Mommy and Bo

My failed attempt at getting some pictures with Bo.

Rylie's "Buddy Bo"

Jordan isn't the only one in love with her little brother. These pictures are awful in color, so I made them black and white to try and salvage them. I just love the expressions on Rylie's face, so I had to post them anyway. (Any photographer friends want to teach me how to take pictures inside on manual when a flash is required? Is it even possible? The pictures always turn out either way too bright, or way to dark. I can't figure it out!)

"Bo, look at me!"

"Ha ha, he got me!"

"Sweet baby."

"I done holding Bo."

Fence Building

I told you Justin gets things done! He built a fence today. For our neighbors. They have dogs. A mean, nasty dog. It broke through the fence. Neighbors wouldn't fix it. So we're fixing it.

It's really easy for me to get pretty upset about this whole situation. Anyone else have neighbors that they just can't seem to connect with? We've tried several times to build a relationship with them, but they don't respond positively to our efforts. They have two little kids that Jordan sees playing outside and will talk to over the fence, but she never gets to actually play with them. I don't think it's normal to have neighbor kids that you can't play with.

Anyway, in an effort to not be total enemies with them, we didn't demand they fix the fence or get rid of the dogs (which we could have done with a simple phone call to animal control). They claim that they can't afford to build a new fence, so Justin made a deal with the man that we would pay for it and build it if he would get rid of the old wood and help build it with Justin. Well, guess who didn't hold up their end of the deal. Do you see anyone else helping in the pictures? I don't either.

See how it's hard for me not to get upset? Extending grace when all you want is justice is a hard thing to do. It's a good reminder, though, of what God does for me and you everyday. He extends grace to us, when we deserve justice. Thank You Jesus, that we don't get what we deserve. Thanks You Jesus, that you give grace. I can forgive because Christ forgave me.

Spending some time at the zoo

We went to the zoo today--one of my favorite places! It wasn't Bo's first time to the zoo, but it was his first documented trip. Just look at that sweet face:)

And his reaction to his big sister--all smiles!
Hanging out with the giraffes...
...and the ducks...
...and the chickens! See the expression on Rylie's face? There was a chicken getting a little too close for comfort.
Another one of her faces...something's on her back.
And this is what I get when I want to take pictures of my lovely girls...



...which is why I take pictures of flowers! They are patient and hold still for me!

Peaches!

I think you're going to get sick of my new hobby! The biology nerd in me found the peach tree to be AMAZING these days! I could do a whole biology lesson on the transformation of these flowers...I'm sure a whole semester of lessons if I got detailed enough! I won't bore you with that, though...well, maybe just a little;-) And as a little side note, I did not do any post-production developing on these photos except for a little cropping here and there. I love the images just the way they are.

Below is a great shot of the peach starting to grow. The flower is the reproductive organ of flowering plants. The peach is growing at the base of the female reproductive structure, called the pistil. (Love the shot of the pistil protruding out!) The peach is actually the ovary of the flower, and inside the ovary is the seed (this requires fertilization, of course). All those little dangly things are the male reproductive parts of the flower, called the stamen. At the end of the stamen is the anther, where the pollen is (allergies, anyone?).

Here's a great side-shot of a little peach.

And, I couldn't leave out our little red bud tree.

Spring is Still in the Air

Last week our peach tree was in bloom; this week our crabapple tree is blooming. I love colorful trees, they add so much to the landscape! Soon, I'll be getting some pictures of our rose bushes.

This last one is my favorite. I just love the brightness and cheerfulness of it!

I'm learning!

This will not be that exciting to anyone but me...I just wanted to share that I'm finally learning how to use my camera! Now, these photos will not impress REAL photographers, but I'm so excited about them! I bought this book and got it in the mail a couple days ago. It has helped me figure out how to use the manual setting AND how to do the focus thing; you know, where the not so important stuff is out of focus, which draws your attention to the important stuff.

I totally wish Rylie would hold still while I try to take a cool picture of her:)
Jordan took her camera too!

I doctored this one of Rylie because it was totally over-exposed.

Rylie

Beautiful Rylie. I can't stop playing with lightroom!

A little note from a beginning writer:)

Brock, this one's for you:) Can you guess what it says? It's a lot like how people text!

She adores her brother

Jordan and Bo.

I have enjoyed playing around with my photoshop lightroom software:) So much still to learn. Now, how to use my camera? Waiting on a book I ordered to help me with that!

Facial Blindness

Anyone just watch that episode on 60 minutes about facial blindness? I find it very interesting because for a long time now I've thought I've had it to a degree. It's the inability to recognize faces. Some people say, "I'll forget your name, but I never forget a face." That's not me at all. I don't recognize people outside of the normal circumstances that I would see them. This really just applies to people I know, but maybe don't hang out with regularly. Let's say I see them at church every week and say "hi" in passing. I use context clues to help me figure out who they are...#of kids, long hair/short hair, other people they're hanging out with, etc. If I see that same person, maybe at the grocery store the next day, I may think they look familiar, but I couldn't tell you how I know them.

Here's an example from when I was in 1st grade. I had a really good friend named Adam at school. He's the only kid I still remember. We played on the playground together, ate lunch together...you get the idea. I also had a friend in my Sunday school class at church named Adam. I did not learn until someone told me that they were the same person!

On the show, they talked about this abnormality causing anxiety. I never go up to someone that I think I might know because I can't quite tell. I often go along with it when someone talks to me like we know each other because I should know them, I just can't figure it out. Justin often helps me remember who it was I was just talking to. Just imagine the difficulty when someone cuts or colors their hair!

It's weird, because, like I said, it's not with everyone. People closer to me are not hard to recognize outside of the normal context in which I see them. Just those that I know, but don't hang out with a lot. Anyone else experience this?!

Oh, how I love these kids

While I was doing something on the computer the other day, this is what was going on beside me. Of course I had to get some pictures:)

This next one was taken yesterday as I experimented with the settings on my camera.