Swim School Survival 101...or how to deal with foot porn

Oh, Internet- I'm afraid it's that time of year again...*sigh*
Swimming lessons are a must for the kiddos, but the swimming school schedule is not always conducive with their mom's schedules. So... a couple of times a year I have to suck it up, and take them. To the pool! Where there are NAKED FEET.

Everywhere. *shutter*

(For those of you who don't know- I have an extreme aversion to naked feet- not baby toes- those are just cute, but adults... no. thank. you.)

Should you find yourself in such a position I suggest the following tools:
1)find a table as close to the entrance as possible. People usually walk in from the outside world with fully covered toes, so this will minimize the actual nakedness you may see.
2)After giving your little one a smile and and a "have fun" without cringing, let it go. Their safety is no longer your problem. Nope! That is exactly what the lifeguards and swim school instructors are being paid for. The next 45 minutes are yours.
3)Sunglasses are a MUST. I can't stress this enough. The enhanced darkness will help to minimize the impact of toes that are just impossible to get away from. As you can see I prefer the ones that can double as a tiara, but it's a personal choice we each must make for ourselves.
4)an i pod (Or any other device that you can plug into your ears, go to your happy place, and pretend you are anywhere but at a pool. with naked feet.

Everywhere. *shutter*

5)An interesting book. This will serve you well as both a secondary buffer for focusing your mental attention AND your physical eyes on something other than the foot porn that surrounds you.
6) *not pictured- sorry* a phone in your back pocket with an alarm set to 10:14 (or one minute til you little one is scheduled to get out of the water), so that you can quickly stash everything away and be there waiting with shoes, a warm open towel, and a smile that says "I was totally watching the WHOLE time, and you ROCKED IT!"


So, there you go. My personal set of survival skills at the pool. I hope they serve you as well as they serve me. :)

- might I also suggest a quick Pepsi run after to help with the nausea after? :D

**"Shudder" not "ShuTTer"** (Thanks Camille! LOL)

{Breanna}

Like everyday I've tried to shoot the past two...make that three... months, rain was on the wind the day Breanna and her mom, Mindee (who makes a great photographer's assistant by the way) met me to shoot her bridals.
Although the dark clouds threatened to open up on us at any moment, (don't think there wasn't some serious prayin'/beggin' in my car on the way over "Please don't let it rain. Please don't let it rain. Please"...well imagine that mantra all the way from Spanish Fork to American Fork and you'll get the idea) we made it thorough the shoot without getting her beautiful wedding dress wet. *whew*

She looks lovely, and she's getting married to the boy of her dreams tomorrow!

[Jeremy]

Jeremy is a great kid who's prize possession is his longboard, and has his mother's sarcastic humor that made this particular shoot fun. He does a killer "Magnum" impression (which I swore I would NOT post...but I really WANT to post...), and sometimes you can even get him to give you a genuine smile! :)
He has now joined the ranks of the Springville Red Devil Alumni, and has some great things planed for his future. A mission, a camera (may I suggest a Canon?), and a motorcycle are all in the works.

{Gina}

I dare you to spend five minutes with this girl and not smile.
Can't be done.
Her energy and enthusiasm for life is evident to anyone who spends any amount of time with the girl who's favorite number is 167 & favorite color is turquoise.

She will be gracing Snow Collage with her seemingly limitless talent for the next two years where both the music department and debate team have offered her scholarships.
After that- it's a life at BYU where she will earn a degree to teach elementary school.

But for now...
she gets to just enjoy the last few days of her senior year of high school.
There are only a handful of them left, and I think this breaks her poor mother's heart more than she lets on.

Mr. Dart and The Wednesday Wars

Let me tell you a little about Mr. Dart.
He was my 5th grade teacher at Brockbank Elementary (go Broncos!), balding, kinda sarcastic, and was the first teacher I ever heard swear at a class (Scandalous!)

Mr. Dart would lean on this wheeled beige media cart at the front of our class and read to us. I don't remember what he was trying to squish into our young minds at the time but there was far too much chatter going on for his taste.
One day- he lost it.
He screamed "Damn it, pay attention!" as he shoved his little cart into the wall of our classroom.

The cart fell over.

Books and papers few everywhere.

We shut up.

Crazy eyes stared us down.

The dent in the wall is probably still there.




These are the things that come to mind when I think of him as an adult.
Until today.
Today, I realized that I owe my love of reading to this man.

I read before then, but it wasn't until he introduced me to The Bridge to Terabithia, The Pigman, Summer of the Monkeys, and Where the Red Fern Grows that I realized how utterly absorbed I could become in the world found on the pages of a book.

That being said- there are only a few books that I would put in the same category as these first novels in my life. (I would later find Island of the Blue Dolphins and The Key)

The Wednesday Wars is such a book.
It has won a firm place in my top ten books of all time, and I haven't even finished it yet.

The best way I have to describe it as The Wonder Years meets Tuesday's with Morie.

Read it.
And when you do- come talk to me about it. I love discussing good books! :)

I wish I had realized what an amazing resource he was as a reference for books sooner in life. Thanks Mr. Dart- and I promise that from now on when I think of you throwing your cart into the wall- I will also remember how much you influenced my love of reading.

(P.S.- shout out to my nephew, Peanut, for suggesting this book in the first place!)

The Utterly Terrible, Horribly Confused state of Mother Nature.

I'll have you know that it is *S*N*O*W*I*N*G* outside my window right now! What the What?! I feel that it should be a law of nature that it cannot snow after Easter. Who's with me?

Winter:



NOT Winter:


Good:


Bad:



Now that THAT'S all cleared up I hope we can move along without any more snow.
:)

All About Aperture...

I have a wonderful friend who is just beginning the fun [read frustrating] adventure of learning to work her DSLR. She asked me a question about aperture the other day that I remember being really confused for way too long about myself, so I thought I would post a little bit about it.

She wanted to know exactly what the depth of field was for a 1.8f vs. a 22f.

Because I love a good example, I am posting several photos here with the information under it.

As you can see there is a huge difference between a 1.8f and a 22f...but not so much between a 10f and a 22f.


I hope this helps!

If this didn't answer her (or YOUR) question- let me know. If I know the answer- I'll post it. If I don't I'll see what I can do to find it! =D


1.8f Shutter speed 1/8000 ISO 125 50MM


4.5f Shutter Speed 1/1250 ISO 125 50MM


10f Shutter Speed 1/250 ISO 125 50MM


22f Shutter Speed 1/50 ISO 125 50MM