Crazy Days of Summer Photo Challenge-Bubbles

I grabbed this shot of Sugar Bear last week. I love that a bubble got between us...and was exactly centered on her eye. I couldn't have planned this if I tried. :)

My Week 42

July 17th I returned home from shooting a wedding, and was greeted by my sweet kitty, Toby. He will be turning 11 this week. He has been my little buddy for such a long time. I like this picture because it is totally Toby. He only likes to be held when it is HIS idea. He wasn't really enjoying this photo shoot. I used my remote shutter to grab this shot for my 52 weeks of me project.

July 18th was a rainy Monday in July, but it was a good day. My dad came back down to my house to start some work on our property. It was annoying that it rained, as it made a bit of a mud mess out of my yard, but I was really glad to get this project going. Unfortunately.....after about 1.5 hours, I got a call that halted all progress. We needed permission from a local Indian tribe to continue to dig. Bummer. We spent the rest of the day trying to locate our septic tank. Good Times!

July 19th was a day at home.....and I can't remember why. Darn it. That's why I can't let too much time go between taking the pictures and posting about them. I do know that this was the first day we tried out our "balloon animal kit". Boy oh boy.....that is fun. A little frustrating for Sugar to try to hold them and twist, but she does like making the faces on them. oh wait...I know why we had to stay home....the archaeologist was coming to our house sometime that day. Yeah....that was why. She came....and cleared us for more digging.

July 20th I went to work, and Sugar Bear went to day care. That evening....we went for a bike ride together. It was a glorious summer evening....just how we like it. :)

July 21st, papa, my day returned to resume the property project. This time Sugar Bear spent some time with him in the backhoe. It is always fun to be Papa's little helper. He got all the work done, and it looks great.

July 22nd was another day at home. I had a summer cold, and just didn't feel like going anywhere. We whipped out a new board game, and had some fun. It is called Mystery Garden, and it is a fun game. It is helping Sugar with her ability to ask questions to narrow something down. It's fun!

July 23rd The Hubby, Sugar Bear and I went to the beach. It was windy....I mean MAJORLY windy. Like 25 MPH wind. It was cold, cold, cold!!!! The Hubby and the dog played with a training toy. Sugar ran around being a kid, and I took pictures of it all. As we wandered down the beach I noticed something near the edge of the water. It turned out to be about 2 dozen long stem roses...some white...some red. It was a beautiful sight....in a really sad sort of way. I'm sure someone set them to sea in memory of someone who passed away. It was emotional to see them rolling in the surf.

My Week 41

July 10th should have been a day of rest....but I spent most of it sitting at in this spot editing wedding pictures. A person has to get on this thing right away....or it gets away from you. I took nearly 1100 photos. I need to cull that down to around 350-400.

July 11th Sugar went to day care to play with her friends, and I did my day at work. Things are piling up for me at work like crazy. I only have 3 weeks of summer break left, and then I'm back to the craziness of work. Sugar had a wonderful day at daycare, and was really tuckered out. She slept in my bed with me as a special treat. The Hubby was out to sea. We had a good snuggle time. ♥

July 12th was a stay at home day. Sugar Bear spent entirely too much time watching TV while I worked on wedding photos. I nearly forgot to take a photo that day, until bath time. This is one of her favorite bath toys. It was a gift from her aunt.

July 13th was my 15th wedding anniversary. The Hubby was still out to sea, and I spent the day working on wedding photos. Sugar Bear went to daycare again, and I snapped this shot of me in my side mirror real quick after pulling up in her daycare's driveway. I needed a shot for my 52 weeks of me project.

July 14th my parents came down to our house to look over our property. We are in the process of starting a big project on our property. We talked over the moving of some MAJOR dirt on our property. My dad has the equipment and experience. We had the ideas. We took Sugar's play structure apart and moved it to another part of our yard. Then, at the insistence of The Hubby, my dad took our 1978 corvette for a long drive. I think my dad looks pretty good in this thing. :)

July 15th I headed out on another wedding adventure. I had to travel out of town for this one. I got there 3 hours before the rehearsal time, so that I could be there at the time I would be taking photos the next day. I like to scout out the light. During rehearsal, we had this cute little guest. He nearly stole the show.

July 16th was the big day. I shot for 11 hours. ELEVEN HOURS! I'm telling you....weddings are NOT for sissies. It was a beautiful wedding, and now I have twice the amount of photos I had at the beginning of the week. whew......

I am doing well. Keeping up with my picture taking, but really trying to limit my blogging. So I have not been reading blogs. I hope I'm not missing anything BIG in your lives. If so....send me an email. :)

My Week 40

July 3rd was such a wonderful and busy day. We were up at the farm with my parents. My dad's cousin's were there camping like they always are, and we went to the river swimming. Sugar had a wonderful time with the other 7 kiddos. Then we had a campfire, with ice cream drumsticks. The sunset was sooooooooooooooo beautiful....only to be rivaled by the wonderful firework show we had thanks to The Hubby and his trip to Idaho. :) What a perfect day.

