Summer Fun

We’ve been busy here enjoying the sunshine lately. I think I’ve finally hit a workable balance between play and work, and it’s been WAY more fun for all of us, and has resulted in more “in the moment” times.

This week the blackberries are beginning to ripen, so we spent some time searching out the bushes while father was at work. Oh those kids had an absolute ball, and ate and ate and ate. We still ended up with a ton of berries, and made some yummy cobbler this weekend. I had forgotten how good fresh blackberries taste on cornflakes and milk - oh heaven and such memories from childhood.

We also put together a stock photography set while we were picking - the kids loved it, and had some great suggestions on what all to add. Here’s Berry Pickin’:

Down on Hawthorne

I’m in love.

We spent Saturday afternoon down in the Hawthorne District, and there was so much to take in, so much to absorb, and SO much color and texture down there. I went nuts with my camera, just like a kid in a candy store.

Then we grabbed some coffee and were entertained by a man riding on his ten-foot-tall green bicycle, dressed in black with huge feathered wings on his back. (This is the same guy later, passing as we were getting back in our cars.)

And this is a total luck shot I grabbed, holding the camera out over our table and pointing it in the general direction of coolness without really looking. I think I really like it!! And I think I want a red mug like that one, too.

And these next two were taken in a little coffee shop right around the corner from Hawthorne - cool, cool place. Their restroom totally cracked me up. Can a body look at that door and NOT smile?!!

Stock Photo Sets

I haven’t mentioned any new stock photo sets here in a while. They’re there in the shop at SBG - a bunch. And I have so many more I just need to take the time to pull together. Life has been busy. Good, but I’m definitely out of practice in the juggling department, lol.

These are just some fun sets I’ve put together in the past two weeks from around the house and around our area as we’re out geocaching. Spring had sprung last month, but now we’re battling snow and hail and all that other craziness - it’s April in the Pacific Northwest!!! And so, so weird. It messing with my photo schedule, that’s for sure. But I know there are sunny, warm days ahead. Woohooo!

TWO weeks?!!!

Where did they go? I can’t believe it’s been so long since I’ve posted here. Life got crazy, BUT . . . listen to this. Announcement, wonderful blog people - after nine long years, this house is DONE with diapers!!!! Wooot!!! Wooot!!! I’m SO excited about that. Yay Fidget man. Accident free the whole way. Oh, the powers of goldfish crackers and mini-marshmallows.

Now let me start with the most recent and maybe in the next day or two I’ll get everyone fully caught up.

Another fabulous weekend meant a little more geocaching for our family. But first we had to live out a family tradition - grabbing dinner at Burger King and pulling in at PDX to watch the planes take off and land while we ate. The kids LOVE to do this, and the evening was incredible.

This man and his dog were pulled over on I-205 as we were getting on. You’d never guess we were in the middle of metropolis, would you? What a moment.

And this last one just cracked me up. I feel safer now. How about you?

Saturday we wandered along Lacamas Heritage Trail right here in town, and had a ball watching geese and canoers and salamanders galore. The weather couldn’t be beat.

And here we all are, watching those critters in the water:

And now just let me say - take your camera with you everywhere. It’s these little moments that make our lives so big. And if we don’t capture them in some way or another they slip by and before we know it they are forgotten. Shoot shoot shoot!

Eating Again

Confession time again. I’m realizing how obsessed I am with food of late. I found the last of the cookies this morning (and my how good one of them was with the freshly brewed coffee)!

Did I share those cookies here before? Whoops! Go check out the Cookie Monster story over on my photography blog, and from now on I’ll try to do a better job over here keeping things up to date. . .

And then the other night I realized I hadn’t taken a single photo all day long. And I also realized that a friend of mine would give me exceedingly hearty grief if I didn’t get one (thank you, Chris!) so I had a little fun. The broccoli took center stage in front of my lens . . .

Yes, it still cracks me up. So what, you ask, happened to this poor, terrified broccoli’s head? Well, dinner was delicious:

And one more to share with you. My dear, sweet husband went above and beyond the call of duty today, and showered me with love. The cake is his work of art - his first cake-baking experience. The birthday was mine - not my first.

Isn’t it beautiful?

Fidget Meets Dump Truck

Oh lol, poor little Fidget ran into the back of a dump truck today. At least that’s what HE says happened. I happen to think he got a rug burn because he was pushing it so fast and slipped. Either way, he’s sporting a new look, heehee.

Things are going well here - it’s been a busy week so far. I have two featured galleries up over on my photography site that highlight some of our latest adventures, as well as Mother’s Day special that’s pretty cool. AND I have a whole new line of wall displays that I’ll be offering to my clients. To check them out, use the password walldisplays in the client section. I’m planning to rearrange some of the walls in my own house using them as inspiration! Oh, and jewelry!!! I have a whole collection of photo jewelry coming for studio samples that I’m fairly giddy about. Oh oh oh, they’re irresistible. Here’s a sample or two:

This Friday we’re headed out to a Blazers game with father’s work partner. A double date for us - and we’re all looking forward to it. Woot! I’ve never been to an NBA game, but I used to be the biggest Blazer freak. SOOO fun.

