Butterfly -- Day 209

This was a stick to you kind of butterfly. :) My sisters and I joined a couple friends today at a local national monument and this butterfly rode on the top of Rebecca's head as we walked through the park. I guess it liked her blue bandanna. :)

Photo details: Canon EOS Digital Rebel, Exposure time 1/ sec, Aperture f/, ISO , Focal Length .0 mm.

Fiddler in the House -- Day 208

This Friday night, the house was full of music. :) After pizza and cookies, out came the musical instruments. This is Rebecca on the Fiddle. :)

Photo details: Canon EOS Digital Rebel, Exposure time 1/ sec, Aperture f/, ISO , Focal Length .0 mm.

Books to Read -- Day 207

I cleaned up my room tonight. I was amazed at the many books that were stacked beside my bed. I knew they were all their, but I'd forgotten how many there were. These are all books I've read recently or am planning to read. Some of them I haven't opened in months! I really need to get busy reading don't I?

Photo details: Canon EOS Digital Rebel, Exposure time 1/60 sec, Aperture f/5.0, ISO 100, Focal Length 37.0 mm. Speedlite 420EX bounce flash.

Amber's New Guitar -- Day 206

Amber won this guitar in a raffle at the benefit we went to on Sunday. She was shocked and excited when she won. She's been wanting to learn guitar and practicing on our sister's guitar, but now she has a guitar of her own. :)

Photo details: Canon EOS Digital Rebel, Exposure time 1/60 sec, Aperture f/5.6, ISO 100, Focal Length 48.0 mm, Speedlite 420EX bounce flash.

Girls Night -- Day 205

We don't have any lack of business at our house. The day after we arrived home from our trip, company arrived. The Kautt's are friends of my parents that the rest of us hadn't met yet. Their family was driving through and stayed the night with us. We girls piled on the air mattress for a group shot before going to sleep.

Photo details: Canon EOS Digital Rebel, Exposure time 1/60 sec, Aperture f/4.5, ISO 100, Focal Length 35.0 mm, Speedlite 420EX bounce flash.

Eric the Red -- Day 204 -- Winner of Viewer's Choice Poll

Here is Eric again. He is so cute I couldn't help putting him on my blog two days in a row. :) We all stayed up way too late last night and this morning we just lounged around enjoyed baby watching and making this little red head smile. :)

Photo details: Canon EOS Digital Rebel, Exposure time 1/60 sec, Aperture f/4.0, ISO 100, Focal Length 104.0 mm, Speedlite 420EX bounce flash.

Dancing with Auntie -- Day 203 -- Winner of Viewer's Choice Poll

Our trip took us to a benefit to raise money for a friend. There were many different things going on including a pie auction, silent auctions, raffles, contests and dancing. This is  my friend Helena dancing with her nephew. They were both having a grand time and I'm glad I was able to capture their joy.

Photo details: Canon EOS Digital Rebel, Exposure time 1/60 sec, Aperture f/5.0, ISO 100, Focal Length 43.0 mm, Speedlite 420EX bounce flash

House on Fire -- Day 202

This weekend my sisters and I went to visit friends, and this is the sight that met us when we drove down their road. We were glad that we had been pre-warned of this planned fire and were glad it wasn't our friends' house. :)

Photo details: Canon EOS Digital Rebel, Exposure time 1/320 sec, Aperture f/5.6, ISO 100, Focal Length 161.0 mm.

Red Zinnia -- Day 201

Red macro. I still love Zinnia's, especially the red ones. :)

Photo details: Canon EOS Digital Rebel, Exposure time 1/ sec, Aperture f/, ISO , Focal Length .0 mm.

Boot Blade Wallace -- Day 200

My brother, Daniel, is really getting good at his knife making. This weekend my sister's and I are heading to a benefit for a friend and a few days ago Daniel decided to donate a knife to the silent auction, so he set to work and had this fancy knife and sheath ready in no time. It was dubbed the "Boot Blade Wallace" and by Sunday night it will have a new lucky owner. :)

Photo details: Canon EOS Digital Rebel, Exposure time 1/ sec, Aperture f/, ISO , Focal Length .0 mm.

Drying Dishes -- Day 199

Yesterday, I decided Emelyn and Ellise were old enough to start learning some necessary house wife duties. :) Might as well start early. :D Today was Ellise's turn, to learn how to wash the dishes. She did a great job and surprised me by washing, rinsing, drying and putting them all away with very little help. I guess she's a natural. :)

Photo details: Canon EOS Digital Rebel, Exposure time 1/ sec, Aperture f/, ISO , Focal Length .0 mm.

