At the Grotto::August 10

Late afternoon on Sunday, we loaded up the van and went to the Grotto - a trail that leads to a waterfall.


The crew


Steve helped Michael to navigate the trail ♥


Mercedes and Michael loved the water :) (and you can see the baby bump too! twins!! I can't believe it!)


I love how Matt has watched over Michael since they were both very little boys. ♥



Josh, Hayley, and Mercedes ♥


Steve doesn't like how he looks in this pic - he thinks he looks like a wild man... I think he only *sorta* looks like a wild man... but Michael looks so great in it! ;)


Michael played in the water and got his feet wet - it was bugging him so much that I tried to help him get dried off as well as possible. (next time I'll take a towel! ;))
♥ Melody

Engagement Pic Photo Shoot

Yesterday, Amber, Tino, & I went to their favorite walking park and took some pics. (I'm sorry that the quality of the photos are so bad. I don't know why they look so blurry here.... )

















And it made me realize that perhaps the mom should *not* be taking the engagement pics. They were kissing and I'd hurry and snap off shots and tell them, "Ok, we're done".

I think I'm beginning to understand my kids' shouts of "OOOOH YUCK!" when they run into Steve & me kissing. (Which makes me always think of "Cheaper by the Dozen" - the new one - when Hillary Duff's character came into her parent's bedroom only to find them kissing & tells them to "get a room" "we've already got one" "well at least wait until I leave" "can you hurry, then?")

I'm still uncomfortable with remembering that my children are people. Perhaps they have the same problem with Steve & me.

Anyhow, their pics turned out way cute (I'm still working on photoshopping out Amber's tag on that second to last one.... )

They are having another photoshoot today with Amber's bff's mom, Barb. Can't wait to see those pics too!

Have a great day today!

Better late than never, huh?

Sorry I'm so late today! Jared forgot a meeting he had this morning, so I had to drive him... and then stick around to bring him back home. Which wasn't so bad, except that I am so late blogging today.

Remember when I wrote this yesterday? "One of these days I need to stay home and get some projects done. (sigh) At least it is warm & sunny outside & I have great excuses to get me out in it! :)"

So I got out in it... and got stung. And I'm allergic to bee stings. So really, I spent yesterday in the ER. Bah.

But today, I'm fine. And the day was B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L! and I was out in it... running errands, but that counts, right?

Last night was my first photography class. I really was so sleepy and out of it (because of the antihistamine from the ER), but I took lots of good notes and went back over them today and made sense of them.


The assignment for this week was to take pics that:
1 - freeze motion
2 - show motion
3 - panning

So, for freeze motion I had Jared jump:


Showing motion (do you see the blur in the middle of the photo? It was a little girl & Matt swinging):


I don't like that one very well; the exposure isn't just right, so I'll be trying that one again.

Then, for panning, I had the kids swing:




I'll be playing some more in the next few days and then I email the best ones to my instructor.

So how are you all? I didn't get to go visit blogs today, but I'm going to try to stop by a little bit tonight. I might have to catch up with them on Saturday though. :/

Have a great rest of your day!!

Great wedding ideas I found this morning

Okay, so I was visiting be different act normal this morning and came across two great ideas that I have to share to you!

First of all, with Amber's wedding coming up, I am looking for wedding ideas & found one! It is a wedding book made from Jenga Blocks. Each guest signs a message on a Jenga block, & the happy couple can read the advice & well wishes as they play the game. Cute! (as a side note, if you see any cute wedding tips, please pass them my way, okay? :)

Another idea was related to engagement photos, but can be used anytime. At Oh! Weddings (they are the ones with the jenga block idea, that be different act normal liked), they say that it "Doesn't matter the day was not sunny... an item as simple as balloons, plays a great role adding a nice touch of color, contrasting with the gray sky of the Dutch city and focusing all our attention on the couple" go take a look at the pics on there. It's amazing what colorful balloons can do!

Today I have to call the orthopedist and get Michael's leg brace adjusted. Right now it is rubbing a spot on his ankle. Michael's physical therapist caught the "hot spot" yesterday. Thank heavens for him & his eye for those things that I miss.

And I also have to stop by the pharmacy today. Emily is still sick. :( I hope that the antibiotic will help her to feel better soon!

How about you? Any fun things planned for the day? One of these days I need to stay home and get some projects done. (sigh) At least it is warm & sunny outside & I have great excuses to get me out in it! :)

Have a wonderful day! :)

P-A-R-K day

On Sunday, we packed up the whole family and took them to the P-A-R-K.

Aiden was so interested in everything there.

The birds in the trees



The cedar chips down below



Everything.



Michael amazes me. He has an arm that doesn't always do what it is told and a leg that just had surgery, but does he let that stop him? Never!



And I think that he is on to me when I say to the family, "Do you want to go to the P-A-R-K?" because last time he said, "Let's go to the park!"



While Aiden and Michael were swingin', Jared and Matt were practicing their tennis skills.



I asked Steve to watch Aiden while I took some pics. When I came back, I found him holding Aiden in the swing. I asked him why he didn't just leave Aiden in the baby swing (much easier, I think!) and he said that "He looked sad" so he took him out. Such a good daddy and grandpa, he is. :)



This shot came from out of the blue. I had just been composing the pics I took of the family on the swings, not really paying too much attention to what was behind them. When I was editing, I noticed this gorgeous fairyland behind them. Look at the way the sunlight is playing back there! I wish I would have paid more attention and took some purposeful shots!



Emily was with us too. See the lime green shirt hiding behind the slide way up there on top? Yep, that's Emily. She didn't want her picture taken because she has been sick and didn't want everyone to see her that way.



