Water Play

This kid would live in the water if he could. He begs all week to go to the pool. I just don't have time to go during the week, but I've been making it a point to take him on the weekend. I'm sure we'll end up back in the pool again on Sunday afternoon too. Oh well, it's really too hot to do anything else these days! It is a nice relaxing time, and I enjoy it too. I just wish I was able to lay on a float with a bit of peace and quiet!!! LOL.

Riley has learned to float on his back. He gets his buoyancy from me! LOL. Doesn't he look relaxed? Ahhhhhh! There may be more pool pics from tomorrow. I'll apologize in advance! LOL.

First Weekly Challenge Has Been Posted!

Attention bloggers! The first weekly challenge subject has been posted to the right! Our first subject is "ROUND". Riley has already started naming off things that would fit the bill, and he has fresh batteries in his camera. Get your kids involved in the challenges and post their best images on your blogs! It'll be something fun that you can do together! But don't be claiming any of their pictures for your own! All copyrights will be maintained by the photographer who pushed the shutter button! Don't be afraid to get creative. Think about your composition, angles and lighting....but most of all, just have fun!!! I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with. So don't forget to post your "ROUND" photos next Friday, July 6, 2007!!!

Now, on to my post for tonight. It actually fits the bill for this week's challenge, but that was unintentional. I'll come up with something else for the challenge by next Friday. I wish I had a longer zoom lens for this photo, but it'll have to do until I can team up with Ms. Judy and her "big honkin' lens"!

**NOTE: Ms. Judy, I took this photo in Manual mode with the following settings: ISO 100, Shutter speed 1/1000 and aperture 7.1. With a shutter speed like that, you could try handholding your big lens. However, I would find a fence post, porch railing, etc. to rest the camera on to steady it with that long lens fully extended. I also switched the camera over to manual focus (the MF on the lens, in case you haven't come across it) and dialed it in as close as I could. My eyesight isn't the best, you know!

An Idea....

Okay, lady bloggers (I'm pretty sure Jeff is too busy for this at the moment!), I have an idea that I want to run past you all.

Would anyone be interested in a WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE? No, it's not a contest, as mom thought. It's just a challenge. A way to keep things interesting. Sometimes we wonder what to photograph and have no direction. With a photo challenge your mind would be searching for specific things to meet the criteria of the week's challenge subject. The way it could work is as follows: We could make Fridays Photo Challenge Day. Each Friday a new challenge would be posted and we would each have one week to find and photograph one or more subjects that would fit the challenge. Photograph whatever you wish Saturday through Thursday and then post your "Challenge Photos" on Fridays.

We could all come up with a list of challenge topics and then have one person post the topic each Friday, or we could rotate who posts the challenge each week. Let me know if you're interested, and I'll get us started tomorrow night with our first challenge!

My entry for this evening comes from our trip to Yemassee this afternoon to pick up some Chinese food for dinner. Who ever thought you'd be able to get Chinese food in Yemassee??!

Barrel of Flowers

Okay, Ms. Judy, here is my "icky" picture from yesterday. Sooo not happy with this one. This barrel of flowers sits on the porch of a house downtown. Two streets back from Bay (which one is that? I forget) at Charles Street. The flower barrels are so cute, and immediately caught my eye when I was down that way to go to the bank. I finally took my camera with me to capture it for the blog...but I'm never downtown at a good time.

Another 50-cent lesson for you, Ms. Judy: it's best to take photos in the early morning or late afternoon when then light is softer. This picture was taken at 2 p.m., and the sun was very hot and harsh! NOT the best for taking photos. I didn't take time with metering it either. I nearly got run over as it was! LOL. That's a pretty busy little intersection. It certainly isn't conducive to standing in the middle of the road to snap pictures!

Good Luck, Catie!

Riley drew a "Good Luck" card for Miss Catie this afternoon. It's pink flowers, in case you're having a hard time figuring out what it is! We'll be thinking about you tomorrow as you go to see the doctor in Charleston! Good luck, sweet girl!

Local Tragedy

A large airliner went down in our yard today. I'm happy to report that there were only minor injuries. The rose bushes saved the day! This is an exclusive report. It won't even make the local paper!

