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High School Senior Photos Sneak Peek | Blaire

May 26, 2010 By Laura 4 Comments

There is always collectively so much work to share here in this section, between Michael and I, and yet it has ultimately become the most neglected area of the blog. I have lots of photo sessions I never did share here, but always could still. But I know I have opted many times, to post in the other sections as an alternative most every time, and I’ve figured out why. We haven’t really been able to read, if the posts that fit into this section, are something you all, as general blog visitors, enjoy seeing and reading about, or not. ??? While many do visit it when we post, even less feedback is left here, than the other sections. So if you would please, could you let us know what your thoughts are on sharing our work here? Michael is in the midst of his busiest season of the year with signs, boats, and truck lettering. I am heading into my own busy season as we approach summer, with my portrait work. So it is helpful to know if it is worthwhile to share much here, and/or how often. We would SO appreciate hearing from you, regarding this puzzle, whether in the comments or by e-mail. After, our blog, is in part for our readers

Meanwhile, this is Blaire. Beautiful, isn’t she? She is graduating this week, I believe. Blaire will be off to college to pursue her dream of becoming a…………… teacher, I think. I’m questioning my memory here….I get my seniors mixed up sometimes. Anyway, I did this big senior photo session of her just a few weeks ago, and this is a small handful of her photos. We used the locations of her family’s beautiful yard, and then a boardwalk/waters nearby, where she spent a lot of her childhood growing up.

Only a couple years ago, I did her beautiful sister’s senior session. Her name is Alexandra. Her locations were their yard also, and the very old cemetery down their street. No, she did not grow up playing there. lol. But it was such a cool place, with the old iron gate, etc. Love places like that. The shot on the right of the duo above, was my favorite of the session. Of course, the quality of the image is low here on the blog, but the actual image is awesome. She had perfect milky skin. Loved her attire for this setting. Anyway, these girls parents are fine folks indeed. Their mother, is our eye doctor.

My client, in this case their mother, really loves my black and white work. She has pretty good ideas of what she wants, and yet really trusts me as the professional. I love clients who are really enthusiastic and excited about the whole process, and she is just like that. She loves contrasty images, and that is just my style, which she was so drawn to, and so hired me. One of her optometry offices is right beside a pediatrician group practice, of which my children portrait work is displayed all throughout. However, she also loves to see just a few in color.

So this is Blaire again, and we are in her beautiful backyard.

Their backyard feels almost….magical to me. I’m quite sure little fairies live there. In part, because of the beautiful life-size doll house amidst lovely gardens! What lucky little girls, growing up as sisters close in age, with this charming little doll house, to make the most of their imagination with. The outside is painted a celery green, the roof is shingled, it has a charming front door, and yes, the inside is completely finished as well! Look at the curtains in the windows! Oh……I forgot for a minute there that the post is about my lovely senior subject. But do you love that dollhouse or what? I think it’s a dream. I want one. So what if I’m in my 40’s? What’s that got to do with the price of eggs, in France? I would use the house as a drawing and painting studio. And for some of that q-word, when needed. Quiet.

The front yard is just as beautiful. I love the stone walls and steps. More flowers and beautiful landscaping.

The boardwalk is in the downright CHARMING village of Sandwich. I love villages. I can’t tell you how much. I would live in Sandwich, if I could. In a very old house.

As I said, Blaire grow up at this boardwalk. She used to jump off the bridge into the water!

I love doing all I can, to make senior’s photos very personal. While this work session is actually far more traditional than my typical work, I still enjoyed it very much, and they did indeed have a very personal touch to work with: Their late grandfather’s name is part of the boardwalk, and we incorporated it.

This shot above was the one they loved the very most. Big portrait of this one. They also ordered a 12 Image Session Album, and several 8×10’s. The same exact order, and album, as for her sister 2 years ago. The albums are gorgeous. They are black leather, matted pages of 5×7’s, and come in a satin lined black box.

