Summer? Summer? Anyone? Summer?

I think Summer has skipped town.

Because all we have here in our little world is rain and cool weather. I swear it has rained every day for weeks. Today, it was in the 60's and poured all day. I am so sick and tired of rain. I just want sun and heat and real SUMMER weather. We have had a few breaks, a few teases of sunshine and warmth. Only to return to rain and more rain.

But, luckily, we are heading south this weekend in search of Summer. Next week is our annual beach vacation at Hilton Head Island. And I have never been so excited for the 90 degree temps. This the 7th time my entire family has made the trip. We really love it there.

So we are loading up the van, 3 kids and are making the day-long trek down south. We are all so excited!!

And hopefully I will find this elusive "Summer" guy and bring him home. This weather is the pits...and he needs to get back to work!

But I do have to admit, the relentless rain has made our world quite beautiful. Everything is so lush and, of course, everything always looks gorgeous after a nice rainfall.

Like this simple hosta bud:

Until next time!

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Snapshot Sunday...when Moms away the kiddos play....

This is what happens when Mom is completely occupied while on the phone and trying to get dinner ready. And Dad is busy working outside...

Your munchkins think it would be a great time to try out Mom's make-up and perfume!

And you have a Mom who has to stop everything and stick her 3 year old in the bath.

Only to discover that the 3 year old's face and eyebrows aren't just coated in make-up. They are coated in WATERPROOF mascara. Waterproof mascara that Mom bought last year, tucked away and never uses.

And since Mom never EVER uses waterproof mascara, she doesn't really even know how to wash it off properly. So she is forced to get online and do a quick search. (Baby lotion does the trick BTW.)


And, to make it even better, the smart 6 year old again attempted to completely claim innocence and insist she was in her room and Kallie was in the make-up.

Only to, again, be ratted out by her little sister:

"Cwistina did it!"

So, again, we have the case of the smart little girl who continues to lie.

No, it was NOT a good night. Mom was definitely not a happy camper.

(But it did make for hilarious photos!!)

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Happy Birthday Caroline!!!

Today is a very big day...today Caroline continues to prove all the "experts" wrong by celebrating yet another birthday. Today, Caroline is FIVE!

I have told some of Caroline's story before. She was diagnosed in utero with a rare chromosome disorder. We were told she wouldn't survive birth. It would be a miracle if she did. However, if that miracle did occur, she would not survive her first year. She would be a vegetable. She would never walk, talk, smile, know who we are.

Well, they were right about some. She doesn't walk or talk. But they were wrong about a lot. She is very animated. She definitely knows exactly who we are. Even though she probably will not be mobile, she is very good at using her hands and we hope that maybe someday, she will be able to, at least partially, control a wheelchair on her own. Maybe to just turn herself around, maybe to move closer to someone she wants to be near. She has defied the experts time and time again, her possibilities are endless.

Caroline was SO cute as a tiny baby! We would take pictures and put this tiny bear next to her so we could compare her size. Christina was so excited about her little sister who she named "baby sister" or actually "baby sitter". The name stuck and we still refer to her as Baby Sister. To Kallie, she is just "sister".


But now, 5 years later, we marvel at how big she is and how far she has come! She is long and lanky and doing just fine.

As you know, Caroline got a pool from Make a Wish. We still have to get the deck on (the pool people gave us a check and we are going to do it ourselves), but we can still swim in it.

And yesterday, Caroline finally got to try out her pool! She absolutely LOVED it. She sat in a float and kicked and splashed and smiled and laughed. She literally had the time of her life. And she literally stayed in the pool for TWO hours. I kept checking to see if she was cold, but she was just fine.





She loved discovering that she could splash the water with her hands!



And I think just the feeling of floating around was relaxing.


And, of course, she just loved being in the center of her sisters' crazy fun!

Christina spent about 95% of her time underwater.



And Kallie just enjoyed floating around and occasionally fighting with her big sister.



But all in all, it was a wonderful afternoon. And we are thinking that this Wish was the absolute best gift for Caroline EVER.

