365+1 Week 26

This last Sunday I hit the half way mark in my photo a day project!!! 183 photo's!!! When I first started, it was such a chore to get that photo taken each day.  I had to really think about what I wanted to document.  Now, it just seems like a part of my everyday life.  My camera now lives on the counter in my kitchen, instead of packed away in it's case downstairs.  My day doesn't seem complete until I have snapped and captured at least one thing.  As I was contemplating this change in my life, so small, so simple- how it has changed my outlook on my life. It really is a "gratitude" journal.  Each and every day I look, and always find, something in my life that makes me happy. Something that I am grateful for right then.  It has made me look on the bright side so many times these last six months and it really has made me a happier person!  I never thought when I started that this would be the outcome when I hit the half way mark, but I am having such a good time!  I already know now that these next six months are going to be a blast!!

Thanks for coming along for the ride!!!

Photo's #176-182:

As you already know, every Sunday evening we are over at my parents house having piano lessons.  This has given me the opportunity to visit and check in on them every week and it really has been a great thing.  Now that the garden is in full swing we all went out to check on all of Abby's plants and to see if the eggs in that nest we found while picking the strawberries had hatched.  They had not, but we did scare that poor mother to almost death again- and we were able to captured a beautiful photo of all her hard work!!

Olivia, bless her little heart, has a fear of animals, especially dogs of any kind.  Paul and I like to say it is an over-irrational-phobia-beyond-measure type of fear!! We came to the conclusion that the only way she was ever going to make it through life in any sense of a normal fashion she needed some exposure therapy.  And so, our kind neighbors down the street agreed to subject their sweet little Maggie to the terrified hand of our little Olivia!  Bless them really, for trusting me that she could do it!!! It was decided that Olivia would take Maggie on a walk a couple times a week- and while doing so, we would stop every so often for her to sit and pet this dog and get her to eat treats from her hands- this was ALOT to ask.  But do you know what?  After only ONE time she has learned a new confidence within herself and developed a love for this little animal, and now Olivia is asking ME if she can take her Maggie for a walk!! Way to go LIV!!!!

Today was yet another soccer practice for Abby as she prepares for her upcoming tournament at the Freedom Festival in Provo.  It happened to be running right during dinner time, so we packed up a picnic and sat under a shady tree and enjoyed the evening air while munching away. I have said it before and I will say it again- I don't think Liv can take a bad picture-

 well she did start doing this with her chocolate covered pretzels and making her sister roll in hysterics!!!

One of the greatest additions to our little town is the Manila Pond!! Oh, how the girls adore this place with it's sandy beach fronts and cool waters! Truly, we could play there for days, digging in the sand, swimming out as far as possible, gliding around on kick boards and floating on chairs while the sun warms our skin.  We usually pack a picnic dinner and head over in the late afternoon (just as people are starting to clear out) and then stay until well after 8:00 pm as the sun begins to set in the sky- GLORIOUS!

Today a friend of mine was having and birthday so we headed to our favorite spot- the Sweet Tooth Fairy- to pick her up a birthday treat.  Naturally we couldn't come away without something for ourselves too!! My favorite, Toasted Coconut- YUM.

This afternoon I set to work on the holiday wear for the girls- I am very pleased with how they turned out- stay tuned for the annual 4th of July photo shoot next week!!! I know you can hardly stand the suspense!!!

My sister and I are ramping up our cycling training in preparation for the 100 mile race we have our sights set on in August.  Saturday's from here on out will pretty much be starting with a nice long ride.  Today was our first on our training plan- 30 miles, from my sister's house to Saratoga Springs- the lakeside out there really is beautiful. Next week it will be 40 miles.