Mutiny

So some days my kids cooperate very well when I want to experiment with my camera and/or flashes. Other days, well. . .

Shallow depth of field does not work well when your subject is spinning and pouting.

"Sweetheart, hold your dress out and pretend you're a fairy."

Ha!  We caught a smile (and a dress wrapped around her shoulders).

"Oh, come on,  I didn't even make you stand in front of a background!"

After this photo, we gave up and made lunch. :-)

Adjustments

The first few weeks of school always require a little time for adjustment.  Not only do I have five kids in school now, but my husband teaches between three schools, and is beginning a part-time job teaching an online class for a university.  So I shouldn't have been surprised the other morning when my husband asked my son if he'd milked the chickens yet.

For Grandma and Grandpa, final one!

We finally have an updated picture for Grandma and Grandpa.

It's a sad, sad day when. . .

. . .your five-year-old insists on packing a fold-up frisbee in her car bag because she "might need a reflector,"

AND

. . .your two teenage daughters get into a heated argument about apertures,

AND

. . .those same daughters end the argument with a fight over who is going to take Mom's old Rebel shopping,

AND

. . .you and your husband have to make a rule of "no videos in the car" when five cameras start rolling at the same time before you've pulled out of the driveway.

Special Day For a Little Girl

Someone got to do something special while she was visiting Grandma and Grandpa in Oregon.

Water Fight at Grandma and Grandpa's

What did our kids do while my husband and I were in Hawaii? Why, have a daily water fight of course. My two brothers were happy to oblige, and the kids never got tired of it. In fact, we joined in the day after we arrived back from our holiday. Unfortunately, although I was diligent about wearing sunscreen in Hawaii, I forgot to put it on during the water sports and ended up with a lovely red back. So the next day I sat on the sidelines and watched instead.

My oldest daughter had the same idea.

One of the highlights of my kids' days is when my brother drives 30 minutes to visit my parents' home after work.  He does that almost every day of our visit.

Goodbye, Hawaii

Kona's outdoor airport is situated outside, so you wait in the open air (and fumes sometimes) until your plane is ready.  It was really loud because you could hear all the planes arriving and departing, but it was so different than anything we'd experienced that we considered it an adventure instead of an inconvenience.

Hawaiian dancers at the airport!

The final tourist shot and officially my last photo of Hawaii

Hawaiian sunset at last

I still didn't get the sunset photo that I dreamed of, but I did finally get something our last night in Hawaii.  It took some balancing on a bench, while trying to handhold a camera at ridiculously low shutter speeds, but I managed a few shots at last.

Hawaii--Swimming

On our last day in Hawaii James convinced me to go swimming in the pool that sat outside our condo, despite my aversion to water. We could hear people in it all day long and into the night, as it had a BBQ grill beside it and seemed like a pretty popular place. After our morning run we ate breakfast and then headed over. It was about 8 A.M. but already so warm it felt good to jump in the water. It was actually quite fun. James worked as a swim instructor and lifeguard for several years, so he showed me all the various strokes, and gave me the opportunity to try them out. I have to admit, there's something special about swimming under palm trees and plumeria trees. I think I could even go back and do it again.

You can see the jacuzzi to the side.  I went there first, as James had been training me to run and my legs were sore.  In the background you can see the plumeria tree and palms.

I didn't take my camera to the pool of course, so after we dressed we headed back to catch a few photos.  Luckily no one was there except the maintenance crew, and they didn't seem to mind the crazy lady lying on the hot concrete taking photos.

Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden

This was a monumental day in my life.  It's the day I ran my husband to the ground by spending 5 1/2 hours taking photos.  I may not be able to run marathons like he does, but put a camera in my hand and I can go forever.

We ended the day with a smoothie from What's Shakin,' a food stand just outside the gardens.  Ohhh, paradise!

Could this be an Ent?