Friday, November 20, 2009

Final Photography Class Project

For our final class project, we were to have a frame within a frame in black and white. Below are a few possibilities that I got from the 260 photos I shot this afternoon. We spent our afternoon at the park. I am so very thankful for a sunny day after four dreary, rainy days. I wasn't sure when I was going to be able to get out and get some photos.


Curtis


Samuel


Alexander


Samuel, Curtis and Alexander


Briana

Julissa


Briana and Julissa

Briana, Samuel, Julissa, Curtis, and Alex




Nature

I love to see this tree when the sun shines through the woods. It becomes so white looking standing out amongst the dark of the other trees. My camera stick was full so I had to come in and empty it before going back out. By the time I got back outside to take a picture the sun had moved some and it didn't show up as white as it had a little earlier.





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Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Cape Cod Bay - Private Beach

This is our third full day of vacation (September). It was a beautiful afternoon, so we spent it on the beach.

I am just now getting more vacation photos posted. I understand that many people are probably not interested in them, but that is okay because this is for my record more than anything.


Curtis


Samuel and Briana looking for shells.

Alex enjoying the water.


Julissa watching Alex filling his bucket with sand.


Curtis, Briana and Alex enjoying the water.


Alex, Samuel, and Curtis (Sam, of course, had to be at least a step or two further out than anyone else.)



My sister Heidi walking down the beach!


The view to the left of me.


Interesting rock towers


A close-up of one of the rock towers.


Waves


The kids enjoyed playing with the seagulls. They found a brightly colored lighter in the water and would pick it up and throw it. The gull would get it, carry it off, and eventually drop it. If you look closely you can see that he has dropped it and it is about to reach the water. The kids and the gulls did this over and over.


Another seagull


The view to the right of me.



Friday, November 13, 2009

Aperture Assignment

Just for you, Heidi! Thanks for the beginnings of an idea. Here are the final results. If you look closely you will see that the tablecloth in the foreground is out of focus and the fall decor in the background is also out of focus, but as the aperture number is increased those things begin to come into focus. I hope this will satisfy my teacher tomorrow.









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Saturday, November 07, 2009

Curtis and Alexander


Curtis holding Osage Orange. (Thanks, Carol!)

Alex eating his apple.


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Samuel

It is a gorgeous 70 degree day outside today! Below are a few pictures I took of Samuel up in a tree!











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Friday, November 06, 2009

Briana

Here are a few photos of Briana that I shot using natural lighting in the woods behind our house.






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Tuesday, October 27, 2009

The kids at Conner Prairie

The kids enjoying various aspects of Conner Prairie on October 21, 2009.


The well at the Inn

Water seemed to be a great attraction.

The kids sorting beans at the Gregorys

The girls inside Whitaker's Store


The girls playing checkers at the Curtis Home

Curtis in the Curtis Home

Briana riding the "horse" in the Animal Encounters Barn.

Some of the kids outside the Wigwam in the Lenape Camp.


Samuel playing a game outside the Curtis Home.

Briana enjoying the game.

The kids trying out the stilts at the schoolhouse.

The kids walking up the stairs.


The boys watching the Tomahawk Throwing Contest.

Curtis throwing the tomahawk.

Samuel with the tomahawk just released from his hands.

Alex with the tomahawk in mid-air.


Julissa cleaning off the potter's wheel.

Curtis working the potter's wheel.

It's time to go home!



Monday, October 26, 2009

Outdoor Beauty at Conner Prairie


Flowers


Beautiful flowers along the fence line.

A glimpse of fall along the fence line outside the Animal Encounters Barn.


I love the turning of leaves in the fall.

Outside the McClure's Home

The Privy

Trading Post in the Lenape Camp

A dugout canoe and the fur trader


I don't know if you would necessarily consider this outdoor beauty, but I wanted to share it with you and it seemed to fit here best. I thought this scarecrow to be quite hilarious!

A beautiful sky!

The view from the Conner Homestead!



Sunday, October 25, 2009

Animals at Conner Prairie

I enjoyed taking photos of the various animals at Conner Prairie.


Donkeys

Donkey

Some Pig!

Radiant!



Oxen


Goat



Goat's Milk


Sheep

Another sheep

Calf

Scottish Highland Cattle (I thought these were so pretty!)



Saturday, October 24, 2009

Costumed Hosts at Conner Prairie


The Innkeeper at Golden Eagle Inn

The Carpenter at McClure's Carpenter Shop

The Storekeeper at Whitaker's Store

The Potter at Barker's Pottery Shop


Dr. Campbell's Cook

The Farmer and his Oxen

The Curtis Home

Mr. Curtis





Friday, October 23, 2009

The Ins and Outs of the Buildings at Conner Prairie


The barn at Golden Eagle Inn in Prairietown


A bed upstairs in the Golden Eagle Inn

Large mittens hanging on the wall in the Inn

Apples drying above the fireplace in the Inn.

