365 Project | Day 91 - 101 | Seattle Portrait Photographer

Hello and happy hump day!  I've made it to the 100 day mark of my 365 project!  Woo hoo!

What a few fun-filled weeks.  We've been enjoying the nice weather around here by picking flowers, riding bikes, playing t-ball, hunting for Easter eggs, and feeding our neighbor's chickens.  This really gets me in the mood for summertime and all the fun activities ahead.

Day 91- we finally re-filled our bird feeders and are enjoying the new visitors

Day 92 - had to take a photo of this today, as Playmobile horses are a major staple in our home.  There's not a day that goes by without Ella playing {and neighing} with them :)

Day 93 - This was the kid's first t-ball game.  Isaac was so serious about chasing after the ball when playing defense.  I love that he turned his hat around- he means business.

Day 94 - I took this at Matthew's Beach Park by our house.  It was a clear, crisp morning and the light was gorgeous.  You can see the Cascade mountains in the background and Lake Washington in the foreground.

Day 95 - the kids picked spring flowers this afternoon and of course we had to make a little bouquet.

Day 96 - Hail!?!  I decided to slow down my shutter speed to get the trajectories of the hail.  I love how it turned out - especially with the bonus splashes of water from the impact.  BTW - disregard the ugly rail - we're going to tear our deck down this year.  I'm sure you'll see pictures of it sometime.

Day 97 - Ella LOVES animals!  We were hanging out at our neighbor's house and Ella asked if she could hold Buttercup.  Apparently Buttercup doesn't mind.  Ella was thrilled and so proud of herself :)  We get to babysit Buttercup and her two other siblings over Spring Break.

Day 98 - We were gearing up for Easter.  I gave the kids the task of getting their Easter baskets out of storage, and Ella came upstairs with these cute vintage statues I had growing up.  I love them and had totally forgotten about them.  I really appreciate that my mom kept them.

Day 99 - EASTER!  We had a beautiful, sunny, dry Easter this year!  The kids and I must have hid the eggs at least 8 times.  They really got into it, although Isaac was mad Ella could find them so fast.

Day 100!! - Our pear trees are blooming in the front yard.  I took this in the late afternoon with my Lensbaby macro lens.

Day 101 - I decided to do another self-portrait, since its been a few months and I wanted to try out a remote I recently purchased.  Ella has been so excited about reading lately it's become a regular daily activity.

Day 101 (2) - another favorite from yesterday :)

365 Project | Day 81 - 90 | Seattle Portrait Photographer

Hello!

  Are you enjoying more signs of Spring like I am?  What did Ella say just the other day...oh yes, "In like a lion, out like a lamb."  I remember that quote for the month of March, although I don't really know if it applies to March in Seattle -  maybe March through June here :).

  We've been getting more chances to be outside with these longer days.  Its nice to focus on something other than the caginess, boredom, and fighting that always ensues if the kids are cooped up too long during the week.  Game nights, books, t-ball and play dates can only alleviate this feeling of claustrophobia for so long before they start going at each others throats!  

  Here are more signs of Spring in my 365 photos from March 21st - 30th.

Day 81 - enjoying some playground time.  Isaac was insistent on pushing me on the merry-go-round as well as showing me how fast he could push it

Day 82 - flowering plum tree on our street

Day 83 - we have a lot of grasses in our yard and I absolutely love how they look any time of year with their graphic lines and warm tones (also - I ran out of time to photograph anything really interesting today)

Day 84 - sad solitary dandelion among pretty white flowers blooming in the back yard

Day 85 - we took the kids skiing at Snoqualmie again.  I took this with the iPhone while we were waiting for Dad to bring our lunch :)

 Day 86 - rhubarb is starting to grow in the front yard - who loves rhubarb pie?  I grew up on "rhubarb gunk" a smilier yet slightly more "gunky" version!

Day 87 - I spent part of my day backing up all of my recent photos - 130GB worth.  I have 2 Time Capsules that are maxed out as well as my computer and things are starting to run weird.  Time to get another external back-up drive.......eek!  Any suggestions out there?

Day 88 - I roasted golden beets for dinner tonight.  The recipe was simple and they turned out really well except the fact that I added too much salt :(  They're sure funny looking veggies tho - and I was in  a weird mood

Day 89 - moody rain again.

Day 90 - Isaac embracing the rain

365 Project | Day 70 - 80 | Seattle Portrait Photographer

Hello!  Here are my 365 photos from March 10 - 20th.  You will see Spring is in the air and in my thoughts with these photos.  I see and hear more wildlife (aka birds), spring activities have begun, and our yard is coming out of a deep slumber.

Day 70 - robin in our front yard

Day 71 - Isaac practicing tee ball and working pretty hard at it!

Day 72 - rainy day - good day for a fort

Day 73 - the kids were looking out our large front window watching a quick snowfall that blew in and Ella was feeling quite silly

Day 74 - I love aloe vera.  We had a plant at my house growing up and my mom dabbed it quite often on my cuts.  That weird green-smelling goop actually worked pretty well!

Day 75 - playing Bey Blades (again) with Isaac.  This is currently his favorite past time.

