My life...just not on the road I expected (but it's still dang good).

4th of July weekend (Part II).

I always feel so hopeful when the day starts off like this.

But things can go from hopeful to hopeless in under a minute.

Courtney Lee scoring in a morning round of Boka.   (You can see her ball wrapping around the top rung.)

On our way to go ride horses.  (Man, he's hunky.)

Where we were fortunate enough to meet Hayden.  (Hayden's mom works there.)

Hayden likes to talk in 3rd person and says funny things like, "Ger er' done!"

And he likes to tell stories about his dog, Ali Gator.

I know...if you've taken one of my classes, you just noticed the border merger (and at the wrist of all places).

Coley got the most stubborn horse last year too. 

Coincidence?...I think not.

And all the shots I took while riding my horse (Joe) turned out just as bad as they did last year.

That's Joe.

And see how Cali's horse (in front of me) is off the trail, trying to run her through all the brush...he did that the entire time.  It was quite funny.

The Pioneer Woman gets great shots while riding horseback...so why are mine so crappy?

And then we went back to camp for lunch.  (You can see Annie's scraped up chin in this one.)

She's so lovely.

She dropped her peach right after that stunt so I had to give her mine.

And then we headed up to Diamond Lake to watch the fireworks from Josh's boat.

I shot that from the hip, without looking through the viewfinder (just because I thought the light looked pretty).

The light was pretty harsh and direct in this one but I like it anyhow.

Icecream for everyone.

And then the girls whooped the boys in a game of Pictionary.

Josh Downs on the camera.

She's covered in bug bites and poison oak.  (She calls poison oak, poison milk.)

The lake cops came by and told us if we didn't have a light on the back of our boat that we'd have to get off the water...so we tied a lantern to he motor.  (Ok...maybe we ARE okies.)

See those three lights on the mountain?...every 4th of July, skiers go down the mountain with flares before the fireworks start.

Fireworks on the water are really pretty.

Just experimenting.

And that's what Annie looked like laying next to me (still in her swimsuit) when I woke up Sunday morning.

And then we made our way back home in time to have dinner over at Josh's parents.

A few notes:

1. I think an Okie has to do with someone from Oklahoma but I use it lovingly to mean 'hillbilly.

2. I shoot everything RAW.  It's more time consuming but it's worth it for me.

3. I'll post more details about the general registration for The Photographers' Workshop tomorrow.  Even if you're not planning on signing up this time around but want to sign up in the future, be sure to check back in.

4. Hope your day is great.

A heroe's salute.

Josh noticed the People magazine that I had bought yesterday sitting on the kitchen counter.  (Yes, I buy People magazine...but usually only when I've got time to kill at an airport or an appointment.)

This particular issue was a tribute to Michael Jackson.

I didn't buy it for the Michael Jackson tribute (not that I didn't like Michael Jackson...I used have a Thriller poster hanging in my bedroom) but because I feel this ridiculous need to see what's going on with the whole John and Kate plus eight debacle.

Josh pointed out that since Michael Jackson's death, 20 U.S. soldiers have died but that none of them are being featured in any magazines.

And that thought has stuck with me all day.

I was just getting ready to post the rest of our 4th of July pictures when I heard my email inbox dinging at me.  A gal from one of my previous classes (thanks Wendy) had emailed me a tribute to fallen soldier, Sergeant First Class John C. Beale from Peachtree City, Georgia.

It's long (probably about 10 minutes) but I can't help but feel like watching the entire thing is a tribute to all of our soldiers.  If you do decide to make it through to the end, be sure to listen to all the words in the third song and keep listening for Taps at the end.

And these lyrics from the first song:

Oh, and I don't want to die for you,
But if dying's asked of me,
I'll bear that cross with honor,
'Cause freedom don't come free.

God bless all you Georgians who showed up for this, Sergeant First Class John C. Beale and his family and all of those who serve our country.  I can't thank you enough.

A tribute to Sergeant First Class John C. Beale

4th of July weekend (Part I).

We spent 4th of July weekend up at Union Creek, which is exactly where we spent last 4th of July too.  (Photos from last 4th of July are here & here.)

We headed up early on Friday morning after a quick stop by Starbucks.  (I think Annie finally lost those glasses somewhere up at Union Creek.)

And yes, that's a BBQ in the back of the truck, leading some people to believe we are okies.

We headed up to Diamond Lake to drop off Josh's boat first.

Actually, I think I might miss those glasses.

Ross giving Cole a wedgy.