Riley and Hayden were playing with the glider and it landed in the rose bushes. They left it there while they went on to play with something else, and I happened along to take a photo. Not very interesting...but I've found myself in a slump the past few days. I think it's the heat! Sorry, Jeff...I know you're experiencing much more extreme temperatures, but dang if it ain't right hot here in South Carolina!

Ho Hum...

After a rather disappointing and eye-opening day, I wasn't in a very inspired mood to go out and find things to photograph for the blog. So, here was an easy one. My dad's caladiums down the drive. I hope my fellow bloggers will do better than I did today!

Excuses! Excuses!

Yep, I have one today! An excuse, I mean. Today was spent with work in the morning and a trip to Bluffton in the afternoon. The reason? Riley's school uniforms! We got the shirts, but no pants/shorts yet. They didn't have a very big selection yet, and he's not the easiest to fit! So, we'll have to make another trip before school starts. Fun stuff, I tell ya!

At any rate, the camera wasn't even pulled out of its bag today! So, I've drug out an old one for today's post. It's a page I made for the calendars I make for family as Christmas gifts. I chose one featuring Bailey because I haven't had her on here in a while, and I like the pictures. =)

Sorry, guys! Maybe I'll have better luck tomorrow!

A Cool Afternoon at the Pool!

Thank you, Ms. Judy, for the use of your pool this afternoon. You made five little kiddos very happy...not to mention two adults! Every time Tara and I get on the phone we instantly have three kiddos glued to our sides with URGENT problems that need solutions RIGHT NOW! Right, Tara?! LOL. At least we were able to talk today while the kids were otherwise occupied! A fun time was had by all! I did take my camera because I knew if I didn't snap a picture while at the pool, the chances were going to be very slim that I would have a post today! Not to worry..I did snag a couple that were acceptable.

Also, I'm anxious to hear about the green apple soda experiment! LOL.

One of my favorite little models. Isn't she adorable?

Funky Flavors!

Have you ever had a Jones soda? They're pretty tasty and come in all kinds of funky flavors. Riley and I decided to try the Green Apple today, and we liked it. A long time ago Riley had ordered and liked a green apple soda at Friendly's restaurant, but they discontinued it. The Jones Soda Green Apple tastes just like it. Of course, my kid likes everything (and if it happens to be green, well that's just even better!)...and I like to try new and funky things once in a while. All-in-all, it was a good experience....and it gave me something to blog about today!

Also....A New Blogger joins us!

Welcome Granny Blogger! Mom has joined our ranks. The link to her blog is in the list to the right, so be sure to check it out.

Exciting News.

I got some rather exciting news this morning in my email inbox. Several months ago, Ms. Judy encouraged me to submit some of my photos to www.parade.com/snapshot for publication in their magazine or on their website. I checked it out and submitted about 4-5 photos that I thought they might like. I had forgotten all about it until I got an email from them this morning. They are considering two of my photos for publication. For today's post, I'll share part of the email and the photos they are interested in possibly using.

"Dear Snapshot Participant,

Congratulations! I am delighted to inform you that your attached photo is being considered for inclusion in either Parade Magazine’s Snapshot column or in the online gallery of Parade’s website, www.parade.com/snapshot. Considering that we received more than 200,000 entries, your accomplishment is to be commended. You will receive a usage fee of $100 if your photograph is initially published as the primary photo in the print edition of Parade Magazine. All finalists have their photo in consideration for each week’s printed issue or web gallery. When we publish the photo depends on many factors – composition of the image, space in the magazine, theme of the photo, content of the magazine, etc... If you sent in your photo and paperwork and have not heard from us, yours is still in the consideration phase. Publication time can vary from a couple of weeks to months. Don’t be discouraged! We have your photo on file and may be holding it for a special issue or theme. When we decide to publish it, you will be notified by mail and will receive a check at that time. Thank you very much and congratulations!

Sincerely,

~~ Erin Nedell

Associate Photo Editor"

Pretty neat, huh? Maybe they won't end up printing them at all, but it's great just to know that two of my photos stood out among so many entrants! Thanks for encouraging me to submit some photos, Ms. Judy. Now wish me luck....I could use a random check for $100!! LOL. Here are the photos they emailed about....

