Day 196 7-28-11

Pierce and Mommy day.  We found a new playground and had a fantastic time!

Day 195 7-27-11

What a face!

Day 194 7-26-11

Driving home from my sister's house.  At a stoplight, the view from behind.  Seemed a bit magical.

Day 193 7-25-11

At a mechanic's shop waiting to see if a borrowed evaporative cooler could be fixed.  This is a vehicle next to a work area.  I loved the reflections.

Day 192 7-24-11

A friend's 2 year old birthday party.

Day 191 7-23-11

Car accident.

Day 190 7-22-11

MOVING DAY!

Day 189 7-21-11

Crazy wet weather in Colorado resulted in some massive mushrooms!  This one I took a picture of outside while waiting to get the key to my new house.

Day 188 7-20-11

Waiting for one of many appointments.  Thought I should make use of my few extra minutes of time.

Day 187 7-19-11

My little driver.

Day 186 7-18-11

Symbolism.  A bright light and reflection.  SS1/1000 f/10 ISO100

Day 185 7-17-11

Generations.  At my Mom's to celebrate my birthday.  Thought the picture of the candles was funny as the number of candles nearly torched the house!  Kai and Papa were being cute too, looking through the window at each other.

Day 184 7-16-11

Pierce's second t-ball game.  They had pictures today and I thought this one was cute for a posed shot.  SS1/160 f/5.6 ISO200

Day 183 7-15-11

Out and about on the town on my birthday.  Yep, I made it to 33!  Just about to rain when I took this shot.  SS1/250 f/1.8 ISO200

Day 182 7-14-11

Playing in good light.  SS1/80 f/1.8 ISO1600

Day 181 7-13-11

Another crazy weather day.  Sunny for the majority of the day followed by river driving (again!) and hail!  I managed to capture the hail that landed on my back deck.  All this weather is kind of freaking me out!  SS1/60 f/1.8 ISO200

Day 180 7-12-11

Sun on a cloudy day.  Rarely is it possible to take a picture of the sun directly or to even look at it, but this morning there was so much cloud cover and a bit of fog that the sun looked almost like the moon through the clouds.  I took this from my car while sitting at a stoplight.  SS1/400 f/10 ISO100

Day 179 7-11-11

Happy 1st Birthday, Kai!

Day 178 7-10-11

Over at Amy's house for Kai's and my birthday.  A fun morning with bugs and all!  Love the rolly polly shot and thought I'd throw in a few of myself with the kids that my Mom was so gracious to take.

Day 177 7-9-11

Pierce's first T ball game!  What a funny sight watching little 3 and 4 year olds try to play baseball!  It was great, only one melt-down by our little one and he bounced back from it quite well.  I was impressed!  Pictured here are the little ones stretching before the game started.  I had Kai during the game so it was difficult to get any of them playing, but this one was cute.  SS1/200 f/5.6 ISO100

Day 176 7-8-11

Rain rain rain!  The kids were so tired tonight that I managed to capture this shot after they went to bed.  Loved the reflection of the trike in the water puddle.  Not minding the rain much, reminds me of good things, which I need more than ever right now.  So, rain rain don't go away!  SS1/30 f/1.8 ISO800

Day 175 7-7-11

Torrential downpour.  The streets of Denver flooded and I had to walk through knee deep water to get to my car followed by driving down rivers.  I wish I had gotten a picture, but I was afraid I may ruin my camera with so much water!  The drive home was miserable as it took me over an hour and I had a splitting headache not cured by 3 advil.  Needless to say I was lucky that when I got home I could go lay down until bedtime for the kids.  Sorry, no photo today.

Day 174 7-6-11

Future photographer on the run.  Kai left with my camera case, not exactly sure where he was taking it or why, but then he's one year old so do we really know anything about him yet?  SS1/80 f/1.8 ISO1600

Day 173 7-5-11

The Cyan.  This is the flow cytometer by my lab bench at work.  Yes, I am a true geek for posting this picture, but I love my career so what can I say...SS1/80 f/1.8 ISO400

Day 172 7-4-11

Happy Independence Day!  Here's Kai showing off his independence...the next thing I knew he was eating dirt!  An interesting holiday for me, one I will take to heart this year.

Day 171 7-3-11

At the hair salon with the kids.

Day 170 7-2-11

The house on Leyden.  SS1/2000 f/1.8 ISO100.

Day 169 7-1-11

Kai fell asleep in the car seat today, holding on for dear life!  I didn't know I was that bad of a driver!  SS1/100 f/1.8 ISO400

Day 168 6-30-11

Kai playing fetch with Leo.  SS1/200 f/3.5 ISO100

Day 167 6-29-11

Mica watching Kai.  SS1/100 f/1.8 ISO800

Day 161-166

A rough week.  No photos to post.

