Bathtime Ballet

Everyone needs a little culture in their life, no? :)


Darned, I wish I hadn't chopped off those cute lil piggies and check out those calves!!!

READ TO ME

This is my last assignment for my photography class. I am so very sad to see it end but it has been a fantastic adventure - I've learned so much and really stretched my technical and creative photography muscles :)

We had to compose a photo essay. I tried several different themes - bathtime, TKD for Nathan but then last night, I found Nathan reading to Caleb before bedtime. The light in his room was still good and they were mostly oblivious to me. This is their unstaged relationship. I don't think Caleb will ever truly have an appreciation for what a kind, loving big brother Nathan is to him. Caleb is a really lucky little boy and in return, Nathan is a better person for having Caleb as his little brother. Being a big brother has added another beautiful dimension to who Nathan is.

HELLO, my name's not Grace

Poor Nathan. You take after me buddy. And not in a good way. I'm sorry. Despite the years of ballet lessons, I have NO grace. Zip. Nada. Zilch. None. I am clumsy. And despite being fully grown (and then some) my body is often still ackward to me. I bruise OFTEN and easily. I fall at the most inconvenient times (like Grandma's funeral service at church). I hoped that I could keep this defect to myself. But sadly, I passed it on to you. Sorry baby.

You trip over anything. Everything. Even nothing at all. This summer you are bearing the marks to prove it. When you fall, we look at each other, brush it off, smile and say "Hello - My name's not Grace".

Prairie Fest at Night

Fogh who? ...I'm the one who looked at the Prairie Fest schedule - just to check out who was playing, the times for cheaper rides. You know the deal, right? Well, I saw that Foghat was playing. So what, I thought. Didn't mention it to Scott. What does he care about Foghat right? Well, I was W-R-O-N-G-G-G! He about wet himself when he found out that they were playing right in his "back yard" on Saturday night. So, thankfully Sissy kidsat for us and the Boss and I dragged ourselves back to Prairie Fest along with a BUNCH of other "near geriatrics" to watch Foghat. Disinterested at best (don't tell him I said that), I took along my camera and decided it was time to overcome my problems with night shots. After leaving the "near geriatrics", most of whom were sportin' mullets or ponytails, I wondered into "hormone heaven". The amount of teenagers in the ride section of the park was overwhelming - raging hormones on a hot summer night....nice. Glad the boys were back home in bed. :) It was, however, a great opportunity to play with some of the settings on my camera AND the bonus was,it got me out of listening to Fogh who...!

This is fog who....Scott was teasing that they were on pure oxygen by the end of the show.

I love the orange glow of these nightime shots. I shot them wide open at 1600 ISO and no flash.





And this is the first time, we went to Prairie Fest and didn't partake in one of these...

Prairie Fest

It is Oswego's version of a fair.
In the end, it is very expensive, HOT, HOT, HOT fun. In an effort to avoid the insane crowds, we opted for Saturday afternoon. At 90 something degrees, it was just too hot. Within minutes our pasty white faces were ruby red. :)

The exotic animal petting zoo.


Can you imagine what a photo of Sissy would be without seeing her tongue?

The carnie working this ride was putting the moves on my daughter....he was asking for trouble!

That blue slide really shows off Caleb's flaming red cheeks. It was HOT!

He is the epitome of a GREAT big brother.

Roller Coaster madness :) How cute are they? Check out the little brother and sister behind the boys. So CUTE! Last year, Caleb wouldn't have touched a ride like this. This year, without hesitation, he took Budgie's hand and on he went. His expressions throughout the ride were hysterical.




Despite the heat and the outrageous price for a roller coaster ride, I'm sure we'll be back next year. It's just too fun to pass up!

At the car wash :)

Just a reminder that the everyday moments, the most usual of places can become incredible opportunities to catch a few candid memories. It was 94 degrees in the shade. We were all red faced and tired from the Prairie Fest but with slurpies in hand, we hung out waiting at the car wash....

Peonies

We were in Meier's this past Saturday grocery shopping when my eyes spied these beautiful bunches of peonies. Instantly, I was back on our house on Garlow Drive. It was a tiny little ranch with a gravel driveway that sloped fairly steeply to the garage, backyard and big creek and woods behind it. At the end of the gravel driveway, acting as the divider between the driveway and the steep drop off of the woods, my dad had planted a long row of peonies. I remember them being pink and white. I remember that they didn't bloom often but when they did, that row of plants was just a sea of those poofy flowers. I remember that the flowers were so heavy when they opened that they made the stems of the plant bend over like an inverted umbrella. I also remember the incredible amount of ants that were attracted to the peony flowers - they fascinated and freaked me out. I remember my Dad's Volkswagon Beetle parked right in front of that row of peonies and I remember him out there every weekend, washing his Beetle and Mom's station wagon. I miss my Dad. I missed him this Father's Day. I miss him everyday but I am grateful for bunches of pink peonies that I can take home to remind me of him. Thankfully this bunch has no ants. :)

Frustrated

This is how I know I've worn out my photography welcome! I was trying so hard to capture something with buttery warm morning light for my photography assignment this week. He quickly went from a smile to a frown to hiding his face to SERIOUS frustration. I still love this shot. I love the clarity in his eyes, the textures of light, the creamy skin and pink lips (GOSH, what I wouldn't give for that creamy skin), the furrow in brow, the freckle on his right ear....hmmm hmmm..mm. I could just eat that frustrated little boy right up :)

These were shot before he HAD IT!

