Project Blue-Take 1

Anna just challenged us with "Project Blue". I wasn't prepared tonight but wanted to contribute, so I pulled this shot from the wedding. It will be nice to have an assignment and hopefully be able to separate myself just a little from this crazy life right now! Stay tuned for more blue and make sure to check out Anna's blog, (over in my sidebar), for her photos and others that are in the project!

The hard part of goodbye

These aren't my best photos ever but tonight it isn't about that. It's about reflection and friendship. Virginia is a good move for us; I have to keep telling myself that sometimes. Like today as my children played FOR HOURS with good friends of ours. Not good friends, best friends. They have been friends all of their lives and leaving will be really hard. And as hard as it may be for them, leaving their mama will be even harder on me. Bloomington has introduced me to some "kindred twins". Women that were meant to be part of my life forever. Some have already left this town and distance hasn't changed our friendship. It will be with a heavy heart that I say goodbye to my friends here. Luckily, my phone has speed dial and I have the whole summer before that goodbye has to come.

BIG GINORMOUS NEWS

My brain was on overload last night because we had two MAJOR new events going on in our lives. Let me share them with you!

1. We ARE moving to VIRGINIA!!! It's a long and complicated story. Bottom line is that it makes my husband look like this:

2. Just as exciting, although very overshadowed by the more recent news: I am working on a WEBSITE for my photography! I am jumping in with both feet! I will let you know when it is ready to be unveiled! It may take a little longer than planned because I will be PACKING!

Check in tomorrow

We are experiencing some "technical difficulties". I will be back to my blog- and yours- tomorrow! Have a great night!

And so it ends (and begins)

Isaac officially walked away from Kindergarten today. That means 2 things: IT'S SUMMER! and I HAVE A FIRST GRADER! It was a little sad. Even his teacher got a little choked up, and I of course, had my camera right there! This class of kids was pretty darn special. Just good kids. Our kindergarten experience was fantastic and I can only hope that Livi and Caleb have the same experience.

P.S. You'll notice that I didn't post pictures of my office. That's because my office won the little battle last night. (And I had a really great talk with both my brother and my best friend!) But all is not lost, I WILL WIN THE WAR!

A little experiment

Short post tonight, sorry. My office and I are at war and tonight I am determined to win! I've got containers and my label maker in hand but I do NOT come in peace! I will be back tomorrow to check on everyone. And maybe I'll even take a picture of my newly clean and serene work space.

Happy Birthday to me!!

Today I turn 29. My last year in my twenties. They have been very busy years for me and they will forever be very precious. I graduated from college with honors. I got married. I went to Hawaii, I lived in Oregon, Chicago, New York, and Indiana. I went to France. I traveled coast to coast- with 3 cats. I was a librarian at an all boys school, I taught at a toddler school, I had three babies. I ran a preschool, I sent my oldest to kindergarten, I saw my husband finish 2 masters and a double PhD, and I started a career in photography! These are just a few of the highlights!

Now, to the future. Before I turn 30 I want to: keep building my photography portfolio, start up a website and photo hosting site, second shoot with a professional wedding pro, teach my middle child to read, teach my youngest child to walk, teach my oldest to ride a bike with no training wheels, watch my husband get a job, get my office organized, scrapbook again, EXERCISE, and be better about staying in touch with friends and family. To my dear family and friends that read this- I expect you to keep me to it!

Today we went back to the fountains as a family and I grabbed a few more shots.

Starting to feel like summer!

I walked the kids over to the university today to see the fountains. I didn't shoot much because Caleb REALLY liked the water and I had my hands full! I tried to grab a few pics of his hands in the water before he tried to dive in! During the summer they put on their suits and really play in the water. Today I just let them get their feet wet. They are SO ready for summer! If today was any indication, the pool will be quite interesting for the littlest.

I grabbed a few more shots on a walk to the grocery store tonight. This can has been there for about a week now and every time I have passed it I've wished for my camera. It is on the property of a brand new, not even opened, building and it seems so out of place.

A walk in the woods

The big announcement that wasn't

I didn't post last night because I thought I was going to have a BIG announcement this morning. We got a call last night from Virgina saying that we would be getting a very important call from the dean in the morning. Questions were asked, we were/are certain that an offer was to follow. We had given up on Virginia but got excited again and told our friends and family. What a roller coaster! The dean called at 9 a.m. and asked for a little more time to straighten out some "technical difficulties". A little strange but we weren't too worried. Well, a call came at noon that the provost had put an end to the search and no one would be hired. How can they do this to us?! I don't even know what to say. I guess that I am glad that we are not joining an institution where there is so much turmoil. This has been going on since FEBRUARY! We are happy to be staying here and will do what we need to so that will be successful. We headed for a hike this afternoon to clear our heads and I thought about family and happiness . I have both and we will be okay.

Lake Griffy

After we picked Isaac up from school today we headed out to one of our little local lakes. The geese were especially friendly because my kids were throwing crackers in. (I swear that I didn't see the "don't feed the geese" sign until after our hike!) Despite the muddy conditions, we hiked up through the beautiful forest where Isaac ran the trails, Olivia- the fairy- danced her way along, and Caleb received a wonderful shoulder ride from his daddy. I can't wait to take a canoe out onto the water when the weather warms up a little.

What's the opposite of sunny?

Tonight when I went to shoot! I hadn't shot at all today because my hands were full! This afternoon we had rain and I officially had a sick baby. He was just snuggly and hot so I played full time mommy pillow. I headed out tonight to try and get some shots in but was only outside briefly before getting absolutely drenched. I wanted to stay out but I love my camera too much to put it through a rain storm! The last shot is driving home, at a light, I wanted to "rain" with my camera. There you go, camera rain by Lacey!

Another perfect day. . .

Another day to grab the camera and go for a walk! I've wanted to shoot this location since I first laid eyes on it this winter. I was just waiting for the right day. I found it! Look at all these colors! You name it and we found it!