Picture Perfect ... Almost!

Today is B and I's 10th anniversary!  I can honestly say it's been an amazing 10 years that I wouldn't trade for anything.  He makes me laugh and smile on a daily basis.  He's a great Daddy and together we are an amazing team! We are headed to a concert at Wolf Trap on Sunday to celebrate.  We even get to go WITHOUT kids!! Here are a few photos (not taken by me) from the wedding and rehearsal 10 years ago. Bridesmaids We may or may not have registered for Goldfish crackers as a joke ...    Groomsmen and Ushers Leaving the church Me Friends from Mary Washington

One of the items on our June bucket list (which we made Monday) was to make and sail ice boats.  So we gathered some plastic containers, sticks, pipe cleaners, and tape.  We filled the containers with water, put in a stick held up with pipe cleaner and tape, then put them in the freezer.  For the next 24 hours I heard "Now?  Are they ready now?  Can we sail the boats now?"  Yesterday afternoon we set sail with our boats in the pool. D was amazed at how fast they melted and wanted to make more so she could play longer.  We talked about what happened to the boat and why the ice melted.  D wondered if we let them freeze longer would they last longer.  She also asked what would happen if we made the water in the pool really cold.  S was devastated when the one he was playing with melted to nothing.  We all had fun doing this simple activity! Getting ready to set sail Dora and her friend floating along Uh-oh ... it melted Where did it go?

The Momtographie class I took ended a couple of weeks ago.  I learned so much about photography I can't even explain all of it.  One of the last things we learned was taking backlit photos.  These are pictures where the subject stands with their back to the light and you take the photo into bright light.  You have to set your camera while focusing on the cheek of the subject in order to get the right exposure.  In turn, the background becomes "blown out" or REALLY bright.  I've been working on taking this type of photo and got some decent ones of D today.  She sat on the window sill in the playroom with sunlight streaming in.  I wasn't sure about the photos but others from the class said they were good.  So here they are ....

It's no secret that D LOVES the water.  She likes the sprinkler, bathtub, water table, ocean.  But, for some reason has a fear of learning to swim.  She's tried 2 sets of lessons, without me in the pool, and wants nothing to do with being in water she can't stand in.  Last week we started Swim Kids and for the first time she let the coach carry her into deeper water without crying ... a major milestone in her swimming journey. My parents have a round 3 foot pool.  On Memorial Day we tried unsuccessfully to get D to go in.  She can stand in it but just wouldn't believe it since the pool itself is taller than she is.  This week she stayed with my parents and ventured into the pool with Grandpa.  When B and I got there she was beside herself with joy and pride over getting in.  She stayed in the pool for about 2 hours.   Hopefully this will give her some confidence as she continues her lessons. Should have upped the aperture on this one ... oh well!

Who says colanders are just for cooking?

D and S do some funny things when they concentrate!  I hadn't noticed until I started taking random pictures throughout the day.  As I look at those pictures I notice their facial expressions when they are trying hard to accomplish something.  D tends to stick her tongue out or suck her cheeks in.  S also sucks his cheeks in and has a very determined face.   Here are a few examples from the last couple of days.

D and S have a WONDERFUL daddy!  He loves them unconditionally each and every day.  They run to the door when they hear the garage in the evening.  S's first word was "Dada" and there was a long time when all he said was "Dada ... Dada ... Dada!"  D makes up songs for him and gets so excited when she sings them for him.   Today we celebrated with a picnic for the Dads.  It was us, my parents, my in-laws, and my sister-in-law's family.  We had pork BBQ sandwiches, cole slaw, and desserts.  The kids (5 of them) got to run around, swim, and just have fun.  The adults chatted, swam, and played corn hole.  It was a great to celebrate the wonderful dads in my life - my husband, my dad, and my father-in-law.

Playing with balls has become a favorite activity for D and S.  We recently got two big bouncy balls (and a Jake and the Neverland Pirates ball) from Target.  Since then the kids have been obsessed with kicking, throwing, and trying to catch.  This is good since we have balls for outside and even some soft ones for inside.  It's an activity we can all do together ... and we have enough balls that there's not too much arguing.  We also have these animal ball poppers that we bust out every so often.  They get the kids REALLY excited, so we use them sparingly.   I've had a chance to practice catching motion and shooting photos in manual while the kids played with the balls the last couple of days.  I'm still working on where to focus and what settings to choose.  My biggest challenge is getting both kids in focus.  I seem to get one of them or the ball focused but not everything.  I'm not sure if it's a matter of choosing the right focus point, aperture setting,

S's favorite phrase right now is "UH-OH!"  We hear it a lot ... when something falls, when something gets bumped, when we can't find something. "UH-OH!" Yesterday afternoon he got his first uh-oh black eye.  I'm not sure what happened.  One minute he was in the Mickey rocking chair.  The next minute it was tipped over backwards and he was between the chair and window sill.  He hollered for a bit but was easily comforted.  Today it's a pretty, puffy bruise the doctor says is nothing serious.   I'm sure it's the first of many injuries in his future!

This week my Momtographie class took the leap of photographing in Manual mode!  I had to choose the ISO, aperture, and shutter speed to match the lighting situation I was in.  We were supposed to choose and photograph a "sweet treat" just for us.  It was about taking time for ourselves while leaning about manual mode without chasing kids.  I had a hard time choosing something to photograph and take "me" time for.  I thought about cupcakes, coffee, books, and finally chose my cross stitch.   I learned to cross stitch many years ago from my mom.  Since having kids it often gets put on the back burner.  Most nights I'm too tired to take it out and during the day I'm too busy.  This week I tried hard to make time for cross stitching.  It was great!!   As for Manual mode - it's tough!  I have trouble remembering all of the information about proper settings and putting them together.  When the picture doesn't come out right I can't quickly decide w