A Little Reprieve from our Cabin Fever (7/52 - 52 Project)

 

On one of our very rare above zero days we decided to

venture out to frozen Lake Mendota.

The sun was shining and Grace and William quickly

grabbed icicles and had a little pretend swordfight.

 

 

 

 

 

I got to thinking that writing their names or drawing in the snow is

similar to what they do at the beach in the sand.

Only instead of wearing snow gear they have their

swimsuits on.

 

 

 

 

If you didn't know the lake was completely frozen over

you might think it was a gigantic field of snow.

Until you see the fishing shacks, piers pulled out of the water

and boats in dry dock.

It was fun to take a walk out on that big lake

and get out of the house for an hour.

 

 

Winters in the northern Midwest are cold and long but March is just around the corner.

And we are thankful for that.

 

 

 

 



Winter Sunset (Sunday Snapshot & 6/52 - Project 52)

 

 

I feel like we've been hibernating lately.

We stay indoors almost all the time.

It's just way too cold to go outside

and definitely too cold to be outside taking photos.

 

 

 

 

Taken a few evenings ago of Grace in the amazing light as the sun was setting

behind the trees

showing these purple and golden hues.

We stayed outside for exactly 5 minutes.

 

 

 

 

I do notice the daylight is lasting longer.

Hey, Spring arrives in 38 days!

 

135mm lens - 3.2

1/500

ISO 800

 

 

 



Light and Dark (Sunday Snapshot & 2/52 Project)

Penny for her thoughts.

As light is a precious commodity here in Winter

as it doesn't last long and we can have some grey, overcast skies.

When I see the opportunity to use a little window light, I use it.

Taken last Wed. before we left for ballet.

I love the way the light falls off her face

and the dark gently wraps around her as if to give her a hug.

project 52 - frost and snow (1/52)





Bitter cold and a

new dusting of snow...still, I

remember summer

 

~ Charles de Lint

 

 

 

 

It started snowing here in early December.

Wisconsin folks are probably experts about snow and frost (if there's such a thing),

and I'm amazed at the different kinds.

And because I'm a detail person I suppose that's why I notice these things.

This recent one arrived and is called

a 'hoar frost.'

These incredibly beautiful fern-like ice crystals form on the snow,

tree branches, wires or any frozen solid surface.

 

The best part of capturing the frost was the walk I took.

Peacefully quiet and calm.

 

I decided to commit to a project 52 this year and

possibly take one photo a day in February, but will see

about that.

 

35mm 1.4 lens

f 2.8

ISO 400

1/8000

 

Oh, almost forgot to say Happy New Year

and I hope that 2014 is a good one.

 



32/52 - Summer Vacation

{First glimpse of the beach, the waters of Green Bay in Ephraim, WI}




I'm a water person and it's no surprise that all 3 of my children are too.
My Dad had a boat when I was growing up and I learned to ski
and spent many hours on lakes and reservoirs growing up in Indiana.
It's probably for that reason that we try to vacation at a spot near water.

The water this time was in Door County, WI.
This was our second visit there as a family and it didn't disappoint at all.
We spent quite a bit of time on the beach or in the water...whether
it was the fresh water of the bay or in the pool.

When we weren't in the water we explored some of the quaint little towns and villages
that are up and down the peninsula.
I found a gem of an antique store and purchased a few photography props that also
double as items that go in our home.
Grace and Will got to experience a drive-in movie (we saw Ice Age 3).
They wore their pj's and ate popcorn and we snuggled under blankets
while watching the show on that big outdoor screen.
It reminded me of my own childhood.
 We played mini- golf
and went to a traditional Wisconsin fish boil.
The food was delicious!
They embraced all these new experiences...all 3 were a huge hit.
We found that Will  has a fondness for boats of any kind...it's adorable.
He loved checking out the local marinas.

I think the best part was time spent together away from the tv, computer and
video games.
Just us being a family.
Together.

These are a few of my favorites but as you can imagine
I have quite a few more photos to go through and will do a couple more posts
showing our time in this beautiful place.
It's lovely in the Fall, so hopefully next year we may return...

31/52 - Seeing Double

{2 little Batmen} 

Last Friday our friends Grace, Liam and Natalie arrived in our neck of the woods.

It was their first visit to Wisconsin and our little town.

Grace lives in the city and we live in the country.

I believe they had been here about an hour and Grace(mom) was upstairs unpacking.

I was downstairs and came around the corner to see these two little boys all decked out

in their best crime fighting apparel.

I watched what transpired between the older Batman and his younger friend.

(Will was fastening Liam's cape in the front).

After that these two drove off in the Batmobile! ;)

Though I love taking portraits, my very favorite style of photography is lifestyle. 

You just sit back, observe and watch the show. 

This one was delightful...

(More photos of their visit coming later in the week).

30/52 - my week

{iphone photo collage} 

 

A little bit of my week, iphone photo style.

1. Will and Logan, the Superhero/Crime fighter neighborhood association. 2. Cool bridge in central Illinois. This week I made the 6-7 hour drive to my sister's home in Indiana. 3. Grace demonstrating some pool love. 4. Stayin' cool when it's 103 degrees. 5. Indiana prairie wildflowers. 6. Big sky over the state of Illinois. I'm a native Midwesterner and I love the endless corn fields with the blue sky. I can happily say that we finally got some rain, both in Indiana and Wisconsin.
And we had a blast at my sister's...a lot of laughing, a little shopping, kids swam, it was all good!

29/52 - Instagram catch-up

{Mid July} 

A little catch up per Instagram from the last week to 10 days.

Starting in the upper left and moving right: 1. Grace ready to leave for a friends' birthday party.

