Cherish!

Today was perfection in my world!

I woke up to a day with absolutely nothing on the agenda (except maybe to make the house just a little less like a bomb aftermath).  I made a conscious decision to really savour the day...

The first perfect checkmark was that I got to sleep in (I woke up at 7:20...all by myself...what a treat!) and Baby B decided to sleeeeeeepppp in - until 8:30!

The second thing I really enjoyed was taking the time to be able to feed Baby B breakfast - the first time in a week I had this pleasure (and the boy loves his food so it makes feeding him all the more enjoyable).

Then Baby B & I played, played...vacuumed...mopped the floor...played...vacuumed again, mopped the floor - again (thanks to a certain little white, four-legged, fuzzy-haired someone)...

We tidied the kitchen, had a snack, went outside for awhile, went for a bike ride...

Hit the pool at noon for lap swim for moi (Baby B just watching today...just a bit too chilly for him to swim, too)...

Came back home, ate lunch, had a little visit with a friend, and laid down for a nap (both of us :)

Baby B slept for THREE hours! He had his daddy scared & checking on him to make sure all was well (he is historically just not a "napper")...

Got up, played a bit more, went outside for a bit...

Made supper, ate supper, played...

Went for a family bike ride :)

Came back...

Momma & Da completely entertained by the very awake & enthusiastic Baby B! What a firecracker! Played non-stop for two hours...belly laughs, tickles, dog growls, singing, walking, talking, up...then down, over, stories, dancing...(Da says no more 3 hr naps for baby, lol)!

I can not believe how blessed I feel to be at this place in my life.  I am truly lucky.

Today I got to live my "one little word" like nobody's business!

Today, I cherished :)

Down Home...on the Farm!

Today, I am mourning the loss of my summer...officially only one day left & I am a "working" woman again.  Not that staying at home isn't work, it's just a different kind of work. A work I really enjoyed, although it took some bumps in the road to get to the enjoyment part.

I thought I'd recap the mini-family reunion we had in August to help re-live some of summer's finer moments.

It was so much fun.

We gathered on the farm...

We managed to cook,

(don't see this guy in front of the stove/griddle all that often, although he is a b-fast specialist...so had to record it!)

(and eat...boy, oh boy...did we EAT)

golf (although I didn't get to partake so have no pics),

swim,

watch Team Penning,

enjoy nature,

snooze,

smile,

laugh,

enjoy fresh apples off the tree (& fresh fruit straight from BC),

ride horses,

drive farm equipment (my cousin's husband aced the combine & semi!),

enjoy each others' company,

(The cousins three...ages 4 months, 7 months & 10 months...couldn't get Baby B to stop showing the love long enough to get him smiling)

perpetuate some's addiction(s),

and simply have fun, for the fun of it!

We had such a great time relaxing and enjoying being in each other's presence. So many giggles and memories made! We must make sure to do this as often as possible.

What we didn't manage to do?

Get a group pic of all the clan...what were we thinking?

Guess we were too busy having fun!

Bye-bye summer! Loved you while you lasted...

I Promised You...

Well...

I made a promise to you, my faithful bloglanders.

I am proud to say I kept my promise!

Although my friend & I didn't end up with as much daylight as we had hoped (stupid big cloud), and we really didn't find we took any pics we liked...

I kept my promise.

Although I don't love this picture, it did give me some opportunity to play with some new actions...and I like it a little better with the action.

It is about the best my night had to offer.

Oh...I wish I was so much better at seeing and finding the light with my camera.

But I guess that is what practice is for!

However, the moral of the story.

I shot this pic with an aperature at least 8.0...and it is not purple, nor lavender, nor plum, nor indigo.

So I kept my promise, peeps.  That is just the kinda gal I am.

BUT.

Tomorrow, I'm going back to my bokeh-obsessed wide open shooting of purple foliage.

I just like it best :) 

Purple Lust!

I'm sure I've mentioned this before...I have a way of repeating myself these days (it comes from having absolutely no short term memory).

I have a thing for all things flowery & purple this summer.  I keep trying to find other colours to photograph, but I feel like I'm cheating on purple (or lavender, or plum...you get the picture). It is rather difficult to explain.  I've never really been a fan of purple before?!

It is not just my pics, either...but the pics of others...if it happens to be a flower and somehow in the purple-ish family, it is true love.

I'd hate to somehow lose this freaky lust, so I have been doing everything in my power to perpetuate it.  After all - everyone needs a little weirdness in their life - right?

On another note...I desperately need to start a "bokeh-lover's anonymous" group...I need therapy to help me start shooting at a setting other than wide open. I have great intentions - but I just can't seem to help myself - I'm greedy for all that lovely blurry background...and then I wind up disappointed that a part of my pic is out of focus.  Go figure.  Addictions...they're so healthy.

Thus:

 I am making a promise to you out there in blogland...

I WILL go out and shoot some sunflowers tonight (they're yellow by the way) and I promise to set my aperature at LEAST 8.0 or higher.

Wish me luck with that!

Yours truly,

Addicted to purple blur....

Driving...

No. Big. Deal.

My baby got his driver's license this past weekend.

Thus, he spent MANY, MANY HOURS driving. Driving. Driving.

It was so cute to see him sit up in that car & take hold of the steering wheel immediately (or whenever Gdma said "Drive, B, drive!"), lift up his feet & rock back and forth, back and forth (signalling to the silly adults watching to get pushing). It only took showing him two times how to open the door and swing his legs out and he was doing that on his own, too.

We may have created a monster.

The roads/yard may never be safe again.

Oh, how much joy this little boy brings to my life :)

I'm smiling :)

I am so lucky to have an amazing extended family.
The Taylor's (my mom's side of the family) have a motto:
"you can always hear a Taylor before you see one"

Boy, oh boy - is it ever true :)

We were lucky enough to have a little family get-together this past week in Manitoba...my mom's sisters & families gathered at the farm.

We have had so many family weddings, milestone birthdays, etc that we have been lucky to see each other annually for about five years now.

This year, a new generation helped us celebrate...well, just being family...and enjoying each other's company!

Baby B really, really loved meeting his two little cousins.  He thought they were absolutely adorable.  He particularly loved this little seven month old angel - and as I was flipping through pictures of our time at the farm, this one just made me smile.

I love everything about what this picture represents:
 - family
 - health
 - peace
 - friendship
 - love
 - comfort

Most of all, I just love that we get to watch these two grow up together, spending lots of time making memories (hopefully) as we meet up each year!

I don't know about you, but I am sure left smiling :)

(more family adventures coming soon!)

Sunshine...

Sometimes, when life gives you lemons, you've just got to make lemonade...

Repeat mantra over & over...

Take a few deep breaths,

carry on!

In case you are also needing a little dose of sunshine in your life (heaven knows my stress levels could use a downgrade these days), here is a little something that makes me feel better just by taking a peek.  It has got to be the warm, sunny colour that lifts my mood...

Hope it does the same for you:)

Sending sunshine your way!