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Photoshory Friday - My daughter's amazing memory

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

My oldest daughter seems to be quite a little smarty pants. She always has picked up things very quickly. I am sure part of it was that she was our first and we had so much more time to devote to her.

She knew her numbers, her ABC's well before 2 years old. Kallie, at 3, still doesn't know them all. But Kallie doesn't even seem to care to want to learn. Christina has always been very eager to learn.

But part of Christina's smartness is due to her amazing memory. AMAZING. She can remember facts and dates like no one I have ever known.

Take yesterday. We were talking to her about how Caroline just lost another tooth. And her response?

"Remember on December 31st when I woke up and found a tooth in my mouth? That was my second tooth."

We looked at her in awe and said "The 31st?"

"Yeah." (like DUH! How can we not remember that!).

"And when did you lose your first tooth?"

"On November 28th." She quickly responded.

Well, here is the picture to confirm it - taken on November 28th:


She also remembers that the last time she got sick and threw up was December 6th. The first time she threw up was exactly a year earlier, also on December 6th. The funny thing is, the reason she remembers the first time she threw up isn't because it happened on the same day as the second time. Both dates were instantly engraved in her mind, and never forgotten. She also remembers distinctly that her first December 6th illness was also her snack day in preschool.

She is a crazy kid. But unfortunately, I think the fact that she is smarter than the average bear can also prove to be a little bit of a disadvantage for us as parents.

She has recently learned how to lie in an attempt to avoid punishment. Her lies are complicated, believable, and she does an amazing job of acting the part. Luckily her little sister doesn't know how to lie so I can usually find out the truth quite quickly. I am getting a little frustrated and have tried to deal with this from various angles, but it isn't working yet. But I guess this issue is really a whole 'nother post for another time.

Happy Friday!!!!

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Brand New Blog!!!! And an apparent new member of the family!

Well, I have a whole new look! My blog has been officially pimped. Although since my style is so simple and innocent, using the term "pimping", just doesn't seem to apply. Whatever you call it, I love it and am so excited!

OHmommy was kind enough to offer a "blog makeover" contest and, believe it or not, I won! I never win anything! Except I also recently won that adorable shirt from Karen at the Rocking Pony so maybe my luck is changing! Maybe I should consider trying the lottery next....hmmm.

Anyway, Krizzy Designs was the one who offered to do the makeover and she did an amazing job! She knows her stuff, she is incredibly cooperative, and she works FAST! I couldn't believe how fast she would turn out each revision. If you are thinking of trying a blog re-design, I highly recommend checking her out!!

Thank you!!!!

So this morning, we woke to find a little kitty on our front porch. Living in the country, we have lots of strays showing up. They hang out, I feed them, Nugget (our cat) comes by and scares the He(L out of them, and they are on their way.

Not today.

It almost seem seems that this little kitty was dropped off at our doorstep and was told "This is your new home."

As usual, I fed the kitty (he's just a baby) and expected he would be on his way.

No, he (or she) took a little look-see and decided this was his new home. He literally looked in every door, ran inside a couple times, and hasn't left. Nugget's growling doesn't even faze him. Here he is looking in our front door apparently checking out his new pad:

And relaxing on our back deck, under the watchful eye of Nugget.


And he is amazingly good with the kids. He isn't scared of them at all. And strangely, he isn't scared of Nugget who is about three times his size. Actually, I think Nugget is more scared of him. Wimp.

And, unrelated...

This is why you don't let your 3 year old play with an ink pad.


Don't worry, it wasn't toxic. She survived, even though she appears to be under incredible distress. (Yes, bad mom, I took pictures before saving her from this terrible predicament.)

Well, I don't know what we are going to do with this cat. We have tentatively named him/her Scooby (the kids). But I have a feeling that if we decide to adopt this cat, we may be in the market for a new hubby/daddy. He wasn't too keen on kitty #1. Kitty #2 doesn't stand a chance.

