It's been one of those weeks....

Sunday night it started. I could feel the body aches and sore throat coming on. Sure enough by Monday morning it was full blown. A raging sore throat and feverish. It was "the week" at work where we go live on a new computer software system and there was no possible way I could stay home. My thought was that I would go in for a few hours and then leave. That was my thought everyday this week but did it happen? Of course not. I walked out at the end of the day after working anywhere from 9 to 11 hours each day. By Wednesday it had all settled into my chest and I was a coughing maniac. It never failed..... the minute I would get on the phone with someone I would go into a coughing fit and have to hang up the phone... totally embarrassing.

The stress of the new computer software system is about to put our whole office over the edge. Especially the doctors. I won't go into details but it is not good!

By Friday I was beyond my limits. As I was getting ready to drag myself out the door on Friday morning, for yet another day in paradise, Craig was getting ready to go on a motorcycle road trip with a bunch of his buddies. They were heading north on a fall color tour and the weather couldn't have been better for it. What I wouldn't have given to go along. I wasn't very nice to Craig. I was feeling sorry for myself. Still feeling really sick, and pissed that my life sucked so bad at that moment. Why me???? Let's just say it was not a pretty moment.

Fast forward a bit..... It is now Friday night and I have made it through the week from hell. It is 6:30 PM and Craig calls to say he is almost home. I put my motorcycle helmet on and go sit on a stump at the end of the driveway. Along comes my tall, dark and handsome motorcycle dude (OK, so he's not tall but he is mine and I love him like crazy). I hop on the back of the motorcycle and we are not a 1/2 mile down the road when I close my eyes and concentrate on the wind blowing around me. I can feel my body starting to relax. I wrap my arms around my hubby and the tears are streaming down my face. Craig reaches back and touches my leg..... I am loved and safe.

A Walk on the Beach

Living in beautiful southwest Michigan we are never more than a few minutes away from Lake Michigan. Yet we only visit the beach a few times a year. We took Zoe with us a few weeks ago. Zoe is 8 years old and this was the first time we ever took her to a beach. She loved it.

More than anything else I think she enjoyed the attention of being the only dog without Fiona and Seadra to compete with.

This was my favorite photo! Love that dog!

The Beauty That Surrounds Me

In the adult Sunday school class this morning we talked about different types of prayer. Pastor Jeff also talked about it during the sermon. I pray, I talk to God but there are so many different ways to pray. I like to think of my photography as a way of prayer and worship. Not the photos themselves but the act of taking them and how grateful I feel when I'm taking them. It's the beauty I see through the viewfinder, whether it's a bird, a flower, my dogs or my family I am so grateful for it all. When I see things that make me happy I know they are gifts from God.

When I don't take the time to reflect on the beauty around me and appreciate all that surrounds me I become anxious and stressed. When I take the time be aware and conscious of it, a peace surrounds me. A peace that is a gift from God.

Take time to appreciate the beauty that surrounds you. And know Who to thank.

Time well spent.....

I was able to get away for 5 days over the holiday weekend. Of course with camera in tow. I LOVE my camera. I LOVE trying to be creative, whether it's peaches or people.

Remember those old cameras we had when we were kids? Mine was a 110. I'm sure I got mine as a Christmas or birthday gift. If I was lucky I was able to take 12 exposures to be developed once every 6 months or so. I would be so particular and stingy with those 12 photos. I would have to have just the right subject as not to waste a one. I can specifically remember wanting a photo of myself and only having my younger brother who didn't have an artistic eye for anything to snap the photo of me. I'm smiling right now as I remember myself instructing him to not stand too far away and make sure I was in the center of the viewfinder. Then I would have to wait weeks, maybe even months until my Mom got the photos developed for me. Torture I tell you! Gone are those days! Now I have instant gratification. Just snap away to my hearts content, hundred of photos, not just 12 every 6 months, then stick the memory card in the computer and VOILA! What I wouldn't have given to have this technology when I was a kid. Surely kids take it for granted these days having never known any different.

We camped up north in the Silver Lake area. We've been camping there now for some 25 years. Don't suppose we will ever stop going there... hope we never do. Craig LOVES it and I love it because he does. We stopped at a farm market/petting zoo and you know I loved having my camera there. Do you know why I loved this photo? Look at Craig... he was laughing. Craig always smiles when I point the camera at him but rarely do I ever capture him in a true belly laugh. There was some joke going on between him and Jordan. I don't even remember what was so funny, I'm just happy to have captured it.

This is the typical pose I get from Craig. I know that inside he's saying I really don't feel like smiling but I know it's important to my wife so I'll give her what she wants. Another reason I love him so! And look how cute he is. He's irresistible.

What a great carefree weekend. I tried to get Craig and Jordan to climb in the spiderweb with me. They don't know what they were missing.

We took Fiona and Zoe camping with us. They are get camping dogs. Who doesn't love having a puppy curled up in their lap when sitting around the campfire?

And of course no trip to Silver Lake would be complete without time spent in the dunes.

These weekends are so special to me.

