Summer of Fun

I can't believe it's been over a month since I updated here!  The Man and I decided early in the year that we were tired of spending all of our time and money on the house for the last couple years, so we declared 2011 to be "The Summer of Fun".  We still have bedrooms to paint, trim/doors/woodworking to paint and hang....  but golly gee whiz and darn it, we wanted to have some FUN this year! 

Welp - we've lived up to that declaration.  We've booked nearly every other Summer weekend at some state campground and took a couple of weeks off from work to play as well - and you know what?  We've had ALOT of fun.  I knew I enjoyed camping before we bought our RV, but I honestly didn't realize I would enjoy it SO much!  A couple trips, we even towed the boat along and played in the water as well. 

Now listen, I understand the entire country has been under a heat-wave akin to the firey depths of Hell, but you have to remember, this is the Northwest.  We grow webs on our feet and the mercury rarely rises above 90 degrees - you could probably count the days on 1 hand.  In the end, if it's not raining... well, that's a pretty good Summer's day. 

So with that, we went to the beach and TOTALLY lucked out with weather.  You truly never know what you're going to get at the coast, but we had blue sky AND we were even able to play in the water without frostbite!  Double score!  :)

Kayla LOVED the waves, we had to drag her out when it was time.

 

Then all she wanted to do is sit in a hole.  Silly girl

There was a kite festival

 

And then of course, we had to participate with our contribution. (Don't hurt yourself, dear)

By the time the days were over, we were all wiped out and enjoyed some smores.  :)

That was a fun trip to Grayland Beach.  A couple of weeks later, we packed up and headed over the Cascades to Lincoln Rock for a week.  We booked this particular trip in order to get some SUN.  For those of you not from the area, Western Wa. is where the rain is, Eastern WA is where the sun is - and it did not disappoint.  It was pretty much about 97 degrees the whole time.  Lincoln Rock is nice because it is against the Columbia River right before the Rocky Reach Dam, so it's a pretty big body of water - and since it's a river from snow melt in the Cascades, it is COLD.  That is there the beauty lies - it's hot, the water is cold....  duh.

 

I'm not exactly sure what she's doing here - stretching before the big swim?  No clue.

While we were in Wenatchee, we decided to spend a couple hours at Ohme Gardens.  It's mostly rocks and tall trees on a mostly barren hillside - not too many flowers, but it was a great little "hike" up and down all the rocks and formations.

 

 

And a couple shots with us

 

We had a couple of little visitors at our campground (when Kayla wasn't running around screaming, that is)

 

After our lovely time in Lincoln Rock, we went home long enough to wash, shop and reload and headed back out to the beach again for a few days, this time to Ocean City.

To be honest, there are only so many beach pictures a person can take, they aren't different.  hahaha  This is my favorite from this particular trip.

She was so excited to be able to ride the horse - if she was a little older, we could have rode them up the beach, but she just got a little walk down to the water and back.  Good enough for her!

What do you do after all that surf n' fun?  Sleep...  as a princess.  That raggedy, holey, falling apart pink thing on her head is a little princess cape that she will not put down.  It's her "princess" and she had to wear it every night to bed.  Hey - whatever works, kid.

We have had alot of fun this summer - and it's still not over!  I am diggin' the Summer o' Fun.  I hope we have a few weeks still yet, I don't want it to end!!

Viva La Summer!!

Usual Day-after-the-4th Pictures

Oh yes.  The 4th of July.  The quintessential American holiday of blowing shit up.  It doesn't get much more patriotic than pyrotechnics, amirite?

Of course we partook in the festivities, I think there's a law that if you don't, you're not a citizen.  We had ourselves a spread of smoked ribs, smoked Kokanee, some brats, potato salad, baked beans and then the red, white and (forgot the blue) dessert of strawberry shortcake.  I'm feeling all Amercany today.

Let's get on with the firework pictures, shall we?  Everyone else in Blog-o-sphere is sharing the exact same photos, I'm sure.  :)

Kayla was totally into her sparklers (until the poor thing touched the end of one when it was done.  First 4th of July burn blister for the tyke)

 

 

Grandpa even got into the fun

 

After it got dark enough, my neighborhood went crazy.  I snapped a couple before I put up my camera due to all the smoke and falling debris.  The brooms were out in force this morning....

