One weekend + two excruciating sunburns later, we have ENCLOSURE.
(Sounded nice & dramatic with the suspenseful, yet booming movie voice in my head.)
(Has been a touch windy lately, so just ignore the filthy water, please & thank you!)
The ducklings are in Heaven now that they get to enjoy 24/7 unsupervised swim sessions on the pond! And I do mean 24/7. They're all about the night swim especially, and cheep so sweetly as they're splashing around making it difficult for our 3 Koi to sleep (Lasik is bright yellow with brown spectacles, Phantom is pure silvery white, and Cheddar is white with a bright blast of orange on its forehead).
We also planted two Weeping Willow trees in the yard. Mini-Me is ecstatic and said she can't wait to watch her kids swinging on those branches when they all come to visit Grandma & Grandpa. Normally I'd cringe at the thought of her ever being old enough to bring grandkids over to play, but I didn't this time. Maybe because I could see the same vision in those lovely trees. :)
Next project on the list is the Duck House, but that'll have to wait until graduation week is finished.
The pond is coming along.
It now has a filter and a fountain.
And since it was Friday...
+ it's been long overdue to move their brooder out of doors...
+ they are much too big for that tiny brooder anyhow...
+ we had a spare dog crate that has gone unused for the last 18 months...
I got out the old deck brush & Dawn dish soap and dismantled the dog crate hard wear. Scrubbing bubbles would've been no match for all the filth & spider nests (AND wasp's nest). I was extremely grateful for the "10 foot pole" handle attached to the scrub brush and a high pressured garden hose.
I'm can't stress just HOW extremely!
While that dried, I caulked the seam between the two pond liners, and dammed up the sides a bit while sealing in a couple rocks on either edge. This way we'll have no washouts thanks to their splashing about. (We had no black or clear caulking to use, so please don't judge the gray too harshly. All I care about really is functionality, so no plans on alerting BHG.com or anything here.) From there I "planted" a lilypad & two mini cattails, for some variety & for eventual shade for the koi we plan to introduce.
Then I transitioned them into the dog crate that had their waterer & feed.
At first the bigger space was pretty overwhelming. But then they seemed to be quite at home and decided to christen the new digs with an all out mud bath party!
So cute.
So glad those parties don't happen in my house anymore.
No longer in Mini-Me's room, to be specific.
You should see the muddied state of her mirrored closet doors.
On second-thought, no you shouldn't. Their mess is embarrassing. (Running for the Windex)
They were so content in their new crate, that even with the door wide open it took a bit of coaxing to get them to come out and discover how close they now are to the pond, not to mention the new amenities. But once they did, man were they happy!
Obviously they've been in the pond before, but it had been several days, simply because I can't catch them all by myself. And by the time Mr LKP & Mini-Me are home from their days, it's too late + too chilly for a dip. However, today brought with it loads of diving + dabbling, and a new discovery: THE waterfall.
Once we've got their house & enclosure built, I will be more at peace with them being able to pond hop without supervision. I'm sure they'll be in Heaven, but until then guess I've no choice but to be a worry wart of a Mama. Might be different if we didn't have coyotes in our yard every night & hawks in the air and trees every day.
While they played for hours today, I planted Alyssum along the cracks in the rocks. We purchased some Irish Moss, however its not made for full sun & considering the only shade we have is the north side of our house Alyssum will have to do for now. Luckily it's safe to be around ducks, which is a relief.
So there's our progress.
I'm sure before too long there'll be another update. :)
And I don't have a lot of time.
However, let's just say Mother's Day came & went.
There was an MIA mother who's 4 little children were lost, searching for her in a busy shopping center parking lot. Lots of big engines & BIG tires everywhere!
So we gathered them up. Searched the nearby bushes for their mom and/or their nest. Nothing.
And no water for miles, mind you.
So *this* mother adopted 4 new babies.
They've been keeping me busy daily with swim sessions & diving lessons & bottom feeding lessons. They are precious. And have already grown a great deal!
We're trying to keep them as wild as possible. So a pond & house is in the process of being constructed. We're only planning on them being here a few months, until all their feathers are good & fit, and they are able to fend for themselves.