Day 76 - forsythia blooming in the neighborhood

Day 77 - tailgating for lunch @ Snoqualmie Ski Resort.  It was a beautiful day with two new feet of snow, no lines, friends, and firsts.  Isaac and Ella both rode the chairlift for the first time and ended the day (at 4pm nonetheless) on a blue run!  Taken with the iPhone

Day 78 - Ella and her friend getting ready to go to an American Girl Fashion Show (yes, did you know they had these?!) to benefit the Star Guild Foundation who raises money for The Children's Hospital in Seattle.  Ella walked out of the show repeating: "That was awesome."

Day 79 - there's something about black birds.  Hitchcock made me scared of them, but the Beatles made me love the mystique of a black bird what it can represent.

Day 80 - First day of Spring!  Bring it on!  This was taken with my new Lensbaby lens with the macro attachment.  Very addicting to play with!

Happy Shooting!

365 Project | Day 60 - 69 | Seattle Portrait Photographer

Good afternoon!  Still trying to catch up here!  Here are my photo-a-day images from February 30 - March 9th, the first week or so after we got back from our trips.

Day 60 - Ella getting ready to go to the bus stop.  She was excited to celebrate her 100th day of school today.

Day 61 - Ella was reading to Isaac this morning before school.  Love this little moment.

Day 62 - The sun was out this afternoon and the clouds looked so cool to me.  Doesn't it look like distressed leather with some other funky textures mixed in?

Day 63 - Ella enjoying the weekend sunshine by getting out the sidewalk chalk.

Day 64 - You may be getting tired of photos of branches but I'm enjoying peeking around at the signs of Spring in my neighborhood.

Day 65 - Beautiful late afternoon photo from my living room window of the moon peaking up over the East before the sun set.  I loved the pop of yellow of the large tree on the left.

Day 66 - Isaac was home with a cold and slight fever today.  I caved and gave him a popsicle since it always helps me when I don't feel good :)

Day 67 - I woke up with a terrible sore throat.  I could hardly swallow and also had a fever.  The doctor later verified that I had strep, which I guess is going around NE Seattle right now.  This photo sums up how I felt and what I would try anything to feel better.

Day 68 - Isaac is better!  He had a nice bubble bath to get all ready to go back to school.  In the middle of it, he had to go to the bathroom.  I was able to capture this as he got out :)

Day 69 - Taken with my iPhone.  Ella celebrated her 100th day of math today, and was so excited to make this sign and surprise her kindergarten teacher with it!  She was so proud of her work - it melted my heart.  I hope she continues to be this excited about school projects.

More catch-up coming soon!  Happy 1st day of Spring!

365 Project | Day 54 - 59 | Seattle Portrait Photographer

Still playing catch up here!

Tim and I were fortunate enough to piggy back our Hawaii trip with a Club trip to San Juan, Puerto Rico.  Although the turn around was a little crazy between flying home the night of the 22nd, unpacking, re-packing, getting the kids situated, and getting Tim's sister and brother-in-law up to speed on caring for the kids, we sailed through the transition without major complications.

So we took off Thursday morning, Feb. 23rd to San Juan by way of Dallas for a 9.5 hour journey through 4 time zones.  Luckily we encountered fantastic flight attendants in Dallas unlike a recent flight from there and had a very uneventful flight.

I decided not to take my "big girl" camera on this trip, so all photos are taken either with my iPhone or my Lumix point-and-shoot camera.

Day 54 - taken over 10,000ft. departing the Pacific Northwest.  You can see Mt. Adams in the foreground and Mt. Hood in the near background.  Taken with the iPhone.

Day 55 - taken again with the iPhone (see the low light graininess here?)  from our rooftop BBQ at El San Juan Hotel and Resort.  It's a beautiful 1950s mid-century modern hotel (which I'm a sucker for) with beautiful ornate mahogany ceilings and pillars, marble floors, and quite an expansive lobby with four (yes, four!) bars.  I highly recommend you check it out if you ever get a chance to go to San Juan.

Day 56 - we took a catamaran from the East side of the island out to this tiny uninhabited island for the morning.  The water really looked like that.  It was beautiful although the snorkeling wasn't nearly as good as Hawaii.

Day 57 - a Puerto Rican sunset taken from inside a suite at the hotel.

Day 58 - our last day here.  Tim went deep-sea fishing and I hitched a ride with some friends to check out Old San Juan.  San Juan is the second oldest city in America and the American territories.  There is so much history breathtaking views, and fantastic architecture to look at here.  As you can see by this photo, this is an old cemetery nestled between two historic forts, the ocean, and the 500+ year-old city walls.

I have 3 photos from Day 58 as I couldn't choose.  This second one is a beautiful little nondescript church in Old San Juan.  Ponce de Leon lies within these church walls.  I loved the colors and lighting in this photo.

There were many stained glass windows in the church.  I loved the detailing with the old plaster window casings and statue framing the window.

Day 59 - Cuba!  We saw Cuba on our long flight home at 40,000 ft.  Probably the closest I'll ever come to this country.  Taken also with the iPhone.