Day 237

We went to Target this afternoon to pick up some household items and as we were walking down the main aisle in the back of the store, Dominic spied a new remote control toy. He got Spike, a huge dinosaur, from Santa last year. This year's new big thing is a Bigfoot remote and they have it displayed so of course Pickle had to try it out. Oh my gosh, this toy is so cute! It roars, walks, pounds its fists against the glass, even backflips! Dominic was captivated and actually laughed out loud several times. This is why I take my camera with me everywhere!



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Day 236

First day of school for the kids. Dominic started 1st grade and Anna started 3rd grade. They were really good this morning! Anna did pretty good until the end of the day; then when she started struggling, her special ed teacher took her out to the portable for some quiet space. Dominic said it was a terrible day but he got green (good) behavior with a note that he had a little trouble following directions. He is so hard on himself! I got so much done while they were at school.



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Day 235

Dominic was being a silly little goose this evening. He requested a glass of water (oh sorry, excuse me, a glass of cold water with a straw ::eyeroll::) then saw Spongebob sitting on the table... well here is the result.



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Day 234

This is a picture that makes me so happy! This is Jenny in her dorm in Corpus Christi and we are using Skype to video chat. Yay!!! (Does anyone recognize the desktop background? It's from Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman!) We talked for 30 minutes and it felt like Jenny was right in the room with me. She went grocery shopping today with a new friend and has plans to go the aquarium tomorrow. She said it was a little lonely waking up this morning but she got out and about pretty quickly and went to the mall with some kids from the Aloha Days camp last week. I'm so incredibly proud of her and I think she is really, really brave. I've never gone anywhere by myself without knowing anyone before. You go, girl! I love you!!!



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Day 233

We had a very short trip to the beach Saturday morning (long story) but Dominic LOVED it. I'm happy I got to fulfill my promise to take him to the beach once this summer and we'll have to plan better next time so he can really play.



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Day 232

We went out to eat at Pier 99 in Corpus Christi Friday night, in the shadow of the USS Lexington. To get an idea on the sheer enormity of scale, Curtis and Dominic are walking along the sea wall in front of the ship.



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Day 231

In working on my final project for my photography class, I got out of my front yard and took the kids down to Town Lake late this morning. It was the wrong time of day to shoot (though I did get several nice pictures of Dominic) and as we were finishing up, I turned my camera to the water. This is what I got!



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Day 230

Dominic was being such a lovey-dovey with me this evening. Just before dinner, we were at the kitchen table and I asked if I could take his picture. Here he is blowing me kisses. <3 :)

I got to do his bedtime routine tonight and we read Pokemon battle stories. He loves Pokemon! After I turned off the light, we giggled and goofed around for at least 20 minutes. I do so love him!



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Day 229

I got several good pictures of Jenny hugging everyone as she said her goodbyes today as she started a new chapter in life heading to college...

but...

seeing her empty room, one lone pushpin in the wall, bare bed, favorite books taken...

it really hit me.

She's gone.



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Day 228

We had a late afternoon thunderstorm move through the area but we didn't really get any rain here in our neighborhood. We did, however, get a spectacular sunset. Anna and I were on our way upstairs for her shower when I glanced out the window. I practically knocked the poor kid down rushing down the stairs to grab my camera and run outside. I didn't even notice the heart-shaped cloud in the bottom of the frame until I downloaded photos from my camera. Gorgeous! I hope I did it justice.



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Day 227

At first glance, this is not a very exciting picture. But really it is.

This is my oldest daughter, Jenny's, entire life in boxes. Ready to move out for college.

She leaves Tuesday.

*sob*

She is attending Texas A&M Corpus Christi and will be studying environmental science. Wednesday through Friday this week are Aloha Days, a camp for incoming freshman. We'll be driving down there on Friday with the rest of her belongings to help her move into the dorm. We spent most of the afternoon shopping at Target... shower curtain (and liner and rings), towels, paper towels, cleaning supplies, trash cans, pillows, storage containers, toiletries, dishes, cutlery... so much stuff! And it's all hers.

I'm so excited for her but already feeling emotional about sending her off. She'll be leaving on my 41st birthday too. I'm sure Tuesday will be a big day, as will Friday. More to come!



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Day 226

Mom kept Anna tonight so Curtis and I took Jenny and Dominic out to eat. I don't think just the four of us have ever gone out! We went to the Cheesecake Factory (yummmm...) and Jenny gussied up before leaving. I was totally smitten with the cute bow in her hair. She looked so young and sweet!



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Jenny and Chris have gotten back together after a short break this summer. They are both so happy and with Jenny leaving next week for college, it couldn't come at a better time. I love you both!



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Day 224

Tonight before bed, Anna was loving on her favorite baby, George. You know that George is a real member of our family because when I was in Colorado at the retreat, I had to buy him a tiny t-shirt (which he is currently wearing, thank you very much) in addition to gifts for the kids. I'm so glad I had the blinds still open to get some pretty light in her room and catch her hugging her baby.



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Day 223

Look away if you are offended by lizard porn.

LOL.

Anna and I were outside for a (very) short time this morning (it was really hot and muggy today). Anna hollered, "Mom, what's that?" Ahem, this is what she saw...



Pretty cool that they posed for the picture, eh? Thanks for looking!

Day 222

Dominic was helping me outside today. He was playing with the water hose and the new attachment we got when I noticed this rainbow. He was thrilled to see it too. So tomorrow, go make a rainbow with your kids... and enjoy a little slice of magic.



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Day 221

I was practicing this week's assignment for my photography class and Dominic was being a ham. Love it!

Day 220

This is one of the buildings at our resort in Colorado. I love the colors!

Day 219

Caught a reflection of the whole group in Heather's sunglasses while hiking on the mountain in Colorado. Cool!

Day 218

We went to Vail today for some shopping and sightseeing. There was a children's fountain where kids could splash in the water. There were a number of sculptures sitting atop columns surrounding the splash park and I was inspired to try my first silhouette shot. I metered off the sky, adjusted my settings, and got way down on the ground to get this shot. Yay!



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Day 217

I'm going on a women's retreat weekend in Colorado this weekend with a group of women I met nearly 8 years ago. We all have children with special needs and we try to meet every summer. This year we are going to Keystone, Colorado. I can't wait to take tons of pictures of the mountains! Arriving at the Denver airport yesterday, I dug my camera out of my bag and just held it up and looked around. I'm drawn to lines and I love the lines in this photo.



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Day 216

Jenny decided to experiment with peroxide and blue! She's got a blonde streak up front and blue streak in the back. I think she's so cool! You go girl!!!



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Day 215

So I didn't really end up taking any pictures yesterday except for my photography class. I was trying to be funny... so here's Limbo Elmo partying it up.




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Day 214

My mom had Anna this evening so on the spur of the moment, I took Dominic to the duck pond around 8 p.m. which is his normal bathtime. We had so much fun! He found a stick to swirl in the water, he chased a duck, and he met three dogs. I also got a chance to work on spot metering and finding my camera's sweet spot for metering on his skin. What a beautiful night!



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Day 213

Today we went to a birthday party at a jumpy, bouncy house place. Anna has a hard time with public bathrooms and was worried about there being auto-flushing toliets. She was trying very hard to be brave here and this pouty face just cracked me up. I made her repeat said face and snapped a pic!



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Day 212

My new laptop arrived today! I've been working really hard doing photo editing, making cards and invites, and I *almost* had enough money saved in my Paypal. I found this MacBook on the Apple Refurbished site... brand new and deeply discounted. Woot!!!



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