Tree Potatoes

Okay, I need some help, people. Sprinkle, Sparkle, my dad and I went for a hike the other day and found some pretty weird things in the trees. Does anyone know what they are? I’ve done google searches, image searches for tree viruses, seed pods and the like, and haven’t been able to find a thing. Here’s a look:

Strange, to say the least, lol. (And yes, that potato thing is weird, too!) Gotta love our Sprinkle. . . . Speaking of the little devil, he and I spent some time together this past weekend. I folded up some paper, he got to drawing, and then by cutting them out on the fold he made all these little cars and trucks that stand up on their own. Can we say excited?!!! I scanned them in and now he’s going to have his own scrapbook set in the store - his own idea, and how can this mamma turn him down? I’m so proud of him - I love his creativity, and then his desire to share. Here’s a peek at them. (They’ll be in the shop later this afternoon - I’ll link it up as soon as it is.) I’ll see if I can catch some photos of him playing with his creations after his rest time.

We’ve been enjoying gorgeous weather here this past week, which prompted the hike on Thursday that introduced us to the tree potatoes. (Sparkle was petrified for a moment when we told her they were bat eggs . . . ) It was an awesome time, but landed me on the couch all day Friday fighting the remnants of the flu. Again. Ugh. Still pretty wiped out, but I think I can safely say we’re all on the mend finally. February was a rough month for us. Here are a few more pictures from the rest of the day:

There’s a new stock photo collection in the store from our time out in the woods enjoying the awakening spring. The meadows were tinged with new green, the air was fresh, and the scent invigorating. This time of year inspires me to create, to smile and reminds me to LIVE. I hope you are inspired the same way, and either remember or dream of a similar walk to freshen your soul.
 

Surfacing

There’s this nasty bug going around that keeps showing interest in our family. So far it’s just been a surface thing, but man alive. I’m tired of it already! I miss my energy level, and the kids are just under enough to feel ugly but good enough to still argue. Grrr . . . .

Here’s Fidget with a fever earlier this week. Just look at those sweet baby blues!

But yesterday we all got out and enjoyed the Mount Hood Fruit Loop, and were able to get up into a bit of snow. There was one point in the ride that I rolled the window down and breathed deep of the evergreens. How refreshing. There are plans in the works to get back out there in the spring for all the blossoms in the orchards, and then again in the fall when the apples and pears are ripe. It’s a beautiful part of the country, to be sure.

This is a sad little motel we found. The kids didn’t want to move in, despite the fact that we promised them they could not only have their own rooms, but their own houses!!

And then we found this really cool hill in the middle of nowhere with a neat house right on top of it, all by itself. On a whim, we took a turn and tried to get a closer look. In the process, we found this amazing, old train depot that will definitely be worth returning to at some point this summer.

This last one I took on Friday, and it just means the world to me. I had the day to myself, and instead of going mad taking photos for some stock sets like I had planned, I ended up sitting for over and hour watching clouds. I needed to stop and revel in the simple beauty of our complex world that God has made for us. The clouds kept rolling and changing, and light kept filtering from blue to gray to sunshiney bright. It was amazing, and I don’t fully even know how to explain the peace it brought me.

Storyboards, 12×12 Set 3

Don’t you love it when your children bring your inspiration? Oh yes, little Fidget was my brain-child tonight with all his stinkerness, lol. In honor of him, I put together this new set of storyboards for the shop:

Am I a bad mom if I say this one is my favorite?

Yoohoo! I’m back, lol

Wow, it’s really been two weeks since I’ve posted. Changed servers, reinvented my photography business, created a new site, homeschooled, cleaned up unmentionables from sick children, baked cakes, and LIVED. But I didn’t have a baby. My brother and sister-in-law took care of that one, lol. What a handful. Hopefully I’m back to regularly scheduled programming for at least a while.

I’m uber excited about the fact that Kathy Carlisle opened her brain and dumped out vast amounts of knowledge, along with her bursting, passionate heart for photography. Seriously, what a gal! If you haven’t seen it yet, go check out her site. She motivated me to get my own - things are still trickling down through servers and changing up, but you should be able to get to it pretty consistantly now. Kathy helped me get on track and ramp things up to pursue this a bit more seriously. On the 28th, my dad and I will be attending a Photography Seminar here in town as well, and I think I’m shivering in anticipation already. There is SO much to be learned about this craft, and lately I’ve been soaking it up as quickly as possible. So fun!

For a bit of break today, since the sun appeared for awhile, we headed out to explore a new location. I caught a few frames of the kids enjoying it, but my favorite hands down is the first one. Father seemed quite bored, and Fidget was giving him the business about it, lol.

Yes, we had a good time. The sunshine felt wonderful, and I needed the stretch. Tomorrow evening I should have some pictures of our new nephew. My brother and sister welcomed him to the outside last week, and he is absolutely beautiful. Honestly. Squishy, sweet, kissable beautiful.

And Daytona is this weekend!!! WOOOOOOT! Can’t wait.