The Minniear Family Blog

Christmas Collage 2011

2012-01-25T09:07:00.000-06:00

It feels like Christmas was so long ago, but it was only 30 days ago. I was thinking about all of the gifts we gave to each other and how many of them are still getting used or are just as exciting today as the day we received them. Dennis got me three things that were homerun's for sure and I use them every single day.

1: A beautiful silver bracelet. 2. A coffee bean grinder. 3. An electric heated lap blanket.

Here's a collage of Christmas morning at our house:

What was your favorite Christmas gift? Are you still using it?

BROCCOLI CHEESE SOUP

2011-12-15T19:49:00.001-06:00

Today was a warm December day. 65 degrees. I thought about doing a little work in the yard to get rid of the rest of the fall leaves, but it began to rain. Shucks. So instead I whipped up a batch of Broccoli Cheese Soup and it was yummy!

Here's how.....

Gather your ingredients: Whole Milk, Half and Half, Butter, Broccoli, Cheddar Cheese, Onion, Salt and Pepper and Nutmeg

Begin by melting a stick of butter in a large pot

Add a whole onion, diced. Saute for 3 or 4 minutes.

Add a 1/3 of a cup of flour. Stir and cook another minute.

Add 4 cups of Whole Milk and 2 cups of Half and Half.

Add 4 heads of fresh broccoli florets.

Stir well. Cover and Simmer for 30 minutes or until Broccoli is tender.

Take pictures of the pretty apples and tangerines on the counter top. Oh wait, you don't have to do that. Your soup will turn out just fine if you don't.

Here is the very important part. V E R Y I M P O R T A N T!!! Turn the heat off. Let your soup base cool down some. THEN stir in your 3 cups of shredded Cheddar Cheese. Bring the heat back up a little so the cheese begins to melt. The key is LOW and SLOW. Low heat and slowly add cheese allowing it to melt. If your soup base is too hot, your cheese proteins will separate and you'll have ugly, gritty cheese. YUCK. - I did not know to do that....see the boiling bubbles in my soup. That is bad!

The cheese melted all right, but we had gritty soup. It tasted just fine, but now I know better the next time I make it.

Your soup can be eaten as is, or blending in a blender to take the chunkiness out of it.

I mashed my broccoli down with a whisk then dumped the whole pot of soup into the crock pot set on warm to wait for the dinner hour to arrive.

We served ours with a sprinkle of cheddar cheese and bacon bits on top.

This recipe has been added to the EZDINNERS blog.

Ingredients

1 whole Onion, Diced
1 stick 1/2 Cup Butter
1/3 cup Flour
4 cups Whole Milk
2 cups Half-and-half
4 heads Broccoli Cut Into Florets
1 pinch Nutmeg
3 cups Grated Cheese (mild Cheddar, Sharp Cheddar, Jack, Etc.)
Small Dash Of Salt (more If Needed)
Freshly Ground Black Pepper
Splash Of Chicken Broth If Needed For Thinning

Preparation Instructions

Melt butter in a pot over medium heat, then add the onions. Cook the onions for 3 to 4 minutes, then sprinkle the flour over the top. Stir to combine and cook for 1 minute or so, then pour in milk and half-and-half. Add nutmeg, then add broccoli, a small dash of salt, and plenty of black pepper.

Cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the broccoli is tender. Stir in cheese and allow to melt.

Taste seasonings and adjust if needed. Then either serve as is, or mash it with a potato masher to break up the broccoli a bit, or transfer to a blender in two batches and puree completely. (If you puree it in a blender, return it to the heat and allow to heat up. Splash in chicken broth if needed for thinning.)

Enjoy!

What's For Dinner?

2011-12-14T12:01:00.000-06:00

Are you always stuck wondering what to make for dinner tonight?
I've started a new blog with my super, easy and delicious dinner recipes on it.
Check it out!!!

http://ezdinners.blogspot.com/

Santa Switch 2011

2011-12-13T16:28:00.000-06:00

Evan, his girlfriend Audrey and the gang all dressed up and ready for the Christmas dance.

Thanksgiving Follies

2011-12-04T21:35:00.000-06:00

What made us laugh this past Thanksgiving weekend? See for youself........

Saying Goodbye to a Friend

2011-11-07T22:32:00.000-06:00

The Rainbow Bridge

inspired by a Norse legend

By the edge of a woods, at the foot of a hill,

Is a lush, green meadow where time stands still.

Where the friends of man and woman do run,

When their time on earth is over and done.

For here, between this world and the next,

Is a place where each beloved creature finds rest.

On this golden land, they wait and they play,

Till the Rainbow Bridge they cross over one day.

No more do they suffer, in pain or in sadness,

For here they are whole, their lives filled with gladness.

Their limbs are restored, their health renewed,

Their bodies have healed, with strength imbued.

They romp through the grass, without even a care,

Until one day they start, and sniff at the air.

All ears prick forward, eyes dart front and back,

Then all of a sudden, one breaks from the pack.

For just at that instant, their eyes have met;

Together again, both person and pet.

So they run to each other, these friends from long past,

The time of their parting is over at last.

The sadness they felt while they were apart,

Has turned into joy once more in each heart.

They embrace with a love that will last forever,

And then, side-by-side, they cross over… together.

Sadly our beloved Boxer Tigger passed away Thursday November 3rd.

She had had a stroke a few weeks prior. Her brain was damaged and she deteriorated rapidly.

We will miss her dearly. She was the best dog anyone could have every asked for.

We love you Tigger.

Until we meet again on that Rainbow Bridge.

February 2011

March 2011

April 2011

20 Years

2011-10-05T08:12:00.000-05:00

Today Dennis and I are celebrating 20 years as husband and wife.

That makes me smile!

Time Flys When You're Having Fun!

2011-09-15T15:25:00.000-05:00

The song "It's the most wonderful time of the year" is playing in my head as I write this post. No, not because I am ready for Christmas. Not at all. It is because we at the Minniear household LOVE FOOTBALL and being football season, it is the most wonderful time of the year around here!
Two of our boys, Logan and Isaiah play football for their school teams. Isaiah is in the 7th grade and plays for the Dragons and Logan is in 10 grade and plays for the Knights.
Right now, we have 4 football games a week. Yep, 4. Four. Quatro. Good thing we love it!
Here is what my week looks like every week.......
Monday - Logan plays a JV game, Isaiah has practice
Tuesday - Isaiah plays an A squad game, Logan has practice
Wednesday - both boys have practice
Thursday - Isaiah play a B squad game, Logan has practice
Friday - Logan plays the Varsity game, Isaiah has practice.
Whew! Saturday we watch Ohio State Football and Sunday we watch the Colts.
Then we start our week all over again!
Here are some photos from a few of our games in the last month. Oh, did I mention, I shoot the JV and Middle School games too?

Isaiah, #24 on the field

Can't forget about our sweet Middle School Cheerleaders. They love to have their pictures taken too.

