Girl Scouts Digital Photographer Patch

In early January, Ella and I worked with her Girl Scout Juniors troop on the Digital Photography patch.  Ella and I presented six photography composition concepts and suggestions to her girl scout troop at a meeting one night (rule of thirds, use leading lines, frame your subject, make strong lines horizontal or vertical, change your perspective, and avoid mergers) and had the girls practice these concepts at our meeting.  Ella and I were a great team during our presentation, tag-teaming each idea we covered.  After our meeting, the girls had a few weeks to complete an assignment, a photography scavenger hunt.  Ella, Gator and I went on a nature hike on our hunt for Ella to capture on my old Nikon D40x the items on her list (Girl Scout Junior green, winter, shadows, cookie program, looking up or down, get close, reflection, why I love being a Girl Scout, light, and valentine). Ella was incredibly creative in composing her shots and we enjoyed our 4-mile hike on a beautiful, temperate January weekend.  In order to earn their Digital Photography patch, the girls also had to edit their scavenger hunt images.  I let Ella loose with her images in Lightroom and she had a fun time trying out all of my many presets and changing settings.  Ella takes her art very seriously—she still has every intention of being an artist when she grows up—and it was so wonderful to show her how photography is also an art.  She now has the D40x at her disposal so hopefully she—and the rest of her Girl Scout troop—continues to enjoy applying the composition concepts we learned.

{the paparazzi on jack.}

Ella’s Scavenger Hunt Images:

And, a few other images she and I took on her camera during our nature hike:

Instagrammin’ in April

April was a busy, busy month full of lots of exciting travel, beautiful days out in nature, and some exciting events…not to mention my 38th birthday.  Fun times!

holding my hand on our evening walk. #soakingupeveryminute | jack’s journal: “my life is gonna’ be aswesome when i grow up.” | got myself a cute date.  #fatherdaughterdancenight = #mothersondatenight #baddaddysandbasketball | looks like they had a fun night. #fatherdaughterdancenight | goodbyes are tough after hanging with such great lifelong friends. | 51 lengths of the gym at his pacer run #mostoftwoclassesrunning | i wish i could always say yes when he asks me to play soccer with him. | national sibling day—so thankful to talk to my big sis today! #arentwecute | fun at the lake with our cousins! #springbreak2014 | loving all my cuddle time with my sweet niece ivy. | fun day playing tennis with our music teacher. #wonitataschoolraffle #springbreak2014 | a big 10-year-old needs a more mature ‘do! | livin’ it up in chucktown this weekend. #ilovecharleston #springbreak2014 | he ordered oysters 2 ways for dinner. #hanksseafood | we love our doughnuts—of course our hotel was booked around the corner from a gourmet doughnut shop. | enjoying the view on the uss yorktown. #springbreak2014 | fun on the boardwalks at shem creek. #springbreak2014 | we’ve done plenty of that at the amazing restaurants in charleston. | wet and mucky saturday at charles towne landing, but it was still beautiful and—bonus—we had the place to ourselves.  plus, i was obviously prepared. | what a beautiful park. #charlestownelanding #springbreak2014 | sentenced to 5 minutes for whining. #itiredofwalking | checking out the ketch at charles towne landing. | oh these trees.  so beautiful. | on easter sunday, an adventure in uptown after church. | the kids’ first fancy easter brunch. #blue #springbreak2014 | ready to experience the phenomenon. #bluemangroup #springbreak2014 #didntrealizeitwaseasterwheniboughtthetix | great way to end a fun week! #withmycuties #springbreak2014 | they were so patient—finally, an egg hunt! #springbreak2014 | forsooth, a tooth!  we’re very excited to finally (after over 6 months) see a tooth coming in! | still finding inchworms on me 3 hours after a trail run. #theyreeverywhere | 2013 blog book, check. | showered with love from my wonderful family and sweet friends. #happybirthdaytome | ella’s birthday party photo book—such a cute party. | look who’s in this month’s issue of the crier! #fromtwosummers ago #discoveryplace | we’re missing our girl, but it looks like she’s having fun in savannah on her girl scout trip. | enjoying a beautiful weekend in the mountains at our church retreat to kanuga. | getting in some  q-t with my cu-tie. #yesimadork #missingourgirl | my kayaking buddy on this lovely saturday. #kanuga | ella’s hanging with some savannah royalty on her girl scout trip.

Instagrammin’ in March

March brought some extreme highs and extreme lows for our family.  It was a very emotionally tolling month, one that left us counting the many blessings we have and recollecting many wonderful memories.

