Finally! We took family photos!!!

This has been a goal of mine since I got my camera almost a year ago. Finally! We borrowed our neighbor's tripod and headed out to Margaret's Pond in Westminster. I am so pleased with how these turned out, and it's so nice to have a photo with all of us in it as well as updated ones of the kids to hang in the living room.

Happy Halloween (a few days late)

I've been very bad at blogging lately, so I'm playing catch-up a bit. We had a blast for halloween. We went trick-or-treating with several friends and their kids, and we got more candy than we know what to do with.

Kyle continued his tradition of dressing up as something scary, so he was the Evil Emperor (aka dude in a black hood). He looks very unhappy in these photos, but he was just trying to stay in character. ha ha Sadie went as a pumpkin Minnie Mouse. She LOVED getting her face painted and thought she was so special.

Typical Colorado Weather

For those of you who didn't hear about it, we got 2 feet of snow at our house last week. It was awesome! Here are a few photos from our afternoon of playing in the snow. What's crazy is that it was almost all melted just a few days later. This is what I love about living here!

Rock Candy

I was going to make homemade marshmallows with the kids, but I decided I was too lazy and would save it for closer to Christmas. So, instead, we're making rock candy. There are tutorials on the web, and it was very easy. Also a nice science experiment. The kids are having fun looking in the jars each day to see how much their suckers have grown. They need to grow for another few days (about a week total). I can't wait to pull them out of the jar and take another photo.


On Black


On Black

H1N1 is in the building...

...and this is what it does to my boy. Poor guy had about a 103 fever in this photo, and he finally fell asleep on the couch after some Advil and cool washcloths on his belly and head. Thankfully, he's feeling better now. Still a low fever, but he's back to his cheery self.


On Black

My turn.

This is an interesting story. I wanted to take some photos of myself today, both for practice and just to have some of me alone. I knew I needed a lot of light, and guess where that ended up being. My bathroom. Yep, I am sitting in my bathtub for these photos. Fun visual for ya, huh?

I'm a bit giddy at how these turned out. The focus and exposure were both spot on, which I don't get often. It made post-processing them so much easier, too. Click the link below each image to see it larger on black background.


View On Black


View On Black

And another one...

Only this time, I think they're getting better. I may have discovered a workflow that suits me. My colors look great in photoshop, but they're all blah now that I've uploaded them. Too many things to try to figure out when it's 1:30 in the morning, that's for sure. I'll leave the color issues for another day. (editing to add that I figured out the color, yahoo!)

Took these photos tonight outside in the freezing cold. Ok, it was only 50 degrees, but it felt like it was freezing. Be sure to click on them to see them larger on black background.

One photo, endless possibilities...

Have I mentioned recently how cool CS4 is? Oh yeah, that was my last post. I learned a lot tonight, and actually got out of Camera Raw and into Photoshop. I learned how to add a watermark (need to write an action for this) and how to run actions that other people have written. Actions are crazy fun. I'm completely enamored by them right now. Hopefully I can remember what I did well enough to give proper credit.

Sadie got a new Tinkerbell dress-up dress this weekend, and has barely taken it off. What could be more appropriate for mommy to snap some photos, right? This first one, I edited myself. I'm learning that I tend to go too warm with my own edits. Gotta work on that. Anyway, it's absolutely amazing to me how different the same photo can look when processed differently in photoshop!


The next few were using actions from http://thepioneerwoman.com/.

Fresh & Colorful, Burn, Lighten (yes, I'm combining actions, ha ha)

(Click to view bigger on black)

PW's Black & White



Soft & Faded



Heartland



And then, one using free actions from http://www.my4hensphotography.com/, recommended to me by my good friend Sara.

Berry Sweet with Burn

CS4 is a beautiful thing...

This has been a long time coming, and I'm so excited to finally be editing photos. Keep in mind that this is the first batch I've ever done. I've also only been working in photoshop for about 24 hours, so these are pretty rough. I'm already very happy, though! I have so much to learn, and my colors are still off. Anyway, here are some before & after comparisons. The befores are all SOOC (straight out of camera) with no editing at all.

First my niece, M. This was taken at her house late last year. There's a red color cast on her cheek from the red pillow next to her, and I don't know how to fix that yet. Bummer! Isn't she cute?




My second niece, C (M's little sister). This was taken outside of her house at the end of last year. I can't remember why she was being so serious with me, but I like the look on her face. She had dried milk all around her mouth that I had to clone out. It was a challenge!




Here's a self-portrait that I took of me and Sadie last weekend. I have virtually no pictures of me with my kids, so I took this one. I like it much better after editing!




Goofy Kyle. This is a silly look that he gives me often. I think I over-yellowed him a tad, don't you? ha ha Still working on my white balance.




Ahhh, I'm crazy about these two photos of Sadie. The first is from last weekend. She's such a ham with the camera. She struck this pose, and then was rolling laughing the next second.




This was taken over Memorial Day weekend in Estes Park while we were fishing in a lake with good friends. I've been wanting to edit it for months but couldn't. I think it's my favorite from the evening.




Thanks for looking!

Kyle's first day of school...

Kyle is officially a third grader! We went last night to meet his teacher, Ms. Conley, who seems very nice. I can't wait to hear how it went today! Here are a few photos from this morning.