They'll we'll take them to their new home on the campus of a local college that has a lovely creek & pond area right in the middle of the lush grounds. :)
But the time in between has been pretty fun.
Never realized how soothing watching them swim around is for my soul.
Madly in love.
May have to get some domestic ones after they grow up and leave us.
The holidays were lovely, yet filled with weeks & weeks of illness. Something about oxygen & my lungs' addiction to it -- hard to explain, but I really like breathing. So fingers-crossed that this passes soon & my addiction can continue. :)
A great help in the health department was the fact that LatchKey Photography was closed for a majority of the month of December. Technically, it doesn't reopen until tomorrow. Doesn't mean I don't have plenty of work to do, but I learned this year that my family needs to be my top priority, along with my health, and if I'm not allowing time in the schedule to devote to both then the stress will overcome all aspects of life. Frankly it'll lead to misery. So this year will bring big changes to how we run LatchKey Photography. Kinda relieved about them & secretly celebrating them!
I'm also excited by the fact that with 2014 comes a new One-Word focus for me. Though I probably should have chosen NO for my new word, the one I've selected has been heavy on my mind for a couple months now, so it seems only appropriate that it be my new mantra.
My new word is: P R A Y.
In all things, PRAY.
The companion scripture I've selected for this year is Alma 37:37 "Counselwith the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good; yea, when thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch over you in your sleep; and when thou risest in the morning let thy heart be full of thanks unto God; and if ye do these things, ye shall be lifted up at the last day."
It's practically perfect (for me) in every way!
Our stake has chosen a new them for this year as well: "Centering our daily lives on Christ." Lovely theme, in the spirit of which, I've decided to participate in the #BofM365 project on Instagram. If you're interested in reading the Book of Mormon by December 31st, 2014 then you should check it out! In the past I've struggled with feeling like I don't have the kind of time I'd like to pour into my scripture study; the thought of which overwhelms me so I usually give up. (But studying slow & steady beats sporadic studying, or no studying for that matter.) However with this project simple reading prompts, of a few verses to a couple chapters, pop up in my Instagram feed daily. And since it's right at my fingertips with either my smart phone or tablet, just one swipe over are my scriptures as well. Management + access = a win win!
In addition to a new word & new scripture project, I have new callings at church as well. Though I miss my YW, I'm looking forward to a refreshing new adventure. I'm now handling our ward bulletin, managing & updating our missionary bulletin board, and co-teaching the 6 & 7 year olds in Primary. (My co-teacher is Mr LKP's aunt whom I adore very much!) Seems like a lot, but really as long as systems are in place, it will all be quite manageable. Oh how I love systems & protocol! <3 p="">
Considering my OCD leanings, I felt I needed to clean our ward bulletin up, to streamline it really. Plus with all the technological changes that have come about in the past few years (ex: no more printed ward directories every year) added to many new ward members, it seemed important to at least have phone numbers for leadership & other important points of contact in the ward. So in order to meet all of our needs, I went to Pinterest for inspiration (which there is a surprising lack of), then I turned to Excel & went to work. If anyone's interested or looking for a fresh & clean approach to their Ward Bulletin, I'm happy to show what works for me. Message me here if you'd like a copy of the Excel file emailed to you. :)
...the answer is OODLES & OODLES of LatchKeyshooting + editing + editing + editing + editing + MORE editing! (With MORE shooting on the calendar, it just might be time to consider outsourcing that blasted editing, just saying.)
Isn't Mini-Me a doll?!
With what little time that's fallen outside of the above explanation being eaten up by LKP's radio gig at the big ol' bi-county fair, Back-to-School stuff galore, High School Booster Club swinging right back into session, 2015 parent fundraising committee picking up where it left off, switching Mini-Me over from Volleyball to her first year of Cross Country, getting prepped for Mini-Me's college schedule to kick in, Young Women/Mutual, finding Mini-Me's first car, barely sleeping and preparing for THIS:
Also have new simplified pricing in place now, specifically for our senior shoots (complete WITH a stylist!!!):
As well as some "What to Wear" info in a few places:
If you know of any 2014 Seniors in the Mid-Columbia (Eastern WA) who could use some quick & affordable Senior Pic options, pass the LatchKey Photography 10-IN-20 event info above along won't ya please? They'll want to schedule ASAP as 9/28 will be here soon, and appointments are limited that day. 'Tis the season & yearbook deadlines will be here before we know it!