This is Micah (Judy T's son) and Riley hitching a ride in the back of Pappaw's horse-drawn wagon at the horse show in Yemassee last October.

Riley blowing bubbles, obviously!

"MoMo"

Meet Miss "MoMo" (wow, that's a lot of M's!). She is one of the children that my Mammaw keeps. She is SUCH a sweetheart! She and her family are moving at the end of the week, and her last day at Mammaw's will be Friday. Mammaw asked me to come down today to get a few pictures of her before she left. No fancy background for these....the focus is all that cute little face! I went crazy with the black and whites, but after converting one I was in love and got carried away! Let me know what you think of these (and if you have a favorite....because I will print a couple of these!). Thanks! Do you like the B&W? Or does the color one look better? Opinions please, people!!

Little Green

Riley got some mail today from Green Magazine, which is a magazine devoted to the John Deere tractor. My dad subscribes to the magazine, but I couldn't figure out why his subscription would come in Riley's name....or how they would even have Riley's name. Riley opened his mail, and inside was three separate issues of Little Green, the publication for kids. Dad subscribed for him. After dinner tonight, Riley and Dad sat at the kitchen table and read the magazine stories and worked the puzzles together. I took the opportunity to snap a few pics. No flash on these (you know how I hate it!) so they're a bit soft...and even though I had my white balance set for the lighting conditions they came out very yellow (I did correct it somewhat in PS, but it's still not spot on).

Happy Father's Day!

Our day was a busy one. We started with Sunday school and church, where we had a visiting preacher come preach a "trial sermon". I really liked him. Sure, you can't really get much from one brief meeting and one sermon, but I enjoyed him a lot...and my first impression of him is that he is just a real down-to-earth, regular guy.

On with our day. After church it was Sunday dinner at Mammaw and Pappaw's. The kids scarfed down their lunch in hopes of hurrying into the pool, which was VERY cool today. There were a ton of us in it too. Riley is doing so great with his swimming. He was in water over his head all day today and was without his swimmy things (on his arms). He is swimming like a fish. I'm so proud of him...and glad I saved the money I was going to shuck out for lessons at the Y. He's doing great!

Now, we're back home and I have tons of work to do! So...I'm going to post a quick pic here and get back to it! Today's pic was one that mom insisted I take on our way out the door to eat lunch. Her flower bed is in bloom. So.....here it is.

VBS Comes To A Close!

This has been one hectic week to say the least! Between work and VBS, I think we're all pooped! I'm glad it's over, but I'm glad to have been a part of it too. I do think the kids genuinely enjoyed themselves. It was great to work with Ms. Judy, Ms. Patsy, Ms. Cindy, and mom. It was also fun to have fellowship with all of the others involved in the whole undertaking of VBS! It was great to see old friends who have moved away from our congregation and on to new ones for whatever various reasons.

My child thoroughly enjoyed himself this week. He even wanted to know if we were going back tomorrow! I think he fell in love with Ms. Betty this week. He said she was a good dancer and could run really fast. Now how he knows that last part, I haven't a clue! LOL. You have an admirer, Ms. Betty!

I HATE taking pictures when a flash is required. In fact, I usually avoid it. But sometimes it's just more important to capture some memories than to worry about picture quality....so, here are some incredibly "flashy" pictures of Riley, Bailey and Hayden...and even one of them "cuttin' a rug"with Ms. Betty!

Hayden, Riley and Bailey of Gad.

I'm pretty sure Jesus never chewed bubble gum!

Dried Pile of Fungus

Yes, as promised, I'm posting my boring, uninspiring photo of a pile of dried fungus. Riley and Hayden were out foraging for treasures again today. They found these mushrooms growing in the yard, picked them and then piled them on Shanon and Adam's porch. Riley came home and asked me to please take a photo of his mushrooms. So....here it is, at Riley's request. I sure hope he can come up with a better idea for me tomorrow! LOL.

