we done went sledding and froze ourselves

 I have this obsession with trees. No really, I’m serious. J You should hear me on a trip basically anywhere; I’ll just randomly yell “look at that tree. It’s so pretty. I need that tree…” And my family probably just rolls their eyes and thinks “How did we end up with such a weird one?!”  Anyhow, my brother found this tree about 15 minutes from our house and told me about it, and basically, we both fell in love with it over time, but we never stopped to take it’s picture. So,a couple Sunday's ago, my family sweetly drove out there after church to let me take a photo of it. They didn’t turn out as well as I hoped, but now that we actually stopped once, we’ll do it again, and it will be better next time. J

 It’s a cool tree, yes? :)  

 And after taking a whole ton of photos of the tree, I turned around and found this adorable farm across the meadow and covered with a lovely layer of snow.  I think that it would be amazing to find a cute farm somewhere, kinda like this one, and just take photos of it, from all kinds of angles, far away, like this shot, and up close of all the buildings and people. It would be so interesting, especially if the farm had been in the family for like a gazillion years and I could hear all the interesting stories about their great grandmothers and aunties. Yes, that would be amazing.

The snow is gone for a little while, and I am sorta sad, and sorta happy. I can drive now, (my parents won’t let me drive in the snow and ice. This is probably a really good idea. :) But I do think that snow is pretty. It just last too long. It would be really great for a few weeks, but then I am tired of looking at it and I want the sunshine and green back. J

Last Sunday, mom and dad took all the kids sledding on a {relatively} steep road. Technically, I went too, but I spent most of the time taking pictures and whining about the cold. I really don’t think that people should venture outside when it is below 30 degrees. Especially when they have a warm house to be in. To go out is madness, and ridiculous. J We have three pairs of skis (Which by the way, is the one thing that I will venture out in the snow to do. I love to ski) and they fit 6 of the kiddos. J  That is the wonderful thing about huge family’s. There are multiple kids of the same size, so you get way more use out of things. Daniel spent most of his time on skis.

 Julia did a wonderful job skiing. She hasn't had much practice {having never been up on the slopes.) so this was her first time ever skiing on a realish hill. :)

     James was slightly confused by all the yelling people flying past him on brightly colored objects. lol

Prettiness, yes?

Luke was so cute, and having so much fun. He didn't complain about the long climb to the top either, and enjoyed himself thoroughly. 

Mary Liz, in her adorable pink snowpants.  

And this is me. Sitting in the van, attempting to stay warm, and wishing I was at home. J No seriously, it wasn’t that bad. Just 33 degrees. But the kids had so much fun, and I got some cute photos, so I guess it was worth it anyway.

James thought this was the funnest thing ever. Steering wheels are meant for babies to play with. :)

Do you have snow? What's your favorite snow sport?

xo,

the sun came out of hiding and the snowman melted

The sun came out of hiding today, showing itself off with a background of blue skies and fluffy white clouds, and melting poor Mr. Snowman.  And he was a pretty cute guy originally. :) The snow is mostly melted, and the ground is saturated with the cold water, but my horse loves it anyway. We put her out on the lawn yesterday and she thought it was heaven. The grass was soaked though but she ate as though it were the most delicious grain-molasses feed. :)

      The sun proudly streamed though the upstairs window this afternoon, landing on the picture and cross at the bottom. Sunshine is what I love and miss most about Summer. The golden rays flooding though the windows pleading with us to come out and dance in the golden light.

      The kiddo's had pita pizzas for lunch, and they were delicious. (Although they aren't allowed on my diet, I did shamelessly eat a piece. Or two. Cheating on diets is good for the soul. Somebody must have said that, I'm sure. :)

   
      Blue sky is so amazing. I don't really understand completely where it gets its brilliant hues, but all I know about that is that it's purtty. 

         Despite me rambling on about how beautiful today is, do know that it is only about 40 degrees out there, so I quickly snapped these photos and returned to the house and my tea. :)

      Aren't pine-cones interesting little things? Each so different and unique and a lot of fun to study. (and photograph.) 

     My goats soaking up the sunshine. (And that brown one sorta in the barrel? I used to do that when I was little and taking naps. Mom has a picture of me all sprawled out, clutching my blankie, with my head and shoulders in a bucket. I musta been a weird kid, that's for certain. :) Here's a photo for proof, peeps. :)

     And please know that I debated posting this. It's just kinda, weird I guess, posting photos from when I was little. :)

Clouds. <3

How has your day been? As beautiful outside as mine? 