Oh, and he lost another tooth on Monday, so we're up to 7 now!

My sweet boy is turning 8...

I'm feeling nostalgic tonight. This time 8 years ago, I was getting my epidural in preparation for the birth of my firstborn child. I was scared and overjoyed, and it seems that every year, on the eve of his birthday, these same emotions are present.

I'm scared at what the future holds. For me, the unknown of parenting an older child sometimes overwhelms me. I don't want him to grow up too fast, and I fear what questions or situations may be lurking just around the corner. For him, I'm scared about what the world may be like when he's older and I worry about him dealing with the challenges that I know he will face socially, academically, emotionally, physically.

I'm also overjoyed, though. Being his mother has been one of the greatest experiences of my life. He's taught me so much and continues to teach me every day. He has grown into such a fine boy. He's smart, respectful, friendly, caring, strong, inquisitive, funny, loving and sensitive. He's a wonderful big brother. He is the best son I could've ever hoped for, and I can't wait to see him grow another year older.

In honor of Kyle's birthday tomorrow, a few photos of the past 8 years.

July 18, 2001:


July 19, 2001:


First smile:


First birthday:


Second birthday:


Third birthday:


Fourth birthday:


Fifth birthday:


Sixth birthday:


Seventh birthday:

Happy 4th!

Happy 4th of July! In honor of the holiday, I attempted a crazy star hairstyle that I saw on one of the hair blogs that I follow. This was by FAR the most intense hair style I have ever attemped on Sadie. She was a trooper and sat still for almost an hour for me. It's so cute, though, and was totally worth the time and effort.

Just some silliness

It's that time of year...eBay time! I gathered up all of the kids' outgrown clothes from last fall and winter and got them organized to sell on eBay next week. Well, Sadie thought it was fabulous that all of these pretty clothes (that she had forgotten all about) were laying all over the living room floor. She decided that she couldn't resist trying some of them on. Have I mentioned how much she has grown since last fall? She gave up on trying anymore on after this pair of jeans wouldn't go above her knees. It might have helped if she had unsnapped them...




Oh yeah, she has also decided that it's appropriate to wear either her ladybug swimsuit or her new gymnastics leotard at any time of the day, regardless of whether we're going swimming or to gymnastics. Ha ha!

Father's Day Photos

John said he didn't want anything for Father's Day this year, so the kids and I decided to make him something instead. The kids got dressed up and stayed home after he went to class on Monday to take some photos outside. Then we put them in a nice frame for him to hang next to his desk in the office. I think they turned out pretty good! The kids had fun letting me take them, too.

It's been a while...

Wow, I just realized how long it's been since I've posted. A looooong time! Just a few quick shots this morning. I saw this cute hairstyle on a hair blog (http://www.girlydohairstyles.com/2009/06/swimming-do.html) and decided to try it this morning. I love it! So cute! So, of course, then I had to take a few photos of the kids. I really need to be taking more photos; I've gotten out of the habit lately and really miss it. (Doesn't Kyle look thrilled? He was annoyed that he had to stop watching SpongeBob for 30 seconds so that I could take a photo.)

Spring Fun!

It was a gorgeous evening, so we got out the bubble-blowing tricycle, and Sadie danced in the bubbles for an hour. Have I mentioned how thankful I am that it's finally warm? I love summers in Colorado!

Sunday Morning Goodies

I have decided to be more domestic lately. We used to eat out at least 2-3 times a week, and I think we've only eaten out once in the last 2 weeks. Wahoo! I thought I'd try scones this morning, and I found this recipe on foodtv.com. Blueberry scones with lemon glaze. Seriously, this photo does not do them justice! So good and so easy.


Just a few snapshots of the kids from this morning. Kyle is finally getting one of his top teeth, and I think his smile is so cute right now.




I'm anxious to be able to take photos of the finished living room, but I keep running into snags with draperies. First I was going to make them, but then the cost of fabric got to be too much. Then I finally found some drapes that I loved, but when I got them home, I realized how freakishly big our main window is, and the drapes were over a foot too short. Looks like I'm back to making them, so the hunt is on for the perfect fabric.

Bidding farewell to the 365...

I loved the idea and challenge of it, but lately, it's just not realistic for my life. Seeing how far behind I am just serves to frustrate and demotivate me from posting, so I'm giving up on it. I'll keep blogging as time permits. For now, a teaser from Panama (for those of you who haven't seen them all over on Facebook). This was the view from our hotel balcony. Sure would be nice to be there right about now since it's snowing today here in Denver. Will it ever be consistently warm here this year???



And here's a fun, evening shot of the new house.

89/365

During the move I rediscovered this cute tent that Sadie has had for about a year. It looks like a teepee, is pink, and has these detachable butterflies. One of the butterflies can be worn like wings on her back. She could've cared less about them last year when she got the tent, but this year, she LOVES them. She has been wearing them all the time.

This is really the first time I've had my camera out to take a photo of a person rather than a room since we moved in. I have to say, I'm loving the light in this house. In the old house, I had to be very strategic about where to have my subject stand and had to make sure that all of the blinds were open. This morning, I didn't even have the blinds open and still had fabulous light (although, maybe too much light considering the light from the sliding glass door and kitchen window is blowing out the background a bit, ha ha).

88/365

The two main living areas in our new house. Not quite really decorated yet, but definitely getting there!