A Lunch/Play Date

I had Bailey today, and the kids and I met my friend Tara and her kids for a lunch/play date at Burger King. I think we were there for two hours! It didn't seem that long to be sure. The kids played on the indoor play equipment, and Tara and I played with my camera. Tara has a big ol' camera too and is learning to work it....in between caring for her three beautiful kids. The two of us took lots of pics today, and I'm sharing some of each of ours here. Credit has been given to her for the ones she took. =) Lots of photos to share today.

Baby Lucas (nearly 3 months old). Isn't he adorable?! He's really growing too!

Hannah is 5. What a beauty.

Lovin' the wink!

Lilly is 2, and totally cracks me up. This kid can make some faces and is absolutely adorable.



Can you say "HOT"? Look at that hair...and the flushed face.

Do you see a "I'm refusing to look at the camera" trend in Riley's photos? No, it is not imagined. It's like pulling teeth to get the kid to look at me when I'm trying to take his photo....and if he does, he just looks bored to tears. Oh well...I had other, more interested subjects to photograph today!

Blast From The Past.

Yep, it's some more oldies. I did take a few pictures today, but none that I liked enough to share here. I was basically checking out a new feature on my camera. Back button focusing...pretty cool feature.

Anyway, these pics are from May 2004...so nearly 3 years old. I've always loved these bath shots. Look how much my boy has grown!

A couple taken of Riley at Mackay Point in June 2004. To give Jamie a little taste of the lowcountry....trying to entice her home for a visit!

Bird In A Box

We have some blue birds in the blue bird box. I was looking for a butterfly to photograph, when I scared the daddy bird off. Mommy stuck her head out to see what had made her man fly off so quickly. Unfortunately, the daddy was so much prettier. (P.S. I never did find that butterfly. They are never around when I have the camera!)

For some reason, I really like this picture of Riley. It's not great quality...and will only print as a 4x6, but I like it. Check out his chosen attire for today....shorts and rubber boots. LOL. I secretly love it. It just says little boy to me....and he is definitely growing up way too quickly!

I went back and played with the picture of Riley a bit more, and this is something I came up with.

Little Angel

....and no, I'm not talking about Riley!! LOL. This is a little angel that's in one of mom's flower beds. She's really cute...but her eyes are a bit creepy if you look close. At least it's not JUST a flower, right?! LOL. I'm in a severe rut these days. Oh well....I HAVE been blogging a bit longer than the rest of my blog circle....well, except for maybe Amanda! So I'm running low on motivation and ideas at the moment. Hopefully I'll come around soon.

I'll throw an extra photo of Riley in today just because I took it. He got this football uniform for Christmas, and today was the first day that he's worn it.....and it was IMPERATIVE that he wear it TODAY! He even wore it to town. Isn't it weird how they do that?! They ignore it for months and then BOOM! they have to have it and RIGHT NOW!

Purple Clematis

Yep, another flower photo. Frankly, I'm even getting sick of them. But since I was away for the weekend and work is piled up on my desk, it's all I had time for today. Believe me when I say that the flower models are aplenty around here. Everywhere you look there seems to be a different type. It's an easy subject. I've also not felt well today....so, this is all I've got!

I'm Back!!!

It looks like I wasn't the only one slacking this weekend! Several of my blog buddies have missed their daily posts! Shame on all of us! We must vow to do better!!!

Here are some photos I took while in North Carolina this weekend.

The neighbor's cows.

Riley on a $3 yard sale find. It was worth the money.

Mom, primping in the driveway before we left to come home this morning.

Could mom be using Riley's camera to gather photos for a blog of her own?! I wouldn't count on it!

More Of The Same!

It's an early update today in case Blogger has more issues tonight. I'm heading to East Bend tomorrow morning and won't be back until Sunday afternoon. So this is my last post until then! I'll be working my fingers to the bone on Sunday so I'm not sure when I'll get a post up! I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Some flowers on the back porch.

My Nanny

**Disclaimer: My post is late, but it is NOT my fault. Blogger was apparently having issues last night and photos couldn't be uploaded. **

My Nanny has been here this week from North Carolina. It's not often that we get to see her for such an extended period of time. Her visits, and ours to see her, are usually limited to a very short weekend trip. It's been nice to spend extra time with her. Riley has especially enjoyed the week, but I'm sure Nanny has to be ready to put a little more distance between herself and that motor mouth! Anyway, Nanny would not be happy to see these photos on my blog. She's very self-critical and would never be happy with any photo of herself. I liked the photos, however....and well, it's MY blog! LOL. Besides, she just needs to come to terms with the fact that not everyone can be young and beautiful like me! LMAO! Now you KNOW that's a lie!!!