I have to tell you…..I was freaking out, walking along this boardwalk, and there was no hiding it!! I’m a bit afraid of heights. The boardwalk is very high at parts, over water sometimes, way too narrow for me, with no side railing or anything obviously, and wouldn’t you know it…….the wind was blowing! I was petrified. Not that I am light enough for the wind to blow off the boardwalk (lol), but….the fear is still there! Honestly…..I was holding onto the back belt loop on the back of Blaire’s pants, because she was walking in front of me. I yelped a scream a few times. Professional, I am. Huh?

Blaire was a joy to shoot, just as her sister was. But…..there aren’t any more kids in the family! I’m going to suggest a family photo session at my next eye appointment, for sometimes next summer, when both girls are home. I’d just like to see them all again, and all together. They are a great family, and I felt honored they hired me, based on my work.

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Your Kids Might Dig This, Too! | Archeology Digging Fun for Kids | Homeschooling

May 22, 2010 By Laura 2 Comments

If your kids love archeology, digging in the dirt, or finding treasured, they are really going to dig this!
(This post contains an affiliate link.)

My cousin and her daughter (my God daughter) came down a couple of months ago, for a girl’s overnight with myself and my own 2 girls, and so thoughtfully, she had brought some great gifts for the kids! It was so sweet. It was unexpected and unnecessary, but I do love gifts that are both project-like, fun and educational.

This is one of those gifts,…. which was for {JM}: Dig & Play Treasure Island.

Some may not think of it as educational, initially, but many of us homeschoolers, tend to quickly identify the learning aspects that are truly in just about anything, and everything.

Dig and Play Treasure Island brings out the excavator in your child. The kit contains a plaster block, which contains buried treasures and coins. Using the specially designed digging tool, they must dig at the plaster little by little, to find the treasures.

It takes hard work, determination and ambition, but is ultimately rewarding. To me, this helps instill the life lessons, that nothing worth having, comes easy. What’s more, {JM} spent hours having fun, was excited about what he had found, and inspired to keep going to see what else was still yet to be discovered.

By reading and following the directions (such a necessary skill in life), {JM} learned that wetting the plaster, would make the digging easier, because the plaster would soften. (Science).

Soon he could see the edge of something! He dug more ambitiously around the treasure, so that he could get it out.

Gold and silver coin treasures were being exhumed all over the place. Because the plaster digging was a dusty job, {JM} wore a face mask that Daddy had on hand. But a bandana would do as well.

{JM} also learned that the more water he sprayed on the plaster, the easier the job got!

What’s this? It looks like a treasure chest! He wondered what was inside.

Wow!! Look at the beautiful gems! And a die?

Dig and Play Treasure Island, also comes with a game board. and game directions. Game pieces are also exhumed while digging in the plaster block.

So once the digging is all done, the fun doesn’t end!
What a great gift idea, for your kids, or other kids in your life.

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Pansies, Verbenas & Berries | Photography

May 19, 2010 By Laura 7 Comments

I wanted to share with you some fun photography I did of my yard pansies, verbenas and berries.

Yesterday morning, I found myself up wicked early. And not at the computer, in my bathrobe, with coffee. But up, dressed, and outside with my camera, taking photos around my yard. (With coffee.) I had to wonder what in the heck was going on with me lately. I have never-ever been one to get up early, unless I absolutely-no-way-out-of-it-have-to. This morning, I was not only up at the crack of dawn, but after a night where I had laid in bed during the night, for at least 3 hours, wide awake! I thought for sure I’d be sleeping like a rock, come morning. But no. I was more than up-and-at’em. I am becoming more and more convinced, that this means I am indeed ‘approaching elderly’.

Doesn’t this sleep- pattern mimic the old folks? I always hear many of these dear old ones talk about how they “just couldn’t sleep all night”. And on the occasion that ‘I’ have had to be up and out early to be somewhere, old folks are everywhere. Why? They are retired! They have no kids to get off to give breakfast to and get off to school! It puzzles me. Ok, maybe there is a handful with a doctor appointment that morning. ; ) But not THAT many. I want to go up to them and say, “WHAT, on God’s green earth, are you doing up this early? Don’t you know, you can do anything you want with your time now! Why aren’t you sleeping in?!”

