Err...Happy Halloween?

Is it Thanksgiving already? Since I started a consulting job, I haven't had time to update my blog with pics from Halloween, this fall or anything else!


Since I had so much time on my hands this summer, I was able to pull together a pretty cool costume for my little guy. Being George Washington was his idea - yes, my 6 yr old LOVES history. I was able to find the jacket, vest and pants are garage sales and Goodwill. I sewed on the cording, painted the buttons gold and did some 'alterations'. The hat was the most expensive item - more than the rest of the costume combined. It's actually a pirate hat that I painted black.

Apple Pickin' Time

The weather has been unseasonably warm this last month of summer - yesterday was in the mid 80's. The funny thing is that the beginning of the summer was cold - yes, cold. We only made it to the pool one time - and then it wasn't incredibly hot, just barely warm enough to go swimming.

Anyway, I had these big plans to go to an apple orchard and wear "fall like" clothes and maybe get some pictures for our Christmas letter...no such luck. Plan B - wear what you want, let's just pick apples and have fun!

I can always count on this boy to be a real ham!

It was a beautiful day...

Cornballs!

Our favorite orchard is Apple Jacks...it's a small, family owned orchard. It's just big enough to have a nice variety of things to do and small enough that you don't have to park 3 miles away, fight the mobs of people and be bombarded with too many activities ($$).

Happy Fall! I need to get to making apple pies....

State Fair time...

The State Fair is a BIG deal in Minnesota. I hate to admit that I have been to the fair more times since my son was born than I have in my entire life. Yes, I was born in Minnesota and lived here all of my life but I had only been to the fair once before my son was born. OK, so maybe the fair is a BIG deal to some people in Minnesota.

It is definitely a BIG deal to these two kids:

Bumper Boats - a big deal.

Joe Cool.

Can you believe this...he is only 6 yrs old! My boy is holding hands with someone other than is Mama!

And I think he likes it!

My boy was so brave...going on the pirate ride all by himself.

No visit to the State Fair is complete without at least one order of cheese curds - they are evil. Our friends with introduced us to deep fried green tomatoes - YUM. Sorry no photo - I ate them too fast.

Good grief!

My other handsome boy...

Good grief ~ who would have thought a life-long cat girl would loose her heart to a dog? Yes, this guy makes my heart melt. Just look at that face...

It's back to school time!

Yesterday was the first day of school in our district and, as you can see, my boy was just a little excited. Although we had a great summer together and he did a TON of fun camps, outings and other adventures, I think he missed seeing his friends everyday. He is quite a social bean...

Look at these two boys ... goof balls! My cousin was in town for business with her son the other day so we arranged for the boys to spend the day with each other. For anyone that only has one child, you know how truly wonderful it is to take care of other children. I know this sounds weird but having more children around actually makes my job easier ... they entertain each other! Unfortunately, my son has no first cousins on my side of the family and only 2 cousins his age on my husband's side of the family... and they live 8 hours away. When I was growing up, we spent so much time with our cousins - Mom's and Dad's side of the family. I feel bad that my son won't have that same experience. So we improvise! Second cousins work just as well as first cousins.

End the Search Chocolate Chip Cookies...

Straight out of the camera.

After adjusting the lighting in Adobe Photoshop Elements 7.

Photo Title: End the Search Chocolate Chip Cookies

Equipment Used: Canon PowerShot S3 IS and Adobe Photoshop Elements7

Technical Details:
Exposure: 1/125
Aperture: f/3.5
Focal Length: unknown

ISO Speed: unknown
Exposure Bias: 0 step (not sure what this means)
Flash: No Flash

Photo Editing: I adjusted the lighting in Adobe Photoshop Elements 7.

Setup Details: I set up on a half wall in my entry and used the wall as a backdrop. I used only natural light at about 5:30 pm. No flash.

Props: Small white plate and glass from our everyday dishes. Really, nothing fancy.

Additional Tips: I do not have a fancy camera and I am just starting to play around with Photoshop Elements....definitely a beginner! I decided to submit a photo just to learn from others and get inspiration!

Oh, and by the way, the cookies were great! Two thumbs up from my family.

Here is another photo from this group that I edited using Photoshop Elements 7 and Picnik (on-line photo editing site).