Forsythia

I noticed on Saturday that our forsythia bushes were blooming at last, so this morning I took my five year old out for some photos. Unfortunately she had other ideas.

One of which included her own style of posing. . .

The mood changed, however, when both of us discovered that Mommy was standing on an ant's nest! Finally, I got a reaction. . .

She was in such a good mood now that I hurriedly brushed the ants off and continued to work until I took a photo that I was somewhat pleased with.

Oh yes, and I took a picture of the forsythia blossoms, too.

Little Boy in Mourning

One of my son's chickens died last night.  He is heartbroken.  My husband and he went out this morning, in the rain, at 7 A.M. to bury her.  My son requested that we not eat her.  They covered the burial mound with barbed wire to discourage predators, and my son is now planning on building a tombstone for the grave.

Chicken Whisperer?

My son loves his chickens. I mean, really loves them. Each morning, before school, he goes out to feed them and let them out of their coop. He makes sure each one is picked up, cuddled, and stroked. In the afternoon he repeats the process.

Today, when he arrived home from school, three of the hens were outside their fenced yard. He came into the house after finishing his chores and reported to me: "Mom, three of the chickens were out. They're safe now, but when I got there they were wandering outside the fence. I put them back and then we all sat down and had a talk about leaving the yard."

I think I have a chicken whisperer in the making.

Open Wide!

Springville Art Musem

My husband is an art teacher, and once a year he takes his students' art work to the Springville Art Museum for their allstate high school art competition. While he fills out submissions the kids and I roam the galleries. This year the staff was kind enough to let me wander around with my camera (minus flash, of course).

Daddy Daughter Date

Our church youth group (or the girls, at least) held an 80's themed daddy-daughter date. Since the leader knew that I liked to practice photography she asked me to take daddy-daughter portraits for it. It was a leap out of my comfort zone, but how else am I going to learn unless I stretch myself, right? It ended up being a very enjoyable experience. The dads and daughters were willing subjects, and I appreciated the opportunity.

My own daughter--test shots for lighting

It's strange to think that my daughter is old enough to be attending a teen daddy-daughter date with her dad

I put together a couple of quick scrapbook layouts for the girls

One final shot as things were winding down--just for fun

Space Beads

Water, part deux

Oh, the fun we can have with water!

I used to be obsessed with keeping my kitchen neat and tidy. Now look at me: splashing water on counters and floors just to see what fun effects I can do with my camera. My kids have never been so happy.