Ross teaching everyone how to whistle through their fingers. (He's so proud because he learned how to do it after Google-searching it last week.)

Mt. Bailey.

And then we stopped by the river to BBQ.

Josh cooked us all lunch out of the back of the truck.  (Which might also lead some to believe we are okies.)

She decided she didn't want a veggie patty on her bun.

I told Ross I'd pay him $50 if he could climb that tree. 

He never made it up the tree but it was quite entertaining all the same.

Coley gave it a try too.

I want to squeeze her cheeks off sometimes.

And then we checked into the cabin.

And then we went for a hike up by the creek.

I swear, Coley spends half of his life being chased by his Dad.

It makes me so happy seeing her do stuff like that (because she's such a fraidy-cat).

That's Josh Downs wading in the creek to get a couple of Panther Martin fishing lures he found stuck in the bushes.  (Ok...he might be an okie.)

And then we headed back to camp for dinner.

 

And baseball.  (We didn't bring any baseball gear so we made due with a stick and a pumice rock.)

And hanging out by the campfire.

The girls were whooping the boys at a game of Boka until Annie fell on the front steps of the cabin.  (The poor little chickie banged up her chin and bit her tongue.)

And played paper-rock-scissors.

Josh Downs has a paper-rock-scissors t-shirt that he got for free a few years back and has since convinced Coley that he won it during a paper-rock-scissors championship contest back in high school.

Apparently Coley is a paper-rock-scissors champion too, leaving the competition in his dust...just like his Dad.

And then we hung out some more.

And then there were smores (and bed).

That's it for Friday's pictures.  Lots more to come though.

Oh, and I know that on the website, it says the next two Photographers' Workshops are already sold out but they're not.

I offered an early registration for wait list students last week but saved some seats for the general registration which is this coming Monday, July 13th at 9am Pacific time.

In the future though, I am going to do away with the general registration and will only be offering the class to wait list students - so be sure to get on the wait list if you're hoping to take the class someday.  (You can get on the wait list here.)

I'll be sure to post more details about registration by the end of the week.

More tomorrow.

I must have taken a bazillion photos over 4th of July weekend.

It takes a lot of time to edit a bazillion photos but I'm hoping to have some ready by tomorrow.

I decided that this shot deserved a post all it's own though because it cracks me up.

Also wanted to remind everyone that the general registration for The Photographers' Workshop is this coming Monday, July 13th at 9am Pacific Time.

Registration will be for the following classes:

The Photographers' Workshop running September 14, 2009 - November 22, 2009
The Photographers' Workshop running January 4th, 2010 - March 14, 2010

I'll post more details later this week so be sure to check back if you're hoping to register!

Listen...

Someone asked a question here the other day that I think plagues most mom's who are trying to document their family's lives; "How much should I shoot and how much should I be involved in the moment?"

I have no P.H.D. on the matter, but here's my thoughts...

The photographer in me wants to shoot all the time and is always worried that I'm going to miss 'the-shot-of-all-shots' if I put my camera down.

The mom in me (the good mom that really is in there) knows that I have to put it down sometimes though, even when I don't want to.

So it's a seemingly easy solution for me...

I try to listen to my gut.

When my gut says that I should be shooting...I should be shooting.  And when my gut says I should be enjoying the moment with my family...I should be enjoying the moment with my family.

I've found that my gut is usually right about stuff like that so I try to listen.

Don't get me wrong; this isn't something I've mastered by any stretch of the imagination.

The problem with me is that balance has never been my thing.

I'm more of an 'all-or-nothing' kind of a girl.

So it's something I have to keep in check all the time.

Sometimes, we leave a family outing and I say to myself, "Sure would have been nice if you had enjoyed the moment a little bit more."

And that's my reality check for the next time.

And of course, when my three year old says "Will you blow bubbles with me?", my gut says it's time to put the camera down (even if I didn't get all the shots I wanted) and to blow bubbles.

 

I also use my camera as a crutch in social situations...but that's a totally different story.

Swimming on Monday.

We took the kids swimming on Monday too.

I think it was even more fun that swimming on Friday.

And she was even cuter.

Samuel Palmer tried to avoid the camera just like he did on Friday though.

Jill and Courtney and I chased the boys a lot.

 

Unfortunately, she didn't like the water any more on Monday than she did on Friday.

That's Jill.  She would normally kill me for posting a shot of her without her approval but I figured it would be ok since you can't see much of her and what you can see looks pretty dang good.