Union Depot -- Day 198

Today, a friend was visiting and Amber and I thought it would be fun to show him the old Union Depot downtown. It's been abandoned for years and is fenced off with locked gates and keep out signs. I've been inside once, before the fence went up, but that was long before digital cameras so I don't have any photos. :) Today all we could do was walk around and shoot through the chain link fence. We did find a couple places where someone has cut through the fence, but we were good law abiding citizens and refrained from going inside. It's a shame that the law breakers who destroy things and paint graffiti all over historic buildings prevent us curious photographers from taking a few innocent pictures. :(

Photo details: Canon EOS Digital Rebel, Exposure time 1/ sec, Aperture f/, ISO , Focal Length .0 mm.

Water Slide -- Day 197

My brothers are ingenious. They don't have a swimming pool or a fancy water slide, but they made due with a hose, trash can, the slide from their dismantled  tree house and a big tarp from the neighbors trash. They also used assorted buckets, rocks and boards to pin up the end of the tarp to catch the water to make a small pool to splash into. :)

Photo details: Canon EOS Digital Rebel, Exposure time 1/ sec, Aperture f/, ISO , Focal Length .0 mm.

Watermelon Summer -- Day 196

I love watermelon! Today it especially reminded me of summer, since we are in the middle of a July heat wave. :) I set my plate in the grass for less than five minutes, moving it several times to get the right composition and when I carried it back inside it had already acquired 3 ants. :)
 
Photo details: Canon EOS Digital Rebel, Exposure time 1/ sec, Aperture f/, ISO , Focal Length .0 mm.

Guys will be Guys -- Day 195

We took a short hike in the scorching heat today. We had company and we wanted to show them our normal sight seeing places. By the time we got done we were all dripping with sweat. 100° weather is not the best for outside tours. :) We did get wet at the falls, but it was still hot.
I didn't really plan a specific photo for today, but of the ones I took, this one was my favorite. Luke and Daniel were having fun, like guys do when they get together. :) I guess Luke was tired of walking in the heat? I think I would have opted to walk instead of being that close to a sweaty guy! :P

Photo details: Canon EOS Digital Rebel, Exposure time 1/ sec, Aperture f/, ISO , Focal Length .0 mm.

Ruthanna -- Day 194 -- Winner of Viewer's Choice Poll

Tonight was Pizza Night at our house and I got to photograph our friends' little Ruthanna. :) She had a pink flower for her mommy and thought it might taste good. She didn't look like she liked it too well. :)

Photo details: Canon EOS Digital Rebel, Exposure time 1/ sec, Aperture f/, ISO , Focal Length .0 mm.

Blue and Yellow -- Day 193

".....These are a few of my favorite things....." I went on a short walk through our neighborhood to find a photo for today. Blue is my favorite color and black-eyed susans are one of my favorite flowers, so I was pleased to find them both in my neighbors garden. :)

Photo details: Canon EOS Digital Rebel, Exposure time 1/ sec, Aperture f/, ISO , Focal Length .0 mm.

Blowing Bubbles -- Day 192

Luke agreed to blow bubbles for today's photo. :)


Photo details: Canon EOS Digital Rebel, Exposure time 1/ sec, Aperture f/, ISO , Focal Length .0 mm.

Fairy Resort -- Day 191

I don't believe in fairies, but if there were such a thing, I'm sure they would love this little resort we built for them. Today at work, while playing with the kids, I decided to make use of the moist dirt in the weed infested garden plot. :) Camryn thought my creativity was amazing. He and I dug and built for three hours. Emelyn and Ellise "helped" for a little while, but got bored and played elsewhere. This photo shows the foil lined swimming pool complete with cedar diving board and rock tile pavement. We also put in a bridge between the pool and the rock tiled patio. We used cedar chips for the stairs, railings, and the bridge, clover flowers for carpet, and thick grass stalks (the garden was over run with weeds remember :)) for bamboo poles. A popsicle stick (we took a break for popsicles) and foil worked as our flag pole. There is a lot more to this resort than just this area and by Wednesday noon it will be double in size with a tunnel, secret room and a mud pit (I know these things, because it is really Wednesday not Tuesday. I took the photo on Tuesday, but I am posting it on Wednesday. :))

Photo details: Canon EOS Digital Rebel, Exposure time 1/ sec, Aperture f/, ISO , Focal Length .0 mm.

