You Capture / Black and White

You Capture this week was to do something in black and white.

I'm one of those people who doesn't care much for black and white.

But, here's what I captured.

Here is Lizzy playing with the bubble machine.

These are the woods behind our house.

This is the squirrel in the tree in the woods behind the house.

Head over to Beth's for more black and white.

God's Newest Little Soldier

Yesterday was Jack's baptism. He was so cute and sweet. He wore his mommy's christening gown that her grandma made for her. His sisters wore it too.

Here he is with mommy and daddy

Here he looks like he might be wanting to ask daddy what is going on.

Here he looks pretty happy to get out of a dress.
Uncle Roy said that was embarrassing for a little guy.

And back home in his big boy clothes and after a nap, he is a happy camper.

Natalie and Lizzy looked adorable in their matching dresses, but I didn't get a picture of them together. And...this is a post about Jack.

World's Longest Picture Post

My grandgirls came over for the night. Their mom was busy getting the house ready for a party after their brother gets baptized on Sunday.

They built with blocks.

They climbed in their brother's bed.

And looked......

pretty darn cute.

They played with the dollhouse.

And they curled up with Aunt Abby to watch Enchanted while they fell asleep.

After a request for blueberry pancakes for breakfast, they stopped for a quick photo op with Aunt Abby before we took off for the zoo.

We saw tigers.

We saw zebras. Even a brand new baby zebra.

We saw bald eagles.

We saw yucky reptiles.

Some of us liked it.

And some of us didn't. She said the tigers were too loud.

They were asleep three minutes after they hit their seats.

We came home and chased poppa in the pool.

Lizzy made her first jump (and several others) off the ladder and loved it.

This girl has no fear.

They stopped to look cute.

They both did.

Natalie rode her jeep.

And Lizzy learned how to drive herself.

After a 22 hour adventure, I took my little darlings home.

I love these girls with all my heart, but they sure can wear me out.

I'm still tired and they are on their way over to go in the pool.

It is 93 degrees here and humid.

The pool is the place to be.
Hope you all have a great weekend!

You Capture / Vehicles

Random vehicles at the air show.

Vehicles outside our hotel window.




Vehicles in the air.

Vehicles in the water.

Vehicles in the air and the water.

Head over to Beth's to see some of the clever ideas people had for vehicles.

A Good Weekend

We had a fun weekend. We went to Indy for a wedding. We decided to go a day early and just get ready down there. Driving two and a half hours in my wedding clothes didn't thrill me. We stayed at Drury Inn and Suites. If you haven't stayed there before, I highly recommend it. For a very reasonable price, we got a great room. We had a better tv in our room than we have at home. You got free drinks and food in the evening from 5:30 to 7:00. It was actual "make a meal on it" food. In the morning, they had a full breakfast buffet. The hotel was only two years old. Very nice!

On the way down we passed the wind turbines near West Lafayette. There are these windmills for miles as far as you can see on both sides of I65. It was pretty neat.

The first night we were treated to a beautiful sunset out our hotel window.

Here we are at the wedding. We really had a great time.

Literally five minutes after we got home on Sunday, our daughter and son-in-law were in the driveway to pick us up for the Gary Air Show. My son-in-law's grandpa has a house right on the beach, so it's the perfect place to watch the show. It is amazing to watch. How these people ever think up some of the stunts is incredible. We had a great time here too.

One thing I learned this weekend is how truly awesome my new camera is. With the telephoto lens and some editing, I got some amazing shots. At least I think so.

So that's the weekend. I have a ton more pictures, but I didn't want to bore you.

You Capture / America

This week, America meant family, fun and fireworks.

Go see more America at Beth's.

The Choice Is Yours

Do you want to be Tigger.....

or do you want to be Eeyore?

Two years ago this month, Randy Pausch died of pancreatic cancer. You know who he is...the Last Lecture guy. The man who used his death to teach us about life. I loved this man. He taught me so much. I just rewatched his lecture and the ABC special about him. My sister bought me his book because she thought I would like it. She was wrong. I love that book. I keep it in a basket in the computer room. I don't bother to put it away because I know I'll be reading it again soon. I read parts of it every week. It really is how I want to live my life. I keep the book close as a reminder.

The older I get, the more I realize that you have the choice of being Tigger or Eeyore. It's just like Randy said. It's your choice. I try to be a Tigger. I really do and I think I keep getting better at it. I have no reason to be anything else. I have a husband who loves me. I have four beautiful daughters who are healthy and happy. I have sons-in-law who are the best and are wonderful to my daughters. I have awesome grandkids who are the lights of my life. I have my mom and stepdad and my sisters and brother and their families. We have a roof over our heads that is totally paid for. We have food to eat and I have a job I love. We have great friends. The worse thing that I can say about my life right now is that I am overweight and I'm working on that. Why would I be anything but a Tigger.

Of course, there are days when things happen and Eeyore comes creeping in. I have to remember all the things that make me a Tigger to keep him away. I am so lucky. I know this. I have friends and family who have lost parents and husbands and children this year. One of my very best friends is fighting cancer for the second time. If you want to meet Tigger, you need to meet her. You would never guess she has cancer. She is the most positive, wonderful person you will ever meet. The kicker is, she will have cancer for the rest of her life. Her cancer is inoperable and the best they can do is keep it at bay. If she can see past that and always see the good in her life first, how can I do anything but the same?

The one thing I have learned is that no matter how bad you think you have it at any given time, someone is always worse off than you. There are a few people in my life who refuse to see this and are always Eeyore. They can't accept that things aren't as bad as they make them out to be. I'm sorry to say that sometimes, I just have to walk away. I can't take the "oh poor me" thing anymore. It is like their favorite thing is to tell everyone how bad their life is. Why would someone want to live like that? How much fun can it be to be a Debby Downer 24/7?

I guess what I am saying is that I choose to try my best to be Tigger. I'm trying to focus on the positives instead of the negatives because there are so many more positives. So, who are you going to be, Tigger or Eeyore? You know the choice is all up to you!

Perfection

and in my own back yard!