A good decision

There was so much to do today. So much work. So many personal chores. But he was home today and his friends were busy. Next week, he has camp and more camps the week after that. So today, I chose him.


We left at lunch time and rode our bikes to downtown Oswego. It's a long gorgeous ride along the river. He packed us PB&Js (mine crunchy, his not) and cheesy pretzels. We sat by the river and ate under a tree. He skipped stones and threw big sticks. I fooled around with my camera and breathed in fresh air. We went to the Bike Shop. He got a new bike seat with loads of padding. I got a basket put on mine to carry future bike riding lunches. While we waited, we walked down to the Dairy Hut and had cones (his - a twist, mine - straight up vanilla). We picked up our bikes and rode the long ride home.



A 2 hour lunch with my 10 year old son. One of the best decisions I've made in a long time. :)

Another time

when someone else said it so much better

This came from Jesh DeRox's blog and says so poignantly what I've been thinking about alot lately -

"If someone has been a friend to you.....a good one, a real one, someone who has given you something that no one else ever exactly has,,,

then be slow to give up on them, find it in your heart to see them with patience.

if they are quiet, seem to be acting differently than you've come to expect or maybe not giving at the level you are used to, perhaps they are in hibernation, playing dead in an attempt to survive a pain or a difficulty stronger than they know how to handle gracefully.
be slow to believe the worst; assumption is a ruinous and untrustworthy advisor.

the surface of something is most always the smallest percentage of it. look at how much of what is vital about you exists beneath your skin.

things are rarely as they appear, and when you judge something before its time, you separate yourself from much worth experiencing - like biting into and spitting out a sour apple, weeks before it is ripe.

the butcher's knife of condemnation is good for little but making bloody messes.

sometimes people need room to grow. what benefit is it to you to hold other people to your measurements? perhaps they travel in a different direction than you have been, are dealing with a terrain that has different challenges than your own, and at a different speed. there is no way for you to know for sure.

even if an assumption is popular, it doesn't make it true. a thousand people staring at the surface will see no deeper than one, and lend no more credence. watch for the tendency for your fears to give such shallow perception non-existent weight.

in this world of flux and flex, an open heart and a ready shoulder are often the best gift you can give to a friend who's going through a rough time. and, those being offered, a peaceful space - so they can find their way through their mazes at their own pace.

good friends are worth the wait.

remember we often receive in relation to what we have given; you never know when it may be your turn to face the lonely mountain passes. believe me, they are more easily overcome with the help of good friends."

If I could just get that zoom right, this would be a pretty cool photo. :) Silly boy!

Saturated

Today I am feeling saturated - soaked, dripping wet. Saturated with the things to do and the things that still need to be done. Saturated with blessings that I am trying so hard to keep my focus on while all the craziness swirls around me. Saturated with all that I want to learn and see and do and try and be and feeling there will NEVER be enough days to experience it all. Saturated with gratitude that I EVEN get to make these choices to learn and grow and see and do and be. Like these flowers, I am trying my best to soak it all in. :)

A few more from the park

Meet Gracie - Nathan's birthday present. She's a cute 6 year old Shitzu but in true Carter dog fashion - she's come with a HUGE load of baggage. She's a Puppy Mill Rescue and we certainly have out hands full of residual issues. Nathan loves her and we're working on it. Sigh....

Emotion

This was my photography assignment last week which depicted EMOTION. Caleb is always crazy silly but Carah never willingly lets me photograph her. I get the hand or 'worse'. But this time, I caught them from a distance on the jungle gym simply enjoying each other and being silly. I love this shot of their relationship :) In the words of Karen Russell (photographer/artist/teacher extraordinaire) "while not technically perfect, it is emotionally perfect to me". That is a happy thing.

I'm also practicing black/white conversions. I think they're getting better. :)

A new look

Since my focus is really on telling our story in pictures, I have changed things up a bit to really highlight the photos. I like being able to see my favorite people, bigger and better :) smile!!!!

These are just a few from our trip to the park in downtown Oswego this weekend. Nathan, Caleb, the dog (yes, the dog) and I rode our bikes downtown from the house - it's a NICE LONG ride and Daddy met us there with fishing gear. Gracie rode in the "buggy" with Caleb and did great - although she was scared to death. The ducks were the highlight for Caleb and Nathan met up with Brandon and Jordan from T-Force for a fun game of tag. It was a great, dirty, sweaty adventure. :)

I absolutely love this dirty faced smile

I think I just proved to myself that you can get good fast focus with a Canon. In the end, it appears to be me....not the camera. :)


DUCKS!!!!