These are from the road behind us

This year was fun, as it is every year, but I will never ever forget the 4th of July in 2007 when I fared the traffic in the city and was lucky enough to have a lightening storm that day.  I'm not sure I will ever top the pictures I got with the Space Needle, the fireworks and the lightening.   I have to share it every year.

Seattle, July 4th, 2007

I hope everyone had a safe and happy 4th!  

Camping and Nature

Ahhhh  Summer.  I have missed you so much.  I should write and Ode to Summer.

Ode to Summer
I love you
The end.

Nearly brings a tear to your eye, no?  It's pretty evident that I have missed my calling, folks.    

Oh well, millions in lost poetry royalties aside, we have been enjoying the beginning of Summer here in the Pacific Northwest.  This last weekend we caravaned (is that a word? It is now) down to Taidnapam Park at Riffe Lake to have some fun in the sun and water.  I say caravan because The Man towed the camping trailer in the truck, and I towed the boat in the Pilot.  Yes, I agree, it's pretty ridiculous in theory - don't tell Al Gore.

With our carbon footprint freshly imprinted, we camped, we boated, we fished and had a great time.  Of course, the first day of our arrival, it rained - but come on.  This is Washington - there is rain - we deal.

Kayla is ready for the boat now. (of course, we still hadn't hooked up the trailer at this point)

 Jumping up and down on the picnic table is a good time waster until we can go in the boat

Kayla cannot help herself when there is a campfire.  She kept asking all day "can we have a fire now?"  Finally... She called this a birthday.  You know, the stick on fire was a birthday.

The next day we went for a few bike rides, hikes, walks to the playground

 

This was a creepy tunnel you had to walk through to get to the playground.  Shrieking anyone?

Then we went out on the Cowlitz to go fishing.  There were a number of Osprey out there fishing on the river as well.  I caught a decent size trout (the only one of the day, thankyewverymuch), but the eagles did much better than I did.
They actually dive into the water.  Like INTO the water.  I've seen bald eagles swoop down and snag a fish off the surface, but these birds flew up high, tucked their wings in and went down in a straight line and plunged into the water.  They were in there for about 30 - 60 seconds and would fly up and out with their catch of the day.  Impressive, really.

This is my favorite Osprey-with-a-fish picture of the day.  I only had my 85mm lens with me, so hey, shout out to the bird who flew close enough for a close up!

What a great weekend.  Even if it was a little drizzly of a start - as soon as it stopped, the sun came out and stayed out and even provided some heat at about 75.  Pretty perfect for me.  It went by entirely way too fast, but our next trip is right around the corner.... to the beach! (any bets on weather?  You never know what you're going to get at the Wa. Coast.  I've got everything crossed to be able to go coat free)

Are there any other campers feeling the love so far this summer?

Puyallup Area Mini-Session Event!

Hey - want your picture taken?  Want your kids' picture taken?  Want a quick family smile captured for posterity?

It's a nice week for weather FINALLY - and I have a bad case of "shutter-itch" (man, that sounds bad!) and I just want to take some pictures. 

I'll be at the South Hill Community Park tomorrow.  Show up and I'll do a mini-session for you, free.  Just let me point the camera at you or your cute little kid/dog/stuffed frog and snap some pics. Absolutely no obligation.  I only ask your permission to use your image(s) here on my blog or website.

I'll process them up like any other shoot I do and post them on my website for you - if you would like to purchase something, you'll have a hefty discount - but there is absolutely no obligation!!  If you're only looking to practice your smile and see what it looks like online, hey, I'm happy to help.  :)

Look, this is fun for me and hopefully for you - and I hope there are some people interested.  I want to do as many folks as I can, but depending on the response, that may not be possible.  If you intend to come, please send me an email at missy@allieraephotography.com and let me know.  If I am unable to shoot everyone that is interested,  I may do this again at a future date and/or make it a recurring event.

When: TOMORROW!  June 22, 7:00pm
Where: South Hill Community Park- follow the trail starting at the playground that wraps around.  I'll be the one with the camera.  Directions
Why: Because I want to
Remember:  Please email me if you intend to come

Come by!  Spread the word!  Help me cure my shutter-itch! (I really need to come up with a better term for my "condition")

....aaaaand we're back!

I don't know what the problem was, but Blogger did NOT want to let me log in to my account.  I didn't even have the option to, I could never get to the sign on screen for my blog since Mother's Day! 

Lame to the Max.

