Easter Fun!

We had a great Easter Weekend! Allie Ruth and I went to church with Mimmie...

Allie Ruth wore a very sweet, smocked dress. When she saw me putting on my jewelry, she picked herself out the necklace she is wearing! 

After church Mimmie, Allie Ruth and I met the boys over at Meme's house for lunch. Meme has the BEST backyard EVER! It is so big and beautiful. The kids love it!

It is perfect for hunting our eggs!

After lunch and the egg hunt, it was time for the annual planting of the tomatoes! 

Landon and Sydney love to plant their tomato plants and watch them grow through the summer.

While they were working in the garden, Allie Ruth was cruising in her jeep!

Meme has pushed all the kids around the yard in this jeep! She is amazing in so many ways!

What a blessed day!

The Big Park

Buttercup Baby

Yesterday I took Allie Ruth to a buttercup field that is near Kelly's grandmother's house. I have taken the kids every year to get their pictures in the field, but figured Landon was a little too old for flower pictures. I love buttercups and have fond memories of picking them at my grandparents house. 

Here is a picture of the kids from last year! I can't stand how much they have changed!!

Real World Wednesday...

I have been wanting to do a post on what our life is "really" like. And since its Wednesday, we will call it that. Yes, I would say that 90% of the time I lead an amazingly, charmed life. We are very blessed and grateful! But everything is not always peaches and cream at the Jones house. Like for example, look at this lovely boy...

Would you believe that something this precious could be BAD!? Well, its true. He has been on quite a streak for the past week. Not just bad at home either, bad at school too! It was heartbreaking to drop him off and have the director of his preschool tell me that she has never seen this side of him. I mean, he is one of the best things I have in the whole world. It hurt my feelings. Its interesting, as a teacher, being on the other end of this business. Needless to say, heartbreak quickly left and turned to anger. Landon had to spend all of last night in his room. And he got spankings! He was only allowed to come out for dinner and to finish his work that he had not done at school. 

So after dropping him off at school with that info, I am on my way to work. It was very important to be on time, as we are starting TCAP. I get pulled over by a sheriff to let me know that my tags are expired!

Since FEBRUARY!!! Luckily, I did not get a ticket. After pulling the "We are friends with __________" card that did not work, I said "Well I am a teacher!" Whew, got out of that one!

And this guy... This is my sweet, handsome husband.

He is a great husband and the best Dad! We love him so much! But he has not been feeling well for several months now. After scans and tests, hopefully we will know something soon. And yes, that is a fire in our backyard. There has been a BIG, ugly pile of crap in our yard for who knows how long. It got burned yesterday, so I know our neighbors are happy to quit having to look at it! 

I could write a whole post on the disaster that is my house. 

Got to keep up? I can't keep up with my house. Once one room is clean, another is messy. Oh well, its not like the president is coming over for dinner!

I am still pushing that red button!

Sonic diet coke, its just so GOOD!

And today, I ordered a medium, paid for a medium, but got served a large!

How can you say no to that? Well, I am going to have to soon. Next year when Landon comes to school with me, We can't stop there every morning! 

While Landon was in his room spending quiet time, We missed him outside in the yard.

But today is a new day!

And this little boy...

Better be on his BEST behavior!!

Weekend fun!

On Friday, we started off the weekend at the River! We had planned to stay the whole weekend, but poor Dad was not feeling well. We did get to have lunch at the Parsons Dairy Bar and take a ride on Sandy! 

On Saturday, We visited the zoo! The weather was great!

We rode the merry go round! 

And enjoyed looking at the animals!

On Sunday, we enjoyed a fun day at home! Donuts for breakfast and lots of playing in the yard!

Great weekend and glad Daddy is feeling a little better! 

Film just for funsies...

In a world with so much instant gratification it can be fun to snap some pictures with film and have to wait to see what they look like! I took these pictures of sweet Allie Ruth with this.

Lesson four: FLASH!

Is the flash your friend or foe?

Sometimes the best combination of ISO, aperture, and shutter speed won't help us get the image we want in low light situations. I have read that it is best to avoid the on board flash whenever possible. But sometimes the use of the flash can really make a positive difference. 

Whether you are inside or outside, when should you use the flash?

Indoors: Make sure your subject is as far away from a wall as possible, this will create a shadow. Also, keep your subject at least 5-6 feet in front of you and 5-6 feet of distance behind the subject and the closest wall. Meter on the subject as much as possible. You might lose your background, but your subject won't be overblown. 

Outdoors: Flash outdoors?? You may have some situations where your subject is slightly in the shade. This is where fill flash would help. It just "fills" in the areas that may be shadowed or poorly lit. 

Weekly Challenge: Experimenting with Fill Flash

I used my friend, Meg, for this exercise. She is a teacher with me and is an all around great girl! She is also a new mom to sweet baby Russ! 

The first photo was taken without the flash and the second was taken with the flash. You can use the flash to pop colors on a gray day. It was not a gray day though.

These photos where an attempt to use fill flash to get rid of dark shadows on the face on a bright day. The first photo is without the flash and the second photo is with the flash. Well, I am guessing that the second photo did not come out because I had the camera in A mode and I did not change my fstop to a higher number, therefore it was wide open, getting a ton of light and then I threw the flash in. Yikes! 

Use the fill flash to combat backlighting on a shadowed subject. The first picture is without the flash and the second one is with the flash. 

This lesson was kinda hard and I am glad that I am not getting a real grade on this! Flash will be something I will revisit. Isn't Meg cute though! 

And one more cutie!