I have such a great family. Could I be blessed any more than I already am?!

Have a wonderful, sunshiny day! :)

A run-down of last week

Boy oh boy did I miss you all last week! It was one of *those* weeks. A week that had doctor's appointments on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Six doctors to be exact. And then a wedding dress fitting appointment on Saturday. My sympathies go to all of those who work an hour or more away from home; three of the four days were spend with long commutes (minimum 1 hour), the other one still had me about 40 minutes away from home.

Wednesday, Michael got his cast off. I would say, "HURRAY!" except that it is coming with its own challenges and difficulties. The poor little guy is having a tough time building back up the muscles he had before surgery, so he limps a lot and holds onto furniture most of the time. When I give him a bath, he doesn't want to put any weight on his unbraced foot. He has been terrific about wearing his braces on his leg though.

The second appointment on Wednesday was to be fitted for his braces. He had been casted for them during surgery, so the brace guy just had to trim off the excess off the toe. And they gave him a new pair of shoes! How sweet is that?! I really do love Shriner's Hospital. They are terrific!

On Thursday we were off to the children's hospital for appointments to the neurologist and rehab specialist. Not too much new news there. We were just checking in with the neurologist since Michael's seizures have morphed into new symptoms.

The rehab specialist gave us some things to work with Michael on to build up his strength and help his leg muscles to grow in good ways.

Friday I took Jared to the diabetes doc. His A1C this time was much better than the past few times. (Way to go, Jare! Keep up the good work, son!)

Then I took Amber to the doctor. She has been sick more in the past 3 months than she has been well. It all started with getting a positive culture for strep back at Valentine's Day and then not taking the antibiotics.... The doc didn't give her antibiotics this time, which frustrates me, but she (the doc) did take some blood to look at what is going on inside of Amber and also another strep culture. I really just wanted her to get that antibiotic though.

On Saturday, the seamstress measured and pinned Amber's wedding dress. It will be ready the first part of August, just in time for bridal pictures.

Sunday was the usual: church in the morning and family time for the rest of the day.

Today, I intend on *not* running around like a chicken with my head cut off but to go about my day calmly, taking care of things that got neglected next week.

I am the master of my own fate... when They (the big cumulative "they") let me be. ;)

Have a great day!

They're here! AKA: Amber's Graduation Present

Yesterday, Amber's graduation present came in the mail. Today, Steve, Michael, and I took it to her.

Since she not only graduated from high school but also graduated with a 1 year certificate in Culinary Arts from a community college,AND since she loves to cook, I thought that good quality pots and pans would be welcomed. :)

So, I started looking for the same pots and pans that I got for Christmas a couple of years ago because I LOVE THEM!!



The pots and pans that came to her were very similar, but not exact, dang it. Still, they are brushed stainless steel (Mine are only brushed on the outside; hers are brushed on the outside and inside. I hope that it works out okay. :/ ) with an aluminum core bottom encapsulated in stainless steel for even heating w/o hot spots. They also have silicone handles for cool touch handling. (I think I would scorch myself constantly with stainless steel handles!!)

I hope, I hope, I hope! that they work out well and she loves them for years and years and years to come.



I got them from Target.com, since they are only sold online. (As a side note: it appears that some have stainless steel lids, while other have glass even though the description says glass lids - I'm perfectly happy with that because I do not love glass lids.) And they were shipped free! Score!

Keep your fingers crossed that they work perfectly and that she loves them, will you? And I will let you know how they turn out. :)

Happy Birthday, dear Tino!

Tino's birthday was last week in the midst of school getting out and graduation.



As a side note: he was born in the exact month and year that I graduated from high school. I'm not so sure that I love that, 'cause now, every one of his birthdays will be a countdown from when I graduated. This year he was 23. Oy.



He is so cute with the kids. He loves to play with them and tease them. Sounds like he's going to be a great big brother to them, right? :)



For his birthday, we gave him a Weber bar-b-que grill. Amber told me that he's been wanting one.



I hope that he loves it as much as we love him. :)



Happy Birthday, Tino!! I hope that this year will be the greatest ever! :)

THE Memorial Day Flower

My mom used to always put Irises on the graves that we decorated every Memorial Day. She called them "Flags". I just call them my favorite. :)



It never ceases to amaze me that no matter how cold, wet, warm, or dry the weather is, these flowers always blossom for Memorial Day. Always.



Every time I see a flower in "real life", I have to smell it. Every time I see a flower in a picture, I want to see it up close, close enough to see the pollen.







Do you have special Memorial Day memories or traditions?

Graduation - the family

Aiden was holding Josh's hand when he first saw Steve in the parking lot of the high school, so he poked up his little hand, wanting Steve to hold it too :)





Aiden kept looking at the ground and wouldn't look up, which Josh and I thought was weird, but then Steve realized that he was watching his shadow.



I figured that they were all dressed up anyway, so we might as well take a pic, right?



Such a cute little family!!

And this is why I am giving my blessing to their upcoming wedding:



I don't remember what was going on, but this is just how their are together. Look at her face! She is beaming. They really are so cute together :)

And the more that I'm around Tino, the more I see Steve in him. They say that a girl will pick someone like her dad, and a boy will pick someone like his mom and boy have we found that to be true with our kids! Not that Karen and Tino are clones of us or anything, they just have similarities, which is kind of endearing, actually. :)

Today I have nothing planned. Yet. But it is before 9:30, so that could all change, I suppose.... How about you? Anything fun planned? Or are you hoping to be a couch potato - with or w/o a tv- like me? :)

Have a great day!