April 30 Minutes in the Life Remington, Virginia Photographer

Hello and Thanks for joining us this month for our 30 Minutes in the Life blog circle.

Yesterday was my birthday and we had a little girls day visit with my Mom.  Even though my Mom and I live only a little over an hour away, we don't get to see each other that often.  Between her schedule and mine we are always busy at opposite times.  She didn't get to see Mariah for her Birthday so we did a little combined Birthday celebration on Saturday.  As part of our day we did a little shopping at Toys R Us and then Mariah wanted to have lunch at Chipotle. (One of my faves!)  My Mom and Mariah have such a sweet and special bond between them. Mariah is always so happy when she gets to see her. Of course I forgot to get a shot of my Mom and I together, but I am really happy that I got the ones of her and Mariah. I hope she loves them as much as I do.
Thank you Mom for such a great day. Both Mariah and I lots of fun and loved getting to have some girl time with you. <3

Next up be sure to check out Charlotte from Three Flowers Photography. I absolutely LOVE her work. It is always full of rich vibrant colors. She is from Essex, so it is always so great to see another part of the world through her lens. Click here to see what she has to share this month.

The Daily Frame April 16th - 22nd Remington, Virginia Photographer

Hi there! For those that follow along every week Thank you so much for being here and checking out my photos each week. It really means a lot.
So lets get to it.

106/365: Growing Hair
For Easter you guys got these little planters to grow grass. We have had fun watching these little guys sprout up over the last 2 days.

107/365: Storm Clouds and Ferris Wheel
I have always loved Ferris Wheels. I am not sure why, because I am terrified of heights and rarely go up on them. I just love how they look. When ever there is carnival or fair I love to go capture the Ferris Wheel. Each year I try to find something different about each one or photograph it in a different way. I had been meaning to bring my camera for days to capture this one and kept forgetting it.  Finally I remembered on Friday. It just so happened when I left work that a storm was about to roll in as well which was a bonus. I love the way the sky looks just before or after a storm.  This was my favorite shot of the Ferris Wheel.

108/365: Tulips
I love spring time and all the flowers that are starting to bloom. I've been trying to give my kids a bit of a break and shoot some different things this week.  So here is a tulip that Shawn picked for me. When your 13 year old still picks you flowers it is special. <3

109/365: I was there too...
I've been really inspired lately by one of my other photog friends. We are in several groups together and she has really been getting in the frame. You get to see how much of a part of her kids life she is. She has been pushing us in one of our groups and it was a push I definitely needed. I love these pics of Conor and I.  I don't like how I look and there is another story for that, but I am so happy that there are at least a couple photos of him and I. Hopefully I continue to show that I am in this life too.

110/365: Just before the storm.
Tonight was another night of possible storms. They were calling for heavy rains, and we had a tornado watch.  It ended up not getting to crazy here but we had this amazing gorgeous sky. It just looked like a painting. It was incredible. I had her run outside just before bed and told her she could pick how she wanted the photo and this is what she did.

111/365: The Joker
Today was Super hero day at school. Of course Shawn had to make it about the Joker. So he was really excited and got all this gear for his costume.  Once he got to school they did make him wash the make up off because it was distracting and apparently there were to be no masks or face paint. I think even though he had to wash it out, it made him happy to get to dress up and fun with it.

112/365: Changing my Life
I've been wanting to do this for quite some time. I've been needing to do this for even longer. I've had a lot of downs over the last few years and sort of gave up on taking care of myself.  That is going to change. I want to be better, I want to healthier. I want to be there for my kids. After all the fight I put in to keep them and have them with me every day, I need to be able to be here for them.  I want to find the beauty in myself and be a better role model for my children. So I gave up soda the week before and this week I have been changing my eating habits and committed to starting exercising. I even got on the crazy scale at work that tells you way more info about yourself than you should know. (Scary, but motivating that's for sure!)   I really hope I stick to this. At work we sent this letter to our patients about a weight loss program we have, but I think what hit home was all the information before about how obesity and weight gain are the leading cause for heart issues. I should know better. I have worked for cardiologists for 12 years. I've seen the things that patients have to go through and I don't want to have to go through that. So tonight I came home and walked a mile. I'm committed to keeping this up. Maybe by putting it out here it will keep me on track... Let's do this...
Oh and today is Earth Day... Happy Earth Day. So we added some flowers to this. :)

So that is it for this past week... Thank you again for following along, listening to me ramble and checking out my little ordinary world.