Me with the Castle Knight Mascot at Lucas Oil Stadium

Evan, Carlos and Isaiah at Lucas Oil Stadium

Evan, Carlos and Isaiah with the Indy skyline behind them.

The family after Logan's football game at Lucas Oil.

There's Logan in action. #95

It was a privilege to be invited to play in the Colt's Horseshoe Classic August 27, 2011

Evan and Carlos and the Castle Student section during the game. They were on the jumbo tron alot.

A smile for mom on the sidelines.

Logan - on Defense

Thanks for stopping by! Leave me a note to let me know you were here. I'd love to come and visit your blog!
Jodie

The 3 S's

2011-08-11T08:23:00.000-05:00

SENIOR.....SOPHOMORE......SEVENTH!

It's that time of year again. Back packs, pencils, notebooks and binders. It was a bittersweet moment sending Evan off to his Senior year this morning. Where has the time gone?

Evan in Pre-School

Logan and Evan on Evan's first day of 3's class

Now...

Logan's first day of Pre K

The Senior and the Sophomore

Isaiah's first day of PreSchool

And today....

So grown up!

Missouri Memories

2011-07-23T10:38:00.000-05:00

Who doesn't love a group of teen-aged kids, and Dennis with fake smokes!

How about fake snakes at the Five and Dime Store?

Maybe you like children driving very expensive boats at the Bass Pro Shop

A visit to the movies is a great way to cool off on a super hot Missouri day!

Allowing your 15 year old to drive you around the resort is

just the thing you must do to procure a relaxing vacation.

I personally loved spending time with our dear friends the Clements.

Here we are Jodi and Jodie!

Perhaps you'd like to dine out on vacation.

Try the Rib Crib.

Or the restaurant that has a giant chicken out front and looks like a barn.

Fishing Fun

Enjoying my Diet Pepsi with Lime on the raft while the boys fish

Just Kiddin! ..... or was he?

Perhaps scaling rock walls and jumping into the lake is more to your liking

Allow Carlos and Logan to demonstrate

And here goes Dennis

Carlos learning to dive

Great job Carlos!

MORE photos from the BIG CLIFF coming soon!

Check back!

AND, don't forget to leave a comment that you were here!

Branson MO Here we come!

2011-07-20T15:12:00.000-05:00

Hello blog. I've neglected you for some time now. Summer has been busy. A little football, a little vacation, a little friend time, a little photography time and more.

Over the 4th of July week we traveled down to Branson Missouri for our annual Lake Vacation.
Here are the boys in the car, 40 miles to go!

Over hills and dells, the lake is getting closer.

There it is! Table Rock Lake.

Saturday night we checked in, put the boat in and took a sight-seeing ride. Then we enjoyed the Kimberling City fireworks display from the lake

Tuesday we took a day to visit Branson Landing. This is the Bass Pro Shop.

Ceiling light fixture

Giant water fall into a giant freshwater aquarium

Dinner at Famous Dave's BBQ. AWESOME food and super fast service!!!

More shopping at Branson Landing

Isaiah loves Nerds Candy.

We found lots of giant candy in this candy store.

Mamma LOVES Peanut M&M's!!

M&M's....yum!

My favorite hat. I did not buy it and really wish I would have. Maybe I'll find another some day.

Holy Giant Motor Batman!!!

More to come! Check back in!

PRAY 4 PAYTON

2011-06-22T10:30:00.001-05:00

PRAY 4 PAYTON. Have you seen these words all over Newburgh? It is written on the windshields of cars. It’s spelled out with cups in the fence of Castle High School. It’s all over Facebook and more. If you don’t have a student at Castle, you may not know who Payton is. Payton Kalb is going to be a Junior at Castle High School. Two weeks ago she was driving to cheerleading practice at 6:15 a.m. and was struck by a semi truck on SR 66. By the grace of God she survived the crash. She was taken to St. Mary’s hospital, then immediately air lifted to Cincinnati Children's Hospital.

Here is a quote from her mom detailing Payton’s injuries:

“So with a displaced fracture in her jaw, every ligament in her neck torn, 10 days post occipital spine surgery, no speaking voice due to damaged vocal cords (hopefully temporary), bruised lungs, multiple fractures in her pelvis and tail bone, a broken tibia, very limited movement on her left side, and many other bruises and cuts...She says "I'm really doing well". I saw that and just Praised The Lord!!! “

I don’t personally know Payton or her family, Sean and Kristie Georges are her parents. They are best friends with one of my friends, however. I am following their story on caringbridge.org . I do know that they would appreciate any and all prayers that could be lifted up their way for Payton.

If you would like to follow her progress, sign in to her CaringBridge site. It's paytonkalb.

Thanks!

Jodie

My Time + Guy Time

2011-05-25T08:59:00.000-05:00

Last weekend I had the house all to myself for 3 full days. I was super busy all weekend, so I really did not have time to put my feet up, drink coffee and read books. I had to shoot a senior on Friday and a golf scramble on Saturday. Scrapbooking and dinner with some dear friends, Stephanie and Andrea on Friday as well. Saturday my Indy friends Mark and Lori and their boys were in town for soccer and took me to dinner at a quaint Newburgh restaurant on the river. Sunday a double shift at the connection center at church and lots of photo editing and grass cutting.

The guys left on Thursday afternoon after school. They headed to Northern Michigan to for the annual Minniear Morel Mushroom Hunting Weekend. Two friends went along, Carlos and Bo.

They were a little early, season wise. They found plenty of mushrooms, however, they were the blacks and not the yellows that they prefer. But guy time was fun and they all had a great time.

Here are some photos of them packing up and heading out.

2011-05-18T08:37:00.000-05:00

Say Cheese for 20 minutes!

Photography at its very beginning was neither instant, color or very comfortable. Here are 3 things you probably didn't know about what photo fans had to go through at first.

The first photography process available out there required people to stand still for 10 to 20 minutes in order to obtain a proper exposure and have their photo taken. It was going on around the year 1840.

People had access to color photography well before it was actually invented. How come? No magic was involved. After the black and white images were printed, specially trained experts were coloring them by hand, using a brush. It was a very complex and detailed process and only very skillful persons were able to do it.

For almost 50 years after its invention, photography remained a luxury accessible to few people. It was George Eastman who introduced the flexible film in 1884 and turned photography into a hobby for all. The same Eastman invented the popular brand Kodak. (pictured below is the Kodak Brownie camera)

From 2011 Best Family Photography Tips Newsletter

http://www.best-family-photography-tips.com/Get_the_Picture-backissues.html

Images from Google Images

Flooding along the Ohio

2011-05-05T08:46:00.000-05:00

Rain, Rain, Go Away, come again another day! Here in southern Indiana, as in many places in the mid-west we have seen our fair share of rain during the month of April and already 5 inches have fallen the first 2 days of May. I went to downtown to the Old Newburgh Lock and Dam to see the swollen Ohio River and walk along it banks. I was amazed at the amount of water there is. I did not take my camera, but I had my cell phone. So come along with me and see what I saw.....

