pulling out my camera

Whenever I'm having a hard time finding the joy in mothering my brood (and let's be honest, mothering the twins), I pull out my camera.

For some reason, viewing snapshots of my daily life makes me realize just how fortunate I am.

 I mean seriously!  Look. at. these. two.

Are they not the cutest things ever?!
Are cameras not the best piece of equipment a parent can own?!

5 Things I Learned about Hiking the Grand Canyon

#5 -  Fall is a beautiful time of year to hike the Grand Canyon.

#4 -  You develop a special kinship with your hiking partners.  You're in it together; you have to get out together.

#3 -  Going down is NOT easier than coming up!

#2 -  The Canyon is demanding and unrelenting (we did a 4,000 ft elevation change from top to bottom), but the human body is surprisingly resilient.  Your legs just keep going.

#1 -  The Grand Canyon is so vast, so rugged, and so incredibly raw in it's beauty that there is no way you can take it all in over a single weekend trip.  You will want to go back.

(I have lots more pictures to share.  In the meantime, check out my brother-in-law's blog about our hike.  He does a great job capturing the beauty of this place.)

44:52 Hands

One of the things I love

is hearing my children make music.

From the little ones, with cute chubby hands, learning to press piano keys with each finger,

to the older ones, with more dexterous fingers, who employ both their hands and their lips to make a note, then a string of notes that make a song.

I'm delighted they are interested in instruments.

I look forward to adding the violin or flute (she hasn't decided yet which) into our cacophony of noise. 

The music their little hands can make is quite wonderful.

This month I'm linking up to Marcy.  Head her way to see more.

It must be the eyes

I recently purchased a new camera, and even more recently a new lens, and even more recently... the newest version of Photoshop Elements.

I can now take images with a pretty good portrait lens, the 50mm.

I can now open and edit images in RAW format (a file that is minimally processed).

I am floored by the results.

And I am addicted.

I love the photos I took this past weekend (at least the ones I took before it got too dark), but I forgot to shoot in RAW. It worked out fine though, because I was able to open them in RAW (way cool feature!) and adjust the exposure, lightening them up a bit.

Since I'm driven by results, I love me some photoshop!

I'm no professional.  I'm having fun learning though, and my pictures are good enough for me.

These photos...they are priceless.

This girl of mine...

she literally takes my breath away.  

She's gentle and sweet with just enough spice, and I can see it here.

I love, love, love the photo.  

This boy of mine...

he wins me with that smile, with those big blue eyes.

He's thoughtful, dynamic, and bright.

I love, love, love him.

I am so thankful I have a camera and the ability to take photos for hanging in our home.
I am in awe of my five beautiful children and seeing their faces every day on our walls fills me to the brim.

Thanks for letting me share a couple pairs of smiling eyes with you.
I love, love, love them.

Baby Toes and Newborn Scent

This past weekend I had the privilege of snuggling, cuddling, and photographing my one week old niece.

Seriously, is there anything cuter than newborn toes?

I am in love with these next two images!

This newborn stage is so fleeting!  If I could capture their scent I would!  I guess I'll have to be satisfied with images of wrinkles and downy soft hair instead.  They will have to tide me over for the next month until I can see her again.

She is so precious, I had the hardest time packing up and saying goodbye.

Congrats again guys, on your sweet little bundle of love!

5:52 B&W

When I passed by this old tree, I stopped dead in my tracks.  I lifted my camera and maneuvered around a bit, stepping off the trail this way and that, until the amazing lines of the sculpted rock were behind the twisted arms of the tree.

5:52 Black and White

I like how the weak winter sun is highlighting this magnificent tree.  I didn't touch it, but I imagine that the longest branch is worn smooth while the shortest ones are roughened by the elements of weather and time. Yet it is there, graceful and distinct.

I would be very curious to know the age of the tree. And the rock; is it eons older? What storms have they weathered?  What cataclysmic changes?

I think the tree must be very well rooted to still be standing so strong.  

I want to be like the tree.

Visit Leann to see her black and white image.

4:52 Self Portrait

How often do we camera-owners get on the other side of the lens?