Next up is Kelly Tyak of 4 Fishes Photography. Click here to check out what she has been up to this week.

The Daily Frame April 9th-15th Remington, Virginia Photographer

Hello Friends, It's the end of the week, so that means time to share my week in photos.  At the end be sure to follow along to the next photographer in our circle to check out her week.


99/365: Finally Cut my hair
I have been growing my hair out for quite some time. I finally decided today to cut it off. I notice I do this, I grow it super long until it just seems to weigh me down and then I chop it all off. Then Mat aka Giovanni dyed it for me. I am a pretty simple girl who doesn't ever do much for myself, so I just can't see spending tons of money to color my hair.  So here's me with 9 inches less hair. ( I could have made a happier face, but that's ok) :)

100/365: 100 Days!!
Today marks 100 days of capturing a photo a day. It may seem silly, but it is a big deal to me that I have kept up with my goal.  So here was our special way of capturing today.

101/365: Train ride to the zoo
Today we decided to go to DC to take the kiddos to the zoo. Oh we picked the busiest day of all to go to DC. Tourists were in for the Cherry Blossom Festival, A Caps game and the Nat's game. Well we just must love chaos because we found it.  The lines were forever long... Luckily since Mat rides the train every day, he was able to get us in and out without waiting too long at all. (Yay!! ) So I took several photos at the zoo, but I love this one of the kids on the train. They were nervous and excited. I think they both thought it was strange they didn't have to wear seat belts.

102/ 365: Oma and her boys
This weekend Oma (Mat's Mom) came to visit to see Ethan for his Birthday. Can't believe he is turning 14 next week.  I got this quick snap shot of Oma, Ethan, and Mat. They all look so happy. Especially her. This is another reason I love photographs. Even the quick snapshots.

103/365: Trying to learn Baseball
Conor is really interested in baseball, so tonight we went out and practiced. We practiced how to stand, hold the bat properly, and practiced hitting the ball. He did so great. I really hope he continues to show interest in this.

104/365: Sick
It's one of those days, no one feels well and we all just want to lay around. No getting to play with your friends outside which is never fun.  I love when I get to catch you peeking out the window though.

105/365: Puppy Kisses
This was just too adorable and fun. We laughed and laughed playing with these guys.

Thanks for checking out my week. Next up is the super awesome Jasmine Keath from Melbourne, Australia. I must admit I adore her photography. She captures her children in the most beautiful way in such gorgeous light. Click here to check out her week.

The Daily Frame April 2nd - 8th Remington, Virginia Photographer

Thanks for coming to check out this weeks photos.  At the end of the post be sure to follow through our circle and see what the other ladies are up to this week.

92/365: The Hill
In one of my previous posts, I talked about the hill behind our subdivision.  The kids love going back there and I love it just as much. It's kind of become my favorite place to photograph. There is tons of tall golden grass, trees, hills, trails,  Oh yeah and the light back there is just perfect.  They love running through the puddles and discovering all sorts of treasures.  So here's a shot of the hill. I'm sure through the remainder of the year you will see many more photos from our adventures back there.

93/365: Boys will be Boys
There is something special between a Dad and his son. The way they show love and affection for one another is often so very different than the way that Moms and Sons show their love. Well at least in our house anyway.  Our boys love wrestling one another and rough housing. It's just what they do. I do sometimes worry that someone will get hurt, but I love seeing them have fun and play together. So this is their I love you.