2. A very wet Zoe from swimming at the dog park, she was drying off in the grass.

3. Summer evening sky. 4. 3 nine year olds being silly and making me laugh.

5. A tired Will after spending an afternoon swimming at the pool.

6. Wisconsin in Summer, red barns and Queen Anne's Lace.

27/52 and Favorite Photo Friday - a low key 4th

{A small hometown Midwest July 4th}

Low key is a good word to describe our July 4th,
no traveling near or far, just hangin' out at home in the a.c....
except for when we were out in the 104 degree temps to watch a parade.

These two were armed and ready with bags for C A N D Y.
Yes, candy was their mission for the day.
My mission was to keep all of us hydrated and capture a few photos.
I have to say I was impressed that there wasn't a whole lot of complaining about the heat.

After lunch we made our way to the pool for an afternoon of swimming
and playing in the water. (Those photos for my next post).

 

Evening time was the sparkler show.

Quite a few local fireworks displays were cancelled due to the extreme heat and drought
but we managed to do our own thing and have fun.

Hope everyone had a safe and happy 4th!

Camera settings for the sparkler photos -
50mm 1.4 lens
F/1.8
1/100 sec.
ISO 1250

It's a slower shutter speed than I would have liked and you can see a little movement
but I still loved them.

26/52 - buds

{Being 6} 

They didn't start out as friends when they first met almost 4 years ago.
In fact they butted heads frequently and it wasn't pretty.
Thankfully that phase is over and these two can't seem to get enough time together.
When they play, Will is Batman and Cruz is Green Lantern.
They have boundless energy combined with zero attention span.
They're fun to photograph because they laugh a lot and make sound effects.
It's all six year old boy stuff!
Adorable.

24/52 and Favorite Photo Friday - road trip

{Summer in Wisconsin}

No Wisconsin road trip would be complete without seeing canoes (so many lakes here)

and wildflowers, as we drove to our destination.

One of my goals for the Summer with my kids
is to have them try or experience some new things.

They're experienced travelers. 

Both have traveled with us quite a bit and their passports have gotten a fair bit of use

for people their age.

They've been pumpkin and apple picking, but no strawberry picking.

My last strawberry picking experience was in Northern California many years

ago when my oldest was a little guy.

Thankfully it was pretty cool for this time of the year (in the 70's)

and we didn't have full sun beating down.

Both kids hung in there and were troopers.

Grace was totally into it and she was a bit competitive.

I helped Will get his berries.

 I had to explain to him that we only pick the red ones (he was gathering any and all, 

even the green ones at first). 

They were all fair game.  ;)

Will found a heart shaped strawberry and was showing it to his sister.

(These small berries are so sweet, no sugar needed).

You can tell our little adventure was a big success...
I'm thinking blueberries in July when they come into season?

23/52 - my life

{Instagram pics from the last week} 

Starting in the upper left hand side: 1. Will on his class field trip to the zoo. 2. Me right after getting my hair cut. 

3. Grace and a friend playing in the evening (having a sleepover). 4. Yellow flower in my backyard 5. Grace

drawing a flamingo on the Smart Board for her class talent show. 

6. Will with his cute feet in a new pair of flip flops (Superman).

22/52 - his alter egos

   Pretty amazing how wearing a pair
of Batman sunglasses can make
Batman (on the left), Superman (middle) and the Hulk (right) appear.

20/52 - Birthday girl

{Zoe - age 1}

Our newest member of the family is officially one today.
Oh Zoe, what can I say about you?
You're a dear sweet girl who makes me laugh every day about your antics.
(Except for the week you chewed up 3 pairs of my shoes).
But we can pretend that didn't happen.

I'm hoping that she's full grown now, she weighs 65 lbs,
has long legs and can run like the wind.
Can't imagine our lives without her.

I've really been a terrible blogger lately and hope to be better about that...
have had a lot on my plate lately with the dance recital, end of school activities, and some things
going on with Will.
He's fine, I'll be blogging about what's been going on with him very soon.

19/52 and Favorite Photo Friday - it's showtime!

{Spring Recital}

I'll admit that this is one of my favorite times of the year,

and also some of my personal favorites as far as photos that I take
of my children.

There were some funky lighting situations... but I made the best of it and took

my time enjoying these moments.

(Grace and her friends waiting in the hallway before going on).

Last year at her recital I got thinking 

that there probably aren't too many people

that get to see this magical little 'world' that lies backstage at a dance performance.
The air is charged with excitement.

It is incredibly special to me.

(Older ballerinas watching Grace's class perform on stage.These girls were so encouraging to the younger ones).

And for Will...this was his first Spring recital.
The waiting part was a little hard for these guys
in the boys (5-7 yr.) hip hop class. They couldn't wait to show the audience what they could do.
The boys had 2 performances on Saturday and they did awesome!



(Waiting to go on...Will was the first onstage and led his group out).

Months and months of practice come down to this....
and finally it's their time in the spotlight.
My husband and I couldn't have been more proud of our two!

Grace had strep throat the week of the recital and missed both rehearsals as a result.
The photos of her were from Friday night of the ballet, "A MidSummer's Night Dream."
She was part of the lavender field.
Unfortunately she was too sick to dance on Saturday
and didn't get to perform in the ballet again or in her jazz and tap dances.
She was a little disappointed but is really looking forward to dancing again next year.
And thankfully she's healthy now.

Will's hip hip group danced to "My Girl" by Mindless Behavior.
He loved being on stage for his dance and also the finale (his first one).
He's still thinking about hip hop for next year but may possibly switch to gymnastics.
This boy can move!

And Happy Mother's Day a little early!