Also, I've added two more friends to my list of bloggers to the right. Welcome to the world of blogging Cindy and Anita! Y'all check them out and add them to your link list!

A Brother

I'm desperate tonight. It's the third night of Vacation Bible School, and I'm tired y'all! My work is piled up on my desk, and I have no idea when or how it is going to all get done! I'm pulling this pic from my reserves. I took it last week when testing out my new lens. I wanted a fairly still test subject, and Adam was available! For those who don't know, here is my youngest brother. He was working on his truck just outside of our garage. He doesn't like clutter...so he would prefer to use Daddy's tools than to have his own. Hey, I didn't say it...he did! He laughingly refers to himself as "The Borrower".

A Quick Trip

up to the old burnt church today. Sarah is down and wanted to take her new camera (my old one) out to the old burnt church to get some pics of her kids. We went out there this morning about 10:30 or so....and dear LORD was it ever hot and muggy. I had to come home and freshen up afterwards! If I weren't Jewish this week, I'd say I was sweating like a pig! (lol...inside joke from VBS...no flaming from any Jewish people who might stumble upon this blog!) The mosquitoes were also HORRIBLE...even though they might not grow as big as they do in Alaska! THEN, after braving all of those elements, my pictures have the audacity to totally stink! They look okay at this size, but they aren't fit for anything bigger than a 5x7...and the suitability for that has not even been determined yet! Oh well...who wants them bigger anyway?!

Riley, THRILLED, as usual, that I'm trying to take a photo of him. Doesn't he look pleasant?

Lucky!

They call him "Ducky", but I just call him "Lucky". He's the last living duck of the original four that we "adopted". He follows Hayden and Shanon around like a puppy dog. He's even taken to jumping into Hayden's swimming pool for a few quick laps before hopping right back out. No, this pool you're seeing here is not Hayden's! LOL. It's Lucky's. He must be contemplating another swim!

On The Road Again!

Mr. Crawford set out bright and early this morning to continue his hike to Washington, DC. After a sausage biscuit and a brief word of prayer for his safe journey, he was on his way. I just read his blog entry for the afternoon, and he reported a long, hot journey and a hope to make Jacksonboro by nightfall. Wendy, that means he'll be in your neck of the woods so keep an eye out. I'm sure he'd appreciate a nice cold Gatorade if you happen to see him! As you are well aware, there aren't that many stops between here and Charleston!

Godspeed, Mr. Crawford!

Forrest Gump Comes To Visit

Okay, so he's not really Forrest Gump, but the similarities are certainly there. He is Patrick Crawford, the executive director of a radio station (WUWF) in Pensacoloa, Florida, and he has challenged himself to hike "every step of the way" from Pensacola to Washington, D.C. Mom, Riley and I saw him hiking from Beaufort earlier today, and the next thing I know Mr. Crawford is knocking on our front door. Mr. and Mrs. Garrett up at Lowcountry Produce sent him our way and said that we would most likely offer him a place to pitch his tent for the night. Very interesting man. He has turned his personal challenge into a way to raise funds for his public radio station. You can find the story here (http://wuwf.org/events/hike.shtml), and audio updates to his radio station here (http://wuwf.org/events/hikereport.shtml).

Three Little Monkeys

Hear no evil. Speak no evil. See no evil.

This took a few practice runs. When we would get one doing their correct action, the other two would follow. LOL.

Cousins

Well, I made it through another year of the ex-in-laws visiting. We're in the clear until next May/June. Riley's Aunt Shelby came with them this year and brought her two kids, so Riley had fun with them. Really, they are good people. I have nothing against them at all. It isn't their visit that I dread....it's just difficult to explain. It just brings the whole situation back into reality for us, and I'd prefer to just forget it all! Riley is clueless at this point, and they'd better not be the ones to enlighten him!

On a lighter note, little Avery is THE cutest little thing I've ever seen. Such a doll. Man, I should've had a girl! LOL. Nah, I wouldn't trade my boy for the world. A few pics from the day. (oh, and I think my new lens and I are going to be friends after all!!)

Grana and Papa Whitt with Riley.

Cousin Hunter, who is 7 days younger than Riley.

Cousin Avery, 2 y/o.