But I am thinking the decision is not necessarily ours.

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Wordless Wednesday! A little party girl...

(my day 12/365 photo)

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How many toys does a kid really need?

As you know, yesterday was Kallie's 3rd birthday. We gave her our gifts, but I had a bit of a hard time deciding what to get her!

One problem is that we already have a lot of stuff and I am not one to add more STUFF just for the sake of adding stuff. I mean, there truly is not a lot that my kids need, so why waste our money?

The second issue is that Kallie, at 3, still has very little understanding of exactly what her birthday really is all about. So she is happy with whatever we buy - whether we spent $1 or $100.

I ended up buying her an Ariel doll and 2 Little Ponies. Christina bought her a sundress (with grandma). For a grand total of about $20 bucks. That was it.



And you know what? Kallie and Christina played with the those 2 little $4 ponies and that Ariel doll ALL. DAY. LONG. And today? Same thing.

Which goes to prove what most of us already know, but have a hard time believing....kids are actually happier with less "stuff". They are less overwhelmed, they are calmer, they are less bored, and they appreciate what they have so much more!

It is hard concept for most us, me included, to really grasp. I think we have a tendency to want to buy our kids more and more. I guess, in hopes that they will have more fun. When, in fact, they seem to have less!

So, since this little experiment worked so well, I will definitely be implementing it for future birthdays....less toys, less 'stuff', happier kiddos!!!!!

On another note...

I got up early today and noticed it was foggy, but I knew the sun would be poking through soon. So I grabbed my camera and coffee and went to our local park. It was so calm and so beautiful!

Here are a couple of my pictures:




Have a good one!

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Happy 3rd Birthday Kallie-Wallie!

Today is my little Kallie's third birthday! The day she was born was truly an amazing day.

When we found out we were going to have a second baby (Caroline), we were so excited that this baby and Christina were going to be so close in age (less than 2 yrs apart). And we expected that they would be the best of friends.

And then we got Caroline's diagnosis and our dreams were shattered.

Caroline, if she survived, would never be a best friend to Christina. Yes, she will change our lives for the better. Yes, she will teach things to Christina that we think are wonderful and important. But no, they will never be equals and no, they will never be "best friends" in the usual sense of the word.

So we decided that, especially for Christina's sake, we needed to at least try again for another sibling. And, amazingly, a short time later, Kallie was born.

Kallie's birth was easy and perfect. And I appreciated every single second of being in that hospital. If you have ever had the experience of giving birth, having your child in the NICU, and not knowing if your little baby will ever come home with you, then you know exactly what I am talking about.

After Kallie was born, all I could do was stare at her in awe. I could not believe how lucky we were to have been given such a perfect little girl. It was like she was a perfect little gift from God for us, and for Christina.


Christina and Caroline were quickly in love with their new, albeit strange, little sister.


Today, her 3rd birthday, will be fairly uneventful. We gave her our gifts this morning and we are planning on taking her out for ice cream tonight. In a couple days we are going to have a little "Little Mermaid" pool party with her cousins.

A few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to win a shirt from Karen at the Rocking Pony. I actually had quite an easy time picking out a shirt. When I saw the "I'm 3!" shirt, I just knew it would be perfect for Kallie. And she LOVES it!! In fact, I showed it to her a few days ago, but told her it was for her birthday. And every day after that, anytime we mentioned her birthday, she would say "Where's my pink shirt?"

I tried to get a good picture of her in the shirt, but she is just not the most cooperative kid on the block.


As Kallie has grown, she has developed quite a spunky little personality. And, as we had hoped, she has become her sister's best friend in the world. She literally jumps for joy when Christina comes home.


And they are at each other's side from morning to night.



Happy 3rd birthday you crazy kid! We love you so much!!!

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Project 365 and a pool update..

OK, I am going to do it. I am going to take at least one photo every single day for one entire year. Every. Single. Day.

I have read about many people doing this project and it always seems to get rave reviews. You get a photo documentary of your year and you get to see how your photography has progressed over the year.

