The Eighth Week Of Summer - Part Two

So, we went to Lake Erie this weekend.  The plan was to meet Jim's parents (we took his mom with us) at 2:30, Saturday,  then continue the 2-3 hour drive.  Because I am a nut, and I am obsessed with doing every fun thing there is to do this summer, first we went to Chick Fil A for lunch.  They had a lady making balloon animals and the firemen were there with their fire trucks and a "Safety Van".

I had the bright idea to suggest that Dylan get a dragon - a decision I would be cursing the majority of the trip to Erie, as the ridiculously big dragon's wings continuously smacked me in the face while I tried to sleep.  This is "Mr. Happy"...

Actually I should say WAS "Mr. Happy".  At one point Saturday afternoon "Mr. Happy" became "Mr. Sad" when most of his appendages began popping.  A little later "Mr. Happy" became "Mr. Mad", and by the end of the weekend, we decided the dragon looked more like a dragonfly.

Dylan did NOT like the "Safety Van".  They had one of the kids call 9-1-1 and report a fire.  Then, suddenly the van started filling with smoke, and the ear piercing alarm went off.  Before the guy could even explain that the best thing to do would be to crawl towards the nearest exit, Dylan was running for the door with his hands over his ears and a look of absolute panic in his eyes!  Luckily he didn't knock over a few innocent children in his haste to get out of there!

Saturday evening we went to a get together with Jim's relatives.  Actually it was a "corn roast".  Let me just say at this point that I am a city girl.  I mean, I grew up in the suburbs, and I would probably consider where I live now the suburbs, but I like being close to the city.  I am not at all "country".  When I go to the country I get confused.  "Where do these people shop for groceries?  Where is the nearest hospital?  What do they do for fun?  Where are their neighbors?  Doesn't the complete quiet get to them eventually?  And, the smell of manure?"  I like to tease Jim about Erie, because he used to live there.  He's a good sport, and usually gets a good laugh out of my country jokes.  But this time really took the prize.

We traveled down a dirt road to a huge field in the middle of no where, where there were a couple campers, an outhouse, about 50 people including many Amish families, and a donkey.  That's right.  A donkey.  I mean, really, what party is complete without one?

(All kidding aside, the get together was fun, and all of Jim's family in Erie are very nice, and I'm not just saying that because I don't know if they read this blog or not).

Dylan was on his best behavior, which was a pleasant change because every other time he's been around Jim's family he's been a nutcase.  The funniest part of the day was when I took "Mr. Happy" out of the car, asking if Dylan wanted to show him to "everyone".  Admittedly, I did say "EVERYONE".  He ran around the whole place standing in front of each and every person there until they made an appropriate comment about Mr. Happy, including all the people who were right in the middle of a softball game!

He was wired by the time we got to the hotel, (around 9:00), so we all watched TV and ate a snack until he finally tired out (around 10:15).  He woke up 5 times throughout the night, made a few noises, and went right back to sleep.  I did NOT.

Sunday we spent the day at the lake, just the 3 of us.  We swam, went for a walk to look for "shells" (which ended up being stones), looked at all the kites on "Kite Beach", went to Sara's where we ate so much not-good-for-us food that I felt sick, and made a sand castle.

Paint With Me - Fences

This week's theme for Paint With Me was fences.  I took a picture, and played with Photoshop again.

Since I kept it so short and sweet this week, why don't you read another post?  Stay a while.  Let's catch up.  Pull up a chair, and I'll pour you a cold drink.  Let's talk... but not about politics, because I'm having a hard time teetering on top of this fence.

Paint With Me - Dandelions

I have to multi-task everything lately, so last week and this week, I took photos for the Paint With Me challenge, on a walk.  I've been trying to get more exercise AND be more creative, so it works.

Jim gave me a quick refresher course in Photoshop, and these were the result...

I wrote this post about my mom a while back, which is what the "See Flowers, Not Weeds" refers to.

I have to thank Nicole for introducing me to the font.

An Anniversary Date

Jim and I celebrated our 8th anniversary recently.  My parents were going to watch Dylan for the whole day on Saturday, and it had been quite a while since we had a "date".  I might have gone a bit overboard in my planning.  I tried to cram way too much into one day!

I still say my plan would have gone perfectly, if we hadn't tried to stuff a few "errands" into our day.  Somehow, that always happens, right?  First, we went to order 30 trees for our backyard (more on that another day).  Then, since we were right by a store I've been needing to stop at for vitamins, we made a "quick" stop there, which ended up not so quick, since we ended up talking to someone about the children's medicine recall.  Then, we stopped at Panera Bread for lunch, (no, not THAT ONE.  We aren't brave enough to show our faces there yet).  Then, we went to Phipps Conservatory to see the flower show.

