Untitled

121/365
9:07am

Vacation: Over.

Desolate

120/365
Somewhere in the 2 o'clock hour

While the resort may have been a super cool way to spend a couple days, the off-season town was much to be desired. Creepy, in a sad way, comes to mind. And well, creepy, in just a creepy way does too.

Off-Limits

119/365
7:20pm

We headed up to the Wilderness Resort in the Wisconsin Dells for a long-awaited retreat. My mom bid & won a 2-night stay here from our local food allergy association's (FAAW) fundraiser in 2008. We had a fantabulous time: swimming, lazy-rivering, sliding, riding waves in the wave pool, you name it. The kids endlessly shrieked with joy, and played so intensely that they requested to go to bed early. Wuh? I should probably note that John and I promptly fell asleep at 9pm ourselves. Why haven't we done this sooner?

Ok, and as for the picture--it's not like I was bringing any cameras in the pool. So, it might be a little off that I would post something that we would never actually give our kids.

Piggies

118/365
6:59pm

Charlie just hanging out on the couch, reading Mr. Noisy--how appropriate.

I love baby feet. And I love that it's warm enough to go without socks. And I love how the light hits the top of his toe and his hand back there.

Without Airs

117/365
4:53pm

I love back and side doors; they seem relaxed, friendly, casual. Make it a vintage one with certain wooden clap and I can hear an entire childhood.

Passing Time

116/365
10:31am

As the boys were safely watching the torrential downpour, their father was running in it.

I did not want it in total black and white, so I just desaturated the color a bit.

Laughter, Infectious

115/365
7:18pm

It wasn't intentional, but it appears I'm on a Brothers assignment with this post and the next. Analysis: could use a bit more contrast, like the white tiles, totally useless soap dish remains totally useless, love the smiles & eye contact with each other, should have shifted composition to the left a tad.

Objet d'art

113/365
5:18pm

Our neighbors have this in their very sweet English-inspired garden. They have perfectly imperfect flagstones grouted with lush moss, bunches of charmingly unruly sedum peeking out between layers and layers of pale, thin limestones, a quietly bubbling fountain lined with smooth, dark pebbles in the corner, and a dwarf pear tree majestically guarding the itty bitty courtyard. Receiving bowls of ripe, juicy strawberries aside, it's one of Jack's favorite places to visit.

Reconstruction

114/365
7:10pm

We were out on State Street, then the Memorial Union, and then walked through Library Mall last night as a little family outing. I took several pictures of the kids devouring Chipotle, right- and left-arm rock pitches into Lake Mendota, the sailboats all perfectly aligned and patiently waiting for their 2009 inaugural run, but I couldn't pass up posting this frame. The construction running through Library Mall isn't going to create a lovely new space to toss a Frisbee or offer more picnic spots; it's a utility project. Bor-ing, but probably necessary. In the meantime, the whole site is outlined in ginourmous link fences that houses what appears to be rubbish, but at one time was likely Pretty Important.

As a side note, as I tried this in several variations of black and white, John commented that they all looked post-war and well, kinda creepy. Not that this one isn't a titch creepy, but maybe a tad less ominous--won't go all symbolic on you, but golden light on the Presbyterian church and all helps keep us in just "construction zone" and less "returning to the village" mode.

Lou

112/365
5:19pm

Charlie's calmer moments are with his blanket, whom he affectionately and independently named Lou.

Gap ad

111/365
4:13pm

My kids are nesters; they find large pillowy layers of sheets, blankets, and down and tuck themselves in like little birds. Changing the sheets is an exciting hunk of time around here. However, Jack was seriously grumpy about being photographed today, so this was the only thing I could get without a major pout. John thinks it's a little odd; I get that. But it was kinda cool to play with in Photoshop. I switched everything to B&W, but kept the jeans in color.

Megan: Enjoy Yourself

110/365
3:06pm

It was raining enough to justify new umbrellas. This turns out to be a fabulous thing because I would not have been able to photograph Megan any other way today. Something about bachelorette party, martinis, and four o'clock in the morning. I don't know, the details are fuzzy.

Tourist

109/365
3:22pm

On the assumption I may have lost you on the cliche', this is my purposeful tourist shot. Michigan Avenue. Cab. Car window. Art Institute. Bike. Twisty tree.

