Our Annual Trip to the Christmas Tree Farm

I'm not sure how much time got past me since my last entry here, except we've been busy (like everyone else!) getting ready for the holidays! I've been out there taking pictures. They just haven't found their way to the blog. I'll try to be more diligent, as I really don't like to let so much time pass without writing here!

Last Saturday, we went to our favorite local Christmas tree farm to find our tree. It was cold and windy, but no snow except for the little bit that was already on the ground. We discovered this farm a few years ago and really enjoy going. The people who own it are very nice and have several acres of trees to choose from. They take you out to the trees on a hay wagon and you can stay out as long as you would like, until you find your tree and cut it. Then you jump on the next hay wagon that comes by and they take you back to their barn, where they wrap up the tree while you enjoy a cup of hot apple cider. It makes for a fun and lovely day and a wonderful family tradition!

James in the trees during our tree hunt!

Mom and James with our pick this year.....a beautiful Colorado Blue Spruce!

Our little money always has to climb the hay bales or his trip to the tree farm isn't complete!!

Now we were off, back to the house to decorate!!

Something That Can't Be Overlooked.....

As many of you (if not all of you!) know we live in the small rural town of Olathe, Colorado, on the western slope of the state just 50 miles from the Utah border. Olathe's "downtown" is just two blocks long, with a hardware store, a small grocery, a restaurant and a few other businesses. Our population is now 1800 strong, mostly in the outlying areas of farms and fields. We have an elementary school and a middle school and high school (the latter two share the same campus).

Our Fall season this year has been made so much more interesting by the fact that the football team at our Olathe High School never lost a game all season long. Now, it is fairly well known (at least among my family!) that I am NOT a football fan! Despite the fact that Dusty's son, Joe, even played semi-pro for awhile, I've just never caught on!! But this season, in Olathe, what I HAVE caught on to is the enthusiasm of backing a winning team!! I am so proud to say that our Olathe Pirates went all the way to the state championships and won for their division on Saturday!!

We have lived in Olathe for going on 11 years now, and I've never seen this little community pull together like they have behind this group of teenage boys!! There were blue and gold balloons and streamers everywhere you looked and a look of pride on everyone's face. On Saturday, the day of the BIG GAME, Dusty taped this sign (provided by the local newspaper!) in our front window for all to see! While we are a small town, "our boys" are in a division of similar small schools (there are only about 500 students total at our high school) and we came out on top! For the first time in the history of the school.....yes, it's a big deal, a very big deal!! As far as those of us who live here are concerned, they couldn't have done any better if they had won the Superbowl!! Even though James is only in 2nd grade at the elementary school, we still know a few of the boys on that team.....remember, it's a small town!! :)

And so we are all basking in the glow this week, along with the team, that at least for the moment we are the CHAMPIONS!! GO PIRATES!! We couldn't be prouder of you!!

Photo Challenge #27 - In Motion

Having no time for picture taking this last week, I raided my archieves and came across these two pictures. I love the first one, for the look on James' face and the movement of the water coming out of the hose! If I had an editing program, I would have done something about the neighbor's lovely cars! Yuck! But we wanted motion and that's what I was focusing on here!

And I took this one at the Corn Festival in August. Having to take it through the mesh siding, doesn't make it a terribly focused photo, but I love how I caught him in mid-air!

Photo Challenge #26 - Weather

This week's challenge brought to mind an old saying...."There's always weather, whether or not!" Boy, there hasn't been much going on here weather-wise in the last week....certainly nothing specatular enough for picture taking! Given a week or two, we'll probably have our first real snowfall, snowstorm or perhaps a blizzard!! You never know, living in Colorado!! As we say in our state (and I guess many other places around the world from other's comments here in blogland!), if you don't like the weather, just wait 10 minutes!!

I did manage some nice photos of the whispy clouds during a ride on Saturday afternoon. This one is my favorite.


And this one was taken earlier in the week out my backyard at the beautiful autumn sunset! Yes, the clouds and weather patterns do create the sunsets!! (And it gives me another reason to take pictures of more sunsets, like I need another!! I'm definitely addicted to sunsets!!)

Here's hoping that everyone is having a wonderful week!!!

Photo Challenge #25 - Low Light

I enjoyed this challenge, but found that I had better pictures in my archieves from the last year than I was able to take tonight. This one was the best of the bunch from this evening, when I lit the candle and took out the camera.

This is my favorite from our Hanukkah celebrations last December. James loves to light the candles and say the Hanukkah prayers. Being a bi-religion family (my husband was raised Methodist and I was raised Jewish), James gets a little bit of both.

And I took this picture over the summer on a camping trip. James is always mesmerized by the campfire and can sit for hours looking into it and talking quietly with us.......treasured moments!

While I wasn't terribly successful this week, this challenge has heightened my awareness of how to take low light pictures. I shall continue to work on it!!

Photo Challenge #23 - Make Over

While working on this challenge over the weekend, I came to realize why I don't do much editing. The editing program that came with my digital camera just doesn't do a whole lot! I have my sights set at upgrading my camera in the next year and with that, will do so with an editing program as well. But I did have fun poking around with what I do have and tried some things I hadn't really used before.

Using a picture of our son James standing in a field of wild flowers, that I took this summer while camping, I used some of the edit modes that my digital program offers. I like the effect I got when I used the "fisheye" feature together with the "spotlight" feature. Thanks for stopping by!!

Before

After

A Fun Halloween for "Ninja Boy"

Every year I make James' Halloween costume. In 8 Halloweens I only didn't make it last year, when he wanted to be Darth Vader and I gave in and bought the costume. Over the years, I've made a bumblebee, a devil, a dinosaur, a skeleton, the Tin Man (from the Wizard of Oz), and Count Dracula.

I am by NO MEANS a seamstress!! I take the sewing machine out once a year....to make his costume!! I can make do and my philosophy is, "It's a Halloween costume and it'll be dark outside!!" I can get away with almost anything and get by. The costumes I've made are never perfect, but are always cute, enjoyed and appreciated. That makes it all worthwhile!

This year James decided he wanted to be a Ninja, so a Ninja he was! Though, wearing the finished product made him look a little bit like a terrorist (I thought!!) he was quite pleased and proud of the outcome. Slipping into the costume, he became the "King of Drama", fulfilling the role and loved posing for the camera, as you can see!!

The Ninja didn't scare Lacey. She knew that was James under there!!

Halloween night, James' school had a party for all the kids. This was taken out on the playground before the party.

This is James and his best buddy, Cameron, who dressed up like a StormTrooper from Star Wars. After the party at school, I took the two of them Trick or Treating through the neighborhood close to home. A great time was had by all!!

As we sat quietly in the livingroom winding down from the evening and getting ready for bed last night, James looked at me and said, "Gee, Mom, I wonder what I'll be next year!!?!!!" Good grief, give Mom and the sewing machine a rest for awhile, OK?! I love you, my little Ninja.....you are the best!!!