what he's doing in this picture.  I do know that we had fun though.

{Friday, Oct. 12}

My sister-in-law, Terri, had asked me if I'd take Jordan's school pictures this year since the ones you get at school aren't so great.  We had a good time.  I even managed to get Terri in a few pictures.  More from this photo shoot will be coming soon, now that I can edit again.

{Saturday, Oct. 13}

My friend, Lindsey, asked me if I'd take some family photos for her.  It was challenging but fun - trying to get four people (including a 4 year old and a 9 month old) to look at me and smile at the same time.  And I just love the color combinations she chose!  More from this shoot coming soon also.  (Yes, I will be an editing fool this week.)  :)

{Sunday, Oct. 14}

Pretty grass.

{Monday, Oct. 15}

While out running errands, I stopped at a local park to see if it would be a good place for a photo shoot.  While I was walking around, I happened upon this mama deer and her two fawns.  Notice that the mama only has three legs.  It didn't seem to slow her down though. She grunted, snorted, and stomped at me a few times but eventually ran away when she realized I wasn't going anywhere.

{Tuesday, Oct. 16}

A friend asked if I would take her daughter's senior pictures.  Natasha was so easy going and would do just about anything I asked.  This photo isn't my normal style, but I thought I'd try going for the hazy look (in camera, not in processing).  I like it.  More of Natasha's photos coming soon also.

{Wednesday, Oct. 17}

Sometimes I just walk around in my yard to see what I can see.  This day I saw this wasp.

{Thursday, Oct. 18}

Doug found another stick bug while he was cleaning out the flower beds.

{Friday, Oct. 19)

The leaves are just so pretty this fall.

{Saturday, Oct. 20}

You'd think I would have taken a photo of my new laptop since this is the day it arrived, but I didn't have time.  In fact, I didn't take any pictures this day.  I even took my camera to Laura's for girls' night but never got it out of my bag.  So instead, I give you a cheat picture of the mums Keira bought me.  I just love the soft pink/purple colors.

     

If you made it this far, thanks for sticking in there with me!  Hope you have a fabulous week!  I plan to be back to my normal posting schedule soon.

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Anna {Wordful Wednesday}

Feeling frustrated and in a photography funk, a few days ago I posted a request on Facebook to see if any of my FB friends would be interested in letting me shoot them.  With my camera, of course.  I needed practice!  On people other than my little ones.  I got many responses, which I am gradually working my way through to contact them.  

One of the first responses was Anna.  She said she needed senior pictures.  Checking the weather forecast and seeing that Tuesday was supposed to be a nice day, we set up a time to meet at her parents' farm.  They have lots of property to work with.  And the trees are just gorgeous this year!

I was admittedly nervous, as I'm sure she was too.  Hoping I could deliver at least a few nice pictures for Anna.  I brought Nick along as my trusty assistant for those times when I needed the reflector.  Thankfully I didn't need it much because he was too busy exploring, catching grasshoppers, finding caterpillars, and climbing trees to actually assist.  And he managed to photo bomb a few times too, just for fun.  Gotta love nine-year-old boys.

Anyway, I went through them after getting the boys tucked in tonight and edited a few of my favorites.

I give you Anna ...

She is beautiful ... inside and out ...

She plans to work for a while after graduating to save up money for college.

Where she plans to study to be a Pharmacy Technician.

She's so much fun to be around and was pretty easy going about anything I asked her to do.

I had a good time and I hope she did too!

Thank you, Anna, for letting me shoot you!  :)

         

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