Here is my photo from today, day 9.



Our pool is installed, but the pool guys seems to have abandoned us. We are waiting for them to build the deck but they refuse to give us any estimation for date of completion. I am just a bit annoyed and have resorted to daily calls to them. And I am not getting any response. Frustrating.

My hubby also needs to run a gas line for the heater. Today the water was about 65 degrees. Extremely cold, but it didn't stop Christina and her friend from jumping in for a little bit today. CRAZY KIDS!!!

Hopefully we will have the heater running in a day or so and, hopefully, the deck will be constructed soon as well. And then we can really start enjoying this gift. Especially Caroline!

Anyway, I am excited about my 365 project and hope that I continue in my determination to finish it. I am expecting it will be a very educating experience.

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Photostory Friday! FIRE!!!!!

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

Oh, don't worry, this little fire was courtesy of our next door neighbor. He likes to set these little bonfires in his side yard.....10 feet from our house.....

Yeah, no worries....that fire was only about 20 feet high.....

I mean, he is a volunteer fireman! We should feel confident he does know what he is doing....

Seriously...this guy is really nice. One of those guys with a very rough and gruff exterior, with a heart of gold inside. But he sets these fires every once in a while and they always make me nervous.

The last time he did it, my husband wasn't home. I was sitting in my kitchen, watching, wondering at what point I should be packing up my kiddos and heading for the hills. I was seriously nervous. The little "bonfire" he set was almost the size of a small house!

But this time, my hubby was home talking to the neighbor, watching the fire. So I felt a bit more at ease. Although Mr. Neighbor joked every once in while that the fire was a little bigger than he expected....

This time, again, it was OK. Luckily we have had a LOT of rain lately, so there was little chance it would spread.

But I still do not like messing with fire.

And I still don't like massive bonfires right outside my kitchen.

Although, after he was done, the sunrays shining through the remaining smoke was really pretty!

Have a good one!!!

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I just know it...I am going to be packing Pampers for college!

Kallie is turning 3 on Monday.

By the age of 3, Christina was sleeping in a regular bed and was 100% completely potty trained with absolutely no "oopsies". She didn't even need a diaper at night. Potty training was easy and she was excited for the whole process.

And then there is Kallie.


Kallie absolutely, 100%, refuses to even try the potty. Our attempts at forcing the issue by just taking off her diaper and letting her run around failed miserably. She would only stand in one spot, legs spread, tears streaming down her face until we finally just put the diaper back on.

It was a disaster.

You would think, with an older sister that she absolutely adores, she would be eager to be just like her big sister.

But no.

She wants to sleep in her crib (which she has no idea she is even capable of getting out of), and she wants to wear diapers. I have bribed her with candy and cake and any other treat I can think of to just TRY the potty.

Nope. Not doing it. See ya later alligator.

Oh I know, they all say that she WILL get out of diapers someday. She will not go to Kindergarten in them. But I don't know.

The way things are going here in our little world, I am fully expecting to be packing Pampers in her college suitcase. And she may be trying to tote along a Pack-N-Play.

And I truly do not think she will care.

I think we are in trouble....

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Our wish is coming true!!!!

Today was day 1 for our pool installation. This pool was courtesy of Make a Wish and is really for Caroline...although the whole family is pretty excited!!!!

They told us it would take a day to install...well...everything always takes longer than expected.

The girls watched the guys working. They were so excited and Christina spent the day running around in her bathing suit in anticipation!



Of course, I couldn't help watching too. I mean, these pool guys are HOT!



Nice t-shirt, huh?

By the end of the day, the pool was up, but they still needed to fill it, and do a few more things. We put about a foot of water in the pool from our well in order to set the liner. Of course, Christina was eager to try it out so she played in the new pool's 52 degree water for a few hours.



Crazy kid.

Hopefully, they will be done tomorrow and then my hubby will run the electric and gas for the filter and heater.

