Week 26 - Motion

This boy on Gannon's baseball team was a great player.  His facial expressions made watching the game a joy. :)

Gannon was one of the pitchers on his team this season and he loved it.  Here he is pitching.  The windup...

And the release!

Hayden ran a 5k last week with all of the fifth grade classes.  Out of 80 kids, he came in 24th.  Pretty awesome!

 

 Finley may be wide of girth and low to the ground, but when motivated, this boy can move!

Week 25 - Best Friends

Heidi and I were roommates in college.  We bonded over guitars, making chicken stir-fry (every. single. night.) and the occasional laughing contest. Don’t ask! Let’s just say it was loud and our upstairs neighbors, ahem…loved us.  Fifteen years later, we’re both married and living on opposite sides of the country.  She has all girls; I have all boys.  Our lives couldn’t be more different and far apart, but she is still the one I call when I have good news, need advice or need a shoulder to cry on.  She is the one I called recently when I locked myself in my closet for a self-imposed timeout after a trying day with my rambunctious boys. She is smart, kind, loyal and HILARIOUS.  Best friends are hard to find and I feel so blessed that Heidi and I ended up in the same apartment all those years ago!

  
My Dad had 2 great photos this week, so we had to include both.  First up, a father and son.  Best friends out having a good time, as evidenced by the mud splattered all over the Jeep.  I love the red and the symmetry of the open doors.

I’m sure you’re all dying to know…What does the fox say?  Well, if you ask my Dad, I’ll bet he knows.  He has gotten so close to this family of foxes that they've probably told him all their secrets.  He’s like an animal whisperer.

Week 24 - Water

Water, water, everywhere...this has certainly been the case in Utah this past month.  It's rained more these past few weeks then it has in all the years I've lived here.  Everything is so green and beautiful and hopefully this means no wildfires this summer.  With all the rain, the puddles have been swimming pool sized and glorious.  And such a temptation for little feet.  Here is a monstrous puddle at the park.

Water, water, everywhere... applies to Hawaii too!   And speaking of glorious, Jeremy and I got to spend a blissful week on the Big Island, being lazy and taking advantage of all the water that is plentiful there.  This is Rainbow Falls.

And this was our view from our dinner table one night, along the waterfront in Kona.

Week 23 - Repetition

I used the power of repetition just this morning...to tell my boys to clean their rooms...over and over and over again.  The more I repeated it, the more they were inclined to listen, right?!  At least in theory, but it doesn't seem to work that way with kids!  With photography though, repetition can be an effective tool.  Repeating an object more than once can strengthen a composition and bring a sense of order.   Whether you realize it or not, repetition is all around us...a row of trees, a field of flowers or a box of crayons.  It was fun trying to see if I could spot repetitious patterns this week.  Here are my attempts:

 

I love the repetition of the beautiful Aspen trees and cute deer in my Dad's picture.  Are there 3 or 4 deer here?  Use your "Where's Waldo" skills to figure it out. :)

Week 22 - Family

The Lost Boys...don't mess with them or you'll get karate-chopped or shot with an imaginary arrow.  We've always tried to teach our boys to look out for each other.  Jeremy tells them, "friends may come and go, but brothers are forever."  He didn't have a brother growing up.  His twin brother died a few days after they were born and he's always wished he had experienced the camaraderie (and headlocks) that comes with having a brother.  Hopefully, one day they'll appreciate how lucky they are to have each other.  

Week 21 - Foreground

This week's assignment of Foreground has been a challenge for me.  Most of what I’ve learned about taking better images has been to simplify and get rid of distracting elements in my pictures.   However, when used wisely, a good foreground (the part of the image nearest to the viewer), can add interest, context and lead the eye to the main subject.  This is my son, in one of his quieter moments.  I say “quieter” because there are still sounds happening, usually in the form of car engines revving and screeching.  How do little boys instinctively know how to make realistic car sounds?  I’ve been a mom of 3 boys for 11 years and I still sound like I’m spitting when I try.

My Dad used his horse's mane as a foreground to get a shot of his friend on their 55 mile endurance horse race.  55 miles, you say?!  Yes, that's right.  I've gone on a few long horse rides with him (maybe 15 miles) and I was so sore, I couldn't walk for a week!  Endurance horse racing is not for the faint of heart.  And He doesn't like to tell people (so I'll do it for him...sorry, Dad!), but he usually wins these races.  

 

Week 20 - Peaceful

Bridger is always full of energy and his preferred method of getting from Point A to Point B is usually running, hopping, skipping or bopping.  Because this week's theme is the antithesis of my boys and peaceful moments are a rarity at our house, I've had to stretch my brain more than usual.  One of the rare times when Bridger is still is when he is looking for bugs, flowers or cool rocks.  He can quietly and patiently scour the ground, looking for treasures for hours and be perfectly content.

Here he is showing me his finds...a feather and a lady bug. 

 Taking a break from all the creature hunting.

Blowing dandelions...what kid can resist?

I don't know how peaceful these next pictures are, but they just make me happy.