Now, with that, gonna take a deep breath and get back after it. If you don't hear from us in a while & notice smoke rising from this corner of the interwebs know that it's just LKP editing away! TOODLES & L♥VE!!! ::hugs::
My brain's available storage capacity is now excruciatingly tiny. That is also an inarguable fact.
That said, I still haven't sat down to compile Girls Camp details yet. Rest assured, it was a great time. I co-tent-mom'ed with THE grooviest gal. We had THE best 1st years. We created THE best "traditions" established within 4 short days. And we had THE best theme within our tent group (our camp theme was "We Stand" which gave us room to run with it as needed in our tent units):"As Children of Light WE STAND UP & STAND OUT."
Mini-Me had the privilege of designing this year's camp t-shirt design:
And she had a fabulous time in her first year as a YCL. Despite next year being a Trek only year, she's looking forward to coming back the year after for her last year of Girls Camp. So that's all proven to be a very good sign. :)
Besides camp though, we've still been all over the place. Including at the TeenVOGUE fashion show at our local mall last weekend.
Mini-Me's runway debut was a hoot and (most importantly) from what she learned in prep for the show, she came away feeling so much more confident in the end. So nice when a lovely, beautiful girl realizes she IS beautiful and learns to keep her chin up, even when the rest of the world would have our girls believe that modesty is out of style! Such a good experience.
With the runway & show make-up or without, we simply adore our spunky little 16 year old, who makes the T-Swifty bangs look EVEN better than Miss Swift herself!
So, yeah, the teenager stayed over at a friend's house tonight. Lemme tell ya, it's a BIG deal!
Our family rules until now have been ZERO sleepovers, unless family... and even then, since most of her cousins are dudes, there hasn't been much family sleepovers in her short life. The new rule is, ONLY with those friends who don't set off Mom & Dad's internal alarms (which came custom-ordered along with our moral compasses --- what do you mean you didn't get that feature?! Look harder, betcha its there). And if, for some reason, Mom or Dad have a "gut feeling" of 'NO,' then there is to be no argument. Otherwise we go back to ZERO sleepovers at all.
She's elated!
So, Mini-Me's at a friend from church's place tonight, being wild & crazy, but still civilized & well-mannered (I hope). Therefore, Mr LKP took me out on a hot date to see the movie, "The Impossible." It's based on a family's true story from the 2004 Tsunami in Thailand.
Heart wrenching in some places, it was also humbling in all places. Worth the watch. Loved it so much, I will most likely take Mini-Me to see it with us. "The Impossible" is a beautiful, harrowing story about this family's closeness & strength... and I especially appreciated the priceless bond between mother & child. That was about as real as a movie can get. Well done, to Summit & Lionsgate, as this is a much needed flick.
Following the movie, Mr LKP then whisked me away to snag a few minutes at Barnes & Noble before it closed for the evening. While there, he picked up my valentine for me "One Light Flash: Professional-Quality Lighting on a Budget" by John Denton & Adam Duckworth.
It.is.awesome.
Never hurts to go through some fundamental methods already in use, and brush 'em up so additional shooting techniques are more refined & polished. I was over the moon, for him as well for his perfect gift choice. So much so, that when we came home & crawled in bed, I simply HAD to crack it open!
And just like that, 20 minutes to midnight, a stroke of dangerous inspiration came about (dangerous in my mind since I'm not usually inclined to just jump on an idea. I usually prefer to instead allow the idea to marinate into perfection. The spontaneous pouncing on an idea usually leave so many crude, and mangled loose ends. We all know that loose ends don't jive with my OCD). At the kitchen table, there I was in my underwear, with all the supplies to craft my own SNOOT!
This is big, peeps.
For some reason I had never thought I should venture into creating my own light modifiers. I have friends who have. Which is all well and good for them, but for some reason I just assumed that was something I couldn't do, and had resolved to eventually purchase one. Guess I felt I needed some magic knowledge or some formal training in order to mickey ose something spectacular all my very own. Not already having that knowledge (aka being a serious KNOW-IT-ALL) intimidates me. Makes me withdraw back into my hermit shell, since risk of being wrong or disappointed frightens the daylights outta me!
