Our 23rd Week ~ 2014

We are just one short (or long if you ask the kids) half day of school away from summer break!  The kids last day is Tuesday.  They only have a half day, but if you would ask them, it is the longest day of the year.  Those snow days were pretty cool back in January and February, but now that they are still in school on June 9th and 10th, those snow days have lost their appeal.  :)  I hate to tell them "I told you so" but ...  :)

Normally on the last day we go visit our local zoo or something but thunderstorms are in the forecast, so I'm not sure what we will do.  Something free probably since we're trying not to spend much money before vacation.  :)  Maybe a bike ride if it's not raining.  If it is raining, a movie marathon sounds good to me.  I can get some editing done while the kids chill and eat popcorn.

I decided to continue with the photo a day challenge that Fat Mum Slim hosts.  I wasn't sure I was going to continue in June, but I am going to do my best to keep up.  Here are last week's prompts and my interpretations ...

{June 1: Joy}

You are probably thinking - what does a picture of a little spider have to do with JOY? Well, it involves macro photography, which brings me great joy. I love capturing the tiny details that we so often overlook in our busy lives. So when this tiny spider stayed still long enough for me to capture this image - when I was only inches away - I was so excited!  I was also happy that he didn't jump on me or anything because I probably would have freaked out.  :)

{June 2: Doing}

A bumble bee doing what bees do best.

{June 3: Family}

I don't know about you but my family teaches me something every day. Like patience, grace, mercy, and forgiveness. {sigh} 

{June 4: Ordinary}

Nothing great happens when you settle for ordinary.

{June 5: 11 o'clock}

Was running a little behind, so at 11:00 I was getting ready to run some errands.

{June 6: Adventure}

As Ellie from the movie Up says ... "Adventure is out there!" 

{June 7: Pattern}

The pattern on our neighbor's new foal's face looks like the letter F.  They named him Slick, but I think they should have named him F-stop.  :)

Here are a few random shots from the week ...


Keira spotted this young Robin while we were visiting her grandparents.


On Monday I visited my friend Nikki for a few hours.  We wanted to get some photos of her incredibly handsome cat, Lincoln, but it was so dark and rainy that we decided to wait until another time.  Though I did get on the floor and snap a few.  Not bad considering the lack of light and the super slow shutter speed.  :)  Isn't he gorgeous?


Azalea or rhododendron?  Either way, I loved this unusual color.  They are growing in a local park that I like to walk in occasionally.


As you saw Friday's prompt was "adventure".  Well, I had a picture in my brain similar to the movie Up that required helium balloons.  Fortunately there is a little shop that can whip out some helium balloons in a few minutes as long as they aren't too busy.  After we were done with the balloons for the photos, Alex wanted to let a few go.  So we attached notes to them and set them free.  Hopefully someone found them and it brightened their day.  (Focusing on a rising balloon isn't the easiest thing to do!)  :)

Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the world!  Hope you have a fabulous week!

Linking with Tamar.

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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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Scavenger Hunt Sunday 09.02.12

Time for another Scavenger Hunt!  The kids went back to school this week, so we're all adjusting to the new schedule.  I have to admit, I'm enjoying having all three kids in school all day.  No more half days for Alex.  Although I haven't been home much to get anything done as I've been helping my friend, Laura, clean her new house and get ready for painting.  It has really been fun and surprisingly good exercise.  However, it is absolutely exhausting.  We took the weekend off and will get right back to it on Tuesday after Bible study.  I can't wait to see what it looks like with fresh paint!

Anyway, let's get on with the Scavenger Hunt ...

{candid}

Candid shots seem to be the only kind I can get of Nick lately.  He's not that fond of my camera these days.  Although he did cooperate during our back-to-school mini photo shoot on Tuesday.

{toys}

We have lots and lots of these toys around our house.  Nick loves playing with LEGOs.  And I love that he needs to use his imagination to build things.  And what interesting things he builds!

{any of the five senses}

We were looking but not touching this garden spider that was hanging out on the side of our pool.

{batteries}

Keira finally had to change the batteries in her talking dictionary this week.  She's had this for several years and I think this is only the second time the batteries needed replaced.  And she uses it all the time.

{half}

Alex made it about half way across the monkey bars the other evening after our photo shoot.  A day or two later he came home from school telling me that he was able to make it all the way across.  He was so proud of himself!

Be sure to head over to Ashley's to see more great photos!
Have a fabulous week!