94/365: Mat and Scrub (Paul)
Today's image is really special to me. These two have been friends as long as I can remember. I've known them both since I was 15. They are each other's yin and yang. When Scrub came to visit the other day he got there before we did.  When we pulled up he was sitting on the back of his car... Oh man did it bring back some memories for me. When I was in high school these two used to pick me up from school and they would be sitting on the car waiting for me to come out. We've all grown up drifted apart, and rekindled friendships multiple times. Although no matter how much time passes we have the type of friendship that time doesn't really affect. We have a true friendship. We can pick up right where we left off. We can share the same stories from the past, but still discuss our successes and failures. These are the friendships that matter. The 3 of us used to always say that no matter what as long as we were still alive we would find one another and play bingo together when we are 80.  Well here we are 22 years later and we still manage to find one another. I hope we always do.  So here are a few images of these 2 life long friends. I hope they never lose this. I hope they never stop picking on one another and call each other out on their bull shit. I hope they will always be each others yin and yang. I hope they are both there to play bingo with me when I am 80 and listen to Violent Femmes.

95/365: Picked Just for you
When we went out today to take the dogs for a walk, I stopped to take some photos of some daffodils. Everyone was walking ahead of me while I crouched down like the crazy woman on the sidewalk to get some photos. Conor called my name and got my attention and when I looked up he was smiling and said, "Mommy, I picked this just for you".  I love when my kids pick me flowers. It's just so sweet. It came out of no where and I wasn't expecting it which was the best.

96/365: Pinwheels
In your Easter baskets you got this pinwheel. We had a bit of wind so it was fun watching it spin different ways and of course you had fun seeing how fast you could blow it to make it spin.

97/365: The trees are blooming
I love this time of year. I love seeing all of the fresh life, the flowers and trees starting to bloom. It's killing my allergies, but it's just so beautiful. Today was a stressful day at work.  I wasn't having the best evening with the family so I just decided to go on a little walk by myself.  Seeing these little pretty blooms just made me happy.

98/365: Rainy Day
Today is raining and gloomy.  You were stuck inside which is definitely not your favorite thing. So as you were watching out the window I got this sweet little shot of you with your Easter bunny.

Next up in the circle is the very talented Meagan Dwyer. I have been lucky to be her photography partner these past few weeks. She is the sweetest and her littles are just adorable. Be sure to click here and check out her week.

Thanks for following along in my little part of the world.  Until next time... xo

The Daily Frame March 26th- April 1st.

Hello friends. It's that time of the week.  My post will be short and to the point this week. I am coming down with a pretty bad cold.

84/365: Lunch Date at the Dentist
We have such a great dental office. It is like a play place for kids. While in the waiting room you had a little lunch date with the animals. Oh and the light in there was so good.

85/365: Stop and smell the flowers
Whenever we go out in the evening you always love to stop and smell the flowers. After that you pick the petals and say he loves me, he loves me not... I remember doing the same when I was little.

86/365: My little seedlings are popping up.

87/365: The day we got 2 puppies
The whole family has been wanting a dog. Shawn and Mariah especially have been really asking for us to get one.  We went to the shelter yesterday to see some dogs and we found out that without a fenced yard we could not adopt. The kids (and Mat especially) were bummed. So we decided we would look online.  I looked on craigslist and the first thing that popped up was a photo of these 2 little pups that said Free puppies.  So I clicked on the link. The family needed to find them a new owner because they just had a baby and it was just too much for them. So we went to meet them and brought them home.  We decided on the names Rick and Daryl after our favorite characters on our favorite show The Walking Dead. The pups are mixed with Jack Russel Terrier and Chocolate Lab. The first evening when we brought them home they were so excited and jumpy. I could hardly get a photo.

88/365: Sweet Daryl
He was wore out from our walk tonight and all his playtime with the kiddos. So far Rick has not been so cooperative for photos. He races over to me every time I get the camera out. He looks exactly the same but has a white patch on his chest.

89/365: Very Windy Day
Today the wind was so crazy. Your messy hair looked beautiful blowing in the light though.

90/365: Little Diva
You love music and singing and dancing. When you put this hat on, you think you are a pop superstar. It is quite funny.

Next up in the circle is the very talented Jasmine of Jasmine Keath Photography. She lives in Australia and always has incredible photos filled with beautiful light. Click here to see her week in photos and follow along our circle.

Until next week... xo