So not only did I make something phenomenal about an hour ago, I faced a fear head on! Hurray!
(BTW, snoots are FAB news when it comes to subject isolation in a shot.)
So, do you think it worked out okay?
Ready for the crude, fraying, loose ends that would normally wig me out in general, let alone showing the world? Here's the VERY simplistic set-up:
(Embarrassed beyond belief over here.) However, despite my embarrassment, I hope you can see how exciting it is to feel I have a firmer grasp on controlling light how I'd like it to work for me. You'd never guess, besides from the use of my dining chair & this blog post, that this was simply shot under my kitchen table! Can't wait to improvise some more.
We've been up to our worry lines in busy activities. Those activities, such as Mini-Me's basketball season, have kept us happily hopping to & fro.
However 2012 has decided to yet again cast further clouds for us to chase away, as one of Mini-Me's dear friends (her fellow classmate, and our neighbor boy) passed away unexpectedly last Monday. It was from heart complications that really no one could have predicted were present, and no one could have stopped from occurring. Despite knowing that, it is still so sad to see another light go out in Mini-Me & her classmates' starry sky.
Interesting enough is the blow this has been on our small community, as his passing is the 7th death we've coped with this year alone, the 3rd one that had directly impacted Mini-Me's class of 2015, and the 4th death just since November 2nd.
Catching our emotional breath has been elusive. There have been many inconsolable teens the past little while, as they've been unable to fully heal & have closure before another death has come along.
This additional loss has been extremely difficult on us adults in the community, therefore it has been almost unbearable to helplessly watch the kids struggle through as we are unable to just wash the pain away.
The only beauty in these losses has been witnessing Mini-Me's class fused so tightly together in support of one another, and to see our little community band together to move mountains for each other. We have all been swiftly reminded of how short life is, how precious each moment is, and how each word should not be wasted. These times of tears & heart-wrenching grief strengthen us, and prove to us what we can endure together.
So how is this a new adventure?
As if our own family's losses in 2011 were not effective teaching tools, we are learning or relearning how to put one foot in front of the other. We're learning to press on. Our loved ones we have lost have the easy part of the deal, as they are not suffering one bit & to them this time apart is but a tiny, fleeting blip in time. Those of us still here are the ones with the greater trial to remain faithful, to remember them but to also continue living life vividly.
Our adventures are in the baby steps.
They're in dedicating the "Zactus" to our friend's memory (only cactus on the entire property, and he found it one night while on a see-how-close-one-can-possibly-get-before-the-barking-dogs-get-Mr-LKP-out-on-the-porch recon mission.... he dropped right down on top of it. Until now, I had been wanting it removed so no one else would get hurt -- but now, none of us want it gone).
New adventures are in the joy of a win for our lost friend's football team, in winning school basketball games in honor of our dear ones, and in losing other games with our dignity in tact.
The adventures are in developing new talents & discovering new ways to put old talents to use, like shooting pictures at a young single adult church dance or custom-designing holiday cards for clients. There's even adventures in finally getting our Christmas tree up, 8 days before Christmas (all-time Ranch record for the latest our tree ever gone up).
The greatest of the adventures has been talking & hugging & crying & finding the silver lining together as a family.
These things may seem insignificant to onlookers, but to us the baby steps are HUGE accomplishments and definitely adventures. If you can't grow from & enjoy the steps you take in life, then why bother?
So please, this holiday season and especially going into a new year, consider following in Ebeneezer Scrooge's life-changing footsteps. Evaluate what & who is really most important in your life. Hold those dear ones close while you still have them. Make the extra effort to help repair broken hearts. Hold the hands of those who are struggling with grief, loss, illness, or despair. Go out of your way to tell & show your love for your family. Cherish every single moment as the gift that it is. Follow the example of Jesus Christ.
As this year closes, please know that each of you have blessed our lives. We are grateful for the many ways we have grown and thrived due to so many blessings. We hope you can recognize the variety of ways you have touched our hearts.
