2011 Photo of the Week : Week Forty Five

Week 45 : Frozen Bubbles

These gorgeous bubbles appeared under the ice during a frost this week, and they were absolutely fascinating!  I used my new lens for some soft effects, and decided not to alter the photo in any way :)

2011 Photo of the Week : Week Forty Four

Week 44 : Jo and the Golden Apple

This photo was taken during the school Fall Festival.  The kids were trick or treating on the nature trail and this was one of the candy stops.  Thankfully, no one chose the poisonous apple!  :)  Digitally painted in Photoshop.

Happy Halloween!!!

 Hurray...its Halloween!  We have a few kids that live in the canyon now, so we invited them to trick or treat with us this year.  Jordyn was thrilled to have some kids to share Halloween with, and i think the neighbors were pretty excited about it too.

 First stop was at Grandma and Grandpa Bears for some goodies!  They had eyeballs, fingers and teeth treats...as well as some goody bags to take on the road.  I dont know about you, but i think that mask Grandma was wearing was super creepy!  Happy Anniversary Grandma and Grandpa Bear...thats right, our love of Halloween runs deep in this family!

 We were very lucky to have great weather...a little breezy, but still, warm enough to ride in the pumpkin truck!  This is how we trick or treat in the mountains!  :)

 We stopped at many houses, and the kids were spoiled rotten!  just look how full their treat bags are...

 Our neighbor John asked for a trick...to which the kids sang, "trick or treat, smell my feet, if you dont, i dont care...ill pull down my underwear!"  I have no idea where they learned this, but John thought it was hilarious and even gave them extra candy for it! :)  The next day he sent over that spooky guy hanging on his door for Jordyn to have...i asked him, "well, what about next year?", to which he replied..."maybe ill get something scarier for next year!"  I think the neighbors are really getting into this :)

 I really enjoyed watching Jordyn share Halloween with some kids her age, it really brings on a whole new way to experience the holiday.  The parents of the neighbor kids were excited too...they said the kids got way more candy than if they had trick or treated in town!  Yep...they are definitely spoiled up here.

 After the neighbor kids went home, we made a few more stops...folks get upset if we miss their house...especially since they are expecting us...so we parked the pumpkin truck, hoped in our car and hit the rest of the neighborhood.  Jordyn got a special tin filled with goodies from Glenn and Jan, handfuls of treats from the mail lady, goody bags from several other folks, and cookies from Iola Revis (a house Justin trick or treated at when he was a kid)

And of course, a visit to Archers to visit the girls.  This photos is bittersweet, as it was the last photo of Samantha (aka Sammy) the kitty.  She was so sick that she had to be put down the next day.  Happy Halloween sweet Sammy!  And Happy Birthday to my Dad...we miss you every day!
Well, i hope you enjoyed a peek into our All Halloween Weekend!!!!  You'll forgive me if you dont see me post for a while....im pooped! 
Happy Super Wonderful Fabulous Halloween!!!!!!!!!!!

All Halloween Weekend ~ Part Three

" Going to the zoo, zoo, zoo...How about you, you, you!"  Thats right...Sunday we headed to Denver, for Boo at the Zoo!  An awesome experience!  If you've never done it, i highly recommend it!  This was our third time going, and once again, we had a blast!

 Christy had such a good time with us last year, that she decided to join us again this year...and we are so glad she did!  It can get a bit crowded, but everyone is in such good spirits, having such a good time, that the atmosphere is wonderful!

 We also thought it would be a good idea to give Jordyns "red queen" costume a rest...it took a beating the last few days and still had Halloween night to go, so we opted for this very cool and super comfy Astronaut jumper.

 We did some trick or treating at the many booths there, but mostly, we enjoyed the surroundings of the zoo...

 There were some fabulous costumes too...in fact, Jordyn was wayyyyy tooooo freaked out by Darth Vader, so i had to hold her.  These guys were visitors at the zoo, but they looked so great everyone wanted to take their photo with them...and they were only too happy to comply!  I guess the evil empire isnt so evil after all :)  Thanks guys!