And a report on Mr. Snowman. I took these photos about two hours ago, and he is now considerably smaller. It looks as if we are going to lose the poor feller. :)

Have  and wonderful rest of the day, lovelies, and eat some chocolate and sing a really happy song, kay?

xo,

in which i shall be random // my life as of lately

 

We toasted in the New Year with sparkling cider and dark chocolate. J

 My cousin, Gabby, turned six on Christmas day, and we had a birthday party, complete with pink party hats, in the afternoon. Andrew and Mary proudly wore theirs. (I'm a wimp. I didn't wear one. :)

The sparkling cider, which I realized, as I was taking photos, it looks like beer. lol

A friend got ahold of my camera a couple days ago and managed to get some photos of me. And I am not nearly as scared about having pictures taken of me. Or of sharing them here. J

I hosted a cookie exchange on the second, and these were four of the six girls who came. We had a lot of fun, and managed to laugh most of the time, which is normal for this group of girls.

 Mom was taking some photos of us, and told everyone to act crazy for one. Looking at it now, I can see that Catherine and I were the only ones who were crazy. Everyone else is laughing at us. J

 Mocha Crinkles. Delicious. Beautiful. Addictive. ‘Nuff said.

And another looking blankly off into space at the bathroom mirror. Awkward.

This cup is my favorite currently. It holds about twice the amount of a regular size mug, and is amazing.

 I can’t truly believe that Christmas is over…. *sigh*

Water droplets. <3 

So, I tend to do a lot of random photo posts. But that's my life... random photos here and there... 

I got another housecleaning job today, and I am quite happy about that. housecleaning is something that I actually enjoy, and hey, if I can make money at something that I enjoy its a win win situation. :) Plus the people are really sweet, and that always makes it much easier. 

And my brother is going to be home in 22 days... *do a happy dance around the room and scream with excitement* yah. :)

I am having a lot of fun cooking special food for the diet that mom and I are on. I think it's fun to have to think of something to eat every dinner. I'm sure, however, that two months from now I won't think it's very fun, but i shall enjoy it while it is. :)

I have lost my inspiration lately, but I found an amazing writing website and I am planning on doing some writing exercises to try to give myself a kick-start. I detest writers-block. It always plagues me when I want to write, and so i sit there unable to think of an intelligent thing to write. So I sit there feeling like a complete idiot staring into space wracking my brain for something that just isn't there.

So, what do you do when you are suffering from lack of inspiration? Do you read a book? Any tips? :)

xo,

outfit post two // jean skirt and boots

I am able to post pictures today, (the internet decided that it was fine for me to do so today, but obviously not for the last week. J ) and while my internet is not throwing fits, I am finally ready to post my second outfit.

     Photo credit goes to my brother Daniel, to whom I am especially grateful because it was frigid outside a few weeks ago when we took these. (It’s still really cold out… I haven’t even gone out to take photos yet in the snow because it is SO cold.

My piano teacher gave me this shawl for a birthday present, and I love it! I haven’t worn it yet because I can’t think of a way to pair it with something, but my mom kept telling me that it went with this outfit, so I put it on and am posting the photo to ask, what do you think, does it go with this shirt? J

So, I look slightly weird in these, but know that it was getting dark and I was so cold!! J

 I am currently in love with this sweater. It goes with basically everything that I wear, looks super cute and keeps me warm. Score, score, score! :) 

The details:

Cardigan: Thrifted

Cami: Fred Myers 

jean skirt: Thrifted

boots: Payless Shoe Source 

And these two photos (down there. :) are cute and I love them. the end. 

(Apparently it is necessary to look like a dork while doing sparklers (in front of a window full of littles who are scared to death of the things), while out in the snow in bare feet. Yes, this is what I usually look like in photos. :)

And a preview of a post I am hoping to have up soon of a photo-shoot I did/am doing with James. This is one of the cute ones I caught the other day. :)

How has your January been? What's been the highlight of the year so far? :)

xo,

happy new year // a look back on 2012

it's almost 2013?! Does anybody know where on earth the time went this year. It literally flew past me and left me surprised in it's wake. I've never had time go so fast. lol

These are all my favorite photos from this past year. And I can't help posting them all again. They are memories and I love them. :)

This is me... excited with what the future holds. Sixteen is just exciting, three are so many possibilities!

I am just a teeny tiny bit sad that this little one is growing up so fast. Sometimes i wish that little ones would just stay little forever. Life is so uncomplicated when you are 10 mos. old. :)

This photo ^ brought my first realization that I can do something with photography. That i can make something beautiful after all.