It's not the most comfortable thing to do, but since I'm completely in control of the end result since it's my lens, let's do this!

With the aid of a mirror, I present you with - well...myself.

4:52 Self Portrait

I like the color gray. I wear it a lot.
I can't remember ever not having freckles.
I have a tall forehead, I kind of like that it's so short in this photo.
My wedding ring is a part of me; I never take it off.  I still love the simplicity of it.
I own a dslr-like camera and haul it around with me often; that little piece of equipment has taken quite a beating. I don't know what I'd do without it.
My favorite thing to photograph is my kids and our adventures together.
I love photography. I love having the images to document my family's life in such a vivid and picturesque way.

To continue around this week's self portrait circle, go here.

3:52 Something Old

Something Old...
I wracked my brain for this one.
Should I photograph my great aunt's china set?  A twisted old tree?  A classic car?  The Grand Canyon? (I would have liked to go there and photograph it!) My grandmother's hands? (I wish she lived closer so I could do that one!)

I've been kind of home bound this week.  And when I did venture out, I saw evidence of winter not age.
So while this photo is not what I immediately thought to capture, at least it is something.

3:52 Something Old

I drive by this old steam engine almost daily.  It sits in the front of the Pioneer Museum and is the landmark my youngest kids look for to know we are almost home. :)

Continue around the circle to see some more old things.  I'm going to do the same!

2:52 In Your Face!

Okay, so maybe our theme this week is not 'in your face', but that's how I chose to interpret it.

I thought that 'getting really close' would be a challenge for me, as my camera's manual focus setting is digital and very difficult to use.  But then I re-discovered the super-macro setting on my camera! And Hola, clear images straight out of camera!

2:52 Getting Really Close

I can't decide which picture I like more.  I'm delighted that I can see how fuzzy and in need of a cleaning my sewing machine is.  But I also love the textures and dimension of the football shot.  I'd like it blown up to poster size!

Which picture is your favorite?

And before you start thinking that these two images are as opposite as can be, let me tell you that they both represent activities that I consider to be fun.
I bet you can't guess which activity was my middle school fave and which is my current hobby!

Actually, truth be told, I still love a game of good old two hand touch.  I look forward to the day when all the kids are old enough to learn to throw a spiral and play the game.

And I have a fun surprise for you - our 52 photos project blog circle has grown!  Hop on over to Marcy today to see her weekly photo and visit the rest of the blogs while you're at it.

The pre-schoolers have lunch

She thinks she's bigger than her 10 months.  She crawls right on up and joins them at the table.  

He tries to feed her dried carrot apple bites.  

In payback, she swipes his sandwich and cracker when he's not looking.

He looks like he could use a nap.  Heaven forbid he misses out on any action though!  

He'd rather fight the drowsiness.  His sister takes after him.

All three of their little bodies fit on one side of our little table.  I want to scoop all three up into a bear hug.

I refrain for the time being and take pictures instead.

He places a protective hand on her leg when I warn her not to wiggle and fall off the bench.  

It's not long till he himself is wiggling out of his place and on to the next thing.  His brother follows.

I wonder if she's thinking "Hey! Where'd they all go?"

Or perhaps she sighs inwardly, "Darn, I can't keep up!"

Or maybe it's both, followed by "You're still here, mom. Now what?"

fleeting

I don't know if I just got lucky or what, but my kids love getting their pictures taken.

They cooperate, at least, and smile while doing it.

By the end of last week, I was ready to sell my kids to the zoo.  On the days I wasn't overtired and cranky, my kids were, making me just a bit cranky.  

So we got out of the house and didn't pull back into our driveway until the little ones were already asleep.  We picked up take-out one day and met Daddy at the park for a picnic.  

The next day, we headed out to take pictures; because, believe it our not, this is a fun outing, not a hair-pulling one.

I was pleased that I got new pictures for each of the frames in my hallway. We got oodles more that I'm tempted to frame and place all over the house.

It's when I look at these pictures that I realize what beautiful children I have and how blessed I really am.  Yes, we all get cranky. Yes, I sometimes feel like throwing in the towel (as if I really have that option!).
But really... I have some great kids, and I believe this with my very core.

