Castle in the Clouds

Hey, it can't all be just about the football! We're mostly ready for the school year to begin.  The kids have their backpacks full of folders, notebook paper, and new pens and pencils.  New school apparel, including shoes, have been purchased and put away for the beginning of the school year.  We've attended the orientations and tested out the new locker combinations.  Heck, I've already ordered school pictures for the oldest child with the youngest child's soon to follow.   Can you believe that?  School picture order forms were circulated at the orientations.  Crazy!! So we're as ready as we can be in terms of physical preparedness, but mentally, I'm not so sure.  Unlike most parents, especially those who have been home all summer with the little darlings, I'm not ready for school to begin.  For us, life is so much easier when the kids are on summer break.  Once classes start the real work begins.  Monitoring grades and helping with homework

Well, we made it to the Renaissance Festival once again.  I'm not sure I'll find time in my hectic fall schedule to visit the grounds again, so this was most likely my only visit this year.  I was lucky enough to share the experience with these lovely ladies.. While most of us had been to the festival in years past, we had two newbies with us.  My Aunt Linda, pictured to the far left, and my former step-mom's new husband (not pictured).  The other ladies in the picture (you ma have noticed I colored my hair..red!) are my cousins, former step-mom, and my baby sister.    Considering the 90+ degree weather we were experiencing, I was amazed at the number of visitors who still elected to wear their costumes.  Our group was too wimpy for corsets, skirts, and boots.  We opted for a more casual and cottony approach.  The Planted Man Reminded me of the Ents from LOTR. There's really a man in there somewhere. These sights were the among the fir

Last night the JV football team played their first game of the year. I must admit the boys started out rough.  Halftime found them down 6-12.  Yet, after a few adjustments, the team began to show their true potential.  The final score 28-12. Now, you may be wondering why I'm rambling on about the JV team when my boy is a freshman.  Well, after some careful consideration, the school decided it was too risky to have two small teams and moved all the freshman up to the JV team.  That happened Monday. Luckily, our boys had been practicing together so they weren't completely unfamiliar with each other. My boy started out on kick-off. He's number 66. Then he moved to defensive end. That was just before he made his final move to the bench. See the bag of ice there?  The team's trainer was concerned he had broken his thumb.  I tried really hard not to be "that" mom, but it's hard not to ask what's wrong when you're right there on the s

I'm conflicted.  I'm not one of those women who looks forward to football season.  In fact, I find football season to be highly annoying when it begins to take over my television.  Even though the real games haven't started my husband is already claiming his Monday Night privileges.  I've had to reorganize my DVR list and cancel some of my recordings in order to accommodate his football addiction. Considering how much I DVR and how often he's forced to watch my shows, I really shouldn't complain.   But that's not why I'm conflicted.  I'm conflicted because while I really find professional football to be a huge annoyance, I'm more than a little bit excited that it's football season!  I've two very good reasons to feel that sense of anticipation.   Here they are.. My little guy is in his second year of JV Youth football.  Strangely enough, he's one of the bigger kids on his team.  And he's not that big!    

Okay, so this post is 100% inspired by Wil Wheaton's " Summer memories never fade " post. The only house I really remember from my childhood is the one we moved into when I was three.  The trailer I lived in with my mom and dad prior to the house is kept alive in their memories, not mine.  I think I know what street our trailer was located on when we lived in Fostoria, but probably not.  No, the only house I called home during my formative years was the single story ranch with a full, unfinished basement.  The same house my dad still lives in.  Growing up on that back country road, where the dirt often raised a plume of dust whenever a car or truck would venture by, I spent most of my time with my siblings.  While there were other families with kids on our hilly little road, all the girls were older than me.  Old enough to be my babysitter when a babysitter was still necessary.  It wasn't until my aunt and uncle built a house on the property next to us - prope

That pretty much sums up our summer so far.  It's been a lot of fun.    I guess I'll start with camping. We've got one more trip planned before football season really starts.  We'll be heading back to the very first place we visited this summer.  It's a small, gated, private campground situated on a very picturesque river in mid-Michigan.  Amenities include a camp store, an in-ground heated pool, a hot tub, a pond, and the river, of course.   Once again we'll be camping with friends and family.  We've camped with most of them in the past.  The only newbies to the camping group will be the friends who just purchased a new camper. The rest of the group includes my dad, our best friends and their two boys, and another family of friends (five kids!).  It should be fun.  Slightly chaotic at times, but fun.  The other notable experiences include concerts, all of which occurred at DTE Music Theate r. First, there was the Def Leppard, Poison and Leta Fo

This was a first for me.  I've shot weddings and senior pictures, but never an engagement session.  I was, as you may suspect, a bit nervous.  I was unfamiliar with the location and not quite sure about how to pose a couple.  Oh, sure, I had looked at (stalked) a few professional photographer's websites looking for ideas, but asking a couple to indulge in some PG-rated PDA is, well, a bit awkward.  Lucky for me, Danielle and Shaun were fantastic! We started our shoot at the restaurant where they not only had their first date, but also where he asked her to marry him.  If I have any complaints, its only that I wish my parents had blessed me with longer legs because my angle from beyond the hedge was not ideal.  Just a few inches more would have changed the perspective.   This shot, on the other hand, is much better.  The color photo really didn't do anything for me, though, so I decided to apply some black and white filters. Much better!  I also think th