Nanny being all shy for the camera.

So far I'm lovin' the 30D!

Upon Request....

Ms. Judy suggested a picture of the old camera taken by the new camera...or was that the other way around?! I forget. Ms. Jan wants camera details in hopes of convincing herself that she needs a new camera. *wink*

So, I took a picture of the new camera with the old; then a picture of the old camera with the new. Got all that? I think I'll like my new camera, but it is a bit sad to think about parting with my old one. I've had it for three years, and I know how to operate it. Everything is in a different place on the new one, and there are new features to learn, etc. Oh well, if there weren't things to learn I wouldn't need an upgrade, would I?

Ms. Jan, the new camera is a Canon 30D. You can check it out here: http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Canon/canon_eos30d.asp?dontcount=1 , and just in case you decide you want to order one, I got home at www.bhphotovideo.com. I have ordered both of my cameras from them, and they are great. Fast shipping and very reputable.

Old Faithful.

New friend?

It's Here!

I spent the day watching the driveway for a big brown truck to arrive. The UPS truck! My new camera arrived tonight around 6:45. I was about to give up hope for delivery today. I've unpacked it and put the strap on, but that's all. I'll charge the battery and read over the manual tonight in hopes of getting a halfway decent photo with the new camera tomorrow. I can tell you right now though that it is darn intimidating looking! All the controls are in a different place than my other camera, and it is going to be a HUGE adjustment! Wish me luck!

The Buntings

have arrived at the feeder. The little painted bunting has been here a couple of weeks, I guess, but I just noticed the Indigo bunting for the first time today. It has been soooo incredibly windy here today, and the little painted bunting was blown clear out of the tree in the backyard. It was actually pretty hilarious to watch. I love the painted buntings. I don't think I've seen a bird any prettier.

The Old Standby!

Yes, flowers are the old standby for when I don't feel like taking photos...or just don't have a better subject. I'll spare you the details, but I've nearly been driven insane this week and haven't felt much like even picking up the camera. I did run out the backdoor at 7 p.m. tonight and snap these two for the blog. Not very inspired....but they'll do. I wish the sand pile wasn't in the background in one of them, but no matter what angle I shot from something was in the way. *sigh*

Take A Load Off!

Riley was "helping" his Grandmom plant some flowers this afternoon. As you can see, he was doing more resting than he was working. He filled his little wheelbarrow up with water and was soaking his dirty feet in it. Next thing you know.....he's sitting in it. Well, at least it was warm enough for it today! Who needs a pool when you have a wheelbarrow?! LOL. Riley says he does!

PARK PLAY

Some of my mom's family has been down for the past couple of days, and today we made a trip to the waterfront park so that they could check out all of the "improvements" that have been made. Riley loves playing at the park, so he and I spent our time on the playground. I took along the camera ONLY because I knew I would need a photo for the blog. LOL. I'm not pleased with them, but they'll do for a daily post. It was really sunny when we were there, so the exposure was really hard. I suck at full-sun pics. Anyone have any tips for me?

In other news: Have I mentioned that I'm getting a new camera? My aunt wants to buy my old digital Rebel...and well, I've been wanting to upgrade for a while...and that kind of gave me an "excuse" to do it. I ordered the Canon 30D tonight, and I can't wait to get my new toy. I'm sure it's going to be a HUGE adjustment for me, and my pics will no doubt suck at first....but I'm really looking forward to the challenge of learning the new camera and checking out a few of the new features that it will have!!! Wish me luck!!! I sure hope I don't regret it.

For Jeff

Thanks for letting me play with your photo, Jeff! Photoshop is an addiction of mine. I think I need a 12-step program! The peacock shot was great, and I couldn't help myself. I didn't do much though. I just did a "defog", a little levels adjustment and boosted contrast and saturation....and voila....the colors were there just waiting to jump right out at you! Great job with the camera.

Another Oldie!

Some time ago, I told Ms. Jan that I would dig these pics up to show her, and since we have family visiting from NC for at least the next couple of days and I didn't get a chance to snap a picture today....I thought today would be a great opportunity to do so.

I had thought it was blue birds that built a nest inside my mom's topiary just outside our front door, but, as it turns out (guess my memory is going), it was mocking birds. I took the picture of the eggs in June of last year, and the babies hatched in July. This post was also inspired by my friend Amanda, who also posted a photo of a bird nest and eggs today...so check out her blog with the link to the right. She's an incredible photographer and has the cutest kids.

Don King?!

A card I made with one of the photos at my mom's request.