Well, my 33rd birthday came & went uncelebrated for the most part, since apparently 33 is a busy age....or perhaps it was just an insanely busy week. My vote is the latter, since I don't care for the outlook of another 12 months of an increasingly busier rate of living than we already live. (Probably why my immune system tanked the past few days & my body's in recovery. Simply put, I am certainly NOT 23 anymore, and it is obvious!)
That day we were building & decorating the gym at church for our Young Women in Excellence night. It was more casual than usual with a carnival theme, but turned out better than expected. Plus, Mr LKP is THE most phenomenal guy in the world and was in the shop building free-standing display panels for either side of each of our 8 value booth until 5AM the morning of my birthday. They were massive at 7'x2.5' --- major labor of love there. He laid down for only about 3 hours sleep, then we were up and rolling again + he still had to put in at least a few hours at work! Yeah, pretty sure Mr LKP knocked Captain America & Thor both down a few pegs. He's definitely my superhero. :)
(He made 'em from reclaimed wood used in the shipping crates his family's company receive their metal buildings in, so it cost us zilch! However, the downside is that after 10 panels he ran out of materials before completing the 16 total panels we needed. So for the remaining ones, Sister Hatch swept in with her genius-ness and slapped metal brackets on the bottom of old reclaimed doors & voila! Worked like a charm.)
The Value Booth line-up was:
FAITH... Blindfolded Putt-Putt Golf
DIVINE NATURE... Face Painting
INDIVIDUAL WORTH... Photo Booth
KNOWLEDGE... Educate the Clown (bean bag toss)
CHOICE & ACCOUNTABILITY... Plinko
GOOD WORKS... Service Can Knock-Out Selfishness (tennis ball tossed at cans)
INTEGRITY... T.P. Toss ("Gotta keep your integrity spotless!")
VIRTUE... Gold Ring Toss (canning rings tossed on water bottles)
I also had Booster Club shirt peddling to do at the HS volleyball
game that night, so the extent of birthday celebrations consisted of
some FB wishes from friends, a fabulous hiking26.com t-shirt from my
aunt & a raspberry smoothie from Burger King from Mr LKP. No
bigs. Was too exhausted by the time the day was over that I went home
& crashed. No cake or ice cream, but I plan on enjoying some of
that sometime this week.
Day after my birthday I found
out that our Round 2 efforts to overcome infertility were in vain. Not
an easy blow at all. Left me pretty heartbroken. Am too emotionally
raw this time around, so we're waiting a spell before beginning Round 3.
Also
on the day after my birthday, we had that Carnival of Excellence to
make happen. And boy did it ever happen! I was too busy running my
Individual Worth Photo Booth to get any shots of the concession stand
& the rest of the booths in action, but I do have some that
Mini-Me & her friends took, plus a couple shots from our booth.
Complete with hats, feathers, polymer clay mustaches & lips on sticks!
It's hard to tell from some of the pics above (since they were taken right before the Carnival really got going) but we had a packed midway that night! Oodles of caramel apples, corn dogs, cotton candy, sno-cones...all the typical carnival grub! Plus, the trinkets each girl picked up at each booth were pretty dang rad, if I do say so myself... (Please forgive the fuzzy phone pics.)
Each YW got their one trinket per booth. Beyond that, each time they or their family members participated at a booth, a piece of value color-coordinated candy was the reward.
What made that night most special for us is the fact that Mini-Me received her Young Women's medallion. She's the only Mia Maid in her ward to have earned it, so she's still pretty elated. She knows she's not off the hook for the last few years in the YW's program, as she's helping do Personal Progress by proxy for one of the girls in our organization who cannot accomplish all of her requirements alone, due to physical limitations.
Three days after my birthday, creating Mini-Me's sophomore class float for Homecoming was underway. Their theme was their school colors, so the kids decided to run with the newly restyled mascot logo and dedicate the entire project to one of their classmates who passed away this summer. He was the most phenomenal kid, with the greatest outlook on life. He loved every moment he had here on earth, despite the limitations Down Syndrome had on his time here.
