Random things from the past week

1. I had to send my back-up camera (Canon 30D) into Canon for repair. It gave me an error message, which of course does not give me any real information. I tried switching lenses, batteries, and memory cards. It still wouldn't work. Now I am patiently waiting for Canon to send me a repair estimate so I can see if it's worth fixing. I really need to have a back-up camera for the two weddings I am doing in October.

2. Both kids are really loving their teachers and classes. Yay! They are both going to have a great year.

3. Abigail is very excited about her birthday coming up on September 9. She will be 9 years old on 9/9/09. How many people can say that?!

4. I got a response from the Famous Footwear email I sent in. They asked for my phone number so a district manager can call me. We'll see how it goes.... Thanks to all of you that said you would join my boycott!

5. My friend Sandi and I are going to shoot a wedding together in October. And we may think about doing more, if things go well. I have been thinking a lot about what to charge and what kind of packages to put together.

6. Soccer is a new thing for us. Neither of the kids have played before. We have games every Saturday from 9/12 through 10/31. Both kids really like it. I wasn't quite sure... so far, so good!

7. J.T. lost another tooth today! I told him pretty soon he will only be able to eat soup and applesauce! How many teeth can a kid lose and still be able to eat?

8. I can't believe that tomorrow is September 1! I think the older you get, the faster time flies by... Anyone else feel that way?

9. We have no plans for this weekend. Andy will be working, but at this point, the kids and I don't have much going on. Hope the weather is decent... What are you all doing this weekend?

10. I found out this week that in order to be a parent volunteer at the kids' school, I have to get a TB test. Anyone else have to do this for their school?

It's soccer season!

On Saturday, soccer season started with the jamboree and team photos. With both kids playing for the first time this year, we will be busy!! The kids' games overlapped a little so we ran back and forth. I took a few photos and thought I would share some here.

Abigail's game was first....







And then J.T.'s game...







Both kids had a great time! Abigail's team was short a couple players so they didn't get to sub out at all... she was pretty tired at the end. J.T. had a huge smile on his face the entire time. We don't have games next week, but then they each have one for the next eight weeks after that.

Do NOT shop at Famous Footwear!

Some of you already know about my experience at Famous Footwear recently.... Here is the email that I sent to their customer service department...

I have a major complaint about your store 9289 in Eureka, California. I purchased four pairs of shoes there on Aug 15, and exchanged two of the pairs on Aug 17. I did not try on the two I got on Aug 17. In fact, I didn't even look in the boxes because I just saw the sample on display and grabbed my size off the shelf. When I got home to try them on, I noticed one of the pairs had very obviously been worn. You could ask why I didn't look in the box at the store... well who would think they needed to do that to see if the shoes were, in fact, unworn?

As you can imagine, I was upset that I brought a 50 dollar pair of shoes home and they were used. I tried to return them on Aug 20 to the same store. The asst. manager, cashier 621345, was very rude to me and said that it's store policy not to take back used shoes. Well of course that makes sense, but I was NOT the one that wore them and put them in that condition. I asked to speak to the manager, Andy. He came over and was equally rude about the whole thing.

I can understand that you don't take back used shoes, but obviously some cashier did. I am very upset that I got stuck with a pair of used shoes and that the managers were so rude. I know that I can’t prove that I didn’t wear the shoes, but that doesn’t make this situation any less frustrating.

Anyway, I don't ever plan to shop at Famous Footwear again unless this situation is fixed. Also I plan to tell all my family and friends about my experience so they aren't taken advantage of. I thought you should know about my experience.

We'll see what happens... I am not expecting much, but it felt good to let them know how upset I was! Anyone want to join me in my boycott of Famous Footwear in Eureka?

Doesn't J.T. look...

great in his new glasses? He really doesn't like them and I keep trying to tell him how awesome he looks! He only has to wear them a few hours a day so hopefully we can make that work!

Fair results

I finally got to the Humboldt County Fair on Sunday to check everything out. I already knew that I didn't win anything with my photos, but I did get an "Honorable Mention" on this photo...

I am not exactly sure what that means... 4th place maybe. I entered in the Advanced Amateur category this year. The rules said that you could either matte or frame the photos. I wanted to do something different than a regular frame so I had them matted at my professional lab. Sometimes, I like it when you can just see the photo without a frame. I tried something different and I am not sure if the judges didn't like that look. When I took them in, I thought they looked really good. When they were hung up with all the framed ones, they looked a little less impressive. Oh well, I still can't figure out what the judges were looking for... but I will save that for another post.

Do you notice...

anything different between these two photos (besides the backpack)?