The water is normally quite a distance from that park bench.

The banks of the river are washing away in chunks!

The amount of debris was amazing!

This is a view of the boat ramp. Normally there is a driveway just before that leaning pine tree where you exit with your boat trailer. To the right of that leaning pine tree is a huge parking lot and the ramp, now underwater.

To the right of the sign, between the chain area, is where you would have driven up a long winding steep hill to exit with your boat trailer.

The Old Lock and Dam building's basement is under water.

You can see right through the basement windows.

Flag in the park area. Unfortunately the park is underwater.

The following photos and information is from the Evansville Courier and Press Newspaper

DENNY SIMMONS / Courier & Press
A sidewalk is buckled after nearly half of the hill at the Newburgh Old Lock and Dam Park — saturated from the rain — let loose and slid down the hill. Vectren workers were on hand on Tuesday to turn off the gas lines that ruptured during the landslide.

One of two houses atop the hill at Newburgh's Old Lock and Dam Park sits about 20 yards from where a huge section of dirt and grass slid about a foot downhill.

A part of the parking lot atop Newburgh's Old Lock and Dam Park collapsed — as nearly half of the park's hill did — and created a landslide Tuesday.

Randy A. VanWynsberghe photography
The flooded Ohio River is seen looking north toward Evansville's downtown on Tuesday afternoon

DENNY SIMMONS / Courier & Press
The confluence of the Wabash River, left, and the Ohio River, right, covers miles of farmland and is backing up water upriver from both watery thoroughfares.

DENNY SIMMONS / Courier & Press
Ellis Park Race track is surrounded by the muddy floodwaters of the Ohio River Thursday morning. The infield is also flooded with seepage from the river and U.S. 41 has been unaffected so far.

Dogwood Blooms

2011-04-08T17:40:00.000-05:00

For some reason this year my dogwood blooms seem so small to me. They look mini-sized. I think they were bigger in years past. Maybe is was all the extra snow and coldness we had this past winter and first of spring. I'll never know.

Crocus

2011-04-05T09:00:00.000-05:00

I took this photo of the crocus popping up in my backyard in early March. Instead of shooting down at it as one would normally do, I got down low and shot it from underneath. This did two things: 1. eliminated the ugly brown mulch and 2. provided a new perspective for the viewer that they don't ordinarily see.
Why not take your camera out today and find a little bit of spring and shoot it from different angles and see things from a whole new perspective!

..photo enhanced with Velvet Cream action and Web painted borders action from The Coffee Shop Blog.

Photos from my Phone

2011-04-04T15:18:00.000-05:00

I have been reading a friends blog for some time now, hello Katie J. Anywho, I see her taking a lot of photos from her phone and posting them on her blog. I realized that I hardly ever take photos with my phone and I really should start doing that more often. I always have it handy, so why not.
So here's a post entitled "Photos from my Phone"

About a month ago, Dennis totaled his SUV (see post here). We finally got the insurance go ahead to purchase another vehicle. After much looking and sitting in cars, trucks and SUV's Dennis surprised me when he settled on this. (mainly because he fit in it (which is very hard for my tall, broad man) and it gets better gas mileage than his Expedition).

Friday I was driving to the school to pick Logan up from football conditioning and had to pull over onto the side of the road to take this photo. I love the blue skies and white Bradford Pear trees in full bloom as well as the fence and horses.

Last fall we lost one of the Blue Spruce trees that flanked the entry of the house.

Saturday, we pulled the remaining healthy one out and replanted it in a new bed out back.

Here's the before and after:

Sunday, my son Logan asked me if he could chop down a dead tree in the yard with an ax. I said, sure, why not. Here is my son...a.k.a. Paul Bunyan

With todays technology we pretty much all have camera's on our phone. Why not move those photos from the phone to the computer, blog them, print them, scrapbook them and enjoy them.

Thanks for stopping by!

Spring Break Vacation

2011-03-31T21:28:00.000-05:00

We're back from a wonderful spring break vacation. Our trip was broken up into 3 mini trips.
The first trip was to St. Augustine FL to see our friends the Simonsons. We met them in 2003 when their son played football with ours. We moved away to NC and shortly thereafter, they moved to St. Augustine FL. We've seen them a few times since they moved. It was fun spending time with them again.

We enjoyed the beach.

We took a train ride and explored the beautiful, historical city of St. Augustine

We pretended we were fountains.

We went out to dinner

We ate super expensive ice cream in a quaint little sweets shop.

Just look at the delectables

We had fun and really enjoyed this part of our trip.
Thanks Simonson Family! Maybe we can visit again next spring!

Irish Blessings

2011-03-17T08:41:00.002-05:00

Some say they believe in the Luck o' the Irish. I'm more in line to appreciate an Irish Blessing over luck.
Here are some lovely Irish Blessings I found online today.
Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Bless This House

Bless this house, o Lord, we pray.
Make it safe by night and day.
Bless these walls so firm and stout,
Keeping want and trouble out.
Bless the roof and chimney tall,
Let thy peace lie over all.
Bless the doors that they may prove
Ever open to joy and love.
Bless the windows shining bright,
Letting in God's heavenly light.
Bless the hearth a-blazing there,
With smoke ascending like a prayer.
Bless the people here within...
Keep them pure and free from sin.
Bless us all, that one day, we
May be fit, O lord, to dwell with Thee.

Thank You for blessing us with a warm, cozy home Lord.

Irish Marriage Blessing

May God be with you and bless you.
May you see your children's children.
May you be poor in misfortunes
and rich in blessings.
May you know nothing but happiness
from this day forward.

This is the wall in our living room where I have our family photos. Thank you Lord for such a wonderful husband and children.

From Saint Patrick's Breastplate

Christ be with me
Christ before me
Christ behind me
Christ in me
Christ beneath me
Christ above me
Christ on my right
Christ on my left
Christ where I lie
Christ where I sit
Christ where I arise
Christ in the heart of every man
who thinks of me
Christ in the mouth of every man
who speaks of me
Christ in every eye that sees me
Christ in every ear that hears me
Salvation is of the Lord.

Thank you Lord for your word that guides me daily and for the freedom to worship how and where I like.

May the blessing of the rain be on you—
the soft sweet rain.
May it fall upon your spirit
so that all the little flowers may spring up,
and shed their sweetness on the air.
May the blessing of the great rains be on you,
may they beat upon your spirit
and wash it fair and clean,
and leave there many a shining pool
where the blue of heaven shines,
and sometimes a star.

It is beginning to look like spring here in Southern Indiana. I looked outside and saw the crocus beginning to bloom. Spring reminds me of new beginnings. God's mercy (his willingness to forgive us daily for our sins), are new beginnings we can have each and every day.

Today is the first day of the March Joy of Luck photography assignment.

