Photography Fad

My newest hobby is photography.  I've always wanted to learn to take better pictures and recently decided I was going to get serious.  Well, as serious as one can be with a family.  I practice when I can.  Since winter has set in, I've moved in doors with the camera and I've had to start practicing with the use of flash.  It is challenging and I'm still learning and have a long way to go.  But I have a photographer friend who is a great mentor and has been giving me tips and encouragement.  I'm kinda proud of myself.  Here are some samples of what I've done.

Below is one of my very first attempts at getting my camera off of auto and using the manual setting.  I was trying to blur the background.  I remember being so surprised that it worked.

My poor children are my models to practice on.  They are pretty sick of me saying, 

"Hey, look over here into the camera."

This one is Adrian being patient enough to let me try out a new lens on him.

Ryan will actually let me take more pictures of him than Adrian will.  But he sure is squirmy and it is hard to get any pictures of him that are very sharp.  It's a good think he's cute.  I took this one right after kindergarten.  He still has paint on his hands from some art project he had been doing that morning.

Eventually I was brave enough to venture away from my own family.  Some good friends allowed me to use them as practice and take maternity pictures.  What a privilege that was.  We had fun, but I've got to say, I was pretty nervous I would do a terrible job.  It was an excellent learning experience.

 Look, I even got a little fancy in photoshop.

These pictures eventually led to this amazing event.  

Here is our little guy only a few hours old.

And then this...and me trying out a watermark, that I've since decided is not what I'd hoped it would look like.  

That's the update on my latest craze.  I hope it will develop into something serious one day.  I really would like to take portraits of families.  As soon as winter fades away I'll be back outside.  Until then, it's me and the boys inside with a flash.

Happy new year friends!

Räbeliechtli

Every fall the kindergartens all have a räbeliechtli celebration.  Usually the fathers of the children come together and carve turnips, turning them into lanterns.  Yup.  Not pumpkins, turnips.  Each turnip is hallowed out and then a design is carved  onto the outside.  The following day all the kindergarteners take a walk through the neighborhood holding the räbeliechtli and sing songs.  Oh yes, this is done in the evening when it is dark.  I must admit, it's not my favorite activity.  It's freezing and I'm not a very big fan of winter activity.
Here was the result of this years räbeliechtli.  David is a great dad and decorated Ryan's lantern with angry birds.

Here is an example of the songs they sang.

And so, this concludes our räbeliechtli tradition.  Ryan moves on to first grade.  Time to remember the good times and make room for new traditions and memories.

Fall Break

The Kanton of Schaffhausen has 3 weeks for fall break.  It's too long.  I'm sure the boys like it, but that's a lot of weeks to try and entertain two very active little boys. Thankfully David took one of those weeks off and we got to do some fun family things.  

On our first day off we went to the Verkehrshaus (Traffic Museum) in Luzern.  It's a pretty cool place.  They have all the different forms of transpiration, and anything to do with it, you can find in Switzerland.  There are trains, plains, cable cars, boats, and cars.  The boys (the big one included) had a great time.

On another day we went to Augusta Raurica.  Augusta Raurica was once a very large Roman town with at least 10,000 people living there.  This has been one of my most favorite places we've visited in Switzerland.  I think it will be a new addition on the visitors tour.  

Here are the boys sitting on a mosaic floor in part of the museum

Ryan is standing beside a model of what the town must have looked like with all of its buildings.

This is the Theater.  I stood on the platform and talked with David and the boys, who sat on the top row.  I didn't have to yell, just talked normal and they heard every word.  Simply amazing.

Across from the theater are what's left of the steps to a temple.

The only thing left of the forum temple is this altar.  Behind is a wood frame of what the entrance probably looked like.

This is the forum.   Underneath the forum there is a mosaic exhibit.

Adrian took this picture.

There's not much left of the amphitheater.  Over the years the people from the town have taken bricks and rock from the structure to build.  

This entrance is called the gate of death.  This side of the amphitheater is where the dead people and animals were carried out.  If you survived you left through the gate of the living on the other side.   

Here is where the gladiators were kept.  I stepped inside.  It was a little creepy looking out through those bars into the arena.  I couldn't help but think about those who probably stood in that very place, waiting to fight for survival.   What must it have been like for them?    I can't really begin to fathom.   

 These were some of our adventures during fall break.  I think we'll go back to these places again.  I'm looking forward to it.

School Days

It's that time of year again.  School has begun.  Here we are with the first day of school pictures and a flash back from last year.

He sure has grown a lot since last year.  

Adrian is in third grade.

Now for Ryan.

On to the second year of kindergarten.  Can't believe how time flies.

I hope everyone has a happy first day of school.

What In The World?!

This morning I sent Ryan off for the second to last day of school.  We are all pretty excited for summer vacation to begin.  He went on his way and I turned around to head back into the house.  On my way inside I walked by my little flower bed. I glanced over only to noticed more of those pathetic plums on the ground.  As my eyes casually roamed over my plants they came to a screeching halt over one of my little flowers.  This is what I found.

Where are all the leaves?  What in the world?  It only took me about 3 seconds to figure out the problem. It has been an on-going problem every summer.  Me vs. the snails.  Yes, those little boogers get me every year.  This is what my poor little plant is supposed to look like.

Thankfully the little monster hadn't made it over to the other one yet.  I stood there staring at my poor flowers only to discover more evidence of his destruction all over my flower bed.

Enter exhibit A...

And B...

This one doesn't look so bad.  But Trust me.  The leaves are all chomped on.

Well, I caught him.  Red handed.  Living peacefully under my hosta plant.  

His peaceful leaf eating days were abruptly ended as I flung him into the forrest.  

Good riddance.  

I immediately went straight into the garage for a little assistance.

Yes, friends you've guessed correct.  Snail poison.  I'm not messing around here.  We are going to the hard stuff, and it works.  Those snails can get ready to meet their maker.

They better hope my flowers come back from the grave or they are going to have to go to theirs.