Don't Judge Me

108/365
2:46pm

This confession may make me appear un-Midwestern or...wait for it...daffy, but I do not like Daffodils. At all. In any way. Except that emerging in other people's flower beds is a sign of spring I can genuinely appreciate.

Accumulate

107/365
1:36pm
Easiest, least expensive gift to my kids ever: Matchbox cars. A couple years ago we painstakingly counted them out in official one-to-one correspondence fashion and hit somewhere in the mid-120s. It amazes me they haven't been duplicated, and maybe more impressive, is that Jack knows Every.Single.One. School just started a thematic unit on collections and Jack emphatically denied having one of any kind. Apparently, we need to find a new way to define this word because he's clearly is a candidate for this event. Too bad we don't have plans to visit Albuquerque in July.

Furl

106/365
4:38pm
Dude, I'd tuck myself into a teeny tiny ball* if I saw two blazing, roaring entities making a bee line for my alone time too.

At last glance, the caterpillar was truckin' it down the block at an unprecedented speed, probably considering moving to a lovely tree in a nice retirement community courtyard.

*No caterpillars were harmed in this unscientific, exciting, and momentary observation.

Who's Your Stylist?

105/365
4:25pm

Isn't it kinda annoying when parents dress their kids alike? Mine do it on their own--request sent in for white tees and bed head today.

Day After

104/365
7:53pm

The Easter Bunny fills our eggs with jelly beans, Skippers, chocolate eggs, and coins. Inevitably, the hunting and emptying becomes a full on math lesson with sorting, patterns, counting right before gleeful eating ensues. This meager fistful and one rouge Skipper is what's left of the jelly bean portion.

Every now and then I jump back from the photog stuff and just do the life stuff. Here's to jelly beans.

Easter Greetings

103/365
9:13am

Happy Easter!

Iron Oxidization

102/365
6:36pm

It's recently come to my attention that rust spots are materializing on our exterior handrail at a rate comparable teenage acne, which is what you'd expect with the whole water, oxygen, iron situation we have working here. Ah, since I imagine no one is really interested in actually checking out the latter, I decided to leave our aforementioned blemishes out of this shot as well.

Painting, Egg & Digital

101/365
12:09pm

My favorite parts: his gorgeous lashes, his perfectly dimply hands, those freakin' adorable cheeks, the magnificently dyed pale yellow egg. Prior to giving this a watercolor finish, I had an issue with the egg and hands spot-on sharp and his eyes not-so-much. Part of the problem with shooting with such a large aperture (f/2.2) is that you get a pretty shallow depth of field, which was great, however, to let in a lot of light for the shots during our fantabulous egg & finger dyeing party. By applying one of Photoshop's artistic options, I was able to eliminate even the need for the word sharp.

Reach

100/365
6:57pm

Facts on the growing tree peony: ISO 100, Time Value 1/160, Aperture f/1.8, Focal Length 50mm. Cleaned up a bit of light in my free Photoshop Elements trial....could do a hundred million things on that and all I did was adjust a bit of hue and add a bit of light, if I remember correctly. I really need to get crackin' on that before my trial is over. Totally grateful for the tutorial I've already received, and I'll continue take any advice, short cuts, things to avoid, or Cut Bait and Run advice. Seriously, it's like another language.

Rox for Jox

99/365
10:39am

Six boys & three moms explored rocks, minerals, fossils, meteorites, a fluorescent display, and di-NO-saurs at the UW Geology Museum. In about 30 minutes flat. An obvious highlight for Charlie was the window to the Prep Room where future paleontologists were working on patience as they ignored the glass banging and enthusiastic "HEY GUYS!"

Why I Pick What I Pick

98/365
11:26am

I have still been shooting, but it's been a long week and I'm terribly behind on posting. Apologies.

If I didn't tell you this was April, would you know by looking at this shot? Hats, coats, skeletal tree....blekkers. I realize Jack isn't in focus here, but I chose this one over just Charlie in the frame, just Jack in the frame or a We-Just-Ate-Something-Slimy-And-Disgusting Yet This Picture Is In Total Focus. 'Bout the moment and this is it. Slide on, my friends.

Bow? Check.

97/365
11:44am

Before we came over this morning, she requested a little yellow bow to adorn herself. She's all girl in the midst of all boys: an expert in fashion, accessories, babies, modeling all packed into her 21 month life experience.

I'm so looking forward to our official Year Two photo shoot, particularly because she's going to take all the work out of it!