Duck...Duck...Goooooose

In July of 2007 we visited the Bay Beach Wildlife Preserve in Green Bay, WI.  It was so much more than I had expected.  I envisioned a few small paths to see some animals but I figured we would be looking through some glass windows or something.  It's actually a huge wildlife refuge where you can see almost everything right outdoors.  There is a building where you can walk through and learn more about the animals but I was much more fun walking outside.  Another area outdoors had some wild birds that were caged but it was so cool.  There was even a Bald Eagle.  Yes, it was behind bars but we were within 20 feet of this huge amazing bird.  I wish I was able to get better pictures of that but there is always next time. 

The highlight of this stop was feeding the ducks and the geese.  We can do that around our home but none of the birds are as tame as these were.  These were not afraid to walk right up to us.  I'll bet they would almost eat right out of our hands.  Our girls were only 3 and 4 at the time so we tried to stay a pretty safe distance but as you will see in some of these pictures, most were really close to us.  Anyway, these geese and the ducks were all around this really pretty pond.  It was perfect for these scenic shots. 

I have lots of pictures so if you have a slow connect please be patient while these load.

 
 
 

I plan on having a print made that has a number of these pictures.  It's 12X18.

Changing Directions

So the was originally designed for me to use with my project 365.  I sort of lost interest in the project 365 so I am going to find a new use for this blog.  This blog will now be simply a place for me to post photos that I have taken and edited. They won't be daily and probably won't include scrapbook pages but I will try to post more regularly.

Most editing is simply to crop and enhance colors.  This is just a place for me to come and enjoy and sometimes document what I may have done to these photos.  I am working on enhancing my photo skills and I would like to be able to remember what settings worked best for me.  I don't have a fancy camera but I do have my photo editing skills that I hope will help me get some great shots.

I started going through many of my old photos to find pictures of nature and other things that I may not necessarily use in my digital scrapbooking but I was inspired to photograph. 

These are the first photos that I started with.  I have many photos of sunsets but these are some of the oldest that I have on my hard drive.  Most of my sunset pictures don't turn out well but with PioneerWoman's actions I was easily able to salvage a few of them.

Mommy on camera

A little glimpse of the opposite side of the camera.

It's so rare to find a picture of me.  I had to remedy that today.  I grabbed the camera (and a little make-up) and snapped some photos of myself.  So, there I am for all the world to see.

A real smile!

How can it be so difficult to get a real smile on camera?

I loved this picture because it really show Jazmine's smile. I mean a real smile. Not one of those fake camera pose smiles. She loves to get her picture taken, I just don't know how to get her to lose the on camera smile. Maybe it will do her good someday like when she gets into acting. We all know she would make a great actress because she is such a drama queen anyhow. LOL!

Brusha, brusha, brusha

Who says brushing your teeth can't be fun?

I think one of the girls favorite parts of the day is brushing their teeth. It's supposed to be a time to settle down but they get all revved up. Their toothbrushes are fun because they light up and blink for a minute so they know how long they have to brush. We do have a hard time getting them to stop staring in mirror when they are rinsing but we could have it worse. At least they like brushing their teeth.

The never ending battle

Beware! What you are about to see is not for the faint of heart.

This is a constant battle for us. This was after the girls played in their bedroom for about 5 whole minutes. LOL! When they are asked to clean up their room, the mess that took them 5 minutes to make takes them over an hour to put away. Why, oh why, do we have to fight this same battle 10 times a day?

Sweet innocence

That is what today's subject portraits.

She is pretty sweet most of the time but innocent she is NOT. She really knows how to suck up and make you think she is the sweetest little thing. She can be a trouble maker and you really have to keep an eye on her. She gets into everything. She likes to sneak out of her room at bed time and go play around the house. She was caught today at rest time playing with the microwave. Was that resting? I think NOT! But, with all that aside, she is sweet a lot of the time. She cries every morning if she doesn't get to tell me how beautiful I am before I leave for work. She has to have cuddle time with Daddy everyday. When her and Daddy go shopping, if Daddy buys her a treat, she always makes sure that there is something for Jazmine. Who could you not love our sweet innocent little Ali?