On my fourth day into being 33, we had our Community Chili Feed fundraiser for Mini-Me's after-grad party. (We're trying to raise a little money here & there as they move through high school so that when Senior year rolls around, we can enjoy that year with our kids rather than scramble to raise money & hate every second of it.) The Chili was awesome, the cinnamon rolls were the absolute best with my new most favorite homemade cream cheese icing! There was candy bar bingo, board games to play, and raffle prizes to win. Once clean-up was done, we were back over to my In-Laws' shop to continue building the kids float.
Last Monday came, and Homecoming week officially commenced with Spirit Days. There were some more conventional days like "Favorite Hero Day" (Mini-Me rocked her Superman shirt like a beast) and "School Colors Day"....but there were also some less than obvious choices like "Greasers & Preps Day"(throwback to Grease & Happy Days) and "Feudalism Day" complete with hierarchy (Freshmen were to be peasants, Sophomores were to be knights, Juniors were to be nobles, and Seniors were to be royalty--or something like that). Mini-Me & her friends were LESS than thrilled at the thought of Feudalism Day, let alone the fact they couldn't come as anything other than knights, so they refused to participate. I, personally, supported them in their boycott. (As if the seniors needed another reason to feel cooler than everyone else in the school.) Besides Superhero Day, I'm pretty sure Mini-Me's favorite day was 60's day when she went as a flower-child. Worked out perfectly for who she is: kind, beautiful, and the sweetest peacemaker. (Even though she's quite a bit more conservative than the original flower-children of the era.)
Got part way into last week and was handed 1 free ticket to see "Finding Nemo" in 3-D. Since around here it's only showing during the school day now, it was my free birthday date to myself. Forgot how priceless all the dental humor is in it! (And for being 3-D, it didn't make me sick like usual, so double-kudos for that.)
In addition to dress-up days, each night there was a different activity going down at the school. Monday was the JV football game, followed by Movie Night (Yeah, "The Avengers" on the big screen at the school pretty much dominated the movie nights of the past). Tuesday was an away volleyball game + Capture the Flag afterwards. Wednesday was Powder Puff Football immediately followed by Buff Boy Volleyball. Thursday was a home volleyball game, and the last minute details were added to Homecoming floats.
The Homecoming float incorporated the truck in with the trailer because their classmate, Justin, adored trucks of all kinds. He would beg for various high schoolers to sell hime their truck. So the kids claimed my BIL's truck for Justin. In the bed of the truck rode the boy's mom, flanked by a couple of the Sophomore girls. The back of the float paid tribute to him with part of a saying the kids have adopted in his honor that goes, "Fight Like a SAVAGE, Win Like a Coyote." Savage was his last name, and orange was his favorite color, so it was a wise choice to put his last name in orange. The entire float materialized over 4 days of hard work, and here it is:
Last Saturday was the big dance. She's still got another year before she can go with a date, so she tagged along with some of her volleyball teammates. Her corsage was from her daddy, and splendid with rich burgundy cymbidium orchids. They had a great time scarfing down dinner at a local buffet, and then showing some of the foreign-exchange students around the mall.
While they had a blast, Mr LKP & I spent some time helping out at the Grange's Old Time Fiddlers event, and then burned the few hours away with a quick bite to eat & then saw the movie "Here Comes the Boom." Seriously? GO SEE IT!!! Great movie....rated PG so the language is fine....and if you need another reason beyond that, well The Fonz is in it! Henry Winkler's character is hilarious, and I simply love him. (When my daughter was little she wanted to grow up to be a Jedi Knight. I, on the other hand, wanted to be The Fonz when I grew up!)
When I got to the dance to pick the girls up, the room was filled with pretty good
looking guys in their duds, and some lovely girls all glammed up. But of all that were
there, my daughter certainly stood out, in the radiance of her
spirit, her smile, and her beauty!
I'm so grateful she is confident & strong, knowing that she
is a daughter of God. I'm grateful for the example she sets for her peers. I'm grateful for her self-respect & modesty. I'm
grateful that she is a positive influence on all she comes in contact with. She is
so very precious to me!
Other than all the commotion above, some laundry's been folded...and Sir-Tuff-a-Lot's been picked on...and THAT is what we've been up to.
(If you listen closely you can hear him snoring!)
So far, 33 has been demanding. I'm ready for another nap.