Next week is Caroline and Kallie's 5th and 3rd birthdays (they are only 5 days apart). Since Kallie is a Little Mermaid FAN-atic, I thought it would be fitting to have and Ariel themed party, and all the little mermaids can swim in the new pool!! We are keeping the party very small - just some cousins - (I am not into the huge party thing) - The kids will have a blast! I can't wait!

Until next time!

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Snapshot Saturday!

I really am becoming obsessed with waterdrop photography. As soon as it stops raining, I am outside, with my knees in the puddles and dirt, trying to find a good drop to focus on.

And, as I have said before, I don't have a macro lens to really enjoy this obsession to its fullest. These pictures were taken with my good ole kit lens.

Before I got into photography, I never knew such beauty existed!

In the last picture, you can also see a drop with a refraction of my rose bush! I didn't even notice that until I uploaded the picture! I love this hobby!

Have a good one!

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Photostory Friday! - I watch too much reality TV

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

Yesterday I spent some time taking pictures of my kiddos outside. When I ask Christina to let me take pictures, she quickly starts to "strike a pose".


Kallie, on the other hand, usually runs in the opposite direction for a while until she stops and closes her eyes. Maybe the camera won't see her if she can't see it.


Later that night, I was looking at the pictures from the day while Christina looked at them over my shoulder.

I said "Christina, look at you! What do you think you are? A..."

"Model" she says, finishing my sentence.

"Where did you learn what a model was?"

"From the model show you watch." She says. (duh, MOM!)

OK, so yes I have a bit of an obsession on some fairly dumb reality shows.

Like America's Next Top Model - which apparently Christina pays quite close attention to.

Oh well, at least she is a very cooperative subject when I want to play with my camera!

Have a great weekend!!

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Summer Vacation - Day 3

Well, so far no serious injuries, no hospitalizations, no major emergencies.

On day 1, I mentioned that Christina was doing cartwheels inside the house when she fell and almost knocked out a couple teeth. Instead she just had a mouthful of blood and a mark on her chin.

Well day 2 started with a bang. Literally.

Christina fell out of bed at 6:45 and cracked her chin on the bed frame. She is OK, but now also has a nice gash under her chin. And she obviously woke the entire family which made for an extremely cranky little sister, Kallie. EXTREMELY cranky almost doesn't describe how cranky she was yesterday. It was BAD.

So, in 3 days, Christina looks more like she spent the day smack dab in the middle of a neighborhood brawl, rather than dancing and swimming with her sister Kallie. And Kallie has almost driven me to the brink of insanity.

Of course, don't they just look like troublemakers?


Yeah, I know....not THOSE two! But trust me...big trouble..

But today, day 3, has been a little better than the first couple days. Everyone slept in a bit. I only had resolve one big fight, and we haven't had any additional injuries (as of this writing).

The big news in our little world is that we are in the midst of trying to get a pool installed. Caroline has been awarded a "wish" from Make a Wish. And we decided the best wish for her would be a swimming pool. Caroline would not understand, appreciate or remember any kind of a trip, so we thought something that she can actually use and enjoy at home would be a better idea. And we also hope it will prove to provide some therapy for her. Of course, we all will enjoy this wish along with her.

So, for the last few weeks, we have been cutting down trees and trying to get the stumps removed. As expected, everything has taken longer and is much messier than expected. But hopefully, everything will be done tomorrow and the pool can be installed in the next week or so. As long as the rain holds off.

Have a great one!!!

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Schools out! Oh-What-Fun!

Well, today was the first official "Everyone is off for summer" day. It is SO MUCH FUN! Let me tell you!!!

I had twice as many dishes to clean up.

I had five times the number of crying fits and kid fights.

And I had one little girl who almost knocked out two teeth! But instead just had a mouthful of blood and a bucket of tears.

Yes, it was a wonderful day start to Summer Vacation 2008!!

OK, now the fighting and crying was mostly due to the fact that Kallie Wallie just had a very cranky, tired morning and desperately needed a nap. She was much better later in the day.

