Bare-Bummed Gardner

I am sad because my vacation time is coming to a close. Early Saturday morning will find us on the road back to Sidney. Needless to say, Justin will be really glad to have us back. I get random texts from him reporting he found his shorts, more bike gear, and some furniture at the storage unit. At least he found his summer shorts!!

Tuesday evening John made everyone homemade enchiladas, homemade down to the tortillas and red sauce. Holy smokes!! That dinner was super scrumpy delicious. I had heart burn all that night and the next day! Mia has a semi-bad diaper rash so I let her run amok with no diaper. I found her outside digging in the garden with her cute little bottom sticking out the end.

Wednesday Courtenay and I went over to Miekka's for a crafty day. Mia "played" with us...mostly whining and carrying on. She is super tired from going to bed at the same time I am and waking up with me too, combined with shorter naps makes for a crabby patty. My good friend Sarah also came over with her little cutie girl, Kenna. I showed the girls how to make the fun fabric flowers Jessica Christian found a couple months back (I think you can find the patterns on Grace Violet). Miekka embellished a cute onesie for Lia to match a skirt she found at the DI. I helped Sarah embellish a shirt and made a matching ruffly skirt for Kenna. I forgot to take pics so hopefully the girls will!! Once Court figured out how to make the flowers she whipped up several then worked on a banner for her new classroom. I brought a rag quilt to work on but mostly helped Sarah. Miekka made us a light lunch of chicken salad and rolls. It was perfect for my not so happy tummy.

Wednesday evening I attended a photo class at Gardner Village. The other participants cancelled so it was a one-on-one session! This lady shoots with her flash at all times (a real flash, not the pop-up one). She uses it to warm up her pics and provide fill light. Mia and Court were our models for the evening. She only instructed me for an hour and 30 minutes, it was a 3 hr class. It started raining and the light went fast due to the weather. She gave me a copy of her cool book, retailed at $45 or more as compensation. I learned a lot and enjoyed watching her and copying her technique. I am beginning to really love using only natural light and working with my manual camera mode. You can view more pics of our session on my photo blog.

This morning I met my awesomely great friend, Catherine Taylor at Wheeler Farm for a photo session. Her mom and sister are in town so she wanted some mother daughter pictures. Catherine has 2 kids and Susan (her sis) has 1. The girls were, well girls! I capture some fun shots of them interacting. Group photography is by far the most challenging. Susan's little girl also got some one-on-one treatment for her 18-mth photos. Her name is Reiny and about the cutest thing ever. The best was catching up with Catherine for a few minutes after the shoot.

Grandma and Grandpa Baerwaldt were visiting my Mom when I returned back to home base. They were in the area to pick up my Aunt Darcie from the airport. We all chatted for a while until the construction guy showed up. The new wood office floor is finally completed. All the guy has to do is finished mudding and taping, installing trim, and some electrical work. Mom and Court can start painting and putting the main level back together next week. Maybe next time I can see the house returned to normalcy.