Yep, it's the belt! This little stinker put it in his backpack and put it on at school, after I told him he couldn't wear the belt to school. He said it was for the first day of school only. I guess I am going to have to start doing backpack checks in the morning...

Nap

Being in Kindergarten is tough!

First day of school

Today is the first day of school... the kids were both excited. They both have great teachers so I think they will have a fun year. Here's a few I took this morning...

Gettin' ready

for school... I usually try to take some photos of the kids in some of their new school clothes before the first day. It's just too crazy in the morning. We will still try to get a couple of us and the kids in front of the door in the morning with their backpacks.

Here's a few that I took today...

Kindergarten Sneak Peek

Today we took J.T. to his Kindergarten Sneak Peak. He got to see his classroom, see where he's going to sit, paint a picture, find his cubby and of course "meet" his teacher, Mrs. Victorine. He acted a little shy at first but I think he will have a great year!

Guess jeans

Remember the good 'ol days of Guess jeans? I had a few pairs in 8th grade and high school, and I thought they were the greatest thing ever! Remember this "gotta have it" red triangle label?

Well they are back! Yeah, I know they've been back for a little while now, but their design is much more modern and not so 80s in style (you know... high waisted, skinny legged with zippers at the bottom).... I actually bought a pair the other day and they are really great. This is not a picture of the ones I have, but I thought I would show how they have changed....

Layla

Yesterday I had a photo session for Layla's 3rd birthday. We also did a couple with her brother, Asa, too. Aren't they the cutest ever?

I love watching these kids grow up!!

Great movie

If you are looking for a really good movie to rent, here's a recommendation!



Andy and I watched this the other night and it is really good!

J.T.'s room

J.T. has a lot of toys! I decided I would try to organize them a little today while he was with Grandma Pam. Here's the "before" photo:

I was at Target today and decided to buy this shelf unit to organize some of his tractors. Here are two "after" photos:

Now, hopefully it will be easier for him to keep them organized!

Just one...

I thought I would post this photo that I took last week on my way out of Dublin Heights Ranch.

Andy has been complaining lately because I haven't been blogging.... so here's a quick one!

Fair time!

The Humboldt County Fair starts today. I entered four photos this year, but I had to move up to the Advanced Amateur division. I am not sure when I will get over there to check things out. I am not sure I even want to look! If anyone gets over there and happens to see a ribbon on one of my photos, let me know! Here are the four...

In black and white...





And in color...





Thanks for looking!!

I did not...

...disappear! I have been helping Andy on the ranch and haven't been around my computer much! I will try to get back to regular posting tomorrow or Friday...

I am trying...

Yesterday the kids and I went on a little photo-taking journey. I was trying to get myself out of the photo slump that I had been in.... not sure if it worked, but here are few that I captured....

I think they are done....

I definitely think it's harder to take photos of your own kids than other people's....

Photography slump

I feel like I am in a photography slump lately.... I just can't seem to find the motivation to get my camera out. I thought I might jolt my inner creativity by looking through a lot of other photographer's websites. It didn't really work, but I do have a few observations...

1. I think photographers with websites need to go through them every so often and put some new photos on. It's good to change things up a little and keep the site updated with new shots.

2. Many times I have seen shots on a photographer's website that make me go "huh?" As in, why would you put that one on there because it really isn't your best work?

3. Photographers should use only their absolute best work for their portfolio website.

4. It is frustrating when you are looking through a portfolio gallery and the photos take forever to load.

5. Some photographers websites make me say, "Wow, I have a long way to go before I am ever that great and can charge that much!"

6. And others make me say, "Wow, I am pretty good and I don't charge enough!"

Enough of my ramblings...

Turtle Bay excursion

Before we left Redding last week, we stopped for a couple hours at Turtle Bay Exploration Park. There is a lot to see there... more than we were able to see this time. First we went to a show called "Walk on the Wild Side." We were able to see several wild animals during the show including a fox, box turtle, barn owl, porcupine (see below), and a few different kids of birds.

They had a fish feeding "show" at 11:30 that the kids liked.

One of my favorite things was the Lego exhibit called "The Art of the Brick." The created made some very amazing things all out of Legos.

We had to check out and walk across the Sundial Bridge.

And we asked a nice lady to take our photo on the other side...

The butterfly exhibit wasn't as big as I had expected, but it was a fun subject for me to photograph.

Last stop before we made our exit was the bird feeding. It was interesting but I never really realized this, but I am just not comfortable in a building full of birds.

The kids really liked this...

After we left Turtle Bay, we went to Chuck E. Cheese for lunch.... I think everyone knows you don't go there for the pizza, but the kids had fun anyway!