Day 339

I’ve spent so much time waiting at kids’ appointments lately. This waiting room has some books and puzzles for the kids as well as a TV. I thought it was great that these two chose puzzles (working together!) over TV! I didn’t have time/inclination to pull out my big camera, but my cell phone works to grab a sweet moment.

Day 338

Remember that Kootenai fire? It’s still going…bigger and badder than ever. Here was our view this evening…

This is essentially the same view as this. I had a very hard time getting focus because of the amount of smoke. The image looks a bit grainy, but that is the smoke in the air.

And I just want it known that the Blogger search feature is not working, and it’s making me MAD!! What’s the point of putting labels on all my posts if I can’t find the post by searching???!!! Apparently, they’re “working on it.”

Day 337

I went out looking for something to shoot for a fall-ish desktop wallpaper. My neighbor’s maple trees are turning, and I love the combination of colors in each leaf. (Our trees are not changing yet. Funny.)

Day 336

Just another Sunday snapshot today…but this one cracks me up. This photo doesn’t tell its own story, so I’ll have to share it with you. As you may have noticed over the last year, Kristi sometimes gets funny things in her head, and her newest one involves Molly. Her new favorite game is “Molly, make a dog face!” She usually says it two or three times, then praises Molly for making a dog face. lol. She then moves on to her next activity, but she comes back pretty soon to have Molly make another dog face.

On the rare occasions when Molly won’t “make a dog face” Kristi has found that she can tempt her with a few pieces of dog food and Molly will make the appropriate face. I’m so glad Molly’s training is in good hands.

Day 335

We spent the afternoon at Nana’s house. She made a delicious meal, and then the kids played all over her 2 acres. It was a fun afternoon!

Day 334

I went to the auction last night with my mom, my aunt, and my mother-in-law. It was fun, but especially so because of the bargain we got! My MIL bought this recliner for Ken for…are you ready? Should I really tell you “out loud”? … really? $10!!!!! Yes, TEN dollars!!!

We don’t often get deals like that, but boy is it exciting when we do! My mom also got a box FULL of Pyrex baking dishes and some other stuff for $2.50. It was a steal! It was a fun night because I was there with 3 fun ladies, too. As I’ve said before, Girls’ Night Out for  me is pretty wild! LOL!

Day 333

Sorry…I didn’t shoot this today. I never even took my camera out of the bag today. I had too much fun “playing” with my mom and my aunt. So I took this Saturday when I did our family session, but I haven’t shared it on here yet, so it’s new. I did do the Picnik edits today. I used Picnik’s CinemaScope effect on this. I like how it looks with the painted mural background – it reminds me of a scene from Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.

Day 332

I had a great time learning new tricks for using templates and such today. I got this great frame from designbyjenn.com. I love her stuff! I put a bit of pink over the green of the frame to make it more… “Kristi.” 

Day 331

We bought a new sandwich cutter yesterday. Caleb was thrilled with it, and so so so excited to cut our sandwiches into hearts! Here’s Caleb’s lunch…

Day 330

Mom's Mushrooms
Originally uploaded by snaphappee.elli

Quick post as I'm flying out the door...

I took this shot of these cool mushrooms at my mom's house. They were trying to hide in the grass, but my cell phone camera found them! I love mushrooms!

Day 329

I just went outside to see what I could see today. Our neighbor Vance is getting ready for winter. He has a very large flatbed trailer loaded with logs he cut yesterday. I kinda like this one because it has the yellowish tree in the background. It’s really starting to look fallish around here!

Here’s a Mountain Ash…

It’s a smoky day in the neighborhood, so I didn’t hang out outside very long.

Day 328

Here are just a few shots from my sessions today (4 quick ones).

Two of my favorite people…my in-laws.

Another one of my favorite people…my mom.

You may recognize this group…

And you’ll recognize these lovely ladies too…

All these photos were taken for the church photo directory. I hope to have quite a few more of those to share over the next couple weeks!

And here are a couple shots I took this evening as the sun was setting over the Bitterroot Mountains. The fire(s) up there have flared up again, and the smoke was awful this evening…but it sure made for amazing colors!

I know this is long already, but I just have to share one more. I love how Dale thinks things up…he made his own portable work table today…

Day 327

Today was Homecoming for our local high school. I had 3 kids in the parade (and Felice had 2) so we went to the parade to watch our children show off their “Jacket Pride!” Dale wasn’t in the parade, but he let me take a photo of his yellowjacket tattoo.

After school Dale and I went to visit with his friend Michael and Michael’s mom. Mary is the one who gave me the beautiful vegetables last weekend, and she sent me home with a bucketful today! Whoohoo!! I feel like I won the jackpot!
 

While I was there I took some photos of Michael and his dog Stumpy. Stumpy wasn’t really eager to have her picture taken. She had stuff to do, and all of the “stuff” involved motion. Oh well…she’s a cute little thing, and she and Michael obviously adore each other!

Day 326

I had the opportunity to take photos of a couple families from my church this evening. It was fun! Here are a few shots of the Boney family. They were very cooperative, easy-going, and fun!

These photos were taken in the Kamp Kidz room at our church. The mural in the background was painted by the lovely lady in these photos.

Day 325

Silly Dubby
Originally uploaded by snaphappee.elli

While we waited for Kristi to finish her neurofeedback Caleb and I passed the time by playing with my cell phone camera.

Caleb took several photos of "me" (my knee, my shoulder, my chin) while we played with my cell phone, but they somehow got deleted. Oops. :-)

Day 324

I hope you’re not tired of the squirrel. I went out to take pictures of whatever I could see…what I saw was my goofy cat and the squirrel the kids call Hammy playing in the maple tree.