Day 160 6-22-11

The fence outside Pierce's school.  SS1/100 f/1.8 ISO200

Day 159 6-21-11

Straighten that rug, Kai!  SS1/80 f/1.8 ISO800

Day 158 6-20-11

Pierce playing with Kai on the couch.  SS1/80 f/1.8 ISO1600

Day 157 6-19-11

The square at Belmar.  SS1/200 f/3.5 ISO200

Day 156 6-18-11

Dinner at my sister's house for father's day.  SS1/80 f/2 ISO100

Day 155 6-17-11

Seedlings.  Had a hard time getting a picture today, so I took one of Pierce's sunflower seedlings from school that he brought home.  35mm SS1/30 f/1.8 ISO1600.  Didn't get this until after I got the kids to bed, very low light.

Day 154 6-16-11

Concentration.  Kai loves playing with Pierce's construction toys.  Lots of pieces to touch and put in his mouth!  He is examining the string for the crane here.  35mm SS1/80 f/1.8 ISO800

Day 153 6-15-11

Stanley Cup Final.  Pierce wanted the "white" team to win, Boston.  I guess he got his wish.  35mm SS1/100 f/1.8 ISO400.

Day 152 6-14-11

Pillow!  I was so tired on this day because I didn't sleep much, I just had to take a picture of the pillow for which I longed.  35mm  SS1/80 f/1.8 ISO800

Day 151 6-13-11

Mom's eye view.  Kai is laying on my legs here chewing on a toothbrush.  I think he's trying to get some more teeth to brush!  35mm SS1/80 f/1.8 ISO800

Day 150 6-12-11

Taking a picture of Pierce practicing shortstop while sitting in the batting cage.  Hopefully he will like T ball more than swimming!  55mm ss1/320 f/4 iso100

Day 149 6-11-11

Out to the park for a picnic with my family.  My sister's kids brought their vehicles to ride around on.  This is my nephew on his Schwinn.  SS1/100 f/5 ISO200.

Day 148 6-10-11

Out to a photo exhibition with a good friend, Nina.  We opted to photograph ourselves photographing each other.  I know, kinda silly, but it sure was fun!

Day 147 6-9-11

SS1/200 f/3.5 ISO200

Pierce did it!  He and Joe got there about 30 minutes early and got dressed and ready to go.  They then sat at the side of the pool for 15 minutes just waiting and dipping his feet in.  I got there about 5 minutes before class started and sure enough, while he wasn't the first one in, he got in relatively easily.  He was prepared this time and did very well.  He is very good at following directions and had no problem going with the instructor to practice each little skill.  It was quite cold and his boney little body was shivering from the moment he got in, but he didn't complain once and I think he was proud of himself when it was all said and done.  He certainly reminded me that he did so much better today than last time.

Day 146 6-8-11

Kai got scratched by the cat today...I wonder why?!?! SS1/80 f/1.8 ISO400

Day 145 6-7-11

Now that my talk is over with I had intended on spending some time taking photos, but it just didn't work out.  Pierce had his first swim lesson of the summer and boy was it a mess.  I was hoping for great outdoor shots with lots of splashing and smiles.  Instead I got one nervous, shy kid who wanted nothing to do with his new swim teacher or classmates.  We spent the whole half an hour trying to convince him to get into the pool and then when it was finally time to leave he wanted to stay.  He never got into the pool and decided to throw a fit at the end because they were all leaving and he didn't get to go in.  I think he was just a stressed out mess by the time it was over and so he lost it.  My solution, get the heck out of there.  So, since he wouldn't walk out and he was just standing there crying and screaming I picked him up and carried him to the car kicking and screaming.  That did not work out well either and I will spare you the gory details.  Needless to say I for one do not want to go back, how embarrassing!  However, I also know that he needs to get over some of these fears so that he can get through life without shying away and missing out on things.  We also need to show him this is not an acceptable behavior and that we will do swim lessons at that pool, with that teacher, and those kids and because we say it will be ok that it will be ok.  The whole thing makes me very sad.  It makes me very nervous for other new classes and new schools and new people that he will have to deal with and learn from.  He is such a sensitive little boy and he was so so sorry after we got home.  What's a Mom to do?  So, instead of a lovely photo at the pool I decided to take a picture of this lovely flower after the boys helped me water them.  It was just so pretty sitting there with water droplets between the petals.  sigh.  SS1/25 f/1.8 ISO800