Today's focus is on opportunity/experience/something you have/do EVERYDAY that is an unforeseen blessing in your life.

And one more, just for fun......

May the frost never afflict your spuds.
May the leaves of your cabbage always be free from worms.
May the crows never pick your haystack.
If you inherit a donkey, may she be in foal.

Not a Good Day

2011-03-10T10:10:00.000-06:00

"Not a good day", that's the text message I got with this photo attached. Last Friday, Dennis was out of town on business. He was driving through town and a Range Rover merged into his lane. After a few minutes the Range Rover man slammed on his brakes and nearly missed hitting the car in front of him. HOWEVER, Dennis wasn't so lucky. If that's not bad enough, there's more. His truck was towed to a local lot in the town he was working in and is being held there until the adjuster can come access the damage. While in the lot someone smashed in the passenger window and stole the FACTORY RADIO! Who wants a Ford factory radio??? Not a good day!

JOY of LOVE : day 16

2011-02-16T20:46:00.000-06:00

Theme : Together (self portrait)

When Dennis gets home from work we typically snuggle on the couch and watch t.v. He is in control of the remote. We hunt for a t.v. show we both agree on (I usually agree with what he wants to watch) - then 15 minutes later he's fast asleep. (And I change the channel!)

JOY of LOVE : day 15

2011-02-16T08:15:00.000-06:00

Today's theme is the kiss. You are supposed to hold your camera out and take a snapshot of you and your spouse smooching, however, I like this picture that my son Logan took of us last fall.

JOY of LOVE : day 11

2011-02-15T09:39:00.000-06:00

Day 11 was all about dreams. This would pretty much sum up my dreams.....A beautiful landscaped yard with a pool, an outdoor kitchen, beautiful flowers and plants! Oh how I would love to move my tree line back and let the sun fill my yard!

JOY of LOVE : day 14

2011-02-14T20:38:00.000-06:00

Happy Valentines Day!
This is Dennis and I's 22nd Valentines Day together!

JOY of LOVE : day 10

2011-02-13T21:20:00.000-06:00

Where they are comfortable:

This is my dog Tigger. She is a Boxer. She is 10 years old. One of her favorite places to nap during the day is in the dining room in the sunshine. I tried to capture the rays of the sun to show how warm and sunny this place is.

JOY of LOVE : day 8

2011-02-11T20:32:00.000-06:00

Just over 15 years ago Dennis surprised me with an anniversary gift. He went to the jewelry store to buy me a pair of earrings, but left the store instead with a diamond ring. I was very surprised when he gave it to me. He told me there was one diamond for every month we had been married and one row of diamonds for every year we had been married. In all the years we have been married, just over 19 now, this ring has been the best gift he has given me because a lot of thought went into it. It was a gift from the HEART!

JOY of LOVE : day 6 & 7

2011-02-11T09:35:00.002-06:00

Day 6: Who They Love

This one was hard for me to think of. I've been scratching my head for days, trying to be creative, trying to make it work. I just can't come up with a new photo idea for this one, so I have decided to share a photo I took in December of Evan and his friends. They refer to themselves as the "Bro-tastic 4" The have Bro's night where they go eat some wings and hang out playing x-box all night. They are a great group of guys.

Day 7: Generations

6 Generations of Minniear's are represented in this photo.
John, his son Charles, his son Fred, his son James, his son Dennis and his sons Evan, Logan and Isaiah

05 : JOY of LOVE

2011-02-09T20:40:00.000-06:00

Oh dear, I'm running behind again. This photo a day challenge is getting tougher.
Feb 5th's theme was LOVE to HATE
Photograph something about your loved ones that drives you nuts.
When I walked into the kitchen and saw the mess my kids left behind, I knew I had my shot.
I love that my kids are old enough to cook. I love that they take the initiative to make themselves a meal or a snack, but, I hate when the leave the mess behind for mom to clean up.

Example: breakfast and lunch and a random shirt, left behind for someone else (me) to clean up.

I love my kids :)

What drives you nuts about your loved ones?

JOY of LOVE : day 4

2011-02-04T08:35:00.001-06:00

Today's topic is What They Wear.
A day or so ago Evan told me that the zipper on his jacket was broken. This morning Dennis was still home when the kids were getting ready for school. Pliers, screwdriver, Dad on the phone with work, mom with camera in hand....and I got my shot.

JOY of LOVE : day 3

2011-02-03T20:45:00.000-06:00

Assignment 3: Then and Now

Wasn't Logan just the cutest!!! See those beautiful blue eyes and dimples! He's still got them.
Love this kid!

Why not join me in the Joy of Love project this month, it's not too late! Click below and get all the info to join.

02 JOY of LOVE

2011-02-03T11:53:00.001-06:00

This is for day 2 of the Joy of Love February photography project.

Topic: How they look.

the JOY of LOVE

2011-02-01T22:07:00.000-06:00

During the month of February I am taking a photography "class"/challenge. Every day this month we will be given a topic to photograph. Today was just to photograph someone you love "doing something they ordinarily do". Easy peasy.
Here is my photo of Isaiah playing with his Ipod touch. He is hanging out with his friend. They are reading comics. :)

Fixing Grey Snow Photos

2011-01-28T10:36:00.000-06:00

My friend Glenna took this photo of her sweet little dog in the snow. Right away I noticed that the photo was underexposed making the snow look grey. Our camera's have an algorithm that evaluates all of the light and creates an exposure value. Grey is a mid tone value. The camera tries to make our images fit in the midtone value range so that it is neither under or over exposed, thus the grey haze on color photos and the grey color of the snow.
Anyway, if you have grey snow photos and Photoshop Elements or Photoshop CS2,3.4 or 5 you might want to watch this tutorial.

Thank you to Glenna for allowing me to use her photo and I appologize for calling your dog "him" in the video. I now see the pink leash. :)

If there were Dog Days of Winter.....

2011-01-28T07:50:00.000-06:00

today would be one of them.
My friend Wendy works as an EMT on an ambulance. She has a Boxer named Boston. Boston and Tigger are buddies. Wendy had to work a 36 hour shift so I volunteered to bring Boston down to play with Tiggs for the day.

Romping in the snow was the theme of the day....

THE HIGH SPEED CHASE

READY FOR A BREAK

AVOIDING THE CAMERA

NOW, LET'S GO TAKE A NAP!

Sports Pages

2011-01-25T09:38:00.000-06:00

Last week I went through several years of sports team photos and got them scrapped for the kids sports scrapbooks. Here is a handful of pages I did. I did 16 pages in all that day.

I save a spot on this layout for photos. I just need to have them printed.

And one more, not sport related.....(this one is a digital scrapped page)

Thanks for looking!!

Happy Birthday Evan

2011-01-18T09:11:00.000-06:00

Belated Birthday Post, that is.
Evan's birthday was December 26th.
We took Evan out to Texas Roadhouse for a steak dinner.
Of course the servers all came out and gave him a big birthday Yee Haw, as they do.