July 4th was spent at our annual family picnic. It was a hot day with good food, and another swim at the river. Happy Fourth of July.

July 5th found us back to our schedule. Swimming lessons again. Sugar is doing so well. I love to watch her progress.

July 6th.....well.....I can't really remember what we did, but it is likely that I worked, while Sugar played with her friends at daycare. I do know we spent some fun time out in the yard that evening with Ivy girl. Sugar and Ivy are really becoming the best of buddies. There are still times when Sugar Bear will suddenly start crying about missing Daisy, but Ivy is such a good new friend. ♥

July 7th was an errand day. We picked up this empty frame so that I might use it for wedding photos. Sugar Bear had a bit of fun posing for me. (I never did use the frame at either of the two weddings I did recently. There just wasn't time for creativity.)

July 8th Sugar Bear went scouting with me at our first wedding location. She helped me find the good light. She is awesome like that. ♥ Later I attended the wedding rehearsal, while Sugar stayed with Grandma, and her cousins. They got to go swimming at the river again.

July 9th was the wedding. I spent 7 hours shooting. It was a mixture of so many emotions for me. stress....and fun.....and ack.....and awwwwwwwwwww....and whew. Weddings are a roller coaster, for sure.

Hey folks! I allowed myself this guilty pleasure of putting this blog post together before I forget what we did, but I should not be on here. I absolutely HAVE.TO get the wedding photos processed before I start really posting my personal stuff.

I do

They do.

and I definately DO have WAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY too much on my plate right now.

WOWZA!

I just shot this gorgeous wedding last Saturday.....and I'm fighting my way through the photos, as I have ANOTHER wedding this coming Saturday. I know folks do this sort of thing all the time, but girlfriend has too many irons in the fire right now.

Think of me. Send good photography thoughts my way. I'd appreciate it so very much.

yeah.....it's sad

But don't cry. I'm too busy to blog right now.....but I'll be back in a few days.....or maybe a week....or so. You'll be fine. I just know it.

It was a good Fourth

Our Fourth of July was "just right". Just some family........some food.....and some laughs.

Just how we like it. :)

Sugar loves this time of year. She gets to see some distant cousins, and play down at the river with them.

I'd love to show you those pictures....but I'm am CRAZY busy right now, so that will not happen.

But I wanted to take the time to share these fun shots. I'm a bit worried about my lens. The focus is slightly off in these. I'm shooting a wedding this weekend, and I hope I don't have this problem.

Here is a fun, and rare photo of my parents with their three grandchildren. ♥ Good times.

Yes, the Fourth was a blast. Quite literally. We had a private little firework show. I grabbed a few shots....but mostly just wanted to "be there".

I am grateful for my freedom.....for my independence.

Life is Good!

My Week 39

June 26th was a wonderful day at home. Not much compares to summer painting in our PJ's. :)

June 27th brought back the rain....but for some reason....it was so beautiful. I think the colors of summer were shining through. I'm a sucker for my "weeds" these days.

June 28th marked the first of four private swimming lessons for the Sugar. It was a dismal weather, but a great swimming session. Sugar is quite nearly there. She just needs to have the confidence.

June 29th we attended an evening summer birthday party at the park. The rain held off, but the wind was present. Us parents...did a bit of whining....and wishing the cool wind would disappear, but the kids....I don't think they even noticed. Sugar found herself learning to do the monkey bars. She loved these, as they weren't that high off the ground, so she wasn't so worried about falling.

June 30th was day two of swimming lessons. There was progress.......and I'm so very proud of my girl.

July 1st was a beautiful day.....stunning day. A perfect day to let our horse out in our yard to do the mowing. She is such a pretty little horse in the summer. I love her sleek, short hair.

July 2nd I couldn't resist getting a different sort of shot of the SAME flowers from the 27th. One thing I really love about photography is the ability to get such different shots of the exact same subject depending on the light.....the angle.....the camera settings, and more. It really helps me remember to look at things from more than one point of view.

It was another great week. I'm still enjoying this project. It can get difficult sometimes to figure out what to shoot each day, but I have been powering though. One thing about the way I have been presenting my 365 pictures that has been limiting is the small square format. A square is not how I naturally "see" my photography. For instance, the photo of Sugar Bear on the monkey bars...I had to cut off her feet to fit in the square template. :( It's okay though.....I have the properly cropped photo on my computer. I just don't always love the way the photos look in shape of a square, but I ALWAYS adore the way my whole week looks together in the template

What a beautiful life I live.

Making Memories on the Fourth of July

For us.....the Fourth of July happens up at the farm. It is a tradition that I hope sticks around for many, many, many years to come. It has been that way since BEFORE I was born, and we will be celebrating Sugar Bear's 7th "Fourth of July Picnic" at the farm tomorrow. We are very excited. It is also a tradition for Sugar Bear to wear something her mama made for her. Interestingly enough....I usually only make her something every other year, and it still fits the following year.