I told Ben I'd give him 25 donuts if he'd let me take this picture (but I was totally fibbing).

50 donuts.

75 donuts.

That's what most of the shots looked like though.

And to answer a few questions:

1. I didn't use fill flash on any of the pool shots from today or yesterday.  (I can't remember the last time I used flash...probably 5+ years.)

2. Yes, I was IN the swimming pool taking some of these.  (Not the most brilliant idea but it's something I've done before and something I'm sure I'll do again.)

3. I didn't use any sort of cover for my camera/lenses to prevent them from getting wet.  I just told the kids when I got in the pool that they couldn't splash around me at all because it would break my camera and they were all pretty good about it (except for that ornery Annie).

4. I switched between a 24-70mm and a 70-200mm for both days of swimming.

5. And no Josh Downs, there aren't any pictures of me in my suit.  (Sausage legs do not photograph well.)

Swimming on Friday.

Jill, my best friend in the whole-wide-world (we've been best friends for 26 years...just in case you somehow missed the last 144 times I mentioned it) was in town all weekend.

We ate good food and hit a bunch of antique stores and garage sales.

I don't have any pictures of that stuff though because Jill gets cranky when I point the camera at her.  (I have very few photos to prove our 26 years of friendship.)

But we took the kids swimming on Friday and I do have proof of that...

I think kids with missing teeth are the cutest thing ever.

That's Ben (Jill's oldest) looking 8-year-old-GQ.

He's a fish.

She is not a fish.

She's a fish that likes to stay in the shallow end.

That's Sam (Jill's youngest).

She doesn't like to get in above the knees.

But she sure is cute.

Jill and I were pregnant with these two at the same time.  (Ben is 6 weeks older.)  We even had our baby shower together.

I'd like to say that it was fun being pregnant together, but I was going through a divorce at the time so I pretty much cried for 9 months straight (just ask Jill...she was the one who listened to me crying for 9 months straight).

I sure wasted a lot of time crying.

Life turned out pretty good without him.  (Not Coley...my ex-husband.)

But I'll quit with that tangent now.

The colors were wonky on this.  B&W conversion is my solution to wonky colors.

Oh look, she's up to her elbows.

Kind of rare to see all 3 of them in a shot.

She whacked him with that floaty.

Because she's ornery. 

Both Cole & Courtney are (rightfully) a little scared of her.

Look, Coley's afraid she's going to whack him again.

And he was right.

We went swimming yesterday too - will try to post those tomorrow.

Eggs & Weeds.

Josh went to cook us both some eggs for breakfast yesterday and found these...

Apparently my 17 year old son has a little too much time on his hands since it's summer, he doesn't have a J.O.B. and his girlfriend is away at church camp.

He owes me money for his car insurance though so he's outside weeding as we speak.  (It takes a whole lot of weeds to pay for your car insurance...good thing we have plenty.)

Plums.

Turns out that the big fruit tree in the backyard of the new, old house is a plum tree.

And we're all quite happy about it.

God grant me patience.

If I could wave a magic wand and change one thing about my parenting, I would wish for more patience.

Patience is not my thing.  It never has been but I work on it constantly.

And I know that I need to work on my patience because sometimes, when I listen to Annie playing with her babies, I hear her holler at them and tell them that they're all going to have to go in timeout if they don't start behaving.

The other day when I raised my voice and told her that she was going to have to sit in timeout because she was not being a good listener.  She didn't say a word but as she passed by me on her way to the timeout chair, she said "Jesus isn't very happy with your right now.'

And yesterday morning when she was whining because we were out of Honeynut Cheerios and she had to eat a bowl of Kashi GoLean Crunch instead, I told her that she had better quit whining and that if she didn't eat her breakfast she was going to have to go to school with a hungry tummy, she replied "That's not very nice...you should be a good mommy and say PLEASE quit whining."  (That picture was taken the day before we ran out of Honeynut Cheerios...she wasn't smiling over her bowl of Kashi GoLean Crunch yesterday.)

And this morning after listening to her repeated requests for a cup of water (while we were driving) and replying with the same response at least half a dozen times, I said "Annie, I just told you over and over and over again that we'll get some water as soon as we stop, now quit asking."  That's when she decided that she didn't like my tone (Since when did she start picking up on tones?) and said "That's not how you should talk to your baby."

And when I said, "Well, sometimes when my baby whines or cries or pouts or asks the same question over and over again, it's not very nice either.", she replied "Well that's just what babies do Mom."

I'm finding that I need a bit more patience with this little one than all the rest.