BerryPickers

The last day of summer, the day before school started, we went with our friends to Amber Oaks Berry Farm. I'm so glad we did. The kids had a lot of fun picking berries and roaming around the grounds.


Collectively, we managed 18 baskets of fresh, off the vine, blackberries, between our 3 families.



and for me...a great location to photograph all the kids. That's always a bonus.
That's my Jensen and little Zara. Apparently, they are married now.


My sweet Belles and her basket.


Ingrid and her stash and stain. She told me that she knows how to pose now. Okay. Thank you very much darling girl. Oh, yes, pose she did! :)



Ever so stylish Paige. She managed to wear her fashionable shades the whole time picking berries. It wouldn't surprise me if she also wore cucumbers on her eyelids when she napped ;)


Paige's twin, Olivia. Proud as a peacock, showing off the new gap of her pearly whites.


My little sportin' dude with his berries. Thank you Uncle Scott for the cool shades, yes, he's been wearing them a lot lately.


and Mr. Liam, Ingrid and Zara's little brother. Cool as a cucumber the whole time. Not one fuss. A dream-boat.


and the big sisters, I'd be in trouble if I didn't show them off too!


In addition to the berries, we picked out tomatoes to our hearts content.


What a great morning! Thanks girls for inviting us along.


And in case you're wondering...I found these cool TTV frames that I've been having fun with from Nesster on Flickr. What do you think of the effect?

Salad: Easy & Delish

Salads..I love salads. I always have to have a small salad before my meal when we go out to dinner. This one is my favorite, it's soo easy, I'll make it for lunch and dinner:

a bowl full of salad greens
a spoonful of dried cranraisins
shrimp (or even diced deli meat is just as delish)
parmesan cheese or feta cheese (add to your liking)
drizzle some olive oil and balsamic vinegar (a little will go along way)
salt & pepper to taste (I don't put either, but you might prefer some)
toss and eat!
So simple and delicious...


Enjoy!

Casted.

It happened last Friday, at home, after work. We all have had those days. Those weeks. Rough. Not easy, at. all..... David, my husband, the perfectionist, the professional. "Get it done Dave", that's him. Picking up a "fits in the palm of your hand" toy, he grabbed it. Focusing his frustration on the toy, gripping, squeezing. Release the bad energy, need to release it. A raise of the fist, and a pound to the counter. Done. Pain, pain, pain, really, intense pain.

It was the weekend and the swelling immediately set in. Oh, take some motrin, set it on ice. The swelling will go down. Two days.

Monday afternoon, not so says the X-Ray. A "boxer's fracture", crack in the 5th metacarpal, or the pinky finger to you and me. Wednesday afternoon, cast it.

Wednesday night..not so good. Google: Cast Claustrophobia, it exists. Quick! Run to the garage, find something! FIND SOMETHING!

FOUND SOMETHING! Get it off, GET IT OFF! ......Relief! Sweet Relief!

Thursday morning.......to be continued.....

Yesterday.

Yesterday. First day of school. August 25, 2009.

May 2006, Marlena was 5 and Isabella was 3. Marlena started kindergarten, Isabella stayed home and Jensen was about 7 months old. Back then, Marlena was (and still is) the big sister taking her sister's hand and leading the way. Marlena about to start school, Isabella a bit disappointed. Her arm around Isabella's shoulder, she said to her little sis, "Don't worry Belle, someday you'll go to school too and I'll help you... I'll be home around lunch time."

Yesterday. Marlena started the 3rd grade and Isabella started the 1st grade. Marlena took her sister's hand and lead the way. This time she said, "Belle, you'll love it! You get 2 recesses and if we're early we get 3!" They both squealed in excitement. There I was, watching through the gates, waving my good-byes. Them, walking hand in hand, big sis leading the way for her little sis. My heart melting. My eyes filled with happiness for a few stolen moments in my own thoughts. Then I realized my hand was empty..."Jensen! come here!"

A New Perspective

(photo taken from nieniedialogues.blogspot.com)

I have never met Stephanie Nielsen, but she's given me a new perspective on life. I've only just followed Nie Nie's blog for maybe the past 6 months and her story is riveting, tragic, uplifting, and glorious all at once. But the twist is that it's not a "story", it's her life. A beautiful young mother of four little ones, a handsome doting husband, a wonderful life filled with so much love. Their lives change in an instant with a near fatal airplane crash that left Nie Nie and her husband critically burned and her life changed as she knew it. She spends her days recovering, going into surgeries for skin grafts, painful rehabilitation of her limbs, reminiscing, feeling her way into being a mom again, a wife again, a woman again, loving, documenting, hoping, and praying and always being thankful. She has touched me. Read about her story here...http://nieniedialogues.blogspot.com/ She will touch you too.

Summer kisses bring Autumn hugs...

It's been a busy summer and I've neglected my photography and my blog...priorities over summer vacation are the kids, end.of.story. With that said, we had a relaxing summer but it seemed so busy. How does that happen? Lots of ice cream, lots of swimming, lots of sleeping late, lots of hot days and air-conditioning. One camping trip that was fun. More so for the kids being in the free outdoors getting dirrty, very, very dirrty!

They didn't care though and what the heck, it's camping :) !

The days were beautiful and the temperature just right..oh, but the nights! cold, cold, cold!
On another note, I attended my 20 year high school reunion. I was very hesitant right up to the last minute, but went and much to my surprise had a fantastic time.

Here I am in the car, a ball of nerves and anxiety, photo taken with a little bitty hand held point and shoot.
So how do you know summer is coming to an end? When the kids go back to school of course! Yes, we will be there next week.....