Day 323

This squirrel has spent a good portion of the day out in the front yard gathering leftover straw. He/she isn’t too skittish because I was able to stand on our ramp and take photos, and he/she just kept scratching up straw and stuffing it in his/her mouth. Are they nesting now?

Day 322

Oops! I missed yesterday! I thought about it a couple times, but never at a time when I could do anything about it. Here’s a photo though…I was practicing blowing out the sky on purpose. For that artistic sunflare-y look. It would have been better if I had a loving couple in the sunflare instead of my honey and son walking too low in the frame…but it was just practice.

Day 321

A new friend dropped some wonderful vegetables off for us today. I was thrilled to have the fresh produce, but even more excited about how beautiful they all looked together!

Thank you, Mary! We’ve already enjoyed some carrots and cucumbers!

Day 320

Another day during which I was too busy to take photos. I went out this evening to see what I could see, and I was NOT happy with what I saw…

Do you see what I see? Aren’t those leaves supposed to be ALL green? It isn’t fall yet, is it? Just cuz the temps are dropping and school has started…does summer have to be over?

This shot was inspired by Barb’s post  yesterday…my littlest man identified it for her as a “Poofyhead.” He then went on to explain that before they are Poofyheads, they are Sunshine Flowers. "And then them turn into Poofyheads." Now you know.

Day 319

Quick post today because I’m off to the auction! I just wanted to show off our new backpack wall! The kids are happy to keep them there and it’s easy for us to check for papers, etc.

Day 318

Fancy and Caleb started school today…

 

Kristi got her teeth fixed, too! Here’s a shot with the chipped toofers…
(Sorry I couldn’t find a better shot of the chippedness that wasn’t gory.)

And here’s a new one today…

Day 317

We survived the first day of school! Everyone likes their teachers, and they all had a good day! I suspect it won’t be hard to get them to sleep tonight though. They all look a bit on the droopy side at 5 pm. Not to mention that we have colds all over the house…sounds like an early bed night to me!

Day 316

Twas the night before school starts.... and all through the house....

Mom was hoping for quiet, as was her spouse.

Lunches were ready; the back packs were packed....

And now it was time for all to go nap.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,

While visions of recess danced in their heads.

When suddenly Mom realized with a start…

“I haven’t gotten the cash for their art!

They don’t have PE shoes!

I’ve neglected their hair!

The teachers will judge me…

If we even get there!”

When what to my wondering ears should be heard…

A sweet voice that said, “Do no fret – not a word.

It will all be okay. You’ve prepared, you are done.

Go to sleep; get some rest; tomorrow’s all fun!”

More rapid than eagles, the morning, it came.

And I whistled and shouted, and called them by name –

Up Fancy, up Dale, up Andrew, up Austin;

Up Kristi, up Nathan, up Caleb…Up…Ken!

To the bright breakfast table and then to the cars,

Now go in and learn – reach for the stars!

Day 315

Day 315
Originally uploaded by snaphappee.elli

I took Dale out for a quick shot with some off-camera flash. I got my light a bit too hot, but I didn't want to keep messing with it. I seem to have caught a cold, and I think it's kicking my tail! During this brief practice session we discovered that Dale has "cheddar cheese smile" and I had to make funny faces at him repeatedly to get a real smile.

(Click this to see it bigger – the resize for blog does unfriendly things to the photo.)

Day 314

Today’s post is the result of the “Walk and Shoot 4” challenge in the SparkPeople Shutterbugs group. I took a short walk down Main Street in a direction I rarely go…

 
1. Italian Prune on the neighbor’s tree. 2. Neighbor’s beautiful sunflowers peeking up over their fence. 3. The great sign at the local coffee kiosk. 4. The reason all the photos look a bit darkish. (Shortly after I got home from my walk the thunder started.)

Day 313

Here’s a shot I took of my youngest boys and my new bench. And Molly – she’s so cooperative. Hmph.

And here’s a shot I took of Caleb asleep…I love the way he copes. He doesn’t like to sleep alone, so he makes sure he’s not alone…

Oh, and one more note about Caleb and his funniness…those marks on the wall were made by him. He scribbled on the wall with crayon, and those are the marks that the Magic Eraser couldn’t erase. For the longest time he was afraid of the “skeletons” on his wall – even though he had put them there himself!

Day 312

Well, today is another non-inspired photographic day. I took some photos, but they’re not exciting. I’ve been helping a friend out at her tannery the last few weeks, and today she needed some photos of a couple buffalo hides. I’d love to get creative with these, but that’s not what she wants, so here ya go…

(Oh, and if you’re really NOT into animal hides, you’ll probably want to skip this post.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If, on the other hand, you are interested in more details on them, you can check out the website here.

Day 311

Sunset in Stevi
Originally uploaded by snaphappee.elli

I did not have a chance to take *real* photos today, so I took one of some sunset colors with my phone. Ken and I took a walk this evening (at least I crammed some exercise in this busy, busy day!) and the sky was beautiful. Unfortunately, my phone was in use during the prettiest parts of the sunset, but that's just the way the ball bounces. Oh, and for those who will ask, yes. Our town does still have Christmas lights up. lol.

Day 310

I tried to go for a photowalk this evening. Hmph. It rained on me. But I did take a shot of this little house I love. I’ve taken several shots…

From today…

Last fall…
 

A couple years ago…
 
(I didn’t want to get close enough for the “framing the house” shot today because it was obvious that someone was home.)

This shot was taken while Molly and I waited out the worst of the rain. There was a clap of thunder and she looked towards it – see how huge her eye is? I don’t think she cares for thunder.