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Scavenger Hunt Sunday 08.12.12

It is Scavenger Hunt time again!  Thanks to the fact that my daughter is taking a photography class this month, we got out several times this week with cameras.  She is inspiring me to play more with my camera, if that is possible.  :)  Honestly, it is more fun to take pictures with someone else.  That's why I love going on photo walks with friends.  And now that the weather seems to be cooling off around here, hopefully we'll get out to do just that.

Anyway, this week's items are Mobile, Hanging by a thread, Collage, Always look on the bright side, and Home.  And here are my interpretations ...

{mobile}

Okay, so I know this is supposed to be a mobile phone photo, but I still have a Tracfone.  And even though it can take photos, they are pretty crappy most of the time.  So I went another route ... at the Farm Show on Monday Alex chose the blue car (aka automobile) to ride in on this particular ride.  :)

{hanging by a thread}

Aren't spiders almost always hanging by a thread?

{collage}

A collage of a few of the insects I came across this week.

{always look on the bright side}

This bumble bee was easier to photograph on the bright side of my liatris flowers than he was on the shady side.  And thankfully he didn't sting me when I was inches away from him. :)  He was too busy doing his job.

{home}

When Honey and I got home from a walk the other evening, these deer, a mama and her two fawns, were in our neighbor's yard.  Poor Honey had to stay in the car for a few minutes while I tried to keep a super steady hand to photograph them.  I wasn't worried that she would chase them since she was pretty worn out from our walk.  I knew that the deer would run off from the activity.

Be sure to head over to Ashley's new blog and check out some more great Scavenger Hunt photos.  And to find out what to look for this week.

Have a great week!

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Week 16 in Pictures

Last week was wonderful!  Not much written on my calendar to do, so we were able to relax and enjoy the few beautiful days we got.  We spent lots of time outside ... playing in the back yard, mowing grass, walking and riding bikes on two different bike trails.  It was nice to relax a little.  This week is equally unscheduled.  I'm enjoying the freedom immensely.  I have things that I want to get done though, so I won't be doing nothing.  Not that I ever do nothing.  :)

Anyway, here's what last week looked like in pictures ...

{Sunday}

Keira looked so pretty in her dress that after evening church we spent some time outside taking pictures.  I just love the bokeh that we get now that the lilac bushes have leaves on them again.  Linking up with Tracey for Keira's blue eyes.

{Monday}

I know I showed this photo already in yesterday's Scavenger Hunt, but our walk on the bike trail proved interesting.  We saw lots of blossoming trees, bees, butterflies, horses, cows, and this frog among several others who jumped in the water quickly.

{Tuesday}

I've been trying so hard to get a good photo of dandelion fluff in the air.  Each of my kids has been eager to help me achieve this.  Tonight was Nick's turn.  This isn't exactly what I was after, but I'm getting closer.

{Wednesday}

Another one you already saw ... the grape hyacinths from my church's flower garden.

{Thursday}

Alex and I went for a bike ride on a new-to-us bike trail.  We had to stop so Alex could pick some purple flowers for me.  I'm really going to miss him when he goes to first grade next school year and will be gone all day.  He's been my morning buddy for a while now.  It will feel strange to not have him around.

{Friday}

I came across this cool-looking spider while I was mowing the back yard.  I managed to catch him and put him in one of our bug boxes just long enough to take his picture.

{Saturday}

We celebrated Nick's birthday with cake and ice cream and a few friends from school.  Wow, can 8 and 9 year old boys be LOUD!  And they really like to wrestle.  :)  Anyway, a friend of mine, Laura, made this Angry Bird cake for us.  Isn't it great?  And it was the best-tasting cake I have ever had.

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Photo of the Day: October 3

ISO 400, f/9, 1/160s, 18-55mm lens w/10x macro filter on Nikon D40

I think I mentioned how cold and rainy it has been here the past few days.  Well, this afternoon the sun kept peeking out in all its glory from behind some passing clouds.  It was still chilly, but nice enough to get outside and search for something to photograph.  When I walked down to get the boys off the bus, I noticed these gladiolus flowers are starting to bloom on my bank.  Better late than never, right?  

As I approached them, I saw that this teeny tiny spider had spun her web on them.  I spent quite a bit of time trying to photograph her.  Macro photography is hard enough, but throw in a couple rambunctious boys and a dog trying to get my attention, and the occasional breeze ... well it is nearly impossible then!

I'm sure the people passing by in their cars thought I was crazy to have my camera inches away from that flower.  If only they could see what I was seeing.  :)

Tracey chose this photo as one of her Top 5 this week!  Thank you, Tracey!

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