Recent Summer Fun... Photos mostly (...though you know I gotta talk some, too :)

Hi. I haven't written in a while. I have had so many fun experiences lately. I feel really blessed. Life has been so busy that I hardly know where to start... There is so much worth writing about... and so little time to write it in. Well, let's see... my daughter and I also both just started working at the Cafe Carambola a few days ago... our favorite restaurant in the universe!!! Yeah! :D Mindy now works there Mon-Friday, I work there on Fridays. We are so excited. It might only last a short time since the Cafe has regular workers who are away and plan on coming back soon, but we will enjoy it thoroughly while it lasts. :)

What else? I did go out of town with a friend... and made it a vacation we did! We briefly visited my father in law, the Pacific Ocean of Westport Washington, one of my sisters and family, two of my brothers and family, and... we got all mudded down with minerals that made our skin silky smooth..., followed by showers, swimming in the pool ~ and of course, soaking in the hot tub... all in one convenient location - the Soap Lake Resort (yes, we camped there for one night to lengthen our vacation from day to day living. :) I really wanted to see another brother and a couple of cousins on this trip, too; but that didn't pan out. On the bright side of things, that just means I get to plan another trip! :D

On top of it all, this past Saturday I took the kids to Hayden Days Fair. The twins lost interest right away and went home... but Mindy and I sure had fun following Levi and his little buddy (adopted little brother, Garret) around; they earned fish, rode a camel, took a ride on a hot air balloon, and played games while we girls browsed around gleefully. We girls also took a quick ride in the hot air balloon. :D It was an amazing feeling... floating up into the air all at once! I'm so glad we did the mini $10.00 version of this experience...because it usually lasts an hour and costs around $175 per person. :O

OK ~ I know this is totally premature... but I just have to brag for a minute about some cool experiences I had at the fair. One of the things I enjoy most at these fairs is following the kids around and taking photos. Even when the kids are off on their own I have a great time taking photos here and there of the booths etc... I did that on this outing, as usual and was surprised to discover that there was a photographer there with a booth who let me know he had been "watching me" and that I was "a great photographer;" this boosted my photography ego a bit! :D I laughed (esp knowing that he had never seen any of my photos) and reminded him that we met each other at his booth at the fair last year, and that I was still planning to call him to schedule lessons... his response was, "Why? You don't need them!" :D I was again flattered, but informed him that he would be teaching me soon (mental note: budget in a private lesson or two...). I have to admit though... when I saw my boys (Levi and my favorite little neighbor/adopted son) in the Coeur d'Alene press this past Sunday in the hot air balloon, I compared the photos I took of the boys and decided that just maybe I am an OK beginner photographer. ;) Maybe this "wanna be" has a future in photography after all! :D Oh, and bty., I was stopped by another individual who asked me what I was taking photos for and if I was making a good living at it... along with a million questions about the camera and my experience. I was a bit surprised and let her know I was taking them just for myself. She seemed to think I was a pro or something. Imagine that - me - a pro... :O... :D ~ I just had to laugh because I am a total "wanna be" who is on "auto" most of the time. BUT I REALLY do WANT TO LEARN MORE!!! All in good time. I think my season for continued learning is just around the bend.

Now... for some of those "wanna be" photos! ;D...

Dock Street in Westport Washington. This is a fun place to visit. I love to see the old ships and wander through the shops at all the novice gifts. When ever I am here with my kids, I take them to the ice cream shop there, too. It is incredibly delicious... and a fun tradition.

Aren't the ships amazing to look at? This day was terribly dark and dull... It is so much prettier on a beautiful sunny day; but I still enjoyed it. I always love looking at the reflections in the water.

I always enjoy walking over this bridge and looking at the water. The view is spectacular! Can you think of a better place to take a walk? :)

I make friends everywhere I go (OK... maybe not usually such good friends that we always exchange addresses, but friends enough to socialize and have a good time with while I'm there). On this trip, a cute old fisherman offered to let me sail his RC boat. I took a few other photos of him in his boat with his dog as I walked by again later. I so enjoy meeting friendly people! :D

OK - Truth be told... I don't own a cell phone camera. I just nabbed my friend's to stage this photo because I have this crazy affinity for seeing photos of myself taking photos... but I wanted a better quality photo than her camera phone was capable of, so I asked her to use my camera to take this photo of me. :D I know... I am such a KID... :D

I absolutely love meandering through the docks ~ watching people do the things they do... fishing, crabbing, hunting for starfish, watching for seals etc. I always see seals in Westport... though on this particular afternoon I saw only a couple and they weren't close enough for me to get a good photo. Usually there are a ton of them right up close to the docks - especially on Dock Street near the docked ships. They seem to love it there. Seals are one of my favorite animals. I love their grace and beauty.

Men measuring crab to see if they are large enough to take home...

This one was barely large enough. :O

These rocks are fun to run around on... for the adventurous! :D One does have to be careful where one goes; people have fallen through in some locations. The rocks make majestic and beautiful walls.

They make for a great view, too! :D  Do you notice that there are not one, but two ships in this photo? The one on the right is a submarine... above water.

I really enjoyed taking these photos. I was practicing my new aperture skills. :D

I think I will crop a photo of the ship. Which one do you think would look best? (I'm thinking the last one.)

I love seagulls. :D

Practicing with aperture, again.

Another feature I love on these beaches are the many beautiful drift woods that drift in. (No pun intended :O) ~ I also love to see the specks of greenery about the area. The color combinations are fabulous... (provided the day is not too grey to see them!!!)

 

My friend, Dee.

My friend, Me. :D

I took a bunch of photos of Dee, but since you don't know her I only put up the ones with the coolest background, or different backgrounds than the ones I was in. :O

OK - I'm done laying around...

Time to jump on out of here... ;D

It looks like the photos taken in Westport will have to do for now. I'll try to post photos taken at Soap Lake and the Hayden Days fair in a day or so.

Wishing you a Happy Day! :D