Super Why!

Today's photo is brought to you by the letter...

Just kidding.

One of Ali's favorite television shows is Super Why! Today I snapped her mid dance while she was singing "Super Why! The power to read!" You have to love a show that helps to teach your child letters and the very beginning stages of reading.

Bubblegum, bubblegum, in a dish...

I struggled picking today's photo.  The thing about taking a photo a day is that you can't stop at just one.  I have realized how many moments are photo worthy.  I had a few choices but I was totally drawn to this one.

For Ali's birthday a few months ago, she got a bubblegum machine.  It's a favorite item in our house for both of our girls.  The rule is no bubblegum before lunch time.  The rule was put in place partially because we are asked about 1,000 times a day if they can have bubblegum.  The one who asks the most is usually Jazmine.  We have had a few instances with gum covered fingers and a close call with gum in the hair but for the most part they do pretty well.  Today Jazmine had a special treat of an extra large sized blue bubblegum ball.  It turned her entire mouth blue and I wanted to snap a picture of her blue teeth and lips but but the time I got the camera this was the best I could get.  She insisted on having a fully opened mouth for the picture.  You can tell she really wanted her picture taken because she hasn't even fully chewed the gum.  LOL!

Grilled Cheese

Today's photo made me kind of emotional.

How could a grilled cheese sandwich make me so emotional? Easily. You see, grilled cheese sandwiches made by my Auntie Barb were my all time favorite. Any time I visited her house she made them for me. I can totally envision being in her house and watching her cook these on her giant electric stove. She loved making them for me and I loved every last one she made. Well, except for one. I remember one time telling her that she made the BEST grilled cheese sandwiches. She was in the process of making one for me. She must have gotten distracted and proceeded to burn the heck out of my sandwich. Yes, the very one she was making as I told her that her's were the best ever. We laughed so hard. I guess we bonded over grilled cheese sandwiches. Auntie Barb passed away a few years ago. I don't think I have ever really grieved over her passing. Today while preparing this post and while making a layout with this photo I have been in tears. Who ever thought it would take me four years and a grilled cheese sandwich to bring out the tears. I loved her so much. She was like a second Mom to me and treated me very much like her own. We spent many happy times together, even over a grilled cheese sandwich. So, here's to Auntie Barb and the love of the BEST grilled cheese sandwich.

Here's my LO:

Credits:
Kit - Playtime - Angie Kovacs
Journaling:
Who would have thought that a grilled cheese sandwich would be someone’s legacy? I often make grilled cheese sandwiches for my girls and each time I think of Auntie Barb. I remember her often making me my favorite grilled cheese sandwiches. Anytime I would visit their house she would ask me what I wanted for lunch and the answer was always the same. She made the sandwiches on her giant electric stove. One of my favorite memories was a time when I told her she made the BEST grilled cheese sandwiches and she proceeded to burn my sandwich really badly. We laughed so hard over that one. Now that she is gone I hope she knew how very much those sandwiches were appreciated. She made everyone with love because she loved me so much. She meant the world to me and I miss her very much. I will continue to make my girls grilled cheese sandwiches and each one is filled with love from me and Auntie Barb.

So ugly she's cute

No, I am not talking about one of my kids.  LOL!

Today's featured subject is one of our kitties.  This is Nellie.  She is a Himalayan and is about 8-10 years old. 

When I went to find today's photo subject Nellie seemed to pose for me.  She found a perfect spot and just kept posing.  It was really cute.  In fact, this is the first time I have ever gotten a good picture of her.

