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I only took four photos today.

By the time I got on the plane, which was only 10am, I was exhausted and ready to be home!

Up Up & Away

These two shots are not new, but they are newly edited.

I took them last Memorial Day at a hot air balloon festival and shared a lot of shots from it on my family blog.

For these I added a bokeh layer, boosted the colors and ran Paint the Moon's Jubilee action.

One Sunrise Three Looks

Who doesn't love landscapes?
They are ever changing and always beautiful!

These shots were actually taken in this order within about an hours time. 

I'm always fascinated with the variety of colors each sunrise and sunset brings.

(these are all sooc, too)

Wednesday Potpourri

Last Wednesday we left to spend Thanksgiving with my side of the family.
We drove through fog for the entire 4 hour trip.
While it didn't make for excellent driving, it did make for some neat shots and scenery!

This little guy lives in the oak tree in our backyard.
He and his family often come up to our deck to sun themselves.
...and occasionally bury nuts in our patio cushions.







Seth and I had a rare treat while in Iowa: a date!
No kids, no car seats, no pressure to be home at a certain time - it was bliss!
On the way there, I looked out my window to see the above. I thought it was beautiful and wanted to share!

We saw the new Harry Potter movie on our date. It was great!

This one is from the archives. 
When I saw that this week's theme/prompt was tire, I immediately thought of this shot. 

One recent evening while bagging the remaining leaves in our front yard, I looked up to see this small plane flying overhead. Thankfully I've become one of those crazy people who carries my camera with me everywhere. Even to bag leaves. I especially love that you can see the propeller!

Scavenger Hunt Sunday

The 5 Senses
These are all from the archives, but the collage is brand new...
Life is never boring with a child who actively uses all five senses! In the first shot my son had just touched an open clove of garlic and I suggested he smell his finger...his little smile didn't last long! And the ice cream and paint were separate days, he just happened to be wearing the same shirt.

Children
Early this week we were out bagging leaves in the driveway.
I was in 'adult-chore' mode and hadn't even thought of jumping in the leaves until one of them jumped in the pile.
They had a blast!

Dining

I must admit something - we eat in our family room, in front of the tv, 99% of the time. So our nightly 'dining experience' isn't very photogenic. But our 'special occasion' dishes are! 





Night
Friday night I went out to the street hoping to get a cool shot of street lights and whatnot. Turns out, our block doesn't make as pretty of a night scene as I had envisioned. Eventually I decided on this moon shot. I had to wait a while for breaks in the clouds, but I'm really happy with how this turned out, even though it's a little blurry. 

Sky
I ran PW's Seventies action on this...it's ok. Nothing dramatic or special, but I'm finding something rather peaceful about that. I really wanted to add a torn edge frame but for the life of me could not find one to download!

Sky Watch Friday

This was shot out of our dirty car window one recent afternoon. Hence the unusual bokeh goin' on around the sunburst! I thought the clouds were so cool though, the way they stacked one on top of the other.

If you haven't stopped by Sky Watch Friday recently...or ever...you should take a few minutes to visit and see some seriously awesome skies!

I See the Moon & the Moon Sees Me

I wanted to get an Autumn feeling with this shot.

At first I wanted the branches and leaves to all be in focus, but the more I  look at it, the more I like the soft color that I got instead!

Wow, what a difference a lens can make!
I took the above two with my 70-300mm lens.
Below was my last attempt at a moon shot with my 18-55mm lens.