And the blood and the tears was due to the fact that Tina Wina was doing cartwheels in the living room after I expressly told her, under no circumstances, was she to be doing any gymnastics while inside the house. She didn't listen. We hope she learned her lesson.

All kidding aside, I really love summer. I love all the fun things we do - and we like to do a lot of outdoorsy things.

But, at this point in my life, it is SO much more work for me. I know, as my kids get bigger and more independent, it will be easier and less stressful. But for now, I will try to keep my kids busy and happy and hope that having a hubby home all day, every day, won't drive me too batty.

Just kidding...he usually is OK. And I do get a little more freedom to come and go as I please. And we do get to enjoy one of my #1 favorite summer activities - margaritas on the porch, on a warm summer night, after the kids are asleep!

This is my first summer with a blog and I already am feeling the blog world really slows down now. I am finding it so hard to find time to write and read like I want to. Oh well, summer is so short here, and we have plenty of cold, wet, snowy days to spend curled up in front of the computer.

My day lilies are blooming!

My lone iris (yes, still just one) is still blooming.

And I will try to enjoy these crazy and wonderful summer days as much as I can!

Have a good one!

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The weekend that almost drove me to the brink...

of insanity.

The weekend was initially posing to be fairly nice. Christina's last day of school was Friday. I took some pics of her and Kallie before she got on the bus. She looked so sweet.


She only had a 1/2 day of school so I planned on taking her and Kallie out to lunch. I picked her up at the bus stop, dropped Caroline off at my in-laws and we were on our way.

...Only to have my car break down half way there. UGH!

I have some brake problem where the brakes occasionally just lock. It is really great...really. Especially when it is 95 degrees, 95% humidity and you have 2 little girls who are hungry and hot.

So we ended up sitting in a dirty garage waiting room for 2 hrs, only to find that they have no clue why this is happening and we need to go the dreaded "Dodge Dealer". UGH. I hate dealers. I much prefer our small town mechanic who has known my husband and family for many years.

But good news was the brakes cooled down, released and we could eventually drive the van home. We may be dropping the van off at Mr. Dealer tomorrow. Where we will probably get sucked into spending way too much money. Or we may be in the market for a new van.

Either option - not good.

The interesting thing about this horrible hot afternoon was that my girls didn't get to eat until very late. Kallie, my incredibly picky eater, INHALED her french fries and chicken. And she usually refuses to touch the stuff.

So we did prove that you can starve your child into eating almost anything. Not that I want to try that again anytime soon.

Later that day, we got Christina to her last gymnastic class. She does really well. And has such a good time. And they handed out medals to all the kids which Christina thought was WAY cool.


After gymnastics, we went back home, the kids played a bit and then it was bedtime. I was so tired by this time, I thought I would cry. (Oh, don't worry, during my car breakdown, when I was - overheated - overtired - incredibly hungry - I shed my fair share of tears, a few of which while waiting in line in McDonalds behind a bunch of very obnoxious, very slow, teens yes...embarassing).)

Then, at 9 p.m. that night, hubby and I got ready for our neighborhood garage sale which was the next morning. It is a yearly event and, since I have finally come to the realization that at 41, I am done with babies, it is time to finally get rid of all my baby stuff.

So we cracked some MUCH needed cold beers, and started lugging stuff from the basement to the garage.

And then I crashed into bed. Holy cow Batman, that was quite a long day.

The next day, the garage sale went fairly well, but I was still so tired and, really, the last thing I needed to do that day was to stand, for HOURS, making conversation with all the bargain hunters.

Christina and Kallie had a Kool Aid stand during the sale. Everyone loved it, it was so hot that almost everyone bought some. I swear Christina made more money than we did!


And after 6 hours of a garage sale, what did we do?

Well, we went to four graduation parties of course!

Actually, there were 2 parties, for four kids. But we were invited to 3 parties, for 6 kids, and we decided to skip the last party. Being a high school coach means being invited to many parties every single year.