Later in the afternoon, I was telling some friends about this new mystery of myself and sleep. One girlfriend replied, “Maybe the spirit was a-movin’ ya.”. Another said, “I think you have a condition called Spring Fever. No worries though, I hear it cures itself. ;)”. A third friend just came right out and said it: “I was going to say…..your age!”. We all need a friend who will tell us the truth, no matter what. Don’t we?

So back to the photos I was out in the yard taking. These gorgeous dark pink flowers are some of my verbenas. I have some planted in the ‘window box’, that is actually sitting on a foundation wall, under the ledge of my front deck. Upon the sight of little flower buds in my pots, boxes and gardens, I get little butterflies of excitement inside. I love to watch them slowly open up, or happen-upon the surprise of sudden full blooms.

In the same flower box, in between the verbenas, I have planted shasta daisies. I am not all that familiar with them yet, so I’m not sure if the little nubbies I see on them are almost buds? But if they are, I’m excited. There is also some white verbenas in there somewhere, but for some reason or another, they aren’t blooming yet.

Over at my bench seat in the front near the garden beds, I have a few pots, that contain some of the leftover pansies and verbenas, after I had filled my box, and other bigger pots on steps and such. The white verbenas are in bloom here. The verbenas, by the way, will grow to spill and hang long over the edges of it’s containers. I look forward to them covering my heinous foundation wall under the deck. (Big plans for that coming up soon, to permanently take care of that! Very exciting project we’ll be sharing here.)

I really enjoyed, not only photographing the things I have grown around my yard, but processing them with textures. Have you notice the textures on the photos? Photographing whatever I am inspired to, and processing them any way I want, is often almost way more fun than I can take. ; ) Especially without the pressure of time lines and deadlines, for clients, that often comes with the photos I take.

Here is a bloomed bunch of white verbenas.

I forget the name of the variety of these smaller pansies, but if anyone remembers, feel free to enlighten me. : ) If no one does, I can always look at the pot tag I saved out there somewhere near the pots. (And I might have to.) But I sure do love their colors.

Let’s just get this out of the way: Yes, the lawn weeds we have out front need mowing. It’s not looking like it is going to happen for at least another week. But anyway, this is our strawberry bed.

I have a confession to make, regarding the strawberries, and all of the planted flowers you’ve seen here: Somewhere early t0 mid April, I was getting the gardening-bug so bad. I was just itching to get out there and get dirty. We were having beautiful spring days, and I was convinced it was here to stay! So I planted flowers all over the place, and raked most of the straw off the strawberry beds, since I could see green leaves popping up through. All of this, despite the warnings that it was way too early for planting, etc., since there was still a good chance of frost, which could destroy it all. The recommendation for planting is Memorial Day weekend. Mother’s Day at the earliest. But I’m a true gambler. (O.k., not really, but I like how that makes me sound gutsy and tough.)

Well, I’ll tell you where that risk got me: Out in the pitch dark cold, at about 11:30 at night, on 3 different occasions, covering the beds and plants with large sheets of plastic, because a weather-check before bed said temperatures would dip that night, and frost was likely.

That should teach me, come next year. But I can’t guarantee it.

Thankfully, everything survived, and we should be home free. Although technically, Memorial Day is not until this coming weekend. But look how the strawberry plants are growing like crazy!! We are anticipating an abundance of strawberries this season. Last year, the beds were new, and the strawberry plants were just planted. But this year, they are more established, so we should have more strawberries than we know what to do with. But we’ll figure it out. In fact, I look forward to it!!

Strawberry jam…… strawberry shortcake…….. chocolate covered strawberries…… strawberries in our cereal….strawberries right off the vine……strawberries for our kind neighbors…..(Yeah, just the kind ones. Not the chipmunk-killing-outdoor-cat-owner ones.)

If there was one thing I was noticing while I was out this morning, taking these photos, it was that….I was noticing everything! The moist dew in the air, the clean and fresh air, and the scents of new growing life coming and drifting away, the silence……WOW….the silence. I think the quiet, was why I could notice so much! This Mama of 4 (home schooled) kids, is not used to such quiet. I had all kinds of complete thoughts, running through my head. Weird.

