Christmas card for work

Cool happenings at the zoo

Cameron & I met Jordan and her boyfriend Tom at the zoo yesterday afternoon. We all got there late... them because their teenagers & me because of those darn drawbridges. Anyway, it was a perfect day. Warm & Sunny. The place was so empty it was wonderful. We started out looking for the newest addition to the zoo... the Kangaroo's. We found them in a new area near the africa exhibit. I'd heard they were going to be just kind of out there... but maybe that's a future plan.




After the Kangaroos we wandered up towards the Elephants & Giraffes. They'd already been put in their enclosures because the zoo was closing in about 20 minutes by this point but we were able to get a close up view of the giraffes eating. It was interesting.

Check out that tongue.... !

















As we were heading out, a lady told us there was a Bongo in labor up ahead. So we wandered over to check it out. Momma was clearly about ready to give birth. We stayed there until the little guy stood. Turns out we were the last family to leave - the zoo had been closed for 30 + minutes by then. I didn't realize all the other picture takers around me were zoo people. lol. Oh well. It was an experience like no other, and something my kids will probably never get to see again. Here's some pictures from first hoof out to standing on it's own. I tried to pick ones with less gore.

Blue

I took Jordan & her roommate Emily to a quick lunch at the mall today. It had been TWO WHOLE WEEKS since I'd seen Jordan. In that time, her hair has undergone a bit of a change. It was supposed to be Blue but she got scared to make too blue, so went light on the color. Turns out it's Blue-Green. Regardless of the color, she's still beautiful (despite the bad photography in the restaurant!)



Jordan & roommate Emily.

Twin suits

Friday, we went to a play-date at a friends house. She was having a lunchables "House Party" and gave out free lunchables to all the kids. She had a big banzai slide for them to play on as well as a splash pool. Cameron & Alex wore the same suit. I've known they had the same one, but various playdates & trips to the beach, they'd never worn it at the same time until now. They looked cute.

high above the city...

Holy cow, I made a frame!

I'm ticked pink with the new class I'm taking at www.jessicasprague.com! It may be such a simple thing but I made a frame today. It was easy & I'm thrilled with the possibilities it brings!


This is Cameron & her friend Brittany the other day. To my friend Mary, See what I mean about letting her pick her own outfits? Very colorful... that's for sure!

Puddles

We've had a lot of rain the past few days. The backyard near the pool is flooded.... bad.
Still, fun for a 6 year old !

My rights...

We got this ad in the mail not too long ago. I wonder, do I have Michelle Obama to thank for this? She's been wearing sleeveless shirts since day one in the White House.



Still, I just don't understand. What does going sleeveless have to do with guns?

Girl in a plastic bubble

We visited the zoo recently. The Prairie Dogs were out in huge numbers. I got this cute picture of Cameron on the inside of the bubble & the PD on top. I used it for a class project involving overlays & clipping masks as well as a few texture papers. And viola, the finished project. I'm happy with the overall look... the caption isn't my favorite but I couldn't think of anything else & I needed to use that "life is.. " mask.

I asked for it...

Jordan got her license yesterday. She wanted to go out last night but she had not been added to our insurance yet. So today, first chance... "mom, can I borrow the keys please" Next thing I know, Cameron & I are stranded at home while Jordan enjoys her new found freedom (and my van).

buckle up for safety!

And she's off!

Cameron playing Mary Had a Little Lamb.

For Tracey

Here's a pout shot. No editing on this one at all. SOOC in all her glory.

Mostly uncooperative

Every time I pull out my camera, Cameron gets silly. She makes awful faces, pouts or whatever she can do to irk me. It kills me because I take pictures of her 3 or 4 times a week at a minimum.
If she would just cooperate, the whole process would take mere seconds & she'd back to doing whatever it was that prompted me to want take the picture to begin with! The silver lining is, most of the time if I keep clicking, I can get one or two good shots while she's in her silly mode. Here's one example.




Seconds before I snapped this, she was in full pout. Little does she know, these are my favorite pictures of her. Totally not posed, being herself. I'm not telling her though. She might find a way to thwart me.

TTV

I've been playing with textures thanks to a class I'm taking at www.jessicasprague.com

In one of her lessons, she's turned us on to faux TTV textures. TTV is the art of taking a picture of any subject through the viewfinder of any camera with another camera.

There is a flickr group filled with photos using this technique. Mine however is faux. It's a texture designed to look like a TTV photo. I kind of like the effect of it on this picture of Jordan. I added a little paisley brush in the lower left corner for effect.

Free lens give away!!!

WIN AN SLR LENS: Brand New Tamron Lens – 18-270mm or 28-300mm

All you have to do is post a link to the contest - exactly what I'm doing now. Full instructions & link are here!

I first encountered MCP actions through Pioneer Woman. She does some great tutorials on the PW site and also on her own blog. Her actions are awesome, check them out!

Connecticut

The girls & I drove to Connecticut for a memorial service this past weekend. I didn't take very many pictures (strange!) but here are a few. Thank you to family & friends of family who were more conscientious than I.

Another quickie layout for a challenge at www.jessicasprague.com I'm loving these challenges and am sorry I'll miss tomorrows!

Fathers day

We had some friends over for swimming and redneck yard games for fathers day. Cameron had a blast swimming in her pool with her buddies Noah & Joslyn. The weather wasn't great, in fact... I'd have been downright cold if it were me in that pool .. but kids have some kind of special insulation that protects them against cold when they're having fun.

Beautiful

I did this layout for the day 2 birthday challenge over at www.jessicasprague.com she's giving away a freebie every day this week plus has challenges and a free class sign up. Today's freebie & challenge was to download & use this template and mini kit by Live.

Kindergarten Awards

Cameron's school had a Kindergarten music performance & Awards ceremony this morning. They sang 3 songs and then each student received an award. Cameron got the Academic Excellence award. WTG Cameron!




My friend Laurie & I planned to dress our girls in the kitty outfits she made. I couldn't help but take pictures at the bus stop this morning.



Here she is sitting with some of the kids in her class. Another class is standing behind them. I love the "non performer" lol


Cameron & her principal just after she got her award. That's her teacher in the background.

And the beautiful kitty girls together. You can tell where I corrected the color in this one but not the one above. Woops.