Happy Twelfth Birthday D

What a good big brother to let his little sister help him blow out all those candles:

First Day of School

Yes, it is that time of year again. Time for the children to head back to school. This year is E's first year of school. She is in Jr Kindergarten this year.


If you had asked her two weeks ago about going to school, she would have crossed her arms, furrowed her brow, and very adamantly said "I AM NOT GOING TO SCHOOL". We kept trying to tell her that school would be fun and that she would enjoy it, but no go. Finally, the other day she Elmo's World was all about going to school. she watched the show very intently and decided afterwards that maybe going to school would be fun since the children were painting and colouring and doing lots of fun things. Thank goodness something changed her attitude. I was still a little worried that she would wake up that day and change her mind, but no, she got ready and headed out to wait for the bus like a big girl. Oh course she has her big brother to lead the way.

Isn't that so sweet that he would hold her hand:


Big Bro looking excited about the start of another school year:

We had a little time to wait, so they started singing The Wheels on the Bus, here I caught the actions to the wipers on the bus go swish, swish, swish......



Yep, that is my big brother:

What time did you say the bus comes?


Wait, is that the bus coming now?


A little excited:

and a little nervous


How much longer?

Here is the bus finally,


and there they go

Shasta Daisies

Here are a few pictures that I took of the shasta daisies in my garden, before and after a rain.

I've Been Published

Yes, that is right, one of my photos, from my little photo play date, last fall, with my good friend Tina and her son, was published at the "In the End" photo in the fall 2007 edition of the Canadian Scrapbooker Magazine. The "In the End" photo always appears on the last page of the magazine, just inside the back cover.

Just thought I would share my excitement of seeing one of my photos and my name in print.

A July Finalist

I feel like I am on a little bit of a roll here. I have had a finalist, three months in a row now.


Here is a copy of email showing just how many entries they receive in a month. I feel like it is such an honour when one of my pictures get nominated for an Editor's First Pick or a Finalist.

Congratulations! You have placed as a finalist in this month's BetterPhoto
Contest! Over 31400 photos were entered into the competition; it is an honor
to have your image selected among the top 911 finalist photos.

Here is the picture:

I'm Still Alive

Yes, I have been seriously neglecting my blog. Summer just seems to have a way of doing that to you.

Anyways I should share some of things that have happened. I was a finalist for June again over at Betterphoto.com.

Here is a copy of the email:

Congratulations! You have placed as a finalist in this month's BetterPhoto
Contest! Over 25500 photos were entered into the competition; it is an honor
to have your image selected among the top 679 finalist photos.

and here is the photo:

I'm a Finalist!

Some of my photography friends have been encouraging me to enter photos in the free monthly contests held at BetterPhoto.com. I have been entering for several months, getting comments here and there, but not placing in the contests, until now.



Here is the email that I received :

Congratulations! You have placed as a finalist in this month's BetterPhoto
Contest! Over 26000 photos were entered into the competition; it is an honor
to have your image selected among the top 898 finalist photos.

Your finalist photo: Little Miss Sunshine

I am so excited to be a finalist. What an awesome feeling.

Lil' Biker Chick

I don't think that I need to say much here, the pictures pretty much speak for themselves!

Dollies Need Swimming Lessons Too

Well, at least my DD thinks so.

While she was swimming a few days ago, decided that she should give her Dolly some swimming lessons, so that she can swim with her this summer in the pool. I was able to capture some of the action to share with you.

Here she is showing her how to swim:


This is how you do a back float:

Now try it on your own:

A big hug for Dolly for a job well done:

First Swim of the Season

Yes, the nice weather has finally arrived and swimming season has officially arrived for my daughter. I prefer the pool to be just a little warmer yet, but the cold water does not seem to bother her at all.

When we had been out getting shopping and getting groceries, she spied this stick on belly button jewellery, that she thought would be just perfect to wear for the pool party she was planning for her pretend friend for the first swim of the season.


I am not sure which picture I like better, the centred one or the one where the "belly button ring" as she calls it is highlighted by the sun.





Here she is with the caterpillar that she rescued from the pool.



when I took her out after supper to play this was the foot wear she chose to compliment her outfit!




She is trying to coax the cat out of the tree, using a butterfly net. You can only imagine how fun this was in real life. What makes it even funnier, was that the cat was quite content to be up in the tree just out of her reach.