An Awesome Sight

I've seen thousands of images from the inauguration and I just can't cease to be amazed. If you'd like to relive the moment and see more photos that you may have already seen or not, check out the photo blog on the Denver Post.

It must have been an awesome experience to have been there that day. But, as some of you know, I was instead on the other coast taking care of family business, funeral arrangements, life insurance quotes, medical and social security... all the fun stuff *-*

Share the Summer Fun

Once you get over the anxiety of sending your kids off to summer vacation on their own (see previous post), you can start planning on the fun aspects of a summer vacation. Not being with your kids, like we will be, you'd still want to keep up with what they will be doing without you. I've already coached my girls to take lots of photos so mom and dad can see what they did.

I've done this before, and I think we'll do it again this year. Always at the end of a vacation with my family, we've had photo cards made to commemorate that year's vacation. Photo Cards are highly customizable and can be used in a variety of ways. For instance, soon after we get back home, we send thank you cards to our summer hosts, with a memorable image to remind them how much we enjoyed our time with them. You can have custom messages printed inside the cards, or you can leave them blank. It's your choice. I personally like to write my own personal messages inside so I like to leave them blank.

When we're in the midst of winter and we are enveloped in thick coats, I like to use our summer vacation pictures, when we were tanned and wearing less, as Christmas cards. Yes! They make perfect Christmas card images to send to family and friends and this time Yes to the customized message either on the front of the cards or inside. What makes sending summer images for Christmas even special is that it reminds everyone the great time over the past summer and makes them look forward to the next, making winter not seem so bleak after all.

Thursday Challenge: OUTSIDE

Can you find our visitor? They (there's three of them - only one in the photo though) visit our garden everyday.

Submitted for this week's Thursday Challenge: OUTSIDE.

Loved

The Clone got Mara Bunny from Build a Bear for her sixth birthday and has held a special place in the Clone’s Kingdom since. Other bunnies and friends came later, but Mara Bunny was always special. I don’t know why, she just is. She is getting on in terms of stuffed animal years, she will be four in a couple of months. Her fur is getting thin and frayed, and she recently had to get a voice box transplant and yet she is loved.

Awesome Illusion

Photo received via forwarded email. The image was from National Geographic Magazine.
If you look closely, you'll realize the camels on the photo are the shadows of the actual camels at the feet of the shadow. This was an overhead shot of the caravan of camels.

Nevada Vacation

Our family vacation in Las Vegas started with the four hour drive from Los Angeles. With five kids in the car, two of them under five years old and in car seats, we were lucky to only make three stops along the way. One of our more interesting stops was at Baker California.

One of the jewels of the desert, the Mad Greek Restaurant is a popular stopping place to cool off and get some great Greek food.

The Country Store, across the street from the Mad Greek is a great place to stop for snacks, drinks or souvenirs. Many also buy lotto tickets here, believed to be one of the luckiest lotto vendors having produced severa big money winners.

It was so hot when we stopped here in the middle of the afternoon that you couldn't stand in the sun for more than a few seconds. Your skin starts to feel like it is scorching in the 112 degree F temperature as evidenced here, the largest thermometer in the world.

As soon as we checked in, the girls undressed and jumped in the pool where they stayed until dark. By that time, they were so tired they didn't want to go out to eat so pizza for them it is on their first night in Vegas. I don't think they minded too much though.

Thursday Challenge: Blue

Thursday's Challenge this week is Blue. This is the Clone doing her thing in the Backyard. The Clone is the only one of my three girls to regularly go out in the backyard to help her dad. Here, she is making a cave for her Neopets.

Her favorite color is blue.

Wordless Wednesday

See more Wordless Wednesday participants here.

Fort Fisher-Southport Ferry

One of the best deals for sightseeing in NC is the ferry system along its coast. We take this ferry from Fort Fisher to Southport everytime we go to Wilmington just for the ride and the view. For a mere $5 we get to drive onto the ferry and sail across to the other side. It's a short 30 minute ride, and the views are wonderful.

Here are some photos:
Waiting for the Ferry to come, we saw this bird also hanging about. (Click for larger view)



So what do you do during the 30 minute ride? Take pictures of course!


For entertainment, you can join the crowd at the back of the boat and feed the sea gulls. They are expert catchers and kept pace with the ferry during the entire crossing.



Click on the photos for a larger view. You will go to the album where there are more photos taken during the crossing.

Sunset through the trees

In astrology, I am born under the fire sign. But, as I have never conformed to any astrological forecasts, I shouldn't wonder why, when I'm supposed to be fiery, I choose to be cool and calm. I like water.

Living in land locked Durham, I don't often see sunsets to the same degree that I did living by the ocean. Sunsets here take on a very different 'air', it even looks different.

One day, while walking out of Costco, this sun was setting behind the trees and it just made me miss the water.

Water has always been my comfort. When I am feeling down, depressed or sad I go to water to make me feel better. I seek out any body of water, be it a creek, a river, a lake or even a pond if I can't get to the ocean, and I instantly feel better. I used to sit on the sand and watch the sun set on the horizon. I watch it slowly slip down and marvel at the fading colors it leaves behind just before it totally fades to night. I watch the play of light on the water and I am soothed. I listen to the rippling sound it makes when it runs over a river bed, the thunder it makes when if falls of a cliff, and the awesome stillness of it when the breeze isn't blowing, and I am invigorated. I dip my toes or my fingers or my whole body in it and I am cleansed of all that troubles me. I love the water...

Feeding the Ducks

Sometimes when we have nothing better to do and just feel like stretching our legs, we go out and take a walk. Some of Durham's many attractions are the various hiking trails that provide us variety in scenery and keeps us from getting bored. Sometimes we just walk around our neighborhood but sometimes when the mood strikes us, we go to the Duke Gardens which is just a couple of miles from our house. We started going to this garden when the children were smaller because it is pretty secure, away from busy streets, and we can let them run loose. They can run ahead of us, climb trees, find hideouts, all within our sight with no worries of them getting too far ahead or lost. Many a times we've brought a picnic blanket and just lolled around on the lawns or napped under trees.

One of the girls' favorite activity during these walks is to feed the ducks. The girls never fail to clean out the kitchen of stale bread for the ducks before we leave the house. I remember one snowy day a couple of years ago when we had been housebound without power for a few days due to an ice storm. We were all suffering cabin fever and needed to get out for some air. At the first opportunity to get out of the house, this garden is where they wanted to head to, to check on the ducks. We trekked through icy trails and broken tree limbs to this pond just so they can feed their ducks. You see, they don't worry about the ducks too much when the weather is nice as they practically get overfed from all the other children bringing them bread crumbs. It's when the weather gets cold and uncertain that the girls want to make sure they have enough to eat.

Click here to see more photos of our walk through the garden.