And this photo made me so excited for days. I felt that it captured what I was seeing exactly, and proved to me that this is something I need to pursue. I needed to be able to do something beautiful. And photography was that thing I needed to do.

And as a "I'm sixteen so lets celebrate by doing something crazy..." I decided to cut my hair off. And I am so happy with the results. (I'm not sure what Thomas thinks about it though. I sent him some photos and he never told me what he thought, so we'll have to see what he says when he sees me in exactly 29 days and a few hours. I can't wait to see him. You can't image how much I've missed my big brother in this past year. Tonight at 10:00 was when I saw him last... yes I'm sentimental... :)

Sunsets have become something that I love to capture. There is something amazing about each one, and I love them. :)

This.is.my.life. 

:) I couldn't resist sharing this one again. He's such a goofball.

Such a big boy now. I don't have any clue where all the time went, people. Seems like he was just a toddler yesterday!

...fall leaves...clouds...blue-sky...sunshine...beauty...

Okay so this one should have been the one to say:

this.is.my.life.

This was the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. And I am so proud of myself. :)

The sun setting behind Mt. St. Helens while we climbed Mt. Adams. Brings back memories of cramps... (:p) cold...really cold...and the verse I can do all things though Christ who strengthens me.  I guess that wasn't really applying it as it was meant to be applied, but it made me feel better, 'kay. :)

This was the first real photo shoot I ever did. Isn't it cute?!

This mountain is such a huge thing to me. :) That might sound crazy to most of you, but I am perfectly serious. I love this mountain so much, and the sight of it makes me insanely happy! 

Every photographer needs a photo like the one above. So go find somewhere with trees like this and take a photo like this, because it is such a standard "photographer" photo. totally. :)

Mt. St. Helens. Someday I am going to climb her, and look down into the crater, and be overwhelmed by her beauty.

I love flowering photos.

Pretty...

Ditto...

Ditto ditto...

This is one of my 8 babies. Yes, I did just say that. :)

I love this photo, blurriness and all.

The hair... oh the hair!!

 <3

Cute

Cute

 cuteness... 

yumminess. (Sometime I will share the recipie here, it's so complicated, seriously, it will take forever to write it all down... yah. :)

My puppy... who is now 6.

<3

2013………… somebody tell me that it’s a joke, and it’s not really December 31^st 2012, please!! I am shocked that this year went so fast, and that tonight, in only 1 hrs. and 30 minutes (and seconds) it will be January 1^st 2013. It seems to me (And I found, after reading other posts today, that I am not the only one that feels this) that it should be August still… but here we are. J

    This has been a good year. And trust me; in January I didn’t think I would say that. J I was pretty sure that my life was the pits and everything was just spiraling down from there. J I think I was a little melodramatic in the first six months of this year, and have really only recently  been realizing that life is really an amazing gift and I need to get over my “problems” and enjoy it, but I am so glad that I have finally learned that. J

This year has been full of crazy adventures:

…Climbing Mt. Adams

…Turning sixteen

…Getting my drivers permit

…Learning that photography isn’t just pointing the lens at something and clicking the shutter.

…discovering BBC movies.

…Cutting my hair off chin length

…rediscovering piano, and finding that is stunning

…being tagged on my blog for the first time

…buying a Rebel Kiss DSLR (or T2i as it is better known as here in the states. Kiss is its Korean name. How cool is that?! J)

…canning 450+ jars of preserved food w/my mom this fall

…hiking Eagle Creek, Dog Mountain, and one other place that escapes me at the moment

…finally realizing that I don’t have to be amazing at volleyball to have fun; I can look like a dork and feel awesome at the same time!!! J

…I rediscovered the lost art of Bread making. Actually my mom makes amazing bread, I just discovered the fun of using different recipes and experimenting with deliciousness.

…I have improved with my writing skills(!!!) a lot this past year (if I do say so myself.)

So, those might not be considered crazy adventures, but those were the highlights of my year. J  And these photos are my favorites from this year. J

So, I will try to do a New Year’s post tomorrow, full of resolutions and all that, but tonight I have some other things to do… and this post is getting too long anyway.

     Dear 2012,

          You were an interesting year, I must admit. You were full of surprises and fun, and crazy adventures that I wouldn’t have missed for the world. Thanks for coming. I know I’ll never see you again, and even though that makes me just a little sad, I am very exciting about welcoming in 2013. So farewell, I salute you. J

     Love,

          The sixteen-year-old-photographer-in-bare-feet

So here’s to the future, lovelies! Have a lovely new year!

xo,