Dandelion wishes

Apparently I have a thing for dandelions.

What can I say, my children have me believing in dandelion wishes again.  It's good to think like a kid!  We should all be so innocent and free-spirited.

Happy Halloween, suckas.

From our crib to yo's.

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

In the orchard.

This week's challenge at I Heart Faces is "In the orchard".  That's a perfect theme for me!

While I have a gobzillion pictures from this year's apple orchard extravaganza, I have a secret love affair with last year's orchard trip.  Sydney was just 18 months then.  She had baby curls. And the cutest orange sweater dress.

Mark had just fully recovered from his heart attack. And I was so blissfully happy to have a beautiful (and healthy) family!

I love the way Mark looks in this photo. I think he might have been as happy as I was.

Catch it.

Make a wish.

Did you see it?

Did it come true?

I did.

Twice!

And we named them Elisabeth and Sydney.

The end.

1492

It's Columbus Day. Daycare and schools are closed, which gave me a pretty good reason to take the day off.  Us grown ups don't do that often enough.

You know what else we don't do often enough?

Enjoy the scenery.

Admire the weeds and realize how beautiful they really are.

(as long as they're not in my garden)

Make a wish. Or two.

Go to the park and play with the kids. (oddly enough I didn't take any pictures there)

Climb a tree.

Stomp in the fallen leaves.

Thank goodness for Christopher Columbus and this glorious day!

One more reason to love orange.

Once upon a time there were two girls who had a couple of days off of school.

So they went to visit their grandma, who took them to a pumpkin farm.

Their grandma took lots of pictures. Mostly of their backs.

They found the perfect pumpkins in the field!

And then they found out they were way cheaper pre-picked, so they left their pumpkins near the checkout and grabbed two pre-picked and equally awesome orange beauties.

And then they took them home.

And their momma showed up to help carve the pumpkins!

She makes weird faces.

And her daughter knows how to use a knife a little too well.

While the pumpkins were carved, the little sister vigorously stirred pumpkin seeds with an ice cream scooper and made "soup."

A "lottalotta toup," as she would say.

Happy Fall! Happy Halloween!

The end.

Taking the plunge

As I continue to feed my passion for all things photography, I have been lurking, watching and reading iheartfaces.com for some time now.  There are some amazingly talented people out there, and if you have the same love for photography that I do, I suggest you check them out too!

So anyway, today is Constructive Feedback Friday, and I have decided to take the plunge and finally join in the fun in hopes of someday being half as talented as some of the regulars. 

That's right, I'm coming out today!

Because a certain person whose job starts with "ther" and ends with "apist" told me to be selfish for a change.  Do something for myself and embrace my hobby.

So here goes nothing.

We went apple picking a few weeks ago, and Elisabeth decided to climb the ladder and pose for me.  She has been doing this lately and I love it! A) because we have finally exited the refusal to smile phase and B) because I get to exercise my index finger and snap away.

So this is the photo, SOOC.  I am proud to say that I just switched my camera to manual! Alas this photo was taken prior to that, on the (gasp!) auto setting.  With the (gasp!) kit lens.  

Nikon D40 f/8.0 1/250 sec ISO 200 55mm 

I am a sucker for photos taken on an angle and love that about this photo as well.  But even more than that, I love how she just sat up there and posed for me. It's so sweet! But the picture is dark, and I wish she stood out more.  I also don't like how dark her eyes look.  Or the white sky. It was so cloudy that day.

Here is my somewhat edited version in PSE 8.0 using my limited experience (which I'm working on!).  I brightened the photo, saturated the blues and greens a bit, sharpened the photo and added some sparkle to her eyes.

I don't know that these are necessarily the right edits, which is why something so aptly named Constructive Feedback Friday appealed to me -- I'd love your input and suggestions!

Thanks for letting me play!  Oh and for any of my family and friends who are reading this, please keep in mind that the whole point of this for Constructive Feedback -- so don't be offended if you see just that on here! xoxo