what to do

i am waiting for my CS5 to arrive. long story there. but i miss that program!

i loved PSE3 and 4 and 5 and 6 and 7.....ha! learned how to do so many actions the long way. it was good. until i tried CS4. oh my!

since i have neither on this computer i decided to head over to picnik. it is easy and fun. i still miss my Photoshop...but this worked in a pinch too.




i made a change in photobucket later. the 'undo' is not so easy....i won't go into my sadness that this would not have happened in PS.



the return of the ice cream truck brought big smiles to the kids' faces. miraculously they were not tormented by hearing the ice cream music for hours before it came down our street. which was good for Kristian and myself.



the weekend had gorgeous hot weather. we even set up the kids pool early. they were so excited to use it on Monday. thankfully (miracles abound here lately!) there were no errands and we could return home   immediately after gymnastics. just a minor detour for a slurpee.

the kids were in swimsuits and splashing in the pool when we heard thunder. not an ominous cloud in sight. should have been our first warning! later we heard that the conditions were favourable for funnel clouds forming just south of us. yikes! so much for a few hours of backyard play. the rain continued and continued the rest of the day.



instead they huddled on the front porch wrapped in beach towels, eating a snack and watching the rain.

and they have been waiting to return to the pool ever since.


now the question is: will we ever get more than 3 days of sunshine in a row this summer?

for now the towels are washed, dried and ready. along with their swimming suits. today they swim indoors. hopefully no risk of cancellation with that?!

we're going to the zoo, zoo, zoo....

seriously, it's Wednesday already?

time flies when you are having fun.

Sunday brought us to the local zoo to meet up with family. i hold my sister-in-law in much higher regard after that day. she is about to give birth to a nephew or niece any day....and she walked the zoo with as much energy as the rest of us. did i mention it was at least 30 degrees Celsius? she is amazing.





i like this one of the group reading the info sheet....




then looking for the animal.

a glimpse of the maturity we've seen growing? recognizing that words and pictures have real meaning?




ah. here are the kids we know!

another new exhibit?

what healthy kid can resist a perfect climbing tree?



they really enjoyed this exhibit of animal skins and parts. kids learn so much more when they can experience knowledge like this. i too am amazed at how much i can learn along with my kids.



you have no idea how THRILLED i was to capture this! it is tough enough to catch the tigers being active and playing. never mind the weekend crowd. or the double chain link fences.

{there are 5 evenings the zoo offers to photographers. an opportunity to participate in some special photographic activities. hmmmm....might be fun to learn tips from other photographers too!?}

their are a few exhibits that my kids love to see. Lucy the elephant. the Siberian tigers. the snow leopards. anything related to the monkeys. ducks.



who can resist the sprinklers on a hot day?



i got some more camera practice yesterday. i can't wait to share those photos! i got to go to a local farm with Aidan's kindergarten class. sadly, next year will be the last year they will host programs for kids. i take it for granted the lack of exposure city kids have to farm animals. the zoo does have an area with goats, rabbits and chickens for the kids to pet and interact with. however it just can't compete with a genuine farm.


i used the 'colorized' and 'quick edge burn' actions from Pioneer Woman on these photos. neither of them at 100%, i just adjusted each photo to an individual setting. i liked the real colours that came out on the camera. but it was fun to change them up even more! it helped that Monday morning was cloudy and cold. ha!

playing around

with picnik this morning.

once our move is complete and i'm feeling more settled, i plan to spend time organizing my computer files. maybe keep some online somewhere. i find the photos get so small on blogger. it has been so long since i had fun editing my photos too. i took a SIStv class on photo-editing, but haven't had the time (or energy!) to work through the lessons. but a few photos i took yesterday really inspired me to try some of the techniques.

i thought i'd do a couple of lessons...but only made it through one of them. it had me check out picnik. i'd heard of it before. however PSE does so much stuff and i'm familiar with it. i know i will always love my PSE....but picnik is the quick and easy way to edit photos. so i have discovered.

seriously.

it's free.

you also have the option to store your photos online.

in my un-researched opinion....i think it does decrease the quality of the photo compared to PSE. i think it will be fine for 4x6 printing, and most likely 5x7. i tend to only print my photos in that size anyway. it is always good to have a copy of your original photo and only save your edited version as a copy! if i am wanting to use a particular photo for a project i often print out the original and then different edited versions. nothing can replace that 'hands-on' decision making. at least for me!


cross-processing....i hope that i will have enough space at our new house to plant these flowers. i know that one tray would have been good enough....but i was having a terrible time deciding which ones to take. worst case scenario: they will make great gifts!!

vintage silhouette...our little girl got her first two wheeler bike this weekend. surprisingly she is more cautious on a bicycle. at least for now.

vintage silhouette and CinemaScope...in his bedtime prayers, Aidan asked Daddy to pray for a sunny and warm day with now rain. he really wanted to ride his bike with Kiara because it was so much fun. {we are in desperate need for some decent weather. Kiara isn't able to wear off enough energy during the day when she is stuck inside.}

literally with a simple click. great time saver. tell me what you think. try some more of the options. you can add text. stickers. frames. just make sure you have your coffee mug filled....you won't want to take the time to get up to do that once you are on the site!

enjoy your weekend!!