He opened his gifts and then we headed home for some chocolate cake with chocolate icing. My favorite, I knew I raised this boy right!

So Happy 17th Birthday to my awesome, smart and loving EVAN!

Storage Space

2011-01-10T18:46:00.000-06:00

Melanie over at Southern Comfort in a Northern Life has inspired me to clean out and show my pantry space.

When we bought this house 3 1/2 years ago it only had one pantry space built into the kitchen cabinets.
Our youngest son, 8 years old at the time, used to have to climb up onto the counter tops and reach across the walk space to get cereal and snacks from the top cabinet. Feeling like that was a little dangerous, we decided to build shelving in the laundry room. (more on that later)

Now the top cabinet is where we keep all of the boxed "dinner" type foods, wraps and breads.
The bottom of this cabinet is a slide out tray. Handy for reaching the stuff (lunch boxes) all the way in the back.

The bottom portion of my pantry is where the magic begins.
When you open it up, it looks like shelves and spice racks.

But wait, those shelves open up too and there is more storage on the backside and behind the shelves!

Room for baking, can goods, teas, sauces, dressings and more!

Now for the new pantry. The laundry room was just a bunch of wasted space. Just after we moved in Dennis and I built in a wall of shelving and turned it into the kids pantry. Here you will find snacks, cereal, chips, cookies, drinks and more. I have room for laundry baskets under the bottom shelf and kitchen and party storage above the washer and dryer. The wall near the door is where my giant calendar hangs and a dry erase board to hold important papers and such.

After this room makeover, we added shelves to our mud room, but that needs to be cleaned up before I can show it off. Maybe later!

Thanks for looking!

Learn Photography!!

2011-01-07T17:10:00.000-06:00

Do you have a nice camera and only use it on Auto mode?

Did you get a new camera for Christmas and don't know how to use it?

Love to take pictures and want to improve?

Beginning in February, I will be offering a Beginners Digital Photography Class.

Discovering Digital Photography will be a 5 week course that meets one night a week.

   }You will get better acquainted with your digital camera, all of it modes, buttons and dials.
   }Learn what Aperture, F/stop, Shutter Speed, ISO, White Balance are and more
   }You will learn tips on composition and taking better pictures.
   }We will explore lenses and camera accessories.
   }And finally, tips and tricks when editing your photos in Photoshop.

Class size will be limited to 5 participants per session.
Classes will be held in my home in Newburgh, IN
Weekly assignments given.
An online space will be available to share your practice work and get instructor critique.

Sound like something you're interested in?
   Send me an email and let me know! E-Mail Jodie

Oh, you're probably wondering what the price is for all of this awesomeness?

Introductory Price for February 2011 participants is only $100

Join now as this class is sure to fill up fast!

Spelling Bee

2011-01-06T11:21:00.000-06:00

Last night Isaiah competed in the school spelling bee. He did very well. He was very nervous, but amazed me with his composure and bravery as he took the stage and out spelled 70% of the participates. This was the 3rd year in a row that he won the homeroom bee and was able to compete for his school.

The competition and the judges

Standing when they announce his name

I only take photos at the bee during the beginning round. I am so nervous and so is Isaiah. I would not want him to mess us because his mom is taking pictures.

Receiving his participation award

Well done Isaiah! We are so proud of you!!!!!!!!

2010 Christmas

2011-01-02T15:45:00.001-06:00

As usual, I'm running behind on my posts. It's already January 2nd. I should be wishing you all a happy new year, So Happy New Year. Now backtrack with me a little bit....

Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year. I love a beautiful home decorated with all the Christmas trimmings. I love time spent with family and friends. I love shopping for gifts, planning trips and looking forward to special dinners and get-togethers.

This year we traveled to Ohio for the Minniear Christmas get-together. All of Dennis' family met in Columbus at his oldest brother Davids house. I didn't think to take my camera, so no photos of the event from me. I can sum up the day with three words... Food, Cards, Naps. Oh and I should mention that our menu was quite different. Oh, yes we had tukey and ham. But we also had Bear and Goose. I tried both and found out that I really like Bear! Who knew.

The Grandkids and my SIL Marie playing cards with Grandma (photo courtesy of my nieces facebook)

December 22-24 was spent with my family in Indianapolis. I've posted photos here.

Late Christmas eve we drive back home to Evansville so that the kids can wake up Christmas morning at our house.

CHRISTMAS DAY

Logan finally gets a real gun

Isaiah got a new flat screen tv for his room

Evan got a new stereo and speaker system for his Jeep

Isaiah also got a new Compound Bow and some more arrows

So excited to try out his gun! The good thing is we live out of city limits and have fields behind the house so he's been able to do some shooting.

I hope your family had a magical Christmas this year.
My favorite part was being reminded throughout the month that without Jesus coming to us as a tiny baby, we would not have been given the best gift of all....The gift of eternal life through the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior!

Snapshots of Christmas Eve

2010-12-29T11:47:00.002-06:00

Santa Switch

2010-12-16T10:29:00.001-06:00

December is here and one of the things our high school kids look forward to is the Winter Formal a.k.a. the Santa Switch dance. Girls ask the boys, they pay for the dinner and the dance tickets. Everyone looks forward to getting all dressed up and having a wonderful evening.
Here are some photos of my boys with their dates and their group of friends.

Evan with Ashley

Colton with Alex

Logan with Markie

Bo with Lauren

The Guys

They call themselves "The Bros"

I had this image made into a 16x20 poster for Evans wall.

The Beauties

These are little collages that I made for each of the kids.

I made the border on the photos match the girls dress. I hope they like them!

This is a shot of the boys making fun of Logan.

Earlier in the day he got elbowed in the face at his basketball game.

He has a black eye and a cut on his cheek.

Group Photo

(Carlos' date had a basketball game and she met him at the dance)

Merry Christmas!!

Might Just Be the Worlds BEST Potato Soup!

2010-12-15T15:26:00.000-06:00

As many of you know, I don't like to cook. But I am a mom of three growing boys, two of whom are teen-agers so I cook. Every week night, I cook. I love easy recipes. I love the dump and go kind of recipes. (You know, open a bunch of this and that, dump it in a pot and it makes a delicious easy meal)
I hate to tend a stove, an oven, a boiling pot! I'd rather clean up a mess than cook a meal. All this being said leads me to the reason I write this post. I found an AWESOME recipe for Loaded Baked Potato Soup. It's easy. It's delicious! It's comfort food! You can make it in a crockpot or on the stove top.

Here is the recipe:

LOADED BAKED POTATO SOUP

16 oz bag frozen cubed potatoes

2 3 oz jars of real bacon pieces

8 oz cream cheese, softened

12 oz sour cream

16 oz milk

12 oz chicken broth

6-8 green onions, chopped

Salt

Pepper

Colby-Jack cheese, shredded

Bread Boule (optional)

In a large pot or crockpot add potatoes, a 3 oz jar of bacon pieces, softened cream cheese, sour cream, milk, chicken broth, 3/4 of chopped green onions, salt and pepper to taste.

