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Fall fun

What a gorgeous day we had around here! I love fall days like this. The sun was warm, there was a great breeze, and I had my favorite subjects to practice on, though they were a bit reluctant at times. I still got some great shots, if I may say so myself!

Look at the color of the sky! This is unedited, except for some cropping.
leaf fun (3 of 17)

Shots of the boys before we got into the leaf fun.
leaf fun (4 of 17)

leaf fun (5 of 17) leaf fun (6 of 17)

273/365 My boys

Then the fun began. First they buried each other in leaves, pretending to be captured (Noah), or a leaf monster (Caden).
leaf fun (8 of 17) leaf fun (9 of 17)

leaf fun (11 of 17) leaf fun (10 of 17)

Then they started throwing leaves.
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leaf fun (13 of 17)

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I hope we get more days like today before the snow flies!

Apple picking

Yesterday we went apple picking with some friends. It was a cool, early fall day in Wisconsin, so it felt right to be out there. According to one of the workers, they have a smaller crop this year because of the weather, but the crop they have is a very good one. We definitely agree!

apple picking (6 of 39)

Apple trees are prime climbing trees!
apple picking (8 of 39) apple picking (9 of 39)

apple picking (11 of 39) apple picking (12 of 39)

apple picking (13 of 39) apple picking (14 of 39)

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You always have to taste the goods!
apple picking (28 of 39)

Then it was time for the hay ride.
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More apples to pick! Most of the really good ones were way up high.
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And here are our goods:
269/365 Apples

I’ll have to get to work making applesauce and apple bars and apple bread soon!

You Capture: Flowers

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At this time of year in southeastern Wisconsin, the flowers are dwindling. But I found some that are hanging on, hanging on for dear life, to the wonderful summer that is now past, hoping to be able to stick around for some of fall, which is now upon us.

My mom has these beautiful Japanese anemones in her front garden, and I just love them. It’s so nice to see the pink color amid the changing leaves and deeper colors of mums everywhere.
Anemones

My mom also has the most amazing lavender plants that have just rebloomed. They smell amazing, and they attract giant bumblebees that buzz around happily, flitting from bloom to bloom.
265/365 Lavender

These snapdragons aren’t supposed to be perennials, but they were planted either last year or the year before, and they’ve made it through our summer and are still there!
Snapdragons

I love my shrub roses, mostly for the ease of care. I basically do nothing for them, except for some pruning. They’ve been around all summer, too.
Rose

And here’s another angle of my shrub roses, which earned the honor of “Photo of the Day” on The Maternal Lens. (I’m still patting myself on the back!)
260/365 Roses and sun flare

Enjoy more shots of flowers from all different climates over at Beth’s.

Just to toot my own horn…

So I follow a TON of blogs. Too many, I’m sure. But I’ve been following several of them for a while and I’m wrapped up in the lives of those on those blogs. I also follow a lot of photography-based blogs, hoping for some information, guidance, education as I try to improve my photography.

Many of those photography blogs have Flickr groups where you can include pictures you’ve taken. Well, I decided to add one of mine to the Flickr group associated with “The Maternal Lens.” Lo and behold, they chose my picture, MY. PICTURE., as their photo of the day (“POTD”) for today! Me! Little old me!

Okay, I need to go ice my shoulder down from all of the patting myself on the back.

Badger game with the fam!

I don’t feel like getting too wordy with this post. I’ll just say that the rain cleared out in time for us to enjoy a dry game. The weather was cool, but warmer than it was supposed to be. And despite spending most of the first quarter listening to Caden whine, we all had a really good time watching the Badgers beat Arizona State 20-19. It was a pretty ugly game, but a win is a win! I’ll let the pictures do the rest of the talking.

Off to the game! Badger boys!

My three favorite guys! Bucky and the band

Welcoming the team

Noah and Mom Caden and Mom

Silly faces More silly faces

Yet more silly faces

Tough guy Ultra-tough

Camp Randall The amazing marching band

A Badger family

Note to self: funny faces and Dad’s sunglasses help a certain four-year-old stay occupied!

I Heart Faces: Fix-It Friday 9/10/10

I decided to have another go at the Fix-It Friday over at I Heart Faces. The little girl is just so sweet, I figured I’d take a shot at making her look a little prettier.

