Susan’s Photo Blog

A few more family snapshots.  I haven’t been taking enough lately, so I’m making a deliberate effort to take more.  We went to the apple orchard last weekend and had a fabulous time.  The weather was just gorgeous.  Ironically enough, though, it made for horrible lighting for pictures.  Oh well!  I have more memories to look back at, and that is all that is really important.  :o)

Jubilee picking her first apple.  As you’ll see in the rest of the pictures, she held on to it for a good, long while.

Time for cider and donuts! Unfortunately, I was too busy making sure Jubilee didn’t spill her cider or get stung by a bee to take pictures of the yummy treats.  Nick decided to go pick raspberries, so he wasn’t around to help.  Oh well. . . maybe next year. ;o)

It has been entirely too long since I have posted pictures, I know.  I’ve been in a photography funk, lately.  We’ve been busy with starting up homeschooling and trying to get into a routine with everything and I haven’t felt very creative about photography.  So, today, I said, “Enough is enough!” and I grabbed the camera as we headed out to play a little miniature golf.  We had a wonderful time and I so enjoyed capturing the fun moments.  These are not stunning portraits, nor will they be held in high regard for their artistry, but they are important to me because they will forever be a memory of the fun we had, and I cherish them.

Miss Jubilee, with her very own putter and ball (notice that she is color coordinated).

Miss Alexis, showing  interesting putt-putt form in her color coordinated ensemble.  :o)  I’m pretty sure Alexis was in charge of selecting putters and balls.  She likes the matchy-matchy look.

Jubilee LOVED hitting the ball and chasing after it!

Nick, relaxing on the bridge.

There is something about this picture that I just adore.  Gosh I love her!

At one point, we heard a buzzing sound over head, so we all looked up and saw this come out from behind the trees.  It was so close to us! Pretty neat, huh?

The final hole. . . where did all the balls go?  :o)

No great photographic works of art today, but I do have a few snapshots.  My mom came to visit this weekend and worked her magic to adorn our three bedrooms upstairs with window treatments.  Yay!  The pictures are not great, but you can get the idea.

Alexis picked out the fabric for her valence.  It is so soft and pretty.  Mom almost took it home so she could line it, but Alexis was not too thrilled with that idea, so we’ll line it some other time.

Our guest room:

I was feeling way too lazy to put the bedspread on the bed, so ignore the bed.  :oD  Here are the drapes for my room.

The best part of these curtains is that they are lined with blackout lining.  This means that I actually get to sleep in the dark now, instead of being bothered by the glow of the street lights all night long.  See how dark it gets, even in the middle of the day?  Yay!  (My camera was on the same settings for this picture as the one above it — f2.8 ~ 1/50, ISO 200).

My mom, working on the finishing touches:

The girls were playing with bubbles out on the balcony,while mom was sewing, when they realized how much fun it was to smoosh their faces up against the screen.

See?!  Her hair is in a teeny tiny little pony tail.  :o)  Pitiful, I know, but it is a start.

And, the last random photo is of what is sitting on my stovetop right now.  :oD  Yummy blueberry buckle!  I can hardly wait to dig in.

We went to the parade in Brighton this morning.  Nick’s dad was working with the rotary club, helping to organize the start of the parade and, of course, the duck race after the parade.  :o)  Nick’s mom was in the parade with her Insight group (a group of business professionals).  Here are just a few snapshots of the morning.

The start of the parade.  I started tearing up as they walked by.  Everyone was standing and saluting and clapping.  It is so wonderful to be proud to be an American and have the freedoms we all enjoy and take for granted every day.

Alexis opening one of the many pieces of candy she collected:

Various area fire departments.  There were a LOT of firetrucks and they were loud!  Jubilee didn’t seem to mind them so much, but Alexis was not a fan of the loud trucks.  I should have snapped a picture with her hands over her ears.

I just thought this car was kind of cute.  :o)

A jump rope team.  They were fun to watch.

Jubilee sitting on the curb with Daddy, playing with the plunger we got from Benjamin Franklin plumber.

Grandma Patty giving Nick a “free hug.”  The Insight group was giving out free hugs, along with water bottles.  I didn’t get a good shot of her shirt, but it had huge letters on it, saying “Free hugs.”

We were near the end of the parade, so Patty came to sit with us after she reached the end.  Nick took a shot of us. :o)

Another fun group to watch was this fencing team.

Jubilee, enjoying being the second child.  Yes, that is a tootsie roll tootsie pop that my nearly 15 month old is devouring.

And, what is a good parade without some yummy cherry-lime flavor shave ice?  That was my treat for the day!

Happy Fourth of July everyone!

Here is my gorgeous new niece at just 5 days old!

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