Quiet early early hours of the day have been so foreign to me. I guess I never knew what I was missing. Come to find out, it’s rather nice! Perhaps I’ll watercolor paint a little more often, with these extra hours in a day, too.

Yeah, maybe this old lady could really get used to this early morning thing.

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Let Us Rejoice and Be Glad…| Triplets’ First Holy Communion Day

May 15, 2010 By Laura 3 Comments

The triplets’ First Holy Communion Day, was so special.
This day, that they have waited for for so long, finally arrived! I promise, this is the last of the First Holy Communion posts – along with the Simple Lunch Spread for a Celebration Gathering post up right now. We’re hoping someone, somewhere, is still interested, while we indulge in posting about this happy occasion one more time.

Anyway, I wasn’t going to take photos of them actually receiving for the first time, because it just didn’t seem right. But….the other parents were told it was alright, as long as the photos were taken from their seats. So, I decided to do so too, not wanting to regret passing up the opportunity! Even though my angle was awful! All of the other children receiving their Sacrament this day, sat at the end of a pew for their family, and simply stepped out of their pew to receive this first time. But ours stepped out of our pew, and across the whole aisle in a line up, across the back of the 2 lines of kids. (Hope you followed that.) Anyway…..the Mass was really nice, as always, and the kids did great! They were so excited prior to…..then after, so happy and just….beaming. Trust me when I say, they fully understood/understand the significance of this event, and every Mass from here on out.

Some of our family and friends were there at the Mass with us. Some traveled quite a ways, to celebrate this day with us, and it meant a lot to all of us. {JM, O & S} brought up the gifts for the Mass, which was so sweet. They were really happy to do it.

Do you all know Fr. Bob Reed, from CatholicTV? ( Do your kids watch WOW!?) Well, we do, and love him. We were touched to learn that he had put in for presiding the Mass at which they would make this Holy Sacrament. He has become a great friend of ours. Yes, he is giving them rabbit ears in the first photo, still being silly in the second, and finally we get a serious shot in the third! He even has a secret handshake with them. He is, simply put, a really kind, funny, down-to-earth guy, and the work he does to evangelize our Catholic faith through by his vocation, through TV and otherwise, is nothing short of amazing!
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Following Mass, our family and friends came to our home for a continued celebration. Of course, we had decorated our little tree (a.k.a. a branch) for this special Sacrament occasion, and I loved what the kids did on our schooling chalkboard! We served our guests a light lunch, which I shared in the Recipes section.

Before we ate though, we took some more quick photos with the people who love them, and came to be with them on this day:

triplets-first-holy-communion-day-7 Left: The 6 of us. I love that this is small, and you cannot see how absolutely terrible & tired I looked! (Aren’t I clever?) I had been going non-stop for days, to be ready for this day. Can’t imagine how I would have survived, if I didn’t ‘keep it simple’! But I digress. {A} on the other hand, was an absolute doll! She had on the sweetest outfit, and beads! / Right: The trio with their Godparents, (one of my brothers and sister-in-law), the kids Uncle G and Auntie K. As blessed as our kids are with the Godparents they have, we wanted badly to be able to give them each their own set of Godparents. They are individual kids, not a unit, and deserve that like any other kids. But you know how complicated these things can be, and we just couldn’t at that time, give them their own. I feel compelled to say that, only because I do not want to give the impression that we see our triplets, as ONE, and not individual kids. Most know that, but I feel better SAYING it. (So thanks for letting me!) Their Godparents love them very much though, and vice-versa. They are also a wonderful aunt and uncle, and were gracious to accept all 3 as their Godchildren.

With their ‘Papa’, who often comes for overnights to spend time with them. And then with two uncles.

“It’s all…..for you.” lol.

WITH FR. (Bob) REED

Fr. Bob showed up, so I took the fruit cup in his hand away, and I made him have another photo. Even though, as he said, he didn’t have his priest attire on anymore. But he had PINK on!! I think it’s great when guys wear pink. Don’t you?