Here’s the original:
Fix-It Friday #70

And here’s my fix:
Fix-it 9/9

I’m still working on figuring out Lightroom, so every bit of practice helps, right?

First Day of 4-Year-Old Preschool

Today was Caden’s big day. He started his second year of preschool. Ever since Noah started last week, he’s been waiting for his chance to go to school. I’m pretty sure the main reason was so he could be with his best buddy Van, but I’d like to think he actually likes the actual school part, too.

Caden's first day of preschool! Close-up on first day

I just love his big smile here!
252/365 Walking in Caden in his classroom

He had a great first day. Of course, the first thing he tells you about is playing “Super Heroes” out on the playground, but after some coaxing he’ll talk about the actual classroom part of the day!

I love that he loves school. It makes it much easier to get going in the morning! I’m hoping his enthusiasm follows him in the years to come! Have a great year in 4-year-old preschool, Cado!

You Capture: Signs

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I could have gotten all creative with this one. I could have taken shots of signs we see everywhere, shooting from different angles, processing with all different styles. I could have taken shots of “signs”, or things that are foreshadowing, but that would have been kind of deep.

Instead, I went with a literal approach and decided to take you on a tour of my neighborhood and our street signs. You see, every street in my neighborhood has the word “wood” in it. EVERY. SINGLE. STREET. It makes for some difficult direction-giving! Glenwood, Meadowood, Foxwood, Oakwood, Alderwood, Ridgewood, Springwood, Maplewood, Elmwood-it just keeps going! I live in a pretty big neighborhood! Check out some of our signs:

signs (1 of 14) signs (2 of 14) signs (3 of 14) signs (4 of 14) signs (5 of 14) signs (6 of 14) signs (7 of 14) signs (9 of 14) signs (10 of 14) signs (11 of 14) signs (13 of 14)

Oh, and sometimes there are courts named after the street they branch off from (I know that’s terrible grammar, but I hate the correct way to say it!).

signs (8 of 14)

And to add to some of the confusion, the roads are all curvy, and there are several instances of more than one intersection with the same two streets.

signs (14 of 14) signs (12 of 14)

Those are the signs I see every day, especially when I’m out running. But I probably couldn’t tell you the name of the streets I run on. I don’t pay that close of attention!

There are many interpretations of this challenge. Check ’em out at Beth’s!

First day of soccer practice!

Not only was today Noah’s first day of school, but it was also the first day of soccer practice for both Noah and Caden. Caden kept wanting us to call him “first day of soccer practice boy”! I think he was feeling a little left out with Noah having his first day of school. (Caden doesn’t start school until next week.)

Soccer players!

Caden is in U5 soccer and practices and has games Wednesday evenings from 5:30 to 6:30. Noah is in U7 soccer and practices Wednesday evenings from 6:00 to 7:00 with games on Saturdays. It makes for crazy Wednesday evenings, but it’s all fun. I can only imagine what it will be like when they’re each playing three different sports, or music classes, or any other activity!

I went with Caden to his practice tonight. There were 30 four-year-olds and one coach! It was so much fun to watch them. The coach had parents helping with some of the drills. Caden looked like he was having a blast.

Kickin'

Kickin'

"PIRATES!"
(The coach would count down “Three, two, one” then the kids would yell “PIRATES!” So cute!)

Next week they’ll break the group up into five teams of six, each one coached by a high schooler. It will be fun to watch them play an “organized” game! More photos to come!

First day of First Grade!

Noah is officially a first-grader now! He was so excited to go to school this morning.

First day of school 2010 First day of school 2010

Waiting for the bus with Dad Noah-First Grader!

Here comes the bus! Getting on the bus

Off to school!

We sent him on the bus, and then Caden and I met him at school to help get him settled in his classroom. He looked a little tentative at his spot at the table, but I think he was just anxious for his buddies to show up!

Getting off the bus at school Sitting at his table

After a busy day at school, Noah headed home on the bus. Caden and I waited…and waited…and waited at the corner. Noah’s bus was 30. MINUTES. LATE. He didn’t seem to mind.

Bus coming home

Nonetheless, he came running off the bus to see me, like he did every day last year. I love it. I hope he never stops being that excited to see me after a day at school.

Getting off the bus at home

I love this kid. Good luck in first grade, Noah!