Cook on low heat, stirring often for approximately 1 hour in large pot (2-3 hours if using crockpot).

Serve hot in bowl or bread boule topped with green onions, bacon pieces and shredded cheese.

Enjoy!!!

serves about 6 people, so make a double batch if you want leftovers or have hungry teen-aged boys!

My New Office Space

2010-11-24T10:25:00.002-06:00

When we moved into this house 3 years ago I set the formal living room aside to be used as my portrait studio. It has served me well over the years, but I have outgrown it and no longer shoot in there. It has become a room to house the collection of props I pick up here and there and am very tired of it looking like a storage room.

2008

2009

2010

Over this past weekend Dennis built some shelves for me in my prop closet.

I moved the rest of my "stuff" in there to make room for a new desk and turn the "studio" into an office.

I found this cute little desk at WalMart and assembled it in no time.

I had the perfect little bench prop to use for clients to sit on.

I have a real chair that I picked up at a garage sale for $2, but it is in refurbish mode right now and not ready for the office just yet. So until then I am sitting on another prop, a cute little leopard seat.

Soon it will retire to the prop closet as well.

So here is a peek of the office as you look in from the entry way.

This is a view of it looking down from the stairs

I moved the buffet across the room again.

Beside it is an old farm house window that I hope to hang on the wall and use as a way to display photos.

Love this big red chair. It belonged to my friend Stephanie's grandmother. Stephanie used to sit in it as a little girl when she visited her grandmother. Her family blessed me with it last year to use as a prop.

In the chair, check out my new camera bag!

My photo wall. Photos of my clients.

We just added the shelf and I'm starting to fill it with old cameras.

The camera on the right is my first SLR film camera.

Just another view of the buffet. This is where I store all of my business paperwork and such.

Feels great to have an office.

I feel like this is just the bones of it.

I really need some help jazzing it up with some decorations.

Decorating is not my calling.

Anyway, wishing you and yours a very happy Thanksgiving.

Be blessed!

Happy Birthday Logan!!

2010-11-08T10:53:00.000-06:00

15 years ago today you came into our life, an adorable bouncing baby boy with big blue eyes and cute little dimples!

Today you are handsome and strong. You've grown into a great young man. You still have those beautiful blue eyes and cute dimples too!!

We wish you a wonderful, happy birthday filled with blessings.

We love you!

Mom and Dad

Evan and Isaiah

and Tigger

Variety is the Spice of Life

2010-10-27T15:48:00.000-05:00

My poor little blog is so neglected these days. I have to say that I am a wee bit busy. I have good intentions. I take the pictures, write the posts in my head, but they just don't get done.
Anyway, this post is sort of a catching up post. I'll show you a little bit of what's going on, however, some topics I have many pictures to share, so I will make full blog posts later, I hope.

Fall is in Southern Indiana!

I love fall. Last week seemed to be our peak week.

I took a photo of my favorite tree in my back yard. This is the view of it from my kitchen window.

Pumpkin Time!!! I bought 3 pumpkins and Dennis surprised me with 2 more.

I love pumpkins on the front porch!

I have been shooting high school football for the past 2 months. Logan's freshmen season is now over, BUT, he was called up to the varsity to participate with them throughout their sectional games.

Anyway, I've been shooting about 500 photos each week and narrowing them down to about 300, editing them and posting them online for the Castle High School website.

This is Logan on the sidelines at his first Varsity game last Friday night.

1st Sectional Victory!

Isaiah's been practicing 3 days a week and playing a game 1 night a week.

I love this photo of him running through the parent tunnel after a winning game.

We've been trying to do some end of season work to the house.

We have been cleaning our windows, removing old, dried out weather stripping and installing new.

We stained our driveway and our deck.

Here's the deck. Sorry, no driveway photo.

work in progress photo..... (it is done now and looks great!)

I was asked to photograph all of the children's ministries at our church.

The images will be used at a slide show during our fall Nut Night carnival as well as new website, marketing and media materials.

I got this nifty little hope chest at a garage sale.

It's quite ugly. Pink paint that covers old 1980's paint splatters.

I plan to strip it and paint it black with a cherry wood top.

Work in progress....... (yep, that's all the farther I got)

I also got an old chair and a set of 3 leather trunks.

I have to recover the chair seat, the trunks are fine the way they are.

Back to School Photos.

I took Evan and Isaiah's at an old bridge a few weeks ago. Logan was not with us.

I took Logan's last week when I took our family Christmas card photos.

Now I love Logan's location and wish I would have taken the other two boys pictures out there too.

Oh well.

Speaking of family pictures,

Here is one that I love.

We took several.

I was the second shooter for a wedding a few weeks ago.

Look how beautiful this church is (the bride and groom are sitting on the platform on the right)

I've also taken a few senior pictures,

I will take more senior pictures tomorrow.

I have taken a few family pictures for clients.

I have two more families to shoot on my books.

I have been hired to shoot the Fresh Grounded Faith womens conference at our church

the first weekend of November.

I've also been hired to shoot a salon staff for a billboard. How cool is that!

We recently saw Casting Crowns in concert (awesome!)

I'm going to Indy this weekend to see my favorite, Jeremy Camp in concert.

So squeeze school, church, kids, husband, friends and life in this mix and you can see how busy I've been!

Thanks for checking in.

I hope to post more soon.

Last Week....

2010-10-19T08:32:00.000-05:00

of Freshmen football. I have really enjoyed this season. I can't tell you how proud I am of my son for practicing so hard 5 days a week and going out there and giving it his all! Football is a tough sport. Tough physically, tough mentally. He's a tough kid and I love him.

This one's for you Logan! #60 on the field; #1 in my heart! So proud of you and so proud that you give it your all; heart and soul to football. You make me proud.

Mom

Fresh Pickin'

2010-10-08T13:08:00.000-05:00

Made a trip out to the garden a.k.a. the flowerbed and picked some fresh, ripe maters this morning!

It's our Anniversary!

2010-10-05T07:38:00.000-05:00

Celebrating 19 years of adventure with my sweetheart today!

Love you honey!

Here are two recent photos of us.
This one was taken by my mother-in-law over Labor Day weekend at my nieces wedding.

This one was taken by my mom 2 weeks ago at lunch.

Weekend Wrap-up

2010-09-15T12:03:00.001-05:00

Friends+Football+Carwash+Thrifting+Boating= A very busy weekend!

Over the past weekend the Jones and Co came to visit. Katie arrived Thursday to watch Logan play some football.

One of the random shots I love

Some of the players showing off for the camera

You see the ball Logan, now tackle him!

AWESOME play of the game....See my kid, #60, on the left....

See the tackle on the right...

What you don't see is the ball popping out of his hands and Logan diving onto it...

