Project 365

New camera...check. Upgraded editing software...check.

Now, I've got to learn how to use this stuff (all over again). So, like many photographers, I am going to attempt Project 365:

One photo...Every day...For one year.

I've followed lots of photography bloggers who have tried it, but I haven't seen anyone complete it yet. At the same time, even those who have tried and failed have said they were better photographers for trying. So it's my turn.

I'm going to heed the advice of those who have gone before me--no rules, no themes--just one photo every day--starting tomorrow.

Spies Among Us

Warning...long, boring post ahead...birthday documented here for memory-keeping!

Several weeks ago, we hosted the MOST fun birthday party any of my kids have ever had. (Does it count as THE most fun birthday party if I'm the one saying it?)

Sammy's 7th birthday spy party was as much fun to plan and organize as it was to host!

Each of Sam's friends received a "TOP SECRET" file folder with an invitation to attend the "Spy Academy of Metropolitan Chicago" (SAM).

As the kids arrived, we had Mission Impossible music playing in the background and the Academy Director (Secret Agent Rocky--aka Rob), greeted kids at the door.



The kids had to choose a code name and then they received their SAM Secret Agent badge. We had 5 games planned. After each game, the boys put one fingerprint on their badge. By the end of the party, all five fingerprints were on their badge.



The boys played games that helped develop skills needed to "graduate" from SAM as a successful secret agent. We played "Who Am I," cracked codes, and tested physical agility with an obstacle course in the garage.







Everyone received a certificate of completion...



...and a goody bag complete with mustaches for disguise! (which of course, Sam didn't want to try!)



The party was a hoot--we all laughed a lot. I had sort of burned out on do-it-yourself birthday parties and had resorted to Chuck E. *heese for one party, but I really think this party kicked me into gear again and I'm excited to plan a Chinese New Year party for Lily's pre-school class!

The reason I haven't been blogging...

First...we gutted our kitchen and I've spent most of my "extra" time sweeping, mopping and trying to make dinner without a stove. No, Christmas time is NOT a good time to rehab your kitchen, but it sure is a great gift to ourselves!

The night before everything came down, I let the kids draw all over the walls. Mostly, they just wrote notes to the contractor, who is starting to feel like part of the family....



Second, I got a new camera and I'm having quite a difficult time learning to use it! (It's another perfect gift though!)

Join the Christmas Fun!

Friends

I took some photos of friends the other day and this photo of this beautiful young lady is probably one of my favorites!

Belated Halloween Poetry

Wow. I had forgotten how bad my digital video camera is.

But at least I captured Lily's favorite song/poem these days. She recites it ALL the time.

I also caught a teeny bit of our ugly kitchen. Hopefully this will be one of the last photos of before it is all torn DOWN!

Was that a compliment?

A few days ago, when we found out that one of our favorite breakfast eateries was closing forever, Sam said:

"Mom, you should open a restaurant...everyone always says you are a good cook and they love your food--except me. I hate your food."

Little stinker...

I voted...

I voted today.

And just like every other time I have voted since having children, I brought my kids along. Joey was 4 months old kicking his fat little legs from a Baby Bjorn the first time he "voted." Now he is ten.

As parents, we repeat certain rituals every year on holidays and birthdays so that those rituals become traditions that are etched in our childrens' memories. I know that I have incorporated many of the traditions from my own childhood into my family life today.

So the way I look at it...why not treat election day like a holiday and perform the simple ritual of voting with my kids so that it becomes one of their childhood traditions?

Trick or Treat

We bring you this brief message from summer...

(Actually, these photos were taken on Columbus Day weekend at the Sleeping Bear Dunes on the Leelenau Peninsula in Michigan. Gorgeous summer-like weather!)

In which craft projects get eaten...

Last year, the boys and I made these awesomely cool sugar skulls after a trip to the National Museum of Nexican Art in Chicago.



This year, the adorably cute puppy (who will turn 1 on Halloween), ate one of the awesomely cool sugar skulls...this one in particular:



Sadly, the sequins, frosting and sugar did not sit well with the adorably cute puppy's tummy, but I did not take a photo of that.

Love Your Shot Link-up

Canon Rebel XSi f/4.0 1/250 sec. ISO-100


Today I decided to participate in the Love Your Shot Link-up!

This is my favorite photo from our fall excursion to Michigan last weekend.