 The bonus to all of this, is of course, the animals.  We spent almost an hour in the tropical discovery...Justin's favorite because of the warm climate inside...Jordyn's favorite because of all the reptiles.  One of our favorite additions to the tropical discovery is the Komodo dragon wing.  This little Komodo dragon recently turned a year old...in fact, i posted a picture of him in my blog last year.  The larger Komodo dragons were fascinated by the kids, and probably hoping to have them as a snack, followed them around in their cage.

 And of course, we cant forget a trip to the Merry-go-round!  Jordyn talked about this all the way there..."Can we go on the Merry-go-round first?...I wonder which animal i will ride this time?"

 Well, she picked out the hyena!  An unusual choice, but that was fine with me because then i got to ride on the tiger that was next to her!  She was so funny...she kept watching herself in the mirror, smiling and holding on for dear life!  I have to admit...i love the Merry-go-round too!  Simple Joy!

 Then it was time to be groomed by this lovely gorilla...be sure to check behind the ears...

 How far can you jump?

 Jordyn jumped as far as a bullfrog, Mommy jumped as far as a jackrabbit, and Daddy jumped as far as the polar bear.

 Yep...it was another fabulous time at the zoo!  Get some rest kiddo...we have pumpkins to carve when we get home!

 So, after our long drive home, and a trip to the grocery store, Jordyn and daddy worked on the pumpkin while i put away the groceries.

 This pumpkin was a gift from one of our neighbors that wasnt going to be around on Halloween night.  She made sure we got a bag of candy and this super cool pumpkin!  Thank you Marci, you saved the day and it was most appreciated...especially since the pumpkins we were planning to carve, went soft from a previous frost.

 So here it is...Jordyns crazy kitty pumpkin.......BOO!  or should i say.....MEOW!

All Halloween Weekend ~ Part Two

 Part Two of our Halloween weekend took place down in town at my Uncles VFW.  They throw a fabulous Halloween party for the kids with lots of games and activities...

 like pin the nose on the pumpkin...guess how many candies are in the jar...make your own candy apple...

 ring toss...decorate your own candy bag...and of course a pinata! 

 Jordyn did a bang up job on the pinata and knocked it off the string with one swing!  Thats my girl! :)

 The women that put together this event always do such a beautiful job, and the kids have a blast!  The kids get sugared up on cupcakes and pudding, and the adults get to enjoy a couple beers...its a win win for everybody :)

 After the party we went to Aunt Gwens for family fun and power lounging!  Jordyn had a blast with her little cousins...

 They ran and played and climbed and laughed!  Then they ran and played and climbed some more...

 The perfect way to burn off that sugar high!  Just look at these little monkeys go......

Whew!  Im tired, just thinking about it!  Next up...Part Three of the All Halloween Weekend!

All Halloween Weekend ~ Part One

 Once again we had a full weekend of Halloween fun, so updating you on the activities will take several posts!  Also be warned...these blogs will be photo laden! :)
Friday was the Fall Festival at Jordyns school.  I stayed all day to help set up the games and decorate, while the kids anxiously awaited the party.  This was our first time attending the Fall Festival, and it was awesome!  There were lots of games, including bowling, ring toss, a cake walk(where they won toys instead of cake), golf putting, dart toss, a fortune teller and even a pinata!

 There were prizes at every station too...so all the kids won something!  And speaking of winning something...there were three winners in the costume contest, and Jordyn was one of the winners!  She won a giant crayola bank, and she was sooooo excited!

 Then it was time to trick or treat on the nature trail...probably my favorite part...and i know the kids loved it too!

 Look how excited they all are...never mind that they have to tromp through the snow...candy awaits!

 And speaking of candy...look at all the Halloween loot Jordyn scored!  She received stickers, tattoos, candy, pretzels, and lots of rubber bugs and spiders!  I think Nosy and Trash approve!

Stay tuned for Part Two of the All Halloween Weekend~

2011 Photo of the Week : Week Forty Three

Week 43 : Snowy October

One of my favorite spots to photograph, i captured "cousins bridge" on a beautiful snowy morning.  You can actually feel the chill in the air!  Digitally painted in photoshop.