More from my Sumpter trip

I've had some extra time to play in photoshop lately so I'm posting some more from my Sumpter trip. I think steam engines are a new favorite subject! I REALLY loved shooting this one.



Sometimes I can't decide whether I like the color better or the old fashion tone, but it just seems to fit better for an antique steam engine.





I hopped across a little stream and was wet up to my knee for the rest of the trip to get these shots. It was worth it to me, I really liked what the little stream added to the image. Only 2 other photographers were as crazy as I was, the rest stayed dry.....their loss :)




I wanted a close up of this tree that changed colors in the fall, it was so pretty mixed in with the evergreens up in the mountains.


This was a normal experience in Sumpter, lots of close encounters with wildlife. Larry and I at a cafe next to our cabin and we heard about an injured elk who came every night around 6pm for his free handout of leftover food.


This is another antique item found on the ranch we visited in Baker, OR.

A disturbance

Every morning I wake up and look out the window to see what the day looks like. I always keep my fingers crossed for fog so I can run out and play with my camera. This morning, I was partially rewarded. While the fog didn't stretch over the whole of my city, it did hover over the river long enough for me to get the shots I wanted.

I was sitting by the waters edge watching a flock of geese (or so they look from a distance) just floating in the water peacefully. Out of nowhere, they freaked out and flew off. Now I know I didn't put my makeup on this morning, but their reaction was a bit extreme. Sheesh.



On another note, Jared is finished with soccer for the season and he was able to play his last game. He sprained his ankle a couple of weeks ago jumping off a tall haystack and it is still tender, but he was able to run and kick the ball. I got the boys together for team pictures during their last practice, here is the funny one.



The boys made out like bandits this Halloween. Their candy should last us a whole year if I ration it correctly. Last years candy did make it a full year, I threw it away before they went trick-or-treating. We don't eat a lot of candy around here, the boys have enough 'crazy' in their system without adding to it. This year, Jared was a fireman and David was a ninja.



Larry and I were dressed the same as last year (Jack and Sally from the Nightmare Before Christmas) and as you can see.... Larry is as excited as ever!


Seriously, am I the only one smiling?

Our weekend adventure

Larry and I went to Sumpter, Oregon with the Tri City Digital Photography Club for a photo opportunity. The club arraigned for us to ride an old steam engine, it was quite an experience with fall colors and billowing smoke against a beautiful blue sky. Even the operators of the train were dressed for the experience, they made it authentic for us. Larry sat in the train for most of the way while I went with the photographers to set up at the different locations they dropped us off at. Here is a peak at some of my favorite images.....







Here is the conductor, he knew everything about this train and the history of the area. I don't think there was a question he didn't know the answer to. He is definitely the best steam engine conductor west of the Mississippi.




We were treated to a train robbery, it was pretty neat! One of the guys walked on board the train and yelled a bit for fun, everyone had their cameras out.


Larry makes friends wherever he goes! We visited a ranch near Baker City, OR because we heard a guy had a whole bunch of cool old stuff. He only charged $2 per person so we walked around a couple of acres of land and Larry kept the horses at bay while I played with my camera. They were very interested in us, especially Larry. This one was rubbing up against him in order to block the other horse from Larry's affections :)




Now here is a friendly and desperate cat! She practically threw herself at Larry, I wonder what Panda (our cat) will think of this. Can you see how she jumped into Larry's hand to be sure she got a proper petting?


We took a scenic route home so I could take more photos of the beautiful fall colors. We were driving along and saw this random boot in the middle of the road. Larry and I could come up with stories all day about how it came to be there. I had him pull over so I could take a picture.




It was a great weekend! The photo club is already talking about another trip next year.

A Sunday Picture

As the storm rolled in, I thought the Columbia River Temple looked particularly beautiful so I took some pictures. This is an HDR (High Dynamic Range) photo.

School Pictures

Having a fancy camera and a few skills come in handy when it's time for school pictures. The boys had fun with it, they like getting 4X6 pictures to hand out to friends rather than the wallet size. Walmart does an okay job of printing and it costs just 9 cents per print. I really can't beat paying less than $6 for both of their school pictures.

Here are their school pictures and a couple of funny ones, they smile so easily when they are allowed to be silly first.

Singing in the Shower

I can tell David loves music, he has always enjoyed singing with other kids in church. Ever since I let the boys have my old CD player, he dominates it with the free 'Kids Bop' CD he got in his McDonald's Happy Meal. Sometimes I catch him singing along to his favorite songs. Well today he must be excited about church because I could hear him singing a Primary song. It was adorable!

Fear

This morning I found a rather large black widow in my laundry room hovering over the garbage can. I can only remember one other time in the past 10 years where I felt nearly paralyzed with fear. I don't have a general fear of spiders or any phobia that I can think of, I have no problem using my bare hands to smack a spider if one crosses my path and I chopped a rattlesnake in half with a snow shovel just 2 weeks ago. For some reason, I felt cold and started to tremble - I'm completely puzzled by this 'fear' nonsense! In any normal situation, I'd have my wits about me and would have gone to get my camera. However, I just stood there and stared at it. This creepy uninvited guest hung there in front of me.

David walked in to see what I was doing. I pointed to the spider and told him it was poisonous, that a little bite could put him in the hospital. Then I took the fly swatter and smashed it. Wow that was a giant mess, it practically exploded all over the wall. And what's worse is that I keep looking around the house as if I'll find more. The thought really creeps me out. I think this fear has something to do with my 'spider dreams' and how I wake up hitting my pillow in the middle of the night. I've had nights where I could swear a black widow is crawling onto my pillow. I don't realize it's not real until I am fully awake.... and after throwing my pillow to the ground or beating it. Arachnophobia is the fear of spiders, is there a word for the fear of just black widows?


I googled for a picture, just looking at it gives me the shivers.

Googly eyes

I swear, I don't really have that much time on my hands. But this idea came from a friend, she challenged other fellow photographers to a "googly eyes" contest. The boys had fun helping me with these......





I almost feel sorry for them, but then I think of the yummy omelets Larry makes me.

My sweet boys!

This weekend, Jared started cleaning his room without being asked to. Not only that, he organized the book case (which is always a mess) and cleaned the toy room. David got in on the action too, he vacuumed the rooms and they boys took turns with it on the rest of the house. They must have caught the 'cleaning bug' because they insisted on washing the kitchen floor as well. I can't complain. I have a clean house and two very sweet boys who were rewarded for their awesomeness.

And because I love pictures, here are some random shots I took of the boys within the last couple of weeks...

FAIL

Nothing is more exciting than getting an unexpected check in the mail..... unless it's this check from Verizon.




Yep, you read that right. They sent me a check for a penny. I'm dreaming of the possibilities.... I wonder if there are still places that sell penny candy, I'll try not to spend it all in one place. I'm going to send this one to failblog.org.