The weather was perfect for blowing bubbles last night and this morning! If you blow bubbles in freezing weather, they will freeze. The closer the temperature is to zero, the better the ice bubbles are.
You can watch frost form on the solution on the bubble wand. Gently blow on the wand to warm the solution before blowing a bubble. If a breeze catches the bubble just right, the ice bubble will float becoming more opaque just before it shatters.
Even though a lot of children had a long weekend, we chose to have school today. We worked on our math and did some reading.
Then, for history, we watched President Obama’s taking the Oath of Office. It was interesting listening to the kids as they discussed what was happening. They have been paying attention in history! We asked Megan to point out who President Obama was when she saw him. She did a good job. If asked who our President is, she replies “Omama”.
To reward their hard work on a holiday, we will take a “snow day” one day and go sledding.
I spent a good part of last week reading some of the library books I have on photography. I have been getting some good ideas and many pointers.
This weekend, I tried some of the ideas. Megan was a great sport and let me take a lot of pictures of her while she was busy doing whatever. I tried hard not to “pose” her but attempted to get candid shots.
Under each picture, is the concept that I was trying.
There is no snow here, but I hope that you have the chance to enjoy World Snowman Day today.
Megan’s hair is long enough to French braid! On Monday, Andrea asked if I could do her hair. Then Megan wanted me to do her hair in the same way. Surprisingly, it held the French braid, but not for long.
She loves to be like her big sisters, so they all have their hair in braids today. To make sure that Megan’s super fine hair holds, I did hair spray it some. I wonder how long an active two year old’s hair will stay looking nice?
Yesterday, I skipped school! I told the kids and Allan what needed to get done, and I left the house. I spend the next few hours enjoying a different morning.
Our pastor and his wife areexcitedly waiting to meet their first grandchild. Kay likes some of the pictures I have taken and asked if I would take some pictures of their daughter in law, Rachael. I went to their house yesterday and learned some new things.
Rachael had seen a picture that she really wanted, so we took a lot of that pose. I wanted to get it just right. Kay helped a lot by noticing things I did not see. I still struggle seeing details through the camera. But those little things do make a big difference.
I enjoyed my morning out. I was able to play with my camera and practice what I have been learning. Reading is good, but doing is so much better 
when you are trying to improve. I had fun being able to try something totally new. Plus, it was a short break from my daily routine, so I had a mini holiday 🙂
I was looking through some pictures today and found these of Megan.
The Up in the Air category was the toughest for me. These pictures need to “portray images of an atmospheric subject.” They want to “focus on the atmosphere and bring “In the Air” to life.”
I enjoyed the difficulty of having a theme and needing to find a way to interpret it. Then, finding a way to make it different from “just a sunset” was challenging. I probably won’t use “Waiting” but I really like it, so I am not sure.
I had the most fun getting ready for the Activities in the Park category for the contest I am entering. I have been learning a lot on how to edit pictures using “the Gimp”. These are some of my favorite pictures with some of the new things that I have been learning.
I was thinking to include The Sledding Hill. But, I don’t think that it is quite right yet. It is a fun picture though, so if you prefer it to one of these, please let me know. 🙂
Don’t forget, if you want to see larger pictures of the galleries, just click on one of the pictures to see a slide show.
For the past few years, I have participated in a local photo contest.
This year the categories are Flora and Fauna, In the Air, and Activities in the Park. They also have special sections for black and white and special effects photography. I can enter three pictures in each category.
Here are the Flora and Fauna pictures that I have decided on so far. Now to narrow it down by two and figure out some good titles for each.
If you want to see the show, the pictures will be displayed at Concord Mall from noon 25 Jan until noon 1 Feb 2013. “Opening Night” is from 5:30-7:30 on the 25 of January. This year, all the “big kids” will have at least one entry each in the “Youth Category”.