We were at a petting zoo and the horses loved to eat freshly picked grass from the palm of your hand. My son and daughter didn't like getting horse slobber on their hands so they chose to feed him hay instead.

I'm still a bit new and unsure of myelf in terms of editing so I tend to use the auto corrects and actions. I used PSE's Autosmart Enhance feature first. Then, I bumped up the saturation just a touch and added a bit of light with Pioneer Woman's Slight Light action. It was too light for my taste so I decreased the opacity to 50%. I finished up with Pioneer Woman's Define Sharp action.

My birthday girl

Lily is 4! Happy Birthday! We love you!

Soccer Season

It was brisk last weekend (to say the least), but it was the first game of the season without rain!

I Heart Faces

This week's theme is vroom, vroom! I love this photo of my nephew in the fourth of July parade. He's sitting in the back of my dad's antique car.



You can play along too...

First day of school

Today was the first day of school here. It was the first day of middle school for Joey and the first day of First grade for Sam.

In first grade (and actually in many grades at my kids' school), students are given a number to identify their papers, books, belongings, etc.

When Sam got out of school day, I asked if he met any new friends. He answered, "yeah, I met 18 and 20."

Labor Day in Door County

Our final farwell to summer.

Visiting Grandma and Grandpa in Door County, Wisconsin.



This photo was taken about 5 minutes before we left this spot (Cave Point) and got soaked by a downpour!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Family bike ride along Lake Michigan

We are Lake people

I've said it before and I'll say it again.

We are Lake People.

Sunsets.

Always different.

Always beautiful.

Summer Road Trip - Day 11

Louisville, KY

Louisville Slugger Bat Factory and Museum



We spent our last day of vacation in Louisville, Kentucky at the Louisville Slugger Bat Factory and Museum.



For our two little baseball fanatics, this stop was a hit.



We got to see how the bats for the pros are made and we got to take home a free mini bat.



Joey got to hold Mickey Mantle's bat.



My kids are great road trippers--maybe they have a bit of their mom and dad's wanderlust in them. We're sad to see it's over (Sam said 12 days just isn't a long-enough vacation. Next year he wants to take a 6 month vacation!)

Summer Road Trip - Day 9

Tybee Island, GA

We were all a bit jellyfish weary when we woke up on our final full day on Tybee Island, so we thought we would skip the beach in the morning and visit some of Tybee Island's other sights.

We headed down to the Pier and Pavilion, the south beach and the souveneir stores!







(I don't think we ever decided if Sam liked the snoball or not!)

But we came here to spend time at the beach, so it was back to the beach for us in the late afternoon. It was cooler, there were no jellyfish and rather than following the tide as it went out, we were able to watch it as it came in. The boys made sand castles and tried desperately to save them from the encroaching water.









And Lily found that this big, big ocean wasn't so scary after all!

Summer Road Trip - Day 8

Tybee Island and Fort Pulaski, GA

Day 8 on Tybee Island.

Otherwise known to us as "the day the jellyfish ruled the ocean."

We had such a great time at the North beach yesterday, we thought we would grab the same spot of sand on the beach again today.

The boys jumped right in with their new boogie boards--although Lily still prefered to look for shells.

Have I mentioned we're Lake people? There are no pests to worry about when you are swimming in the lake. However, on this particular day, in this particular spot in the ocean, there were pests to worry about. Jellyfish in particular. LOTS of jellyfish.

See the purple flag at the life guard station? If I would have paid any attention to those flags (like I would at the beach in Chicago), I would have noticed that the purple flag means "marine pests. Each of us (except Lily) got stung at least three times. I'll know next time to take a container of ammonia with me to the beach. No, we didn't pee on each other, but we were told afterward that the worst thing you can do is to go running out of the ocean, which is exactly what we would do every time we got stung.

After a few hours of that, we were all ready to move on to another activity. We took a short boat trip to see some dolphins (and a pretty lighthouse). We saw LOTS of dolphins. It's really hard to get a photo of them. But that's okay, because Sam was documenting all of the critters we saw on this trip in his journal.

After the boat trip, we stopped at Fort Pulaski. The boys in particular got a big kick out of this historical stop. Cannons, moats, more cannons and a jail cell for prisoners of war? What more could a kid want?

Crossing over the moat to the fort...(Sam is into posing these days.)