We were so done with photos by this point. And hungry. So we all went and ate. Well, I made sure everyone else ate, and tried to keep up with everything going on, and took bites in between!

Family and friends brought, and sent by mail, very thoughtful and unexpected gifts. We wanted to spend as much time with the people who came to celebrate with us, so the kids opened most of them later that night by ourselves. They received so many beautiful and special tokens of this day, that the kids truly already, treasure. They have always had a special fondness for their own religious items-and now they have so much more. The people in our lives are so kind and thoughtful.

The day just seemed to fly by, and I felt like I missed so much. I despise that feeling. I had planned this special day for the kids for so long, and I didn’t want to miss a moment. But I just couldn’t take it all in at once. We had several friends with us that day, that I wanted to get candid photos of, and never got to before they left: A family who good friends of ours, and some folks who have sat near us for so long and have become dear friends, who have watched the kids ‘sit like indians’ while we all went up to receive Communion, and have waited for this day too. It’s really bothering me, still. It’s one of those things…I want to go back and have another chance! I want the kids to have photos of everyone who was there with them that day. Despite my planning, I didn’t get this part done. I wanted to take LOTS of candids all day. But I was so busy with so many things, time got away, people eventually left, and then it was too late.

But to the kids….the day was truly perfect, and joyful. And I too, do have sweet moments of this day, burned into my memory. (But, I don’t have proof of it all in photos, darn it! lol). Sweet moments, like this one…..

….The boys, pushing their Aunt/Godmother on the swing. She, of course, was really being dramatic and making the most of it for their entertainment, and they were just loving it!! They were laughing so hard, and having so much fun. And so was she!! I truly just love the photo of her on the right.

THIS……Is Fr. Ken. The pastor of our church. You know, the one who’s AMAZING homilies I speak so much about?! We were so happy he came over to our house for awhile, too!! He came a little later on, after many had left (even Fr. Bob). But you know what…it was SO NICE. Because we sat with him for a long time on the deck, and just talked. (After he quizzed the kids on important questions. Talk about being put on the spot!) We talked about his homilies, and how he prepares for them. (I had to know the details!) He also shared a whole lot…..about the new church we will be building quite soon.

Here is another photo, that represents more sweet memories of this day….

…..our kids, with some of their cousins. Many could not be with us this day, but these 2 could!! D & M (right behind {A} in the front) are great kids. They all had SO much fun together, playing with Pixel, laughing and talking about random stuff, and playing basketball. It was great to see them all having a great time together, and we’ll be doing it again soon!

It truly was a blessed and beautiful day, for sure. The weather could not have been better, too. Sunny and mid-70’s. Perfect.

O.K. now, aside from the day’s menu over in Vittles, that should wrap up our First Holy Communion posts!! Thank you so much, for letting us share so much of this special occasion with you, and sharing in our joy!! As much hype as we have built up to this day, the kids will tell you, the happiness and excitement only began with this day. They will, and already are, re-living the joy over and over, as they receive Jesus at every Mass of their lives, from this day forward.

Let us continue to rejoice, and be glad.

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A Simple Lunch Spread, for a Celebration Gathering | Recipes

May 15, 2010 By Laura 5 Comments

If I had one goal, for the entire day of our triplets’, {JM, O & S}’s, First Holy Communion, it was to ‘keep it simple‘. I wanted it ALL simple, so that we could all focus as much as possible on the purpose of the celebration, and enjoy it. That certainly included any food prepping I had to do, to feed our guests, who came back to our home following Mass. I didn’t want anything that needed to be re-heated or kept warm, and certainly not anything messy. I was going for a light, spring lunch. I was pretty happy with what I came up with!

For a few of the platters, I made a wrote a little food description card, so no one needed to ask what was in this or that, nor would they be surprised when they took a bite. ; )

To start, we put out very Fresh Fruit Cups, we assembled the night before. So very simple, but everyone was commenting how much they were loving the fruit cups. You can’t miss, with fresh fruit! We included: clementine slices, pineapple, strawberries, black berries, and green grapes.

