Pure Talent

It's hard to describe in words how proud I am of my boys and after watching this short video loaded with 1st class talent, you'll see why.......



While I'm on the subject of being a proud momma, Jared surprised me yesterday morning by getting himself breakfast, showering and getting ready for school before I woke up. Needless to say, he's been praised through the roof for his independence. And because David can't be outdone, he followed his older brother's example and did the same thing this morning. I've been waiting years for this, let's hope it sticks.

Wild West

Larry and I headed to The Dalles with the photo club for a little wild west adventure. We stayed overnight at the Balch Hotel which was built in 1907, it was an authentic experience which we enjoyed. On Saturday we followed a caravan of photographers through Dufur and the surrounding area.

Mt. Hood was gorgeous! These were taken first thing in the morning near the hotel.





We visited a homestead with tons of old stuff scattered around, a kind older woman let us have our playtime. This was one of my favorite shots from her property...



After lunch, we went to an old Victorian house. I had to mark it on my GPS because I'd like to go back when the light is different. I did enjoy the clouds, I was able to position myself so that it looked like smoke was coming out of the chimney.





This one was taken through the viewfinder of my old Kodak Duaflex





We visited an old Catholic cemetery where I got this one just as the sun was beginning to go down.



The highlight of the trip (for me) was the wild horses. I'm sure they aren't true wild horses like the kind that roam the prairie of Wyoming, but they were unbroken and they have miles upon miles of land to roam. Apparently it's a real treat when they come close enough to the road to photograph. I got this one against the rising moon......



These other ones were standing in the distance, I really liked how the light fell on just the area where the horses were. At this time, the sun was setting.



This was the last photo of the evening, we visited an old school house out in the middle of nowhere. The moon was coming up and a few of us scrambled to get this shot of it through the bell tower. Timing was important!

Water Prank

I got an idea for a new prank from a friend over the weekend and had to try it out on my boys. They are such good sports!

Interview with David

Me: What do you want to do when you grow up?
D: A firefighter
Me: What are you most scared of?
D: bears and cheetas
Me: What is the funniest thing that's ever happened to you?
D: We went to see some clowns at the circus
Me: What does your daddy do for a living?
D: he does a safety job
Me: What does your mom say?
D: "Clean your room!"
Me: What does your dad say?
D: "Go brush your teeth!"
Me: What are your talents?
D: Riding a 2-wheeler bike
Me: Who are your friends?
D: All of the neighbors
Me: What makes a good friend?
D: Be nice
Me: What's your favorite cereal?
D: Cocoa pops with marshmallows and milk
Me: What's your favorite food?
D: Noodles
Me: Who loves you?
D: Mommy & Daddy
Me: If you were a crayon, what color would you be and why?
D: Blue because it's my favorite color
Me: If you could be an animal for a day, which one would you be and why?
D: A cat because I could run faster than humans

Interview with Jared

It's been awhile since I last interviewed my boys, I love to hear their answers. So I pulled Jared aside first and started asking him some random questions.....

Me: What do you want to do when you grow up?

J: A spy
Me: What are you most scared of?

J: high school
Me: What is the funniest thing that's ever happened to you?

J: getting tickled
Me: What does your daddy do for a living?

J: He makes french fries

Me: What does your mom say?

J: "Clean your room!"
Me: What does your dad say?

J: "Go to bed!"

Me: What are your talents?

J: riding bikes
Me: Who are your friends?

J: Ryan, Andrew, Dylan, Swar, Emily, Nick, Nathan
Me: What makes a good friend?

J: They say nice things
Me: What's your favorite cereal?

J: Lucky Charms
Me: What's your favorite food?

J: strawberries and grapes
Me: Who loves you?

J: Mommy & Daddy

Me: If you were a crayon, what color would you be and why?
J: dark blue because it's my favorite color.
Me: If you could be an animal for a day, which one would you be and why?
J: A cat because they can climb everything

Saturday Amusement

I got up really early this morning to go with a couple of friends on a little shooting adventure. Our first stop was a little horse farm in a neighboring town. Every morning at 7:30, this man lets his horses out to run in the pasture and have their breakfast. We thought it would be fun to photograph them running. Unfortunately, I had the wrong lens for good running images, but I got some great close-ups. The great news is that it happens every morning so we're welcome to go back and keep trying.



Awwww, just perfect for Valentines Day!


I think this dog was being a real tease, he's lucky he didn't get neutered by the horse.




Can you see a smile?


After we had our fun with the horses, we headed for another town further away and found a great old barn and a mossy old house - it was scary looking! We made all sorts of jokes about it being a real fixer upper.

Coming soon.....

So much to say, I know I need to update more often. First off, I will be having my art showing this month at a local store called Greenies (in Richland). It's a first for me so I'm pretty excited about it, I'll be at the store Friday night from 5-8pm for their First Friday event. Each month on the first Friday, they feature a new artist as a way to showcase local talent. So I'll be there to chat it up, there will be music and refreshments. Here is what my display looks like, it's all ready for Friday!



All of the art is for sale as well and for one night only, I will be offering this print for sale ..... (it is a 20 X 30 standout print - it's ready to hang). It just arrived via UPS today and it looks awesome!



In other news... Jared took 4th place out of 15 pinewood derby cars (cub scouts). He had a lot of fun and got graphite all over himself so he looks like a dirty bum.





A friend and I drove to a tree farm for some shooting fun. Our trigger fingers froze in the cold, but we needed to get out and shoot. It's tough to find the ambition to run out in the dead of winter and shoot, unless there's fog, fluffy snow or something awesome to shoot. These two are my favorites.





The boys got to go to a fire station for a tour, they were so excited! Jared was already training for his position as a future fire fighter by asking A LOT of questions and getting to know all of the buttons/knobs/wheels. It was hard to reign him in. Near the end of the tour, they sat in a conference room to talk about fire safety. They had to kids repeat, "Never play with fire" a few times. One kid asked if it was okay to do with adults around and you can guess what answer the fire fighter gave. Jared started to say something, but I cut him off with "Quiet Jared!" I just know I'm going to win 'Mother of the Year' with this one........

Guessing Game

Sometimes my blog feels like a family journal and I want to remember this event, but don't always feel like sharing with the whole world. I create a blog book every year and this page should be included (of course, I'll add my own details to the finished product .... my director's cut).









Sorry for the mystery, I'll share privately with people I know on Facebook or if you're burning with curiosity and you're not on facebook.... shoot me an email.

Bird Shoot

Bird watching might seem dull to some people, but add a camera and a VERY nice borrowed lens.... well total awesomeness is the only way to describe it. I met at another photo club member's house, he happens to live on the edge of a protected wildlife reserve. This time of year seems to be less busy in the bird world, but I managed to get some great shots from his back porch. The lens is worth about $7000 so it was a real treat when he let me hook my camera up to it. Here are a couple of my favorites.

On to State!

Remember that photo Jared entered into the Reflections Contest a couple of months ago? If not, click here. Tonight was the regional contest and he WON 1st PLACE!!! Yay for Jared! They spelled his first name kinda funky (Jarad) so they're going to change that and send us a new certificate. Now his photo will go to State so we're keeping our fingers crossed for him. He was far more excited about this than he acted in the video below and could hardly wait to drag his grandparents up onto the stage so they could see his photo with the blue ribbon attached.