summer

We have been busybusy this summer.

And I have been relishing the golden moments

rather than scrambling to capture them all on "film."

This month we have...

celebrated Brother's third birthday

survived a week of Benjamin being in Chicago for work

visited the river and the park

endured nearly constant smoke from wildfires

hosted a Pampered Chef party

went to doctor appointments

road tripped to visit friends in Idaho for a few days

(while visiting them we fed apples to sheep, dug in the dirt,

played new wii games, harvested vegetables,

and stayed up too late talking)

celebrated out sixth wedding anniversary

gone to birthday parties and bridal showers

organized and cleaned

had a successful yard sale and lemonade stand

participated in our library's fabulous summer reading program finale

hosted the first meeting of the book club I'm a part of

spent a fun family evening at our county fair

(complete with cotton candy and carnival rides)

It's been a full month,

and the next one doesn't look too much slower.

Life is good.

On a slightly related note,

I recently digitized my calendar.

(this app for Kindle Fire was definitely worth the $5.99)

Now I wonder why I (figuratively) kicked and screamed

against this change for so long.

It's been really handy

for keeping track all of this good life's insanity

peek-a-boo

Ready for your daily dose of cute?

(complete with a messy bib and face, of course)

August's Project MCP

Tired of being late on the challenges in which I'm participating,

I decided to discipline myself to not over think

and stretch my creativity

by taking as many challenge-related photos

at one time of one subject

as I could.

Here is August's installment of Project MCP.

Challenge #1

The Olympic rings represent the union of the five continents

and the meeting of athletes from throughout the world.

 Take a photo illustrating repetition–bonus admiration for circles!

While sharpening them,

I decided to make the boys' colored pencils

the subject I would take as many challenge photos of as possible.

Challenge #2
It's all about sports.
Capture a sports themed photo.

Benjamin on his sports bike is sports themed, right?



Challenge #3

It’s a multi-cultural event.

There are 193 countries participating in the 2012 Summer Olympics.

 Capture a photo which captures the essence of your country

I almost panicked and over thought this one

but succeeded in capturing something simple

that conforms to the theme.

Challenge #4

Everyone wants to bring home the gold.

Take a photo of something “gold”.

"Golden yellow" labeled with gold writing?

Perfect!

a new style of custom wedding vows

Just two weeks after listing

my intertwined hearts custom wedding vows,

I received another custom wedding vow order!

This time the client wanted something simple and elegant

that would reflect the couple's love of the outdoors.

This is what I came up with.

This style of custom wedding vows

is now also available in my shop.

I love the good things that come from my creativity being stretched!

July's project MCP

Here are my July photos for

the Project MCP challenge.

Challenge #1-It's the 4th of July

Capture the meaning of the word "independence" in a photo

Brother is usually a little clingy and timid in new situations.

Imagine my surprise when he took off all on his own,

exploring the splash park we visited with friends.

So independent.

Challenge #2-Still feeling patriotic?

Take a photo of something red, white, and/or blue

For this photo I was inspired by the similar sheen

of completely unrelated objects:

Benjamin's first guitar, my phone, and a string of pearls.

I was fascinated by how

they clash while fitting together.

Challenge #3-Try a new technique-take a bokeh photo

This was a frustrating challenge

and did not turn out quite how I wanted.

You know those really cool star bokeh photos?

That's what I was after.

However, after trying and trying (maybe it wasn't dark enough),

this was the best I could get.

And I have to say that in spite of my disappointment,

that big, phantom star on the right is pretty nifty.

Challenge #4-Summer is in full swing!

Take a photo of your favorite summer activity.

I way over thought this one.

The problem is that there are so many things about summer I enjoy!

It's impossible to choose one favorite.

Boring as it may be, 

I really love the fact that in the summer

I don't have to bundle myself and my three children

into layers and layers of protective warmth

every time we want to venture out of the warmth of our home.

This summer favorite is represented

by our much-loved sandals.

Happy birthday, Sweet Pea

Yesterday was my sunshiny Sweet Pea's

first birthday!

It's been such a delightful year, watching her personality unfold.

Right now Sweet Pea...

is sleeping through the night (most nights)

takes two naps a day (most days)

has managed to give herself a bloody nose while "napping"

feeds herself bits of table food exclusively

drinks whole milk in a sippy cup

especially loves macaroni and cheese and blueberries

(not together)

is fitting into 12 month clothes

is getting longer hair

has little "wings" of hair that poof out over her ears

will not tolerate headbands for long

has two little bottom teeth

has pulled herself up on furniture several times

still scoots around on her bottom

but can crawl if she really wants to

loves her brothers' cars, balls, and trains

and pulling all their magnets off the fridge

enjoys exploring my purses

carries any bag/purse she can find around the house

loves turning pages and "reading" books

and crinkling magazine pages

likes to explore outside

and look out the windows

loves to clap

plays peek-a-boo enthusiastically

points to items of interest with her tiny, adorable index finger

already loves to use that index finger to manipulate touch screens

blows at people to get their attention

says "Mama," "Dada," and "hi" frequently

occasionally surprises us with other words

waves goodbye to people who are leaving

makes a special hugging sound

has been shrieking less

and signing "more" more frequently

says "Mmmmm!" when she likes something

sings sweet songs by herself or along with someone else

"plays" the guitar and drums on almost everything

lights up when her brothers come into the room

is Daddy's little princess

and Mama's sunshine

She brings such joy to our lives every day!

plum jam

My favorite.

(Especially when it's on French toast.)

I totally hoard

this bit of preserved summer

and avoid offering it

to my children or visitors.

Awful, I know. : )

purple

I like all colors,

but purple is lower on the list than most.

And so I was less than thrilled about this month's installment

of the Color Your World Challenge

until I remembered the lines

"For purple mountains' majesty/above the fruited plain"

from "America the Beautiful.

Ah, ha.

I have always loved the way mountains

layer away, fainter and fainter

into the distance.

And so I found my inspiration.

simple owl birthday party

I like owls.

(Well, some owls; some of them are downright creepy.)

And I don't want a full blown owl collection.

So I thought that choosing an owl theme

for Sweet Pea's first birthday party

would be the perfect time

to showcase my affection for owls in a fairly disposable way.

We celebrated last weekend

(a little early)

so that both sets of grandparents could be present!

owl invitations

The wings open to display the details.

(from a free printable with six possible color variations!)

sealed with some owl stickers I already had

easy owl cupcakes

(There were only three brown M&M's in the bag I bought,

so we had to get creative.)

some simple favors:

owl stickers, a lollipop, and a couple of blowouts

(such an awful name, but they're fun, quiet, and inexpensive)

packaged in wildly colored owl treat bags

(Hey, they dressed up for the party!)

Fun was had by all,

and I only stressed a little bit.

to Bannack

The first territorial capital on Montana

is now a ghost town,

a state park,

a not-too-tourist-trappy local attraction.

We took Benjamin's parents

to see it while they were visiting last weekend.

We couldn't have asked for more perfect weather

or nicer company. : )

(Yes, that's Benjamin. No, I wasn't driving while photographing.)