Roast Beef Horseradish Spirals: This was one of the items I wanted people to know ahead of time, what it was made with – since it would possibly be an iffy preference for some. So easy to make, so fancy to display, and as it turns out, a real hit for all! (Even the kids, here!)
Combine these 6 ingredients: 1 8oz. of packaged cream cheese, 1/2 cup or 2 green onions chopped, 1/4 fresh parsley, 2 TBS prepared horseradish, drained, 1/4 tsp salt, & 1/4 tsp garlic powder.
Spread evenly over 2 10″ tortillas (we used tomato tortillas), leaving 1/2 inch border around edge. Divide 8 oz sliced deli roast beef over 2 tortillas. Roll up tightly, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate to firm > 30 minutes to a day ahead of time. When ready, remove from fridge, and cut diagonally into 1/2 slices, and serve.

Chicken Salad (w/ a touch of Apple): 4 chicken breasts, cooked and chopped, 2 apples chopped small, 3 stalks of celery, chopped, and mixed with mayonnaise until desired consistency. (We use Real Hellman’s). Stuff fresh finger rolls, and serve.

Deviled Eggs: We used 18 hard boiled eggs. Cut eggs in half the long way using sharp knife, gently remove egg yolks and place in small bowl. Mash yolks well w/ fork, add 3 tsp of dijon mustard, 3 Tbs minced onion, 1/2 – 3/4 tsp tobasco (preference), salt & pepper, and 1 cup of mayonnaise. Mix well together. Fill pastry bags with mixture, fill egg whites, and sprinkle with Paprika.

Tuna Stuffed Tomatoes: Prepare tuna salad as usual. We add chopped celery and onion. Hollow out grape tomatoes, using a apple corer first to cut in, and then scoop out all of the inside with a melon ball scoop! Fill with tuna salad, and arrange on platter. I garnished the platter with fresh parsley.

Cucumber Sandwiches: I forgot to take photos of these, and darn, because they were so cute! Very easy, very tasty. Mix 1 package of cream cheese (8 oz.) with 1 packet of Italian Seasoning. Peel and slice cucumber. Spread mixture on slices of minim pumpernickel loaf (usually found near deli), place a slice of cucumber on each, and sprinkle w/ a little dill seed.

We also served pita chips with red pepper humus.

For drinks, we offered water, Raspberry Crystal Light, and we also had a punch bowl made, of which I should share the recipe. It’s my Dad’s recipe and we have it on many special occasions w/ the kids.

One might wonder where the First Holy Communion Cake is. Well….that was one thing I wanted to be so special. I knew we would not have time to bake anything and decorate it nicely, with all else we had to prepare, and because of {S}’s peanut allergy, we can’t just order a cake from a bakery. SO…..I hired a ‘professional’ to custom bake for us. What I wanted instead of a cake, was very special cupcakes. (You all know how much I adore cupcakes!) After several, (several) very specific e-mails, and an in person meeting at which I also included drawings and reviewed again exactly what I wanted, with a professional local custom baker I found online (who has a convincing web site), ……. they were a disaster. < Insert eye roll here, with perhaps a tear escaping, here.. > Not what I asked for, not cute or pretty (or photo worthy), and they were not even enjoyable to eat, as they were HUGE, and so dense. SO……they were the talk of the party, but not in a good way. It is almost comical, that the one area we hired a PRO to take care, and the one area we spent the most $ on, was the worst part of our whole food spread. I can’t tell you how disappointed I was, with such a special piece of this special occasion. That’s why I hired a pro! Michael said all along “We can do that ourselves Honey, I don’t want to spend the money.“…. and I always said, “But this is the one thing I really want to be special!“. In the end, we could have done much more of a professional job, ourselves. I have not even contacted the baker with my complaints yet, because I am quite sure if I begin to speak, I will spew venom. And we all know that’s not like me. ; )

And since I don’t want to leave this post on a tense note (doing head/shoulder rolls as I type…)…..please remember the light, spring, cheery lunch items above! I hope you find some of these ideas useful, for an occasion or gathering of your own sometime!

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Let us continue to rejoice, and be glad.

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