Goodbye Summer

Summer is winding down. It's been one of the best summer for me in a long time. As I have stated before, summer is my least favorite season. But I think I've changed my mind on that this year. Usually, I am so wore out by the end of summer with all the running around of activities and obligations that I am so ready to say goodbye and head into the cooler slower days of fall.

This year summer was different. I don't think there was any less activities, in fact we've had many packed filled weeks. I just allowed myself to go with the flow and enjoy whatever we did. Plus. I've had more energy and felt better than I have in a long time. Amazing what a difference 50 pounds will make!

Jordan stayed at school all summer but was able to come home most weekends. It sure does my heart good that these two enjoy spending time with each other.

This photo was taking on Mackinac Island. Another great summer day!

These two guys are inseparable. Sure do love them.....

Awesome camping weekend.

Jordan is always a huge help when she is home.... mowing the lawn, cleaning the house, washing the vehicles. She is amazing.

Thursday we took Jordan back to school and moved her from the apartment to the dorm. It was so much easier this year. No tears during the goodbye.

I know Jordan will have an awesome year.

And I leave you with this adorable mug. A pug mug.... lol.

Best Kayaking Ever!

The number one thing on our list of things to do when we visited the UP was to kayak "Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore". It was a dream I could only hope would come true. I had done my research about kayaking there and was quite intimidated by what I read. This is Lake Superior, not a little inland lake like we are used to. It's the roughest and coldest of all the great lakes. All the articles I read said you needed to be experienced kayakers and have a sea kayak. OK, what is an experienced kayaker? I've only been kayaking since the beginning of this year and I've never been on big water. And I certainly don't have a sea kayak, our kayaks are very basic recreational kayaks. But the photos I saw of people kayaking Picture Rocks were so amazing that I didn't want to give up on the idea.

First we stopped at the information center. I told the lady at the counter we were interested in kayaking and I asked her if she could tell us where the easiest and safest place was to kayak. She in turn asked me if we were experienced kayakers. Great, there's that "experienced" word again. "Yes, we were" I told her not really knowing what experienced meant. She directed us to Miner's Beach.

We stopped at the overlook first to inspect the water conditions. I couldn't believe it! There wasn't so much as a ripple in the water. It was as calm as could be. "We can do this!!!"

We couldn't get the kayaks down to the water fast enough. Not only was the water calm but it was crystal clear. If I didn't know better I would have thought we were in the Caribbean.

The Pictured Rocks Lakeshore is 43 miles long. We were on the water from 10:00 to 4:00 and kayaked maybe 5 miles of it. I cannot begin to describe the magnificence of it. Every corner we rounded there was something more amazing to see and experience. We couldn't get enough of it. We just wanted to keep going and going and going. The fact that we had to kayak all the way back made us turn around. Plus the fact that we were absolutely exhausted.

It was everything I hoped it would be and more. Even the next day I was still floating in the clouds. It was a true gift! We talked to some of the other kayakers when we were getting out of the water. They told us how unusual it was to have the water as calm as it was that day and that the conditions were beyond perfect. How fortunate were we!

I'm still very excited about the whole experience and so grateful to have been there that day in those perfect conditions. Maybe someday I'll be fortunate enough to do it again.....

Visiting the UP

We'd been planning this trip for a year. We loaded up the trailer and headed to the UP for nearly 2 weeks. We packed so much into that 2 weeks that we were physically exhausted by the time we got home. It was so worth it.

We set up camp in central UP and went on day trips all over. Each day we would hop in the truck and head to a new destination. Most days we'd leave the campground early morning and not get back until 11:00 PM. The owner of the campground comment on how we were ALWAYS gone.

We visited Seney National Wildlife Refuge. That's were all the photos from this post were taken. I had imagined that I would spend a lot of time there hiking, photographing wildlife, and just enjoying the surroundings. It was a really neat place but after spending the whole day there I didn't feel the need to go back. The black flies were ruthless there. I was afraid that the flies would be just as bad other places we visited but they never bothered us anywhere else.

The UP is such a beautiful place! It's like a whole different world. It's a whole lot of nothing but really something at the same time. Towns are few and far between and if you blink driving through you will certainly miss most of them. We made a point to stop at every junk/antique store that we came across. We talked to the people who lived there and ran the stores. Craig would ask what the buildings were originally built for. Learning the history was part of the fun of it. We asked where the best places to eat where. We were on the hunt for the best burgers and rhubarb pie.

We took our kayaks and did a lot of kayaking..... BOY did we ever kayak! Kayaking the UP will have it's own post, soon.... I promise. Check back in a couple of days for that post. I've said it many times since we got home, "It was the best kayaking of my life!".

Craig and I celebrated our 25th anniversary in April so we were calling this our anniversary vacation. Craig and I were by ourselves (no kids) for the majority of the time. The kids did come up and join us for the last 4 days. We really enjoyed their company when they came up but I was so grateful for the time alone with Craig. I can't remember the last time we had a vacation with just the two of us.

I have much more to share and blog about. It's just too much to put into one post. What a great time!