we said goodbye to our sweet, wonderful, like-no-other 10-year-old pup gator.  we are so very heartbroken.  life just won’t be the same without him.  #lovethatdog #homeiswhereyourdogis | in my sister’s room at the hospital: “where there is great love there are always miracles.” ~ willa cather  we definitely saw a miracle in my sister’s recovery. | our wacky kids on wacky wednesday. | sister selfie in the hospital! tracy was surprising everyone with her quick recovery. | cousin time at the chattahoochee nature center. | TRACY.IS.HOME! my sister checked out of the hospital 16 days after she was first admitted. #wearingadefibrillatorvest #justaprecaution | red-shouldered hawk in our backyard. | missing my walking buddy. | junior night out for these two tennis cuties! | beginning of soccer season, 3+ goals for jack but he loves defense like his mama. | trying out lacrosse this spring, too. | happy st. patrick’s day! | sorry, kiddo, but your mom used to edit books as a job in college. #proofreader | yay! surprise visit from lauren and family. | happy 10th birthday, ella! | ella’s birthday request for dinner and a movie = nothing but noodles and mr. peabody and sherman #girllovesherbutterynoodlesandbreadsticks | back in atlanta, at que for a cause, a fundraiser for my sister’s family. | love hanging with my sister! #sothankful | meeting the first responders today. | love this smile. #hopingnewteethcomeinsoon | learning the art of cake pops from the master, dao of daolicisioustreats. | dao’s helping me make microphone cake pops for ella’s birthday party! | the finished product, microphone cupcakes for ella’s karaoke party—so thankful for dao helping to make ella’s party so special.  10 is a big one and all of the craziness of the previous month put me behind in party planning. | love this uber talented lady! | ella’s karaoke birthday party started off with some rock-star treatment for the girls—manis and pedis. | 6 girls having fun on stage! #karaokeparty | microphone cupcakes were pretty and yummy! happy birthday to ella! | now that she’s 10, the world of the gym and equipment has opened up to her—she couldn’t be more thrilled. #gymratinthemaking | well-earned beer and izzes on the patio after a long weekend…a long month. #yayforspringweatherfinally | missing those tail wags.

Instagrammin’ in February

From the looks of my Instagram activity in February, you’d think it wasn’t a very busy or eventful month.  But, February 2014 is a month I’ll never forget.  It started off as any ordinary February—unseasonably warm days, school activities, snow, more snow, lots of snow, a visit from my sister and a few of her kids—and then on February 21st my sister went into cardiac arrest.  We spent the last week of February first wondering if Tracy would survive, then if she was brain dead, and then to what extent she had brain damage.  It was an incredibly stressful and life-altering week.  By the end of February, we had witnessed a true miracle.  Tracy was conscious and completely herself.  She had several more weeks of recovery ahead, but we have a lot for which to be thankful.  Her story, and our tough week, is documented on a CaringBridge site: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/tracyslatoncrosson.

exactly as I found our mini snowman. | warm enough for some outdoor water fun. | cutest little nurse at JA biztown. #fieldtripchaperone | entertaining the girl with some doll hairdos while the hubs and I enjoy some OMB beer. | putting her to work sewing me some pillow covers. | snow! #snowmanfellover #makesasnowchair | more snow! | snowman success! | getting help shoveling the driveway. | happy valentine’s day! | look who’s visiting! #babyivy #ellasababyhog | look at that sweet baby chub. | lunch date with my girl. | lunch date with my boy. | adore my sister—so thankful the week ended with tears of joy.

Instagrammin’ in January

January kicked off with a lot of fun and excitement, but then, for nearly two weeks, Jonathan and I were both beaten down with a terrible cold…so there was a lull in there and I was radio silent on Instagram.  We did have quite a few Girl Scout and Cub Scout activities with the kids, though, this month.  And another big story this month was the weather—we had incredibly cold temps causing several two-hour delays for school (something we’ve never had before), weather in the 50s and 60s, tons of rain, and then finally some snow.  We were all over the map and definitely took advantage of the great-weather days with outdoor activities.

happy new year! | davidson basketball game | go cats! | when in davdison #gottahittheswing | 3 of these things are not like the other. #groupof10 | my trx buddy | changing my oil. #hubbysnewhobby | jack insisted on this many jalapeños in his soft taco. #hechoweddown #iwasdoubtful | ella’ hadnmade pretzels | did a 9 round boxing workout.#tonsoffunhittingthebag | ella and i rocked a presentation on digital photography to her girl scout troop. #digitalphotographerpatch | yummy vietnamese food | better late than never. #christmasamaryllis | fan friday #gopanthers | ready for her powderpuff derby. | rainbow loom cuff | pogo stick mania over here—both kids have records over a thousand consecutive hops. | nature walk and photography scavenger hunt with my girl and gator. #digitalphotographerpatch #girlscoutjuniors | getting her shots. | beautiful light today for our 4-mile walk. | beautiful girl. | he’s out to ruin every single rug we own, but boy do we adore this pup. #themedsdestroyhistummy | ready for this cub scouts lego contest. #cubscoutwolf #pack164 | touring the police station with her girl scout troop. | enjoying the warmer weather with a 3.5-mile family walk. #onlyonekiddoneededtobecarriedforbreaks #thefurryone | finally some snow to go with the cold temps! | snow day and only one kid is hanging with me. | not very successful attempts at sledding, but still enjoying our snow day. | back for more time in the snow after a movie and hot cocoa. | the best snowman they could do with the dusting of snow we got.

Davidson

On New Year’s Day we all got decked out in our Davidson Wildcats gear and headed up to the Davidson campus for a midday basketball game.  Go Cats!  Davidson College has such a beautiful campus—and of course the swing is a must whenever we’re up there—so we had a great time exploring after the game.  The kids also love pointing out, year after year, the window that Jonathan broke while he was there in college (it was an accident).  I guess it’s just fun to think about your parents getting in trouble. 

{the group of ten by magdalena abakanowicz}

New Year’s Eve

We capped off 2013 with our annual New Year’s Eve Party.  The kids mostly stay upstairs playing games, Wii, and otherwise having fun.  They obviously enjoyed the photobooth downstairs, too, but that’s mostly the grownups’ domain.  This year we even added a new family to the mix, the Shaws.  I love all of these families and, as someone who never lived anywhere long enough to “grow up with” my friends, I just adore that Ella and Jack have known most of these kids either their entire lives or nearly.  This is a fun, and supportive (which we’ll come to know more dearly in 2014), group.  Hanging with this crew is always a great way to end one year and begin another.  Happy New Year!