#21 Smoke Bush

The same smoke bush that drives Rory nuts looked gorgeous tonight in the sunset. The "smoke" part of the bush takes over our grass during the fall and we (I mean Rory) have the pleasure of raking it up. Tonight we will enjoy the sunset coming through the "smoke" and try not to think about having to rake it up later.

#20 Watching Clouds While Driving is Not Safe

The clouds have been amazing the last couple of weeks. They are streaky and the sky is so blue. I've been a little obsessed with them. 

Just so you know, watching clouds while driving is not safe. Try not to be distracted by the clouds and keep your eyes on the road. :)

#19 Photo Challenge: Friendship

These four friends had the best time playing in this giant tree. I think this about sums about friendship. I desperately wish we had this tree in our backyard, but for now, our little twig-branch trees in our backyard will have to do. We can visit the Greenbelt again, and this special tree house anytime.

#18 Photo Challenge: Fatherhood

While I had grand visions of what I wanted to do with this challenge, I had two children who weren't too interested in me chasing them around with a camera, so here we go. 

#17 Photo Challenge: Texture

I am following a blog that posts one photo challenge per week. Last week's challenge was texture. I am catching up from last week. This crazy tree sheds it's bark.

#16 Human Eye Contrast Ratio

So, I learned something cool last night. Digital cameras can only see a contrast ratio of 250:1 while the human eye can see 2000:1. So, this means that "we can see a shadow that is 2000 times darker then the brightest light we can see." Our cameras can't see nearly the same range that we can see. Thank you to David Marr from Cole/Marr Photography Workshops for that cool piece of information! When you are trying to take a picture of a person in front of water and you expose for the water, the person will be dark, and if you expose for the person, the water will be too light.  So, then you have to make a decision about what's more important - the person or the water. Or, if you are super awesome, you use another method to trick the camera, like flash. Or better yet, David Marr jokingly said, "just leave the people out of the picture." That is what I chose to do on this sunny day so I could take a picture of the pretty clouds. 

#15 Rocks, Sticks, and Water

Rocks. Sticks. River. Logs. Happy little boys.  That about sums it up!

#14 Goodnight Boise

Tonight I went to a photography workshop. Before I left the parking garage, I decided to take the elevator to the top of the garage and take a peek outside.  This is what I saw:

#13 Look Mom, No Training Wheels

Hudson gave Rory the perfect Father's Day gift: riding a bike without training wheels!

Then Brennan wanted to try, of course. He kept telling us to let go, but he was barely even upright. Silly kid... the rule is you have to be at least mostly upright before we let go.

Daddy's turn. 

#12 Bored. Maybe I Should Repaint My Painting.

A while ago, I got this wild hair to paint on a large canvas. I had never painted anything (besides 7th grade art class) so why wouldn't I shoot for the largest dang canvas I could possibly find and then make it the major focal point in the kitchen. Today I decided I didn't like it anymore (not sure that I ever did) so I started painting over it. Like I didn't already have enough going on, ripping out a wall and all! Rory just sighed and said, "at least you aren't repainting the walls again." For now, I will hang it on the wall not even half-done and hope I can find more time to finish it. 

#11 Yet Another Crazy Idea

Hudson ripped out this entire section with a hammer. What a good worker! Rory and I decided to remove a portion of a wall to open up our kitchen more. Seriously, I feel like almost daily I am saying, "whose crazy idea was this?"

#10 Good Morning Cardiology Department

Today I visited the Cardiologist. I've been having heart palpitations so my doctor wanted to get it checked out to be safe. So bright and early this morning, I visited Cardiology. I felt like a Hypochondriac, but as the old cliche says, better to be safe than sorry. For the next couple of weeks, I get to wear a super trendy heart monitor.

#9 Gardens and Komodo Dragons

So, I thought I would try out a garden this year. I've failed numerous times trying to grow vegetables in pots. This year I mean business. Rory built me two garden boxes and I planted everything I could think of. I wanted this to be a learning experience for the boys. Maybe if they grew their own vegetables, they might try them too... wishful thinking.  I am just praying that something, anything, grows for us. We actually had two beautiful strawberries growing. I couldn't wait to proudly feed them to the boys.... Until, the squirrels, or birds, devoured every last drop of them. Apparently, our super tough lizard didn't scare them away. I guess I should've opted for a full-size real Komodo Dragon.  The boys would actually enjoy that even more than the garden and I bet the squirrels would stay far away from our beautiful garden. Hmmm, maybe a Komodo Dragon will be our next pet!