These smiling faces ease any frustration I'm feeling when I look at them.  

These angelic smirks and innocent faces make me ache. Ache deep.

They make me smile inside and they make me chuckle out loud.
Is this phase of parenting really so fleeting?  Please tell me it's not!

I don't want to give up the chubby fingers, inquisitive minds, mischievous smiles, exuberant energy, and ready smiles that I'm so lucky to have. If snapping pictures is the only way to freeze time, then I need to do so more often.

Day at the Creek

I hadn't realized how long its been since I've pulled out my camera and documented our family life.

I've taken random single shots here and there, but my camera has remained sitting on the desk for the majority of this last month.

That is not okay, I have growing kids!!  I need to capture them today, at this moment.  

Saturday we took a trip down Oak Creek Canyon, in search of some water to cool off in.

And this time, I grabbed my camera.

I never get tired of the beauty of this place.

The water was cold, and oh so refreshing (why, yes, I was the first one to jump in)!
We had a relaxing afternoon, chowing down cherries and snack mix in between dips in the water.

Brant had a hey-day catching dragonflies off of logs, our hats, and our backs.  He learned how to grab them by the wings so he could observe them up close before letting them go.  

Elaina LOVES the water.  She would try squirming out of our arms so she could be all the way in the water. She didn't care that is was cold, and squealed every time I took her out of the creek.

These fish kids of mine are pretty darn cute if you ask me.

We even did a little bit of hiking around, exploring up the creek a ways.  I love how my oldest two are getting so independent.  Before we left, they filled up their backpacks with their own towels, water bottles, hats, water shoes, and even goggles. They were ready for a day at the creek. 

And it made our load to carry that much lighter!

Yes, I do love our family outings.  

Especially when they are my hubby's idea, and he steps up to the plate and then some to make our day.

Daddy's are great.  They can do anything!

My hubby's Competition

I am in love.

With my photo books.

Well, I love my hubby too, but these are something new to look at. :)

Hey, I'm not the only one who feels this way!  This was the third morning in a row that I found all the kids quietly looking through the books. I work hard at taking deep breaths and refraining from taking my loves out of their hands in order to protect them and keep them safe.

This was the latest delivery to my door.  Like I said, I'm in love.

I love the full bleed photos on a page.  I love the subjects in the photos.
I love how professional this format of photo storage looks.

Donovan can be heard saying "That's me! That's me!".

I've written about my photobooks before. Really I should have just titled that post, "Ramblings about two different brands of Photobooks", as I have stuck with MyPublisher for the last two years of our family 'albums' even though I declared Shutterfly the better choice.  I just noticed that my Shutterfly book's pages are starting to come loose at the binding. :(
You know, I did try digital scrapbooking which is fun.  But I'd rather be sewing or painting something.  So once a year (in February they usually have a great promotion where extra pages are free), I compile a book with all our photos from the previous year, adding journalling where I want. It's pretty quick (considering the amount of photos) and painless.  Ninety pages later, I have a kissable piece of perfection.

And, MyPublisher has a very cool new feature.  Extra thick pages! Well worth the extra $5 if you ask me.
The book on the left, which has the same number of pages as the middle book, has the extra thick pages. More durable books are a plus in this house, where little hands constantly peruse them.

If only my hubby knew what he was up against...

extra thick pages of our children, hard cover bound.

Maybe he should start walking around shirtless.

Yes, I know

Why, hello there!  It's been awhile, I know.

Yes, we are alive and well (unless you call teething not well.  I know, it is early for that! She's five months and I can already see the two teeth that are trying to pop through her gums). 

Yes, they're eyes are very blue and very beautiful. I know. And yes, I do need to wash his mouth. 

Yes, she does put up with a lot, but she loves it and she loves her brothers.

Yes, they are close. They are just over two years apart, 

and he, at 2 1/2 years old, loves nothing more than to be holding her.

Yes, his pants are on backwards.  I pick my battles.  This was not one of them.

Yes, they are both very cute. And they have very cute feet. I know.

Yes, they grow so very fast.  

Oh, how I know it!