The parties were really nice, even though I was in a zombie-like state. Both families were very well-to-do and they threw absolutely amazing parties. We definitely were out of our league, but the families are extremely nice and we had a good time.

So today is Sunday, and I am looking forward to just relaxing and trying to get my life back in order.

And we have another graduation party later this afternoon...

...yeah, I am real excited about that...

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Photostory Friday!

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

Mamageek and Cecily are hosting a new Friday event - Photostory Friday!

Well, hey, an event where I get to tell a story with photos? Hell ya! Count me in!!!

Yesterday we had some pretty nice thunderstorms rolling through. I spent the morning cleaning up the house, washing my youngest's bedding (little accident that night) and, of course, perusing the web.

DPS (a photography site I have mentioned once or twice or thrice), had an article yesterday highlighting amazing flower pictures. I am a sucker for a good flower picture, so I studied them in awe. The ones that I found most amazing, are the waterdrop photos. Hurry, go check them out...

Back? Aren't they amazing!?

So anyway, back to the storms....

At about noon they started getting a little more nasty, and at about 1 p.m., we lost power. Now losing power in the country is a serious PITA. Being in the country means you have a septic and well. Losing power means your pump doesn't work. So no power means no water or toilets. YUCK. Not fun.

And, five years ago, we lost power for FOUR days. It was awful. We had to pack up and move in with my mom with Christina and our newborn, Caroline. Power outages now always make me a little nervous that we will have a repeat event.

But I was lucky yesterday. Kallie had just gone down for a nap so I didn't need to have to explain to her ten thousand times about why the lights are off and the DVD player doesn't work. (Almost 3 yo's just don't get it.) So it was just Caroline and me.

The rain had stopped, the sun was peeking through and I really had nothing much else to do so I grabbed my camera and went outside. And I decided I would try to mimic some of those amazing waterdrop pictures I saw on DPS this morning.

Now, I do not have a macro lens. A macro lens would allow me to get much closer to the drop and you could see a lot more detail. But little kit lens I have did pretty darn OK. Here are just a couple of the 200 photos I took. Click on the photos to see the detail better!


So yesterday, I actually was pretty pleased that we had our little power outage and I was forced out of my daily routine and had to find something else to do. I never would have had such a fun little photo shoot.

And even though I would love to add a macro lens to my collection. I am not sure if it would be a smart thing. I have a feeling I would get NOTHING done during the day. It could easily make my photography hobby even more obsessive!

And the power? It was back on in only a couple hours.

Don't worry mom.

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An update post and a great photography/Photoshop resource!

I thought I would provide a little update on a couple of older posts. I often neglect to do that. Not that I expect anyone is waiting with bated breath for an update from me, but I just don't like leaving stories hanging without any conclusion.

So, whether you care or not...

Operation Kallie:

Well, I did what I said I would, and I rid my house of most of my junk food. I still have some snacks, but instead of gogurts and chips, I have fruit, Wheat Thins and pretzels.

OK, I know Wheat Thins and pretzels are probably junk too, but just seem a bit more of a healthy, less fatty, snack. And the kids don't gorge themselves in these snacks. They eat a small serving and are on their way.

And it really worked. Kallie is eating better. She still isn't eating most things on the menu. But last week she ate a good portion of my homemade spaghetti and some of my homemade pizza bread. And I plopped down a cut up apple for a snack, and after a bit of whining, she actually ate the whole thing.

And if she doesn't like what I serve, she will eat peanut butter on toast or cereal.

We only had one backslide. When we went to our friends for dinner last weekend, Kallie's plate consisted solely of BBQ potato chips and a juice box. Notsogood.

The Neighbors:

I tried to contact the guy who drew up the deeds for our property. I have left 2 messages and no call back yet. He is a pretty good guy, well known to my mother-in-law. I am thinking he is just out of town or something.

But the neighbors, with the garbage out for 5 weeks? Well, the garbage is gone.

What did they do?

They burned every single bit of it in a burn barrel.

Talk about STINK. Now I am thinking burning all this stuff probably isn't allowed either - both from an environmental standpoint and a "neighborly" standpoint.

