The Rose Garden?

For our SLR 2 field trip we went to a rose garden, but sadly the roses we not in bloom, but there were beautiful water fountains and a lot of other flowers that were ready to be shot by eager students.


Dandilions are one of the most annoying flowers out there, but so very sweet at the same time.

This fountain was perfect to practice long and short shutter speed.

Hans has a thing for Lilacs. I'm not sure if it's the look or the nostalgic smell, but I was thinking of him when I shot this.

I am excited to report that this photo didn't need any photoshopping.

This too is real thing.

One of our assignments was to work on using foreground

Being born in the desert has deprived me of plants that I'm sure are common place in most other parts of the world. These little beauties are called bleeding hearts.

There was a sculpture garden and this statue had a bunch of these oragami birds stuffed in it.

Minneapolis at night

My digital SLR 2 class promised to be more hands on than SLR1. Last week our instructor took us to a slightly sketchy but amazing location to get pictures of Minneapolis at night. The bridge in the pictures is the historical Stone Arch Bridge. It was built in 1883 to allow trains to cross the Mississippi River, but is now a pedestrian/bicycle bridge.

Minneapolis was once called "Flour Milling Capital of the World." It was and is in many cases, home to such companies as Pillsbury, General Mills and Gold Medal Flour. (If you look to the far left you can almost read the GOLD MEDAL FLOUR neon sign.)

While the class was shooting, at least 20 Canadian Geese families with there goslings swam through the bridge. The city and the bridge from the right side.

Conrad's 1st piano recital

There's a man in our ward by the name of Drew Thomas (he's a pediatrican), who plays the organ for our church service on Sundays. He does a great job with the hymns, but his postlude is what is amazing. One day after, the Sacrament meeting he played Widor's Toccata - 5th Organ Symphony Opus 42 No1. Hans, Conrad & I just sat there, hypnotized by the beautiful music. After he finished, Conrad turned to me,

Conrad:"I want to play the organ like that."
Me: "It took Drew a year to learn that song and he's been playing the organ for years."
Conrad (with resolve): "Okay, I'll do it."
Me: "You'd have to learn to play the piano first."
Conrad: "Okay."
Me: "You'll have to practice everyday."
Conrad (with even more resolve): "Okay, I'll do it."
Me: "Okay."

So, this past Thursday (May 21, 2009) Conrad played in his 1st piano recital.


I've noticed with Conrad that when he has to perform, whether it be dance, music, or a speech, he gets his game face on (see picture above) and acts very serious and self assured. I asked him if he was nervous and if he felt ready, he coolly answered, "No I'm not nervous at all and yes, of course I'm ready."
I felt like quoting Willie Wonka and saying "You do seem confident, and confidence is key..."
That night he played 3 songs, Old McDonald had a Song, Wind in the Trees and All the Stars are Shining. After he played, looking rather satisfied, he took a bow and sat down. His recital went well and I'm hoping this will be a jumping off point for him and he will excel and want to push himself to play Widor's Toccata.

Digital SLR 1

I bought a fancy Nikon D80 last Thanksgiving and had been keeping it on the automatic settings ever since. I felt pretty lame not knowing how to use the manual part of my camera, but afraid of the "unknown." (I know how silly to be afraid of a camera.) I was rightfully chastened by a couple of my swanky photographer friends for using this sweet camera as a glorified point and shoot. Hans was encouraging as well, "Buy a book, study online, take a class. Let's get our moneys worth out of this camera and learn how to use it."
I took their comments to heart and I am currently enrolled in the community ed Digital SLR 1 & 2 class. The first session just ended and I am a changed lady. The instructor was fantastic. He not only helped me get comfortable with "the other side" of my camera, but gave helpful and practical tips for maintenance, accessories, editing, printing and extras.
Below are a couple of my final products of Digital SLR 1.

This picture was taken using a small depth of field. (just the hand and shells are in focus.) The comments from the instructor were to not put the object in the center (to make it more interesting) and to use a softened flash to help the object pop. I must admit, I've been anti-flash for a long time because of how it washes everything out, but with a filtered flash, it's like a whole new world.

This was taken at Lake Como using a large depth of field (everything is in focus). Again I have an issue with putting everything in the center.