#8 Turtles Can't Climb Trees

We have a Red Footed Tortoise named Tuck. As long as it is 70 or above we can take him outside for "walks" around the backyard. Contrary to what everyone believes, tortoises are FAST. That little tortoise can cover some ground! He usually makes a bee-line for a bush to hide as soon as I put him in the grass. I can't decide if he just loves hanging out in bushes or if he hates being outside. Either way, he needs the exercise to stay healthy. Today, he hung out in the tree and it seemed like he really wanted to climb the tree. I had to break it to him that turtles can't climb trees. Poor Tuck... I hope I didn't squash his adventurous spirit.

#7 Robots Allowed in the Dragon Fortress

Hudson's preschool teachers were amazing this year. I loved their methods for teaching. One method was to have the kids label whatever they were playing with. It is a tricky way to get little boys to practice writing. I started the day out today by moving the living room chair aside and pushing the coffee table up against the couch. Let the construction (or destruction!) begin. Brennan built a "dinosaur fortress" and Hudson built a "dragon fortress."  They told me what to write and I wrote it for them. Next time, they are going to write it themselves (or at least Hudson will). I left their fortresses up all day (coffee table pushed aside and all). It was entertaining walking by and seeing the "robots allowed" sign on the "dragon fortress". They crack me up...

#6 Toys are Cool, PVC Pipe is Cooler

Rory, with Brennan's help, made a PVC pipe bike wash/sprinkler. The boys love it and it offers something a little more exciting than just a plain, old sprinkler. The projects you can do with PVC pipe are endless... playhouses, sprinklers, storage sheds. Seriously, I am thinking our next house will be built completely with PVC! Lucky for us, we have had so many major sprinkler issues that Rory is now an expert with the stuff! Thank you, Pinterest, for opening an obsession I would've never known that I had! And thank you, Rory, for making all of our PVC dreams come true. PVC obsessions aside, the boys enjoyed their new "toy."

#5 Dandelions are More Fun in the Foothills

Today we took a nice walk around Fort Boise. The excitement of the walk was blowing dandelions. They fought over them for  awhile before they realized they were everywhere. Thank goodness they were everywhere; otherwise, the walk may have ended there... with a fight over one dandelion.

#4 Fireworks in a Jar and Elephant's Toothpaste

The boys love experiments. This is "Fireworks in a Jar" with food coloring, oil, and water. Brennan waited patiently for his fireworks to explode. We had to try it a few times because I skimmed the instructions and left out a couple of important steps. Lesson learned... actually probably not.... I don't always have enough patience for instructions :)

Then, we tried a mini version of the Elephant's Toothpaste experiment (we only had 3% peroxide but as soon as I buy some 20 volume peroxide, we are going to make it bigger and way better)!

#3 Magna Tiles are the Coolest

These are the boys' favorite blocks. They are magnetic and you can build 3D structures with them. If you looked inside this structure, you would find dinosaurs and Transformers living inside. The proud look on Hudson's face says it all!

#2 Wow, No Dog Slobber on the Window

I took this picture through the front window of my truck. What I like most about it is that you can't see any doggy nose smears on the glass. My window was actually clean... for once!

#1 Whose Crazy Idea Was This?

#1 If the boys painting doesn't make you smile, then I am sure the thought of the clean-up work will make you laugh AT ME for the crazy idea!

365 Reasons to Smile

It is no secret that I love taking pictures. I especially love capturing genuine, heartfelt moments as they happen. Life is filled with countless simple joys that we often lose track of when the crazy chaos of everyday life strikes. For me, pictures serve as a reminder of those simple joys that I might otherwise forget. Luckily, I document almost every moment with a picture. When I look back at the pictures I have taken, I can't help but smile. It helps me remember the great moments squished in between sleepless nights and doing the dishes (which, by the way, I hate doing dishes!). I am challenging myself to take a picture every day for the next 365 days.  It might not actually be a challenge to take a picture every day, but it will be a challenge to take a picture with the intent to learn something new about my camera! So here we go, 365 Reasons to Smile...