Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Summer Begins......



It's official...the bathing suit was broken out!

Wow!!! Whew!! Time for a break! The last 2 months have flown by. Campfire is done. Campfire Campout is done and over with. Campfire Council Fire is over. The school Spring Carnival over and photos all delivered. AND the topper (drum roll please) the 5th Grade Bridging Ceremony is over!! I completed the DVD slide show on Monday (had some late additions of photos). It turned out pretty good. I made 95 DVD copies of it over the last two days and actually delivered them to school today to be handed out to the students. Thank goodness for wonderful parent volunteers who helped with the Bridging Ceremony, especially my good friends Amy and Amy, Debbie, Andrea, and Jill. It wouldn't have happened without them. Now it is time to reclaim my "role" as mother, wife, CEO of the household, meal planner, grocery shopper, housekeeper, and laundress. Now you're talking FUN. NOT!

However, I am going to HAVE MORE FUN this summer starting July 3, 2008. My online portrait photography course ends June 30. I have learned so much in that class and can't wait to start taking "portraits" of friends and family for a little extra dough.
Tomorrow is the last day of school and the kids get out at 1:00 (12:55 to be exact). We usually end up at a park with friends afterwards. Kelly didn't want to go to bed tonight, because tomorrow will be his last day at View Ridge. He starts 6th Grade at Evergreen Middle School (my Alma Mater) in the fall.

We will be having Kelly's buddy's older sister come and be with the kids over the summer while Chris and I are at work. Grandma Anne needs a break as Kelly's and Peggy's bickering over every little thing pushes her over the edge. Not a good thing. We want Grandma staying ON the LEDGE.

I think summer is arriving, the weather is now more like spring and typical of this time of year. It rained yesterday on my birthday which is pretty much par for the course.
We have started camping and are looking forward to a LONG 4th of July weekend camping in the HOT weather of Eastern Washington on the Snake River. We will be camping with Mom and Dad Grounds, Jim and Twila Herrin (family), and Chris' high school buddy, Jeff and his family. It will be our second time this year with both the folks and the friends. Should be a lot of fun. A few other camping trips are planned with friends from school and friends from work. We are going to stick fairly close by after the 4th, but we are not letting the gas/diesel prices keep us from having fun as a family.

Can't wait to let the "Summer Fun" begin!!

Pictures from Bridging 6/16/08





Mrs. O'Donnell---the teacher who started it all.
These kids were all in kindergarten together with this wonderful woman. She is retiring this year after many years of teaching and surely will be missed. (And she became a grandmother today!)




Mrs. Dugaw drove 2 hours to be here for these kids (okay, not just Kelly and Griffin, but her last second grade class at View Ridge who are all now going into the 6th grade next fall). It was a total surprise to the kids, parents, and teachers!! Kelly's 4th grade teacher and I had made sure that she knew she was invited. It was great fun to have her here.





Kelly receiving his Certificate of Completion for Elementary School from his 5th grade teacher, Mr. Hashimoto (yes, Kelly is taller than he is).



Couldn't resist the beautiful fields of wildflowers at Pearrygin Lake State Park, near Winthrop, WA. The kids were good sports while I played with my camera. All these were taken in the "Manual" Mode where I chose the shutter speed, aperture, ISO, and focal length. Still in the learning curve but getting better. I need to get an EXPO disc to create a custom white balance (colors are off here) and learn to touch up in Photoshop Elements.






The Grounds and Herndon Children





The Herndon Kids








Walking Amongst The Wildflowers-an attempt at being artistic.







The beginnings of my Portrait Photography Career!!



If you click on the photos, they will open up bigger in a new window.

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