We adopted her from a pure bred rescue about 4 years ago.  I remember seeing her listed on their website for a long time.  I was kind of a stalker to their website.  I would check in almost daily to see what pretty kitties they got in.  I felt bad for Nellie.  She was there for so long that I started feeling really bad for her.  She definitely wasn't the prettiest kitty in the bunch but she still deserved a loving home.  She had some eye problems and an unknown history.  I told my husband about her and we decided to go visit her and see if she would be a good addition to our home.  Her foster mom told us over the phone to not expect much.  She said she that our first reaction will probably be that she is pretty ugly but she said that she is so ugly that she is kind of cute.  When we got to see her she was very skittish.  She was kind of ugly but there was something really adorable about her too.  She didn't like to be held and stayed away from the other kitties in her foster home.  After some deliberation we decided to take her home.  Her eye problems might have required for her to have future surgery but we were willing to take on the risk.  She was definitely not a lap cat and she didn't like to be picked up or held.  We kept the name that the rescue had given her.  Nellie seemed fitting because she was so nervous all the time.  Well, here we are so many years later and she is almost not like the same cat.  Her eye problems seemed to mostly stem from her nervousness.  When she gets really nervous her eyes water like crazy.  She loves attention now.  She will even hop up onto my husbands lap and soak up any attention that he will give her.  Nellie was a great addition to our family.  Oh yeah, she doesn't look much like the same kitty we picked up all those years ago.

Here's my LO:

Credits:
Template - Template Freebie 11 - ChrissyW
Kit - Lakehouse - Collab by Angie and ChrissyW
Journaling:
We adopted Nellie from a pure bred rescue about 4 years ago. I remember seeing her listed on their website for a long time. I was kind of a stalker to their website. I would check in almost daily to see what pretty kitties they got in. I felt bad for Nellie. She was there for so long that I started feeling really bad for her. She definitely wasn't the prettiest kitty in the bunch but she still deserved a loving home. She had some eye problems and an unknown history. I told my husband about her and we decided to go visit her and see if she would be a good addition to our home. Her foster mom told us over the phone to not expect much. She said she that our first reaction will probably be that she is pretty ugly but she said that she is so ugly that she is kind of cute. When we got to see her she was very skittish. She was kind of ugly but there was something really adorable about her too. She didn't like to be held and stayed away from the other kitties in her foster home. After some deliberation we decided to take her home. Her eye problems might have required for her to have future surgery but we were willing to take on the risk. She was definitely not a lap cat and she didn't like to be picked up or held. We kept the name that the rescue had given her. Nellie seemed fitting because she was so nervous all the time. Well, here we are so many years later and she is almost not like the same cat. Her eye problems seemed to mostly stem from her nervousness. When she gets really nervous her eyes water like crazy. She loves attention now. She will even hop up onto my husbands lap and soak up any attention that he will give her. Nellie was a great addition to our family. Oh yeah, she doesn't look much like the same kitty we picked up all those years ago.

The start of my daily snapshots

To start off my 2009 daily snap shots, I thought I would give you a glimpse of my girls in their full glory.  Here they are doing one of their favorite things.  They are playing in their bedroom with their Disney Princess and Dora dominos.  They don't really play the dominos game but instead they sort, stack and build with the dominos.  This was early in the morning so they were still in their pj's.  J is wearing a new bathrobe that she got yesterday.  I wear my bathrobe 90% of the time at home because I am always cold.  I knew when I saw these cute robes on clearance for $4.74 that they would fall in love with them.  J hasn't stopped wearing hers since I gave it to her last night.  A likes hers but she isn't as interested in wearing it all the time.

Here's my LO:

Credits:
Template - Template Freebie 8 - ChrissyW
Kit - January Scrap Orchard Mystery Mega
Journaling:
Jazmine and Ali love playing in their bedroom with their Disney Princess and Dora dominos and brand new walkie talkies is a great way to start the day. They don't really play the dominos game but instead they sort, stack and build with the dominos. This was also a PJ day. Since we would be home all day, we stayed in our PJ’s. Jazmine is also wearing a Cinderella costume and a new bathrobe that she got yesterday. Mommy wears her bathrobe a lot of the time at home because she’s always cold. When these robes were spotted we knew that Jazmine and Ali would fall in love with them. Jazmine didn’t stop wearing hers since she got it.