I thought it would be fun to post some pics from the last 6 celebrations.

2005 (Sugar Bear was 7 months old)

I made the hair bows.

Here she is with Cousin S. They are 3 weeks apart in age.

2006 ( Sugar was 1 1/2 years old, and I made her dress.)

2007 (Sugar was 2 1/2 years old.)

Dress is from the previous year.

New tutu that I made.

2008 (Sugar Bear was 3 1/2 years old and I made the shirt and pants.)

2009 (Sugar Bear was 4 1/2 years old, and the outfit is from the previous year.)

2010 (Sugar Bear was 5 1/2 years old, and I made her dress.)

2011.........will be continued!

Have a wonderfully, happy Fourth of July!

52 Weeks of ME- Week twenty-seven

Theme of the week:

At work/At Home

Being that I only work about 6 hours a week in the summer, and I have already taken a few pictures at work, I decided to grab my shot at home. I really didn't have a plan, and yesterday was such a pretty evening, so I went outside with my camera....and looked around. I decided I wanted to try to get a shot of Tiny, our mini horse, and myself. I set my camera on our picnic table, and set the timer, but couldn't get the silly horse to stay in the frame. I was getting pretty annoyed. The Hubby was watching me, and came out to try to help. I was feeling grouchy, and just gave up on that idea, mostly because my remote shutter release was acting up as well.

The Hubby sat down in the grass and was trying to get the horse to come over. She was having none of it. Ivy, our dog....was happy to oblige though. I aimed my camera at the hubby, and moved out in front of the camera to see if my remote would work. It did, and I jumped into the shot with him. and here we have the FIRST picture of the two of us together since.....2002. yes....I said 2002. Nearly 10 years.

You have to understand that my husband doesn't normally allow photos to be taken of him. The rare one's you'll find of him on here are all I have.....and those are usually snuck by me hiding behind a tree. tee hee.....not really, but almost that bad. He just doesn't allow them. So when he didn't squawk.....and then let me push the shutter release again....(after removing my coat), and again. and a few times with the dog. I was over the moon excited.

These shots have their issues, and my hair is totally WONKY from the back lighting......or the fact that I may have NOT brushed it that day (whistling), but I love them. Sugar Bear will love them. I am so very excited that this happened. I guarantee if I walked over and asked my husband if I could take a picture with him right now.....or tomorrow.....or in the next month, or year, it will be "NO WAY!" I don't know why he let it happen.....but I'm grateful. I only wish Sugar had been home. There is yet to be a picture of all three of us. Crossing my fingers.....as I have hope.

On the 13th of this month, we'll be celebrating our 15th wedding anniversary. What a great gift this already is. ♥

Be sure to head on over to visit Jessie and Cara to see all the fabulous ladies taking part in this cool project.

Summer Painting

One thing I really love about summer is the fact that we have MORE time to be together. More time means more activities....and that is something that I love.

The Hubby made this painting easel for Sugar Bear WAY back......in 2007, I think. Here is a vintage Sugar Bear (age 2 1/2 ) shot from June 22 2007. The girl was an active painter back in the day. She needed TWO paint brushes to keep up with her creativity. ♥

Anyhow, summers are for painting. There is nothing like watching my girl get her painting groove on. Especially when she is in her jammies.....and a sunhat. :) There is just something so very carefree about it.

I took these the other day, June 26th, and the light was so bright, but I couldn't NOT try to capture this moment. It just says, "summer" to me, and I've been needing to feel like it is summer.

The weather hasn't been all that summery. And I've been pretty house bound with my puppy getting spayed, and all. The Hubby has been out to sea A LOT, which is a good thing....but it just isn't feeling like summer.

So when, Sugar suggested some painting....I was alllllllllllllllllllllllllll for it. It was a gorgeous morning, so it was so very lovely on our back deck.

These pictures have all sorts of technical issues, but they tug at my heart. I have pictures of her at all ages painting at this easel, and it just blesses my soul.

She doesn't really yearn to paint like some kids do, but when she does paint, it is always a joy to see what comes from her soul onto the surface.

I would have LOVED something like this when I was a kid. I'd like to think it would have fostered more creativity in me. It is my belief that if given the opportunity, kids can express so very much of who they are.....what they are feeling......what they don't know how to say.

One of the best parts of this process is choosing which colors we are going to make up for that day. I mainly have the primary colors and black and white, so we mix up a variety of colors, and it is never the same.

The narration during the painting can be a real hoot, when it comes to Sugar. Sometimes she is just telling me what she is painting. Other times, she is teaching ME to paint, like on those painting shows on PBS. This time, she was the big sissy, and I was the little sissy, and she was giving me a lesson on how to paint. ♥ I'm not very good at pretend play, but I'll usually give it a go for a little while. I'm pretty good at being the little sissy. :)

All in all, our morning was full of lots of smiles.....the sun felt good.....and the painting was beautiful. I can't wait for the next session.

LIFE IS GOOD!