In the McClure's home.

McClure's Carpenter Shop

The woodshed


A writing desk in the Gregory's home.


The chalkboard in the schoolhouse


Barrels on the porch of Whitaker's Store


Inside the Curtis Home


Barker's Pottery Shop


A fireplace in the Pottery Shop


A spinning wheel in the Loom House


The bedroom in the Conner Homestead


A cradle in the Conner Homestead






Thursday, October 22, 2009

Writing on Slates at Conner Prairie

Yesterday the kids and I were privileged to go to Conner Prairie with another homeschooling family. We had a great time! The kids enjoyed writing on slates with soapstone. If only they were this enthusiastic when it came to doing school work on a daily basis. Maybe I need to buy them slates and soapstone for school?! I am sure the enjoyment wouldn't last long!


Samuel, Briana, and Julissa

Samuel

Briana


Alex

Julissa

Curtis

Musket Firing Demonstration at Bunker Hill

While we were visiting Bunker Hill, we were able to see a park ranger demonstrating the firing of a musket. My kids really enjoyed this. In fact, we were there long enough the kids got to see it twice.


The Park Ranger giving us a little background info about the battle of Bunker Hill and the musket.


He is waiting on the sidelines while another park ranger does some talking.


The park ranger demonstrating the use of the bayonet on the end of the musket.


Check out the glasses that they are required to wear!


The kids and Uncle Mike watching the demonstration.

The Park Ranger and the kids

My Mom (the History Prof.) holding Brown Bess (the musket).


The Park Ranger and Mike







Sunday, October 18, 2009

Bunker Hill Monument

It is now Saturday, September 5, 2009 and we are going to visit the Bunker Hill Monument in Boston, MA. We spent quite a bit of time there at the monument. Mom, Jeff, Mike and Sam climbed all the way to the top of the monument. I believe it was 291 steps. It was definitely not for the faint of heart. My other four kids and I climbed up about fifty steps and I think Heidi made it up to the one hundredth step.


Gas lamp alongside the street






Colonel William Prescott



Dr. Joseph Warren

Alex, Curtis, Briana and Julissa waiting on the rest of the clan to get back down out of the monument.

Samuel at the top of Bunker Hill Monument

Mom


Mike, Sam and Mom

Jeff and Mom reading information about the monument.

This picture and the ones below are taken from the top of the monument overlooking the city of Boston.

This is Charlestown Naval Yard

This is the same area as above.






Uncle Mike and the kids sitting in the back of his truck. Jeff is using his GPS to try and locate a place to eat lunch.





Friday, October 16, 2009

Variety is the Spice of Life!


Macaroni and Milk and Potatoes.

This is something I normally fix when Jeff is not home, but he decided he wanted to try it. So I fixed it for a Saturday lunch. After I had it fixed, he decided that the main course was not enough. He decided that crackers, cheese and grapes would make a nice addition to the meal. So what do you girls think?!


This is for Heidi! Thanks for the pumpkin!
And a thank you to Lyndi for the table runner!


Banded Woolly Bear Caterpiller

It wasn't but a day or two before I took this picture that I was wishing I could see one of these caterpillers. They were something we saw a lot of growing up and I hadn't really seen one in a long time. Then my kids came in and told me that they had found a caterpillar. I am not sure that they had ever seen one of these before; because they went and looked it up in their nature guide to find out its name. I just wanted to know what kind of a winter it was predicting! :)


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Thursday, October 15, 2009

Happy 12th Birthday, Curtis!

Happy 12th Birthday, Curtis! I hope you had a wonderful day!



This cake seems to have become a family favorite of late. I used to purchase bakery cakes, but now they prefer to have this simple and delicious chocolate bundt cake.



The boys absolutely love to build legos. This love definitely didn't come from either Jeff or I.


A rifle so they can go hunting via wii.


volleyball

A baseball bat for the wii.

A nerf gun


One of his birthday cards.

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Fall

'Tis fall, the most wonderful time of the year! Oh, I guess that is supposed to be winter, but I truly do enjoy fall time. Below are a few pictures I took today outside my front door.







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York Beach, ME

York Beach, ME - the final stop of our day (Friday, September 4, 2009) before supper and sleep. This is the beach where we spent time fourteen years ago on our honeymoon.


Beautiful blues

Our vacation home (we wish)

Timeless photography

York Beach 2009


York Beach 1995

Oceanography

Our five kids

Our girls!

My Sweetheart!

Alex watching Briana

Julissa really enjoyed getting in the water this year. Last year she was content to sit and play in the sand.

Goodnight Moon!






Christmas Music!



Once again, Abiding Radio has their All Christmas Stream available - Click HERE


I love this time of the year!