Fumble Recovery! Way to go Logan! He's the one on the ground clutching the ball for dear life. :)

The teams, coaches and ref's look to see if Logan has possession....

He does. His teammates give him pats on the back. Well done!

Walking off the field with the biggest grin ever, mouth guard and all.

****

Friday Katie and I went antiquing. Did not find much. But had fun looking.

As usual we tried on Vintage hats.

Friday night we headed on down to Kentucky to our friend Stephanie's house. She made us some dinner, ok so we ate her leftovers, and then we made some cute cards. She's a great Stampin' Up rep. You can see her stampin' site here.

*****

Saturday was Castle Carwash Fundraiser Day.

The day started out gray, but ended up sunny.

The freshmen had the first shift.

This is Logan's buddy. Not sure who had more soap on them, Nathaniel or the cars!

Logan in action. He hates when I take his picture, so he avoids me and I sneak in a few shots.

Just one of the photos I took and it's one of my favorites!

Later that day we made our rounds to the Thrift stores and a few garage sales.

I bought this set of dishes for $4! (6 plates, 6 bowls....one of the bowls was in the dishwasher)

Other great buys not pictured: A Hollister sweater for Evan for $2.50 and a sled for .50 so my kids won't have to use the trash can lids again this winter.

Also some clothes for the niece and nephew for .25 and .50 each piece. What a bargain!

Later in the day on Saturday, Katie's sister, brother and brother's finance came down to go boating with us.

Here is Isaiah showing everyone how to use the rope swing.

(all these images taken with my cell phone)

Convincing Lita to jump.

Cool sunflare along the beach

Dennis, Joe, Alisha, Lita, Katie and Logan

Sunset cruise

Sisters Lita and Katie on the sunset cruise. The sun was turning everything yellow.

Katie and Jodie on the sunset cruise

****

Sunday we all went to church and then out to Lunch.

After lunch we all headed down to Isaiah's football game.

I had to work in the concession stand, so I did not get to take any pictures that day.

Maybe Katie has some? Katie??

Thanks for sharing our weekend wrap up with us.

Did you have a fun filled weekend?

Tell me what you did.

Evan + Stephanie

2010-08-28T22:57:00.000-05:00

I took my oldest son, Evan and his girlfriend Stephanie downtown to scout out a new location for a senior shoot. Here are some of the images we captured that day.

This building used to be the Evansville Jail. It was built in the 1800's and now houses a local attorney's office. One of the attorneys came out and asked us if we wanted to take a tour of the inside.

Of course we said yes!

This photo was taken inside one of the original jail cells.

I locked the kids up for smooching in public. hehe

Thanks for taking time to look.

Volunteers

2010-08-26T10:53:00.002-05:00

Last spring (09) Dennis and I put a new flowerbed in along the side of the house. I put a few iris's in there that my friend Stephanie gave me. I had some extra space and so I decided to plant some vegetables. My yard is very shady, and this side of the house does get some sun. Most of my veggies didn't fare well. They grew, but very slowly. I was harvesting zucchini in September and green peppers in November. What did do well were the tomatoes. So well that they self seeded themselves throughout the flowerbed. I pulled all but 3 or 4 plants. They have grown all summer, they are about 4 feet tall and growing strong. I went out the other morning to pick the ripe maters. Here are some photos just before I picked.

And look who I found on the front porch step.

A little yellow fellow with black spiky hairs.

He is from the American Dagger Moth family.

This is what he looks like today.......

And should he not become lunch anytime soon, he will cocoon and emerge as this rather boring looking fellow. I will probably see his hanging out at the nearest light bulb.

Have a great day!

Manly Men

2010-08-18T16:19:00.001-05:00

Before the first day of school Evan and his friends Carlos and Evan the other Evan, as I like to call him, decided to build a campfire out back, set up a tent and sleep under the stars (well in a tent, but you know what I mean).

My Evan made it until about 6am, Carlos made it till 9am, but Evan the other Evan came crawling into the house in search of air conditioning and a comfy mattress at 2 am.

They cooked their dinner, made smores and roasted ears of corn on the campfire. But that was about the end of roughing it as it got. The ran an extension cord out to the tent, took a TV and a game systems out there too.

Back to School

2010-08-11T12:03:00.001-05:00

It's that time of year again. The boys were up bright and early this morning getting ready to return to another year of school, books, tests, studying, homework, sports ...ahem, friends and social life.

Evan is a Junior this year and Logan is a Freshman

Isaiah is in the Middle school now, 6th grade

Big, Icky, Bugs

2010-08-04T22:43:00.000-05:00

Today was a super hot day, the high was about 102 and the heat index made it feel like 114! I went out twice to water flowers and when I started watering my tomato plants I discovered this big, icky tomato horn worm munching on my plant.

Then I noticed that he brought his little brother.

Happy Summer!

The Life of a Governor

2010-08-03T17:58:00.005-05:00

Another free thing to do if your are visiting the Atlanta area is visit the Governors Mansion.

Wouldn't you just love to relax on this side porch and overlook the gardens?

Fun in the A T L

2010-08-02T17:31:00.000-05:00

This past week in Atlanta was all about free fun. We have already done so much in Atlanta that cost an admission price, so we challenged ourselves to find something new to explore.

Fernbank Science Center
Fernbank is an educational facility that provides programs for science education. It is both a planetarium and observatory as well as a natural history museum.

While in the planetarium we watched a movie about meteors and comets. We got to hold a meteor that fell to earth and was created over 4.5 billion years ago.

Isaiah showing me another large meteor.

The theme of the day was sticking your head into a mouth full of sharp teeth.....

Evan, sporting the JCPenney catalog pose in front of a dinosaur

Logan, Evan and our friend "B" hanging out with dinosaurs

More fun in Atlanta to come!

Atlanta sneak peek....

2010-07-31T11:56:00.000-05:00

We spent the last week down in Atlanta with Dennis on his annual business trip. Our friend Robert, who worked with Dennis when we lived in NC had to attend the meeting last week as well so he brought his son, one of Isaiah's buddies. We stayed at the same hotel that we stayed in last year, a lovely stay as always. This year we spent most of our time at the pool. We found a few free things to do to stay cool and occupy our time. More on that later.

In the meantime, I will leave you with a photo taken of the guys at Dave and Busters restaurant/grown up arcade.

And this video of a guy on one of those dance games. He had to watch the screen and step on the lighted floor color pattern and scored PERFECTS every time! It was quite amazing!

Thanks for stopping by. Come back again for more Atlanta!

Happy 10th Birthday Tigger!

2010-07-24T17:43:00.000-05:00

We've had 8 wonderful years with our girl. We couldn't have asked for a better dog!

We love you Tigs!

Happy 10th Birthday!

A little of this and a little of that

2010-07-19T23:17:00.000-05:00

Summer time is Busy time.

Here's a little bit of what we've been up to lately.

The last week of June we enjoyed our trip to Ohio boating with family and friends.

I had a good time scrapbooking with 17 scrappin' friends last weekend in St. Louis.