Since I was thoroughly really T.O'ed (that's Ticked Off - which is pretty serious), I have lined up a really super cool neato blog with someone else.  So stay tuned for that! 

In the meantime, I have been playing, playing and playing some more with my camera gear.  I've got some new techniques, some new lighting and even a new camera bag all of which I adore.  (The bag seriously, I've never been in love with an inanimate object so deeply before.  Well, aside from my Kitchen Aid, obviously)

Here is a sneak peek of what I've been up to:

There was camping (We went to Wenatchee Confluence.  Fun!)

 

I played with some new lighting equipment - and people who were willing to get in a tree.  :)

And had a SUPER fun session taking pictures of my friend's (Tonya - BFF shout out!)  92 year old mother, Miss Evelyn - who wanted to get down on the ground to pose for me.  I adore her.

I hope to share more of these sessions when my other non-lame blog gets up and running...  Stay tuned!

Three Years

I lost my mom 3 years ago.  I had a child 3 years ago.  I will never forget my first Mother's day without a mother, and yet at the same time, as a mother.  Words can't express the mixed emotions I felt - pride, longing, happiness, grief, but there was plenty of love.  Always love.

Love has been the one constant my entire life.  My mother was the single most nurturing, loving and caring person I have ever known.  She had three children, one boy, two girls.  She loved each of them with such passion - pure, raw, selfless love.  She knew no other way.  Mom often joked about what she would do to the poor soul who even looked funny at one of her kids - the funny part is, we all knew it was true.  She had more protection instinct than a mama Grizzly bear, driven from love.  Mom kissed my boo-boos, she wiped away my tears, she made special desserts for special occasions and she taught me compassion.  She taught me what it meant to treat others how I wanted to be treated, the golden rule.  She taught me manners, she taught me respect, she taught me all the qualities that she possessed and I grew into the respectful, mindful, considerate adult I am today - just as she was.

Mom was unconditionally proud of me.  She raised me the best she knew how and I was a remarkable individual in her eyes.  She always told me how proud she was, how much she loved me and it never went unappreciated.  There were times I felt silly and almost uncomfortable when she would go on, but I would give almost anything to hear her words again today.  She made me feel special.

It's been 3 years without Mom.  I have a family of my own now - one I am so grateful she got to meet before passing away.   It wasn't long after I had my daughter Kayla when Mom passed away - I truly believe things happen for a reason and I know deep down Mom was meant to see that I was happy before she left this world.  She was meant to see her only granddaughter and know that her legacy would live on.

I have alot to live up to as a Mom.  My mom set that bar pretty high, but it is a bar I intend to reach, she raised me well enough to know that there is no other way - just love.

Happy Mother's Day Mom.  I love you, I miss you more than words can say and I hope you knew that I was - and always will be - every bit as proud of you as you were of me. 

 

 

Swimming

Well, we started swimming lessons for Kayla.  The excitement level prior to arrival was palpable....  the excitement level after we got dressed to go home, well...  it wasn't quite the same.

See, our daughter is a little bit of a chicken with most things - and that's okay!  Alot of things in this world is scary, like dunking your head under water.

She really had to warm up to the idea of even getting into the pool, she really contemplated it.

 

And after a little bit of coaxing and "it's okay"s, she finally got in... and promptly turned around to get out

 

But after a little more coaxing and "it's okay"s and "wee!" and "it's fun!"s, she started to loosen up and enjoy it a bit (as long as her head didn't go under that water)

 

Her favorite part was the kicking

 

She didn't really care for the "torpedo" part much since that involved getting the water near your face holes

 

BUT she survived and lives for another day of swimming lessons.  We'll see.  I'm not so sure she'll be as ready and excited to go as she was the first time (not knowing that drowning was an option), but we'll see.  I ask her if she wants to go again and at first it was NO, but the next morning I got the occasional yes, so there may be hope yet.  :)

(Technical neato factoid - this pool was the darkest room ever, it was little therapy pool in another room than the main pool, and they didn't have any lighting on whatsoever, just what was leftover/available from the main pool windows.  It was really dark - so all of these pictures were taken at ISO 2000.  Can you even believe that?  TWO THOUSAND.  *swoon*  I am in love.  These are all straight out of the camera - there is some noise, very little, and that exposure is wonderful considering how dark it was.  It is so nice to have the ability to shoot in even super dark situations.  Wee!!)