And the yard is still completely overgrown and an absolute mess.

I am not done with matter yet. These people are starting to get on my nerves.....stay tuned.

OK, now to my photography/Photoshop find:

I found this site yesterday. It has a bunch of great information on it. Most of it is probably geared more to SLR camera users and more advanced photographers and Photoshoppers. I really consider myself a beginner, but I really like reading this kind of stuff and trying to understand and apply it. I love the challenge!

If you use Photoshop, he writes some amazing tutorials that makes things much more understandable. He explains things like curves, the unsharp mask, shadows and highlights. He explains more of the "why" of Photoshop, rather than "do this, this and this to create this". I really learned a lot. I still have a TON to learn to learn, but more of it is making sense.

He also gives a great tutorial on creating frames. I took this picture yesterday of my white Azalea bush. It is almost in full bloom and oh-so-pretty! I used his tutorial to easily create the frame and text, and really like how it makes the photo look so professional! (Click on the picture to see it larger.)


Hopefully, someone else will get some benefit out of this as well!

Oh, and I must add - Good job Pens!!!! It was a great fight but, unfortunately, they just couldn't pull it off. This is one thing I miss about not living in Pittsburgh any more - being in the middle of all the excitement.... even when it ends in defeat. Well, maybe next year guys!!!!

Have a good one!!!

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Well folks....here he is!

Today was an eventful day in our little world. When I woke, I went downstairs, was starting to get ready for the day when my hubby yells "GET THE CAMERA!!".

Mr. Bear was walking around our backyard at 7 a.m. Unfortunately, by the time I got my camera and was ready to take some shots, he was gone.

But tonight after dinner, our next door neighbor called to tell us Mr. Bear was lying down in her front yard! But this time we were able to grab the camera and get some shots and some video. We also called our other neighbor who came running with his super Canon 40D with a super duper telephoto f/2.8 lens. He was able to sneak in and get closer and he got some better shots.

So here he is!

Isn't he cute!? He looks more like a little teddy bear than some ferocious beast!

However, today we have come to the conclusion that our little world includes a variety of bears. The bear we observed today is just a little guy. The bear on our deck, was a big ole SOB. And there is also a mid-sized bear running around that our neighbor has seen.

So now we are on the lookout for Goldilocks...I just know she has to be close behind....



Edited to add: We did a little research...we are pretty sure this guy is 1.5 years old. Black bear have their cubs in January or February. They become independent when they are 1 1/2. This little guy has just left the nest and isn't quite sure what he should be doing and where he should be going. Hopefully, he will soon find his way...

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Sunday Snapshots!

It was a crazy, busy weekend. Christina had a birthday party to go to that was at a local park. The rhododendrons in this park are massive. So I took some pictures of course!


After the party, we all went over to a friend's for a little cookout. It was a really nice evening, sitting on their deck, letting all the kiddos play, and enjoying a cold brewski.

On Sunday we did one of my favorite summer Sunday activities....we went to a bike trail that is located only about 10 minutes from our house. The bike trail is in a park and runs along a gorgeous little creek. It is so quiet, and there are never a lot of people, usually just a fly fisherman or two in the creek. You often have most of the trail to yourself. And, it is not uncommon to see bald eagles or osprey flying along the creek doing a little fishing themselves.

The trail runs about 7 miles, but we only walk and bike a couple miles. We stopped to eat lunch and the kids took off their shoes and played in the creek for a bit.


It was a great day. Hopefully just the first of many for this summer!

And lastly, I planted irises last year. They are growing like crazy, but so far, only one, of my 153 shoots has bloomed. For some reason, I have the worst luck getting flowers and flowering bushes or trees to bloom. And I am having a feeling that this will be one and only iris this year. So I took lots of pictures of my lone iris:


Well, this is Christina's last week of school. I can't believe it. Next week, everyone, including my hubby the teacher, will be home. every. single. day.... No really, it is great...usually...

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