Isaiah and I had great birthdays.
Evan's friends Harley and Hailey baked me a birthday cake.

I taught a Photography class to 3rd, 4th and 5th graders at church all last week.
Isaiah was my helper.

This is a photo one of my students took of me.

Isaiah had his birthday party over the weekend.
It started with water wars....

Then moved inside to the ice cream sundae bar....

Next was present time.....

And finally the boys dug into their goodie bags and modeled their "Billy Bob" rotten teeth for me.

We had a big storm today and a branch fell and snapped my Dwarf Japanese Maple tree in half.

The branch that took out the JM tree

My poor tree is not a pile of branches on the ground now.

The storm knocked over a tree out back.

My Purple Cone Flowers are in bloom.

My Crepe Myrtle is in bloom.

Thanks for popping in for a visit.
Is your summer as busy as ours?

Birthday Time

2010-07-13T00:00:00.000-05:00

Happy 11th Birthday to my sweet, handsome son. We love you and are very proud of you. Hope you enjoy your special day!

And Happy 40th Birthday to me.

Oh Happy Day!

2010-07-04T22:15:00.001-05:00

We are so pleased to announce that our oldest son Evan made the decision to get baptized while at Youth Camp (Summer in the Son) the week before last. He really wanted his small group leaders to baptize him. They were not able to go on the youth trip this year so he decided to wait until he got back. Monty and Jim arrived at church shortly after our youth campers did (all 185 of them). They along with Evan and another young man got ready while we found seats near the baptistery. We are so proud of you Evan!!

Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit."

John 3:5

Vacation Photos coming soon!!

Fun Gadgets and Gizmos

2010-06-22T18:13:00.000-05:00

My friend Jeanne shared this cool gadget with me a few weeks ago and I just can't seem to get it off my mind....... I think i need one. To check it out, click this link and watch the short video. http://www.picturekeeper.com/

And this gizmo, I think I need it as well.

Rhoda, over at Southern Hospitality is giving one away in a week. I've entered to win, wish me luck!!

The Silhouette Website

What will YOU do with this?!

Vinyl Decor
Glass Etching
School Projects
Scrapbooking
Card Making
Paper Crafting
Heat Transfer
Rhinestones

Can you imagine all the gifts you can make with this and how much money you’ll save by making them at home?

Do you have any favorite gadgets or gizmos that you have your eye on, or that you just couldn't live without? Please share them with us.

NRA Youth Day

2010-06-21T11:57:00.000-05:00

The boys had a chance to participate in the NRA Youth Day at the local shooting range. This was right down Logan's alley, he is an avid shooter and regularly sets up his own range out in the back yard.
The day was divided into 4 stations; 2 riffle and 2 pistol ranges. They shot clay targets and paper targets, had instructors to teach gun safety and proper technique and were served lunch. Dennis went with them and sent me some photos from his cell phone.

The had a great day and turned out to be pretty good marksmen!

Days gone by

2010-06-09T16:16:00.001-05:00

Our neighborhood is having a garage sale this weekend so I've been digging through my attic looking for stuff to sell. I ran across a cd of photos. I opened them up on my computer just now and discovered the sweet, sweet faces of days gone by.

Evan 3 yrs old, Logan almost one year old

This was Evan on the first day of Kindergarten........this year he will be a junior in High School!!

Evan at 5 1/2 years old.......Now he is 16 1/2 years old!

Can you guess who this roly-poly, little dimple cheeked butterball is? If you said Logan, you're right!

Logan in the sink. I love this picture of him. So cute! He's now 14, a bit too old to fit in the sink anymore!

Evan and Logan at the zoo. Ages about 4 and 2 years old.

Logan after getting into the baby powder.

Evan 5, Logan 3 and Isaiah 2 months old

Isaiah - around a year old. Next month he celebrates his 11th birthday!

I hope you enjoyed your stroll down memory lane.
We get so caught up in our busy lives watching our kids grow, going to events and taking pictures. If you're like most people these days your storing them on your computer or disks. Don't forget to print them or re-visit them from time to time. And if you're storing them all on your harddrive, by all means, BACK THEM UP!
Here's a handy little gadget that can do just that for you with ease!
http://www.picturekeeper.com/

Have a great day!

Membership has its privileges!

2010-06-02T23:09:00.000-05:00

My sister is an esthetician at a popular salon north of Indy. Over Memorial weekend she invited mom, my niece and I over for spa night. We scrubbed our faces, we pedicured our feet and manicured our hands. We were treated to home made Lettuce Wraps similar to the ones you can get at PF Changs. (did I mention she was a WONDERFUL cook too!) We snacked on juicy, ripe watermelon and chocolate covered strawberries. We sipped fru, fru frozen drinks too. My skin never felt so good! Thanks Sister! You're the best!

May = Graduation

2010-05-25T12:14:00.000-05:00

Another milestone moment at our house this spring. Logan has finished the 8th grade, graduation was today. He'll be moving on to the High School in the fall. Where did the time go?

Isaiah completed the 5th grade, his graduation was yesterday. He will be at the Middle School in the fall. No more kids in the elementary school. Wow! I have a kid in elementary school since 1999! That's 11 years! I've enjoyed all of the room parties, paper grading, copy machine running, student tutoring, reading group leader, math helper, spelling helper positions I've held in so many years. I think I will really miss that. Once the boys went off to Middle School, there just wasn't as much need for parent volunteers.

Anyway, I just wanted to share some photos from graduation with you all. Dennis and I are so proud of all our boys!

ISAIAH'S GRADUATION

All of the 5th grade classes

Isaiah's teacher Mr. Schmitt

Isaiah receiving his awards and certificate of completion

Friends

Mr. Schmitt's class

Isaiah with his teacher Mr. Schmitt

LOGAN'S GRADUATION

Receiving his diploma from the VP

Shaking hands with the Principal

He did it!!!

The Castle South 8th Grade Class

Buddies

After graduation, the class got to take a trip over to the High School and be greeted by the staff and counselors

Love this shot!! Farewell Middle School, on to a new chapter in life!

Thanks for visiting!

Hope your spring is full of memories for you and your family too!

Around the Yard

2010-05-18T11:28:00.003-05:00

The smell of the wild roses blooming next to the wild honeysuckle this time of year draws me into the yard with camera in hand.

I love to stroll through the yard to see what's blooming, soaking in each fragrant bloom. Our yard is a bit on the wild side. No formal gardens, no meticulously planned and sculpted cottage style herb or vegetable gardens (to my dismay). Just some random flowers struggling to make their way in this shady piece of earth we call the back yard. Some are wild, some are grown on purpose for our pleasure. All are beautiful in my eyes. I took some photos to share with you. I do hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

As I was down on my knees trying to photograph a purple salvia, I met this critter. I think he was just as interested in observing me with my camera in front of my face as I was in him.

Thanks for visiting!

Do you love spending time around your yard?