Even though I am not into scary stuff (movies, haunted houses, etc), when I heard they were going to have gargoyles at Phipps, I was excited.  What a perfect contrast, the "ugly" gargoyles amidst the "pretty" flowers.  A perfect Ugly/Pretty photo shoot.  If you watch America's Next Top Model, you know they had an Ugly/Pretty shoot a couple weeks ago.  I don't really think gargoyles are ugly.  Some are creepy, but some are cute... to me, anyway.  I took tons of pictures, but here are some of my favorite

Isn't that last little guy cute?  After the flower show, we went to Ikea, where SOMEONE has the tendency to go a little bit crazy and run around like a kid in a candy store, going "Ooooh! And I want that!  And that, too!"  We had told my parents we would be home by 7:00, and midway through our shopping trip, I was horrified to look at my watch and see that it was already 5:45, and we still hadn't eaten dinner!  (That was supposed to be a part of the date).  We only had time to buy cups for Dylan, a jewelry hook for me, and a rope for Jim.  He said, "Don't worry, it's not to hang myself!", which for some reason, made me crack up.  I love that guy!  Eight years later.

Circles

When I saw what the theme was for Paint With Me Thursday this week, Circles, I was reminded of something I've been wanting to do with Dylan for a while now.  When I told him we were going on a "Circle Walk" after his nap, he ran upstairs and jumped in bed!  You would have thought chocolate chip cookies were involved.

The idea was for both of us to take pictures on the walk, but his camera battery needed recharged, and telling my kid to "Wait", or "Be patient", is like telling the sun not to shine.   So, I took the pictures.  He ran ahead of me, shouting loud enough for all the neighbors to hear, "I FOUND ONE!!"  He insisted on me taking a shot of every.stinkin'.circle.in.our.neighborhood.  After getting a few odd neighborly looks, as I took pictures of people's tires, or wreaths on doors, a few rules had to be established.  I couldn't believe how many circles there were in our little neck of the woods!

The circle theme also reminded me of something I've been wanting to do with the little girl at work.  There is no way I would attempt this particular craft with Dylan at this age, but I figured at almost 5, she could handle it.  

We made Bubble Prints.  Have you ever tried it?  Basically all you need is a small bowl, some dishwashing detergent, some food coloring, a few straws, and some white paper.  If you are doing it in another person's house, like I was, you'll want to make sure you put down lots of newspaper, or towels, or SOMETHING before you get started.  

Put some detergent in the bowl.  Add some food coloring, then fill the bowl about half way with water.  Put your straw in and blow gently, until some bubbles form on the top of the bowl.  Then lay your paper on top to make the prints.  It is the BLOW GENTLY part that she had issues with, causing me to regret not putting down the newspaper initially.  Trust me, this is just fun!  Or, as she said, looking up at me adoringly, "This is one of your best crafts ever!"

Here's one more craft with circles.  This is what Dylan made his grandmas for Mother's Day, 

(with Mommy's help)...

Black And White Photos

This week's Paint With Me Thursday theme, over at Simply Feather's blog, was Black and White.  With Mother's Day and my Anniversary coming up, along with a busy, busy week, I didn't have much time to experiment.  I used my camera at the playground.

(The first shot is what he looked like while playing at the playground.  This shot is what he looked like when I said we had to go home!)

Playground Days

The past two days we have been enjoying the warm weather by hanging out at the playground. I was recently introduced to Mosaic Maker by Jenn at Juggling Life, so here is my mosaic from the playground pictures...

(You can click on it to make it bigger).
Also, one of some flower shots I've taken in the past, to get us in the mood for spring...


This last shot, although blurry, perfectly captures the way I feel about FINALLY being able to enjoy the outdoors!

Another Photo Shoot

Geez, I haven't done one of my "artsy fartsy" photo shoots since April! Yesterday morning, Jim was dressing Dylan while I got ready to go out, and he ran into our bedroom, shirtless, with just a pair of jeans on. He looked like a Tommy Hillfiger ad, and the light was shining in the window in such a way, that I just had to grab my camera. But, once again, I was reminded of some very important rules to keep in mind when taking photographs of children.

1. If you start out with a particular shot in your mind, there is a 99% chance that you will be disappointed. Children seldom share your unique vision.

2. The more pictures you take, the more likely you are to get a good picture. Snap, snap, snap until your fingers won't straighten - we're in a digital world now, so you're not wasting anything.

3. Be stealthy. "Doo-dee-doo, I'm just going to walk over here and grab something, nothing important, don't worry your little head about it...(Whistling)...Then, I'm just going to slowly walk towards you with this thing behind my back until I am just about...SNAP! SNAP! SNAP!

4. Be goofy. Be loud. If you wait until they are looking at you to take pictures, you might have to pitch a tent. Just start snapping away and eventually they will look to see why you are being so weird.

5. Be flexible. (I didn't mean that literally, but if you can bend yourself in a variety of positions, you have a big advantage.) If the kid won't turn around, take pictures of their back. If they want to show you their belly, take it! If they grimace as if in pain at being asked to smile, take that. Candid shots are often the best ones.

Here are my 3 favorites from my photo shoot. I used Photoshop to add an effect to the last one.







Did I get the shot I envisioned? No. Not even close. But, I let Dylan lead the way, and turns out, he knew what he was doing.