Smaller depth of field. (the background isn't totally in focus.) The instructor liked Conrad's positioning in the picture, but again suggested using a filtered flash, so that he would stand out more from the background.
I love Conrad's quizzical brow in this shot. He was actually slightly annoyed with me because we were at the lake taking pictures, not having fun. He also got a fair amount of mosquito bites that night, poor guy.

Conrad and his bow

All year long, Conrad, Riley & Amelia spend a lot of time outside. The boys busy themselves by building forts, trenches, weapons of mass destruction, traps, etc. from things they find around our community. For the past 9 months Conrad has been sharpening his bow and arrow making skills and practicing his aim.
Hans and I have tossed around the idea of purchasing a "real" bow and arrow for Conrad, but our friend Brian told us not to because it would spoil the creative juices that are flowing through him all the time. So being good parents and not wanting to ruin our oldest child, we haven't bought him one. I think one can say Conrad is craftier and our community and the small animals that live near us, are safer because of our restraint.

"She's Crafty"

I was talking with Jill, a friend of mine in Vegas, and she noted that I hadn't mentioned my pregnancy since the ultrasound that let us know I was carrying a boy. Yes, I'm still pregnant and feeling severely normal besides the obscene amount of weight gain on every part of my body. (thus no pictures of me.)
I've been busying myself by reading Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, learning to crochet (not an easy feat since I'm a lefty), sewing a dress for Amelia and I'm currently taking a photography class. I am feeling so darn crafty these days. I heard a quote the other day that made me feel even more accomplished.

"I'm so crafty, I make people."

Amelia told me yesterday that Eva Creer was her very best friend.

Although I am taking a photography class, I did not take any of these lovely pictures of Amelia. Stacey, Eva's mother, did.

But I did crochet the hat

adorable

P.s.
The pattern of the hat is for Beginners and comes with infant to adult size instructions. I'd love to post the pattern, but sadly it's copyrighted by the artist and she seems pretty serious about her copyright. That being said, she does sell the pattern for a small price at her Etsy shop:
Nutella Dreams late Night Crafts By thnkdfrent .

Oh Sugar Honey Ice Tea

This picture was taken in January not April. (Yes, Spring has finally come to Minnesota.)
You may be asking, "Who is that masked man?" Don't let the hand-made scarf, camouflage gloves and orange reflective ankle straps (you'll notice that this was his pre-helmet period) fool you.
No, Hans isn't climbing Mt. Everest or preparing to brave the arctic tundra in search of lost baby sea lions. He is fearlessly dressed to ride his bike 3 miles for another grueling day (or so he says) of dissertation writing.
Hans prides himself on riding his bike every school day of the year come rain or shine, Hell or high water, extreme heat or obscene cold; he's like the United States Post Office. This winter he set a person record for biking in -21 degree (we took this photograph to document the occasion), technically with windchill it was -35. He has yet to lose a nose or finger or any other appendage. There have been a few close calls, but those stories cannot be publicly posted.

It's cold here, but at least we have our health

Drum roll, please........ and in 2008, the Healthiest State in the Nation is....... Minnesota!!!
I thought so, what with all the people riding their bikes, running around at least 1 of the 10,000 lakes (for exercise), and buying their vegetables at farmer's markets. They or should I say we, are pretty healthy people. Check out how your state ranks.

This ranking came from the CQ Press: An Independent Publisher, and they used 21 factors to determine the health of each state. Below are the factors.

Negative Factors
1. Births of Low Birthweight as a Percent of All Births
2. Teenage Birth Rate
3. Percent of Mothers Receiving Late or No Prenatal Care
4. Age-Adjusted Death Rate
5. Infant Mortality Rate
6. Age-Adjusted Death Rate by Malignant Neoplasms
7. Age-Adjusted Death Rate by Suicide
8. Average Annual Family Coverage Health Insurance Premium
9. Percent of Population Not Covered by Health Insurance
10. Percent of Children Not Covered by Health Insurance
11. Estimated Rate of New Cancer Cases
12. AIDS Rate
13. Sexually Transmitted Disease Rate
14. Percent of Population Lacking Access to Primary Care
15. Percent of Adults Who Are Binge Drinkers
16. Percent of Adults Who Smoke
17. Percent of Adults Obese
18. Percent of Adults Who Do Not Exercise
Positive Factors
19. Beds in Community Hospitals per 100,000 Population
20. Percent of Children Aged 19-35 Months Immunized
21. Safety Belt Usage Rate

"I want to ride my bicycle. I want to ride my bike."

