Monday, May 30, 2011

Don't you ever wonder...

...what goes through a toddler's head to evoke such funny, rapid expressions??

These pictures were all taken within about one minute.







Crazy kid.

But I sure do love him.

And my heart melts when he does this:


Friday, May 27, 2011

My To-Do List

I'm finding myself with lack of motivation to write a blog post today.  Probably because my to-do list is 18 miles long and I feel like I'm checking off about .2 items per day.

So, to help relieve my stress (or possibly make it worse), here is everything I can think of at this moment that I want to do, in no particular order:

1. Download, edit, and upload all my pictures to the internet for family and friends
2. Write a blog post (I'm about to check this one off!)
3. Play with Krew more (this is so hard with a huge to-do list. I try to play with him and make games while I'm cleaning)
4. Trim dogs' nails
5. Work out
6. Unpack from last weekend
7. Catch up on laundry
8. Mop kitchen floor
9. Vacuum stairs
10. Dust whole house
11. Clean master shower
12. Clean spare bathtub
13. Put stuff in attic
14. Read through magazine
15. Learn how to use new Photoshop purchases
16. Play piano
17. Play Wii
18. Fill frames that have been sitting in upstairs hallway since we moved here
19. Upload videos of Krew
20. Learn how to get videos off of regular video camera (not iPhone) onto computer
21. Organize music and delete songs I no longer want
22. Repot a bunch of plants
23. Fill out HOA forms to add pavers to driveway
24. Hang new bird house
25. Take more fun pictures
26. Organize closet
27. Clean up clutter that is taking over house
28. Menu plan
29. Go grocery shopping
30. Cut and organize coupons
31. Go through paper pile
32. Cook
33. Dust blinds
34. Do some deeper spring cleaning
35. Organize pantry
36. Organize fridge
37. Go through Krew's toys and put a bunch in attic
38. Write thank you notes
39. Think about Father's Day gifts
40. Sort and clean through loft area
41. Sort through gift wrapping supplies
42. Finish reading book for life group
43. Finish reading parenting book
44. Read Bible

...and now I'm wearing myself just trying to think of it all.
But you get the gist.

How's your to-do list these days???

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Photography Tips and Tricks: Gray Card

As of late, I have been super duper into learning about photography.  Like crazy into it. Like I'd be happy to sit and read and watch videos and practice it all day long.  (It's actually taking away from my blogging time.)  I've just found it to be an incredibly rewarding hobby.  Not only is it fun and enjoyable, but it results in memorable pictures of my family.  And the things you can do in Photoshop after a shot is taken??  Insane.  I could spend hours fiddling with one photo.  I just love it.

One of the things I recently read about during my photography mania was the use of a gray card.  And I immediately had to order myself one to add to my still small yet ever-growing photography bag.

What it is is this:
           .
           .
           .
(drumroll, please)
           .
           .
           .
it is a card that is gray.
(symbols clash)

18% neutral gray, to be exact.

And that's it.  Sounds ridiculously simple, right?

But what that ridiculously simple 18% neutral gray card can do is this:

It turns your photos from this





into this





Awesome, right???

What happens is this.  When you're in a situation where the lighting is off or throwing a weird color cast onto your subject, you take a picture of the gray card in that light.  Then you tell your camera to use your picture of the gray card as its basis for white balance.  The camera knows what the neutral gray should look like in proper lighting, and it uses that knowledge as a basis for making appropriate adjustments to any future pictures you take.  I know that's not the best explanation ever.  You can check out the blog post that got me hooked on buying a gray card here: http://my3boybarians.com/2010/10/setting-custom-white-balance-day-13/. It explains it much better. :)

But basically, what I'm saying is, if you're into photography and finding yourself with photos that are off-color, invest in a gray card.  Mine was less than 10 bucks after shipping off of Amazon.  Just make sure your camera has a custom white balance option before you order.  Otherwise the gray card may not help you out so much.

And now, to finish up, just a couple more pics of the bathtime boy. :)






God bless!

Monday, May 23, 2011

Orlando Day 3: Discovery Cove

Day 3 in Orlando was the best day by far.  :)  I got to swim with dolphins, which is something I've wanted to do my whole life.  It was sooooooo much fun.  Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of me with the dolphins.  They were a whopping $20 per picture...and that was just a print out, not even a digital copy.  Maybe next time (I've already told Dave we're going back when we're done having kids and they're old enough to appreciate the experience) we'll save our pennies up ahead of time and purchase a picture package.

Anyway, I did get pictures of some of the other awesome things we go to do.  It was definitely a great day.




This is how close you could get while just standing on the shore.


Part of the dolphins' swimming area.


There was a bird aviary that you could walk through and feed the birds.


The lazy river also went through the aviary.




I thought these birds were so neat...


...but was a little grossed out when I found out they were meat eaters.




I don't know if I was supposed to pet the birds, but, um, I did.










This is the area where you could swim with the sting rays and feed them.


This is the area where you could swim with the manta rays and tropical fish.


The food was pretty yummy. And included with the ticket price, yippee. It was all you could eat and drink, all day long.


We went out in a group like this to swim with the dolphins. We got to pet one as it swam right in front of us and instruct it to do tricks. We also got to have another one pull us each individually from deep water into shallow water.



It was such a great vacation. All thanks to my hubby for planning such a great birthday present. :)

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Orlando Day 2: Chillin'

On our second day in Orlando, we just lounged around at Dave's aunt's and uncle's house.  I really enjoyed the time to relax.  It's so much easier to let responsibilities go when you're not at home with them staring you in the face. :)



Hanging out with Great Aunt Kathy and cousin Lucas.


Reading with Mommy.


Reading with Daddy.


Krewson fell in love with this blue stick. Don't ask me why.












Isn't Lucas a cutie??




Pics from our third day in Orlando will be on their way soon! :)