Love'n Takin' Pictures!

This picture didn't necessarily need editing, but I was going for a particular effect. I didn't accomplish it even though I layered editing upon editing. I really wanted my stones and blue bells to pop but couldn't do it. I settled for a greenish blend that seemed to camouflage it all, making it appear the blue bells have sought solace in the safety of the concrete stone wall.

I found these buckets walking through the woods by my parent's house. They were outside the site where our root cellar once stood. I use one of those bottom buckets at my house when I harvest potatoes.

This is the side of my Dad's garage. I loved seeing the snow shoes hanging with the summer garden supplies. THEN I noticed the bird's nest. I absolutely love how the hose has deteriorated. The app I used whitened the highly deteriorated spots.

This mailbox is lying on the roadside near our home. The home is for sale, and seems to be all of the time. Like the home, the mailbox seems to have been forgotten.

It is just getting better with my iPhone camera and editing apps! I wish it were this easy on my computer . . . but I'm not quite there yet.

Happy Birthday to the Greatest Man

A Huge Happy 39th Birthday wish to my husband, Jay.

He is a remarkable man who never does a thing directly for himself.

He works long hours to provide for his family.

He spends his evenings either watching one of our children play hockey, helping with homework, or coaching baseball.

He is currently the outfield coach for our local high school, North Pole Patriots.

He is also committed to coach travel baseball for the umpteenth year in a row.

In the winters, he goes straight to the hockey rink most days after work to watch and/or pick up one of the kids that is playing.

In the seasons without snow, he has baseball all evening.

We could never ask for a better family man than him. We are lucky to be his priority.

While he is at work, he delivers mail to businesses across town as well as senior apartments and assisted living homes for those adults with special needs.

He is constantly checking on someone and making sure they are okay.

Not only are we the luckiest family in the world to have him, our community is very lucky that he is watching over them.

Happy Birthday Jay!

More Halloween Pictures

TPT Dad and MC Hammer

The Mad Hatter takes a shot

TPT Dad takes his shot

Lil' Tigger looking under a bush

The Mad Hatter

TPT Mom and Alice in Wonderland

The TPT of North Pole

American Soldier

Alice Cullen

Greetings Autumn . . . so happy to see you. It's been too long.

Hooray for fall weather and beautiful trees, leaves and bright sun shining through the branches! I took the opportunity to bring the kids outside for some pictures. So, it was torture.

First, I suggested to a ten 1/2 yr old girl what to wear. Oh My Goodness! How do you spell the sound a girl makes when she bawls? I then suggested she just wear what ever she wanted *waaaaaa*. So I then told her to just go get herself cleaned up and comb her hair so we can take pictures - MELTDOWN!

Finally, it was all set and I started to take pictures. My camera didn't work. I went in search of another camera and Carly thought I quit because of her . . . breakdown!

Finally I found an old camera, put in a card, and we were on our way to dorky fall photos.

This was torturous as well. I tried hard to get all of my "Bart Simpsons" to settle down and get serious. It just wasn't happening. In every single picture someone was messing around.

The extra gentleman is an Ice Dog hockey player we are housing for the season. He was kind enough to hop into one of our memories - but was as much a pain in ass as the others to get him to stop laughing.

Just goofing around.

One of my favorites!

It was much easier to get pictures of Jason while he had his hockey stick . . . it gave him something to think about other than me snapping pictures. In most of the pictures, he was in a foul mood and grumpy. He didn't want to smile. Didn't want to be with his siblings. I finally got him to smile for a couple by saying some things I am definitely not repeating here on blogger. I think he looked better in the pictures with the maroon t-shirt on also, instead of the green polo - though I do love the polo.

LOVE the blue sky!

Jase's Summer Wrap-Up

Gosh, summer is about over here in Alaska. The leaves on the trees are yellowing (they don't turn red or orange here). There are some bushes turning red now - I was just told they do that because of frost. I really thought it was just the natural progression of a leaf's life, I didn't think it had anything to do with Jack Frost.

Our summer was a whirl-wind. I spent a lot of time with my Dad and the kids spent a lot of time together. Jason was the main babysitter this summer. His reward was getting two kid free days a week to be with friends. He also gave up his cell phone for the summer. His reward - getting a new phone when school began. He is back into hockey season and insisting he doesn't need new skates or pads or a stick, even though he's grown and his feet are at least 1 size bigger than they were last year and he's skating on "back-up" skates as it is . . . totally not fitted to him or in good shape at all. He is certainly no saint though. He's difficult to deal with and he spends way too much time on his stupid XBox and talking to his buddies at all hours of the night over those dorky head phones that plug into the game system. SO FRUSTRATING! But, he's not sneaking over to girls houses, he's not dippin' into the liquor cabinet, not sneaking beer from the tap, and there are no body modification talk going on. No vandalism, sneaking out, or stealing. He is on the Hoodlum Avoidance Program brought to us by youth sports. Thank you athletics!
However, we will not partake in another summer of soccer. He had the most wonderful coach to teach him the game and then he was moved down to his own age bracket. What a painful mistake. How disorganized and what mayhem. And this was a "comp" team. The only competition going on was who could race to the ball first. It was like watching Ice-Puppy Hockey or Tee-Ball! He only played with them a couple weeks then went to state with them. What a HUGE waste of money. Next year we welcome baseball back into our lives.
Now it is back to school. 7th grade. He was separated from his buddies and is on the "Mid-Knight Sun" team. He is having to make new friends and it is really testing his tolerance. He isn't fond of all of his teachers . . . but that is a good lesson for him. He never has homework other than a bit of math here and there. He does have a leaf identification project to do - but it seems as dumb as it does interesting. Sure, as an adult I'd like to know what a tree is, but I did the same project when I went to North Pole Middle School and all I know is Spruce trees have needles and Birch are pretty with leaves. So do I see a point to this project? Nope! And who wants to go out in this chilly rain and collect leaf samples?!