Hans has been riding a bike to school ever since 1999. And in all that time he has never worn a helmet until last week. He could just never find the right one and he thought people who wore them "looked pretty dorky." (I admit that I think fashion does play a part when it comes to accessorizing a bike or any sport, but I was surprised when Hans agreed with me.)
What brought about the change of heart in Hans? The concern of his running buddies Mark & Scott and Mark's sweet wife Stacey.
Hans spent a whole day looking for the right one, (luckily bike helmet fashion has come along way since 1999.) and found this little sweetheart. It's a Giro Flak and this one so happens to be called "Red Creep." One of his students told him that his helmet was "Pretty B$%&@#in''!"

Hints from up above

Hans & I joke that I should write a parenting book called Chaos Parenting like this blog. I am notorious for not being the perfect mother and my parenting skills are becoming legend or rather infamous.
My habits are not widely known, but I have noticed that when I am screaming at the top of my lungs people seem to be around to take notice.

Example #1:
Our typical Sunday routine consists of me flying solo, (Hans has a church calling before church even starts,) with 3 children to get breakfast down their throats, teeth & hair brushed, pressed and dressed for church, not to mention out the door in plenty of time to get to church punctually. This generally happens without too much of a fight, but now and again I have a doddler named Riley, who just won't be pushed, pulled or persuaded to move at MY pace. When I'm slightly stressed and running 2+ minutes late I start to FREAK OUT, just a little and my voice raises and I usually yell to him "COME ON RILEY! HURRY UP!"
Well, on one of these "freak outs" our neighbor, Brian happened to be right behind us going to church as well. While I was loudly scolding Riley for his snail like movements, I looked up to see Brian 3 steps behind us. I felt rather sheepish and out of control and apologized to him and Riley for my elevated voice and we all went on our merry way to church.
Two weeks later it was a rerun and again Riley was dragging his feet and again I yelled at him and again Brian was right behind us. I knew that he knew that my yelling was not a one time deal, I felt mortified that I could not keep my composure outside of my home. I tried to laugh it off by saying to Brian, "Now you know the truth, I yell at my children on Sundays and probably on other days of the week too." He was kind, like he always is and said that he has 4 kids and knows about Sundays, but I knew that God was trying to send me a message and Brian was his messenger.

Example #2:
Every month the boys have a day off from school other than holidays and weekends. My groove is completely thrown off and because the boys are not doing their regular school routine their idleness becomes the devil's playground in my home. It is all starts very innocently, the boys are playing and then it turns into wrestling and then Conrad goes from Dr. Jekyll to Mr. Hyde in .25 seconds. The amateur wrestling is now a WWF smack down and either Riley starts to bleed or Amelia gets in between the two of them and she gets hurt and I lose it. And on this particular day, I lost it pretty loudly and then there was a knock at the door.

My 1st thought: "Whoever it is, they have been standing there long enough to here me rant & rave and didn't knock until after I had finished yelling."
My 2nd thought: "I know the person behind the door is of some importance like the missionaries, or one of my friends who has the patience of a saint, or someone without kids who won't understand why I can't control myself or my children and wonders why I'm having a #4 if my life is so out of control."

So I opened the door and it was the JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES bearing a message of PEACE. Oh yeah... Generally, when they come to my door, I tell them I'm happy with my church and no I don't want any of their magazines or pamphlets and that's it, but I knew that, they knew, that I knew that they had heard me yelling at me kids 30 seconds earlier and I took their Message of Peace pamphlet, thanked them and closed the door with utter humiliation.
Does that sound like a loud enough hint from God?
God knows that imposing HUMILITY works really well with me and I know what He's trying to tell me, "Plan better. Get up earlier. Keep your temper. Have more patience. Don't micro manage. & Find joy in the journey."