Sunday, October 31, 2010

Happy Halloween 2010

Sunday, October 31


Here are a couple of  music videos for your Halloween entertainment.

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Happy Halloween!

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Watercolor Wednesday

Wednesday, October 27


I'm finally posting the watercolors that the girls painted with Grandma Gayle.  
Here are Sydney's paintings.





I think she decided these are Easter eggs.

Here are Kyla's paintings.

 An abstract, in case you weren't sure.



Thanks Gma Gayle, the girls had a great time painting with you.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Barf pails and slug trails

Tuesday, October 26


What crazy weather this weekend.  Luckily we stayed fairly dry during soccer games.  Kyla had a full social schedule which included sleepovers, parties and too much sugar.  She stayed home from school yesterday, but bounced back quickly and seems to be back to normal today.  Note to self:  If your kid complains of a stomach ache in the middle of the night, even if it doesn't seem very bad, it's always a good idea to leave them with a towel or a barf bag, just in case.   Kevin got the middle of the night surprise and preliminary clean up and I got the detail work the next morning.  She didn't quite make it to the bathroom.  So glad we didn't get new carpet this year.


Hopefully this story will make the following picture seem pleasant even though it's related to slugs.  
Can you see the heart?  Stay healthy everyone.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

You Capture - Orange

Thursday, October 21

There was a lot of road work going on driving south on I-5 last weekend, so we passed a lot of these on our 5 hour drive.  

My neighbor has cute orange flowers.


Sometimes Sydney is willing to do a photo shoot. I got several cute photos, but this is the silly one.

For more Orange photos visit I Should Be Folding Laundry.   

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Hello, Goodbye

Wednesday,  October 20

What a day!  Surprise!  We got a new car.  I've been wishing for one for a while, but we didn't really decide to bite the bullet until last weekend.  No one makes the car I want, an affordable hybrid that can hold six people.  So, we got a Mazda5.  At first the girls were sad about getting rid of the Subaru, but they love the new car.  Now they can each bring a friend and everyone gets their own seat.  Yay!  Now that soccer season is almost over, have I finally become a legit soccer mom?   Is it really a minivan?  I think they call it a microvan. 

Buying a car is a crazy thing.  I thought for sure we were going to leave the dealership empty handed.  They were trying to charge us way too much, but Kevin held strong and I made a call to another dealership while we were there and reported that they would find us the same car for $1000 lower than invoice.  Finally when we said we were in no hurry and would just drive across town later that week for the good deal, they gave us the price we wanted which was $2000 lower than the number we first gave them.  What a team!  And Kevin, you are awesome!


Dear Forester, We really loved you for 13 good years.  You gave us a little scare last weekend when we thought one of your tires was going to fly off the car when we were an hour away from our destination at 9pm.  Luckily we just needed to balance, rotate and eventually get new tires.  Then we realized you were about to become a little too high maintenance.  Sorry for the surprise break up.  We will always remember you.  Love, The Cantrells

Weekend in Ashland


Wednesday, October 20


There's no time for writing, but here are a couple of photos I took during our weekend to Ashland without the kids.  Beautiful fall weather!


Thursday, October 14, 2010

You Capture - Animals

Thursday, October 14

I tried to get some animal variety this week, not just cats and dogs, although I did spare you the spider photo.  Those things are everywhere lately, along with the slugs.

My friend Amy has chickens, but they were being kind of shy, so I got this one through the window.

The kids are finding caterpillars on the playground after school.

We don't have a dog, but I see this one every time I get a chance to eat at the food carts in my neighborhood. I call him cart dog or beggar. 

Last but not least, our crazy cat.  She is always opening the bottom drawer to pull out plastic bags and chew them.  I have tried to tell her how unsafe this is, but she never listens.  I may have to resort to a safety lock before she endangers her life.  Bad kitty!

Monday, October 11, 2010

Love at first ice

Monday, October 11


What a crazy busy weekend!  Seems like we were barely home this weekend, so how did the house get so messy?  I feel like I'm cleaning up after a party, only I missed all the fun.  Sydney went to a birthday party Saturday afternoon at the ice rink.  She was trying to figure out how to dress up her comfy clothes, but then decided not to wear her tutu.  Well, I got her to wear it just long enough to get a few photos.  They're pretty grainy since I was using my old camera.  It was her first time ice skating and she loved it.  Luckily I didn't have to skate.  I still have bad memories from over 10 years ago when I fell down ice skating on my already bruised tail bone.  Ouch!   

Thursday, October 7, 2010

You Capture - Faces (& hair)

Thursday, October 7


This week was faces, but it seems a bit more like hair.  Here are some faces to go with the fluffy hairdos of the week.  
 


I started out on auto white balance and then switched to shade for the ones on the right.

Then I found a great way to get rid of wrinkles, just make sure it's out of focus.

I couldn't leave out one more furry, blurry face.

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

A winning concert week

Wednesday, October 6

Last week I won tickets to see Plain White T's at the Aloft Hotel near the Portland Airport.  It was a promotion for Live in the Vineyard, which is of course in California.  The concert was short, but only a few people were there since is was on an outdoor patio at the hotel, so that was pretty cool.   We got VIP badges and tickets with numbers.  Mine was the first number picked to "meet and greet" the band after the concert.    So, what are  you supposed to do when you meet someone famous?    I just said thanks and then we had our photo taken by a photographer hired by 105.1 The Buzz radio station.    I least it turned out pretty well.

 The last time I met someone famous, I handed my camera to the person next to me  and even though I thought I had it set up perfectly - the photo turned out horrible.  Next time I'll change it to the auto setting! 
Now, jump ahead a few day to last Sunday night.  Unfortunately this concert was not free, but I've been wanted to see Jack Johnson since I missed his last concert in my area over two years ago.  My Aunt Cindy is a big fan too, so we got our tickets the day they went on sale, several months ago.  I think the last big concert I went to was Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young over 10 years ago.    



 We got to sit about 20 rows back, just off to the side, so we stayed warm under the roof even though half the amphitheater is uncovered.   I took several photos, but this is the best shot I got.  Jack sure did himself a favor by doing the soundtrack for the Curious George movie.   I wonder how many moms discovered his music that way.   Have you seen his music video where he gets in a bar fight - funny stuff!  Well, I didn't get to have my picture taken with Jack, but I still had a great time.   

Friday, October 1, 2010

It's not too late to Do Fun Stuff.

Friday, October 1


This post is only a month late.  I'm helping Ryan over at Pacing the Panic Room spread the word about this album of original kids music that he helped to compile as a fundraiser for SMS (Smith-Magenis Syndrome).  I just listened to the album and it's awesome!  I would happily have any of these songs stuck in my head (except mabye the Potty time song) unlike most music for kids out there.




To find out more about SMS, check the PRISMS webpage.
Ryan is a fantastic photographer and also has some great videos including this one of his kids.  His son LB has SMS.    



So Long I'm Six from The Panic Room Videos on Vimeo.