Proud Campaigner -- Day 190

Tonight I went to an Ice Cream Social to hear local candidates give speeches to convince us all to vote for them. :) I enjoyed my ice cream, hearing some of my favorite candidates speak[specifically Jack Goodman and Bill White :)], and photographing some red white and blue. :) This is James, the son of a friend of mine. :) He was riding high on his Grandpa's shoulder's proudly wearing a bumper sticker in support of Mr. White. His daddy just happens to be Mr. White's campaign manager. :D

Photo details: Canon EOS Digital Rebel, Exposure time 1/ sec, Aperture f/, ISO , Focal Length .0 mm.

Songs for the Shepherd -- Day 189

Today I finished the book No Compromise by Melody Green. It's all about her husband, Keith's, life and ministry. What a great read; it was so encouraging to read about him and see how seriously he lived the seven years of his life that he followed Christ. It's amazing what God did in those seven years. By the time I got to the end of the book I felt like I knew him and wished I could have met him. He went home to be with the LORD 29 days after I was born. After finishing the book, I wanted today's photo to portray Keith's life here on earth. He wrote and sang many songs and changed many lives through his concerts and preaching. I dug out our old record player and Dad's collection of albums by Keith Green. I spent an hour or so setting up my photo and taking various shots with various set ups, all while hearing Keith sing worship songs to God.
"Songs for the Shepherd" was the last album that Keith recorded and released before his death. He had planned to do an album specifically for the lost, with "hard message" songs, but then he felt God was leading him to make an album of worship songs instead. One of my favorite songs, "My Redeemer" (Actually written by Melody Green) ended up on this recording. I'm so glad he followed God's leading and we can now worship God, along with Keith, as we listen to his last album.

Photo details: Canon EOS Digital Rebel, Exposure time 1/ sec, Aperture f/, ISO , Focal Length .0 mm.

Pretty Pencils -- Day 188

Today my sisters and I went to a friend's bridal shower. Everything was pink. :) Even the pencils for the games had been spray painted pink and decorated with pink crepe paper flowers. I took a few more pictures at the shower, but this was my favorite. I also took a photo of a cute Great Dane puppy, but decided that this pencil picture was more artsy. :)

Photo details: Canon EOS Digital Rebel, Exposure time 1/ sec, Aperture f/, ISO , Focal Length .0 mm.

Child in Prayer -- Day 187 -- Winner of Viewer's Choice Poll

Amber needed a photo of a little guy with hands folded in prayer for a project she's doing. And I got to be the photographer. What a perfect little model! His mom volunteered him for our photo shoot and it took me just a few minutes to get this shot. We simply told him to pray and he held the pose for as long as I needed him too. :) Amazing! I wish every child was this obliging. :)

Photo details: Canon EOS Digital Rebel, Exposure time 1/ sec, Aperture f/, ISO , Focal Length .0 mm.

Red Lighter -- Day 186

Some may know the significance of this photo, but if you don't check out the www.bublighters.com. And next time you see a lighter pick it up. :D

Photo details: Canon EOS Digital Rebel, Exposure time 1/250 sec, Aperture f/5.6, ISO 100, Focal Length 154.0 mm.

Lightbulb -- Day 185

Again I nearly got to the end of the day without a photo. I was going to make up something to take a photo of, then Daniel called me my attention to a spider spinning it's web outside our back door. I tried to get a shot of it, but then our cat escaped outside after her curfew (we have to give her a curfew or she disappears and we can't find her until morning), so the spider got disturbed by me trying to sneak under it to retrieve the cat. So I instead decided to photograph the light bulb on our back porch. Exciting isn't it. :)

Photo details: Canon EOS Digital Rebel, Exposure time 1/13 sec, Aperture f/5.6, ISO 400, Focal Length 55.0 mm.

Dried Roses -- Day 184

Late at night I wandered around my room trying to find something to photograph. I saw these roses that my sister, Hannah, had dried from my cousin's funeral almost 2 years ago. They fit the bill for a good photo. :)

Photo details: Canon EOS Digital Rebel, Exposure time 2 sec, Aperture f/10, ISO 100, Focal Length 180.0 mm, Tripod.

Tire Swing Fun -- Day 183

My niece, discovered the tire swing on this visit. :) She loved it and especially loved bumping into the tree. :) What a great smile she has. :)

Photo details: Canon EOS Digital Rebel, Exposure time 1/200 sec, Aperture f/6.3, ISO 200, Focal Length 70.0 mm.

Three Cuties -- Day 182

My nephews and niece were here for the holiday weekend. It wasn't easy to get them all to smile at the same time. :) But I think this one turned out great. :)

Photo details: Canon EOS Digital Rebel, Exposure time 1/60 sec, Aperture f/5.6, ISO 100, Focal Length 49.0 mm, Canon Speedlite 420EX bounce flash.