The Shot

Tanis and I have been trying to find a cheap-but-good (doesn't exist) telephoto lens to share so that we can get better and closer wildlife photos (I need better, she just needs closer). Last night on the phone we were talking about how the pros can spend an entire day - or an entire week - just sitting and waiting for that perfect shot. I was bragging about my own, super-closeup bird photo that I had taken earlier that afternoon.

Of course, I let her think that it was an "in the wild" photo.

I was going to photoshop my hand out of the picture, and then superimpose the subject onto a natural looking background, and then change the bird into, like, a majestic eagle with a snake or something in its talons. But... I totally suck at photoshop so this shot actually has very little in the way of post-processing (just wanted to use that term).

I'm sure that Crystal will be along shortly to ID the species but, like a National Geographic photographer, I will share the story behind the photo:

Tyson, our four year old, came and told me there was something on the driveway. I looked and saw this little guy lying on its back with its feet in the air, hyperventilating. It couldn't fly or even stand up without falling over - maybe it was stunned from flying into one of our vehicle windshields? I took it in to show Heather and got a couple pictures of it. Cringer began showing an unhealthy interest so I took it outside so Tyson could hold it. As I passed by the bush in our front yard, the bird fluttered out of my hand, landed nimbly on one of the branches and with a couple of hops, totally disappeared inside the bush. I searched for a while but it was no use; there could have been twice as many birds in there and it still wouldn't have done me any good. And at that moment, a common proverb which had always seemed kind of dumb, took on a sudden clarity and became one of the wisest things I'd ever heard.

Well, there you have it fellow photographers, follow that simple recipe and you too will be able to take your own close-up bird photos.

- C

At the Park with JC&CO.

Yesterday we accepted the Payne's invitation to attend the amusement park with them. They had given our family the generous gift of season's passes and this would be our first time using them. We arrived a little before them and lined up just inside the gate to wait for the park to open. As they dropped the rope barrier, Mason was heard to say "let the magic begin", a phrase the crowd shouts each morning at the opening of Disneyland. There may have been less fanfare, but the excitement was the same.

And here's a good example of that excitment - even on the least energetic of rides.



This trip demonstrated just how much the kids are growing up. Instead of being intimidated by some of the bigger and faster rides, they were a bunch of daredevils and wanted to go back for more.



The parents took turns watching Deacon and Heather got this picture of the kids and I (I don't know how she did it, because I'm sure we were going about 100mph).



I'm not sure who enjoyed the Bumper Boats more, the kids, or Heather.



The crowds really picked up after lunch so we eventually left and visited a different, quieter sort of park. After that, we got a milkshake from Diner Deluxe and headed home to finish off the night with a Chinese food supper, bike riding in the cul-de-sac, and one episode of Digimon (just because I was trying to set a new record for the kids' "best day ever").

So how come I didn't post any photos of JC&CO? Well despite the fact that we were in the park from 10:00AM-3:00PM, and they were in the park from 11:00AM-5:00PM (so the title of this post is technically correct)... we didn't see them once the whole time : (

Next time we'll travel there together.





- C

Cake and Summertime

The very most important thing we did this week was celebrate Heather's birthday. I am embarrassed to admit this, especially to the Internet, but Heather made her own birthday cake. Yup, I'm a horrible husband. She had actually made it while trying a new recipe back on Wednesday, and had just thrown it in the freezer. Instead of making another cake (or having me make it, which would have ended up being even more work for Heather), she just pulled the un-tested cake from the freezer and made some frosting for it.

It was a "Chili Cacao Mayan Cake" which recipe she found while bolg-surfing. It contained cayenne pepper and paprika and was spicy enough that it would make you cough if it touched that spot in your throat that seems to get tickled by spicy foods. It went perfectly with dark chocolate icing, vanilla ice cream, and cinnamon-whipped cream. The flavour was like Mexican Hot Chocolate (our favorite) and it is definitely the cake I a going to be asking for when it is my birthday!



The beautiful weather has meant that we've been spending a lot of time at the river. Even Deacon loved having his little feet in the mud.







The three older kids are all playing soccer again this summer and that has kept us pretty busy. So busy in fact that we have to split up and take Ella and the boys to separate fields because their practices are at the same time but at different places. Because of that, I still haven't gotten any pictures of Ella, but here are some action shots that Mason posed for me while we were watching Tyson play.







And this is about as "action" as Tyson gets. It is cute though to watch him and his teammates swarming around the ball.



Sorry it was so quick today, but I've been getting harassing phone messages from Tanis and just had to post something.




- C

Mother

Happy mother's day to all of you, but especially to my sisters, and especially of all to Heather. I want to share my favorite story about Heather as a mom; sorry if you've heard it before.

When she was pregnant with Ella, her first ultrasound discovered that she had a condition which placed her at high risk of premature delivery. Unfortunately by that point, the only option was for her to be on strict bed-rest, so she spent the last three months of the pregnancy lying in a hospital bed, only getting up to use the bathroom or having a once-a-week shower.

I spent as much time at the hospital as I could - but I found it to be pretty tough... for ME. After a few hours of visiting, I always felt like I had to get up and walk around, or just go do something else. What's more, Heather's condition didn't cause her to feel sick or anything like that; she felt perfectly normal. There was nothing keeping her in bed - except for some maternal instinct which drove her to do whatever was necessary to give her baby the best chances of being healthy.

In those days, Heather worried a lot about whether or not she would be a good mom. During that time, I watched her and I watched the ladies she shared a room with, some of whom not only ignored their mandated bed-rest, but were getting up frequently for cigarette breaks. I knew even then that Heather was not only a good mom, she was the sort of mom that would always stand out as being exceptional, even amongst the most noble of her kind.

Ella made it to 34 weeks and weighed a healthy 4lbs 12oz, and I just glanced at the photo preceding this post, and was struck again at what a miracle she was. Those three months were the hardest thing I have ever seen someone do, and I am in awe of the fact that she did it for someone whom she had not even met.

I took a quick picture of Heather when we got home from church today. The appreciation that she showed for the necklace Mason made for her is actually a succinct statement about what it means to be a mom. There's no other sort of person who could place as much value on a strand of macaroni as on a strand of hanadama.

Thank you sweetheart for sacrificing those three months for Ella.
And for sacrificing these past 10 years for all of us.

Love you,

- C



ps - here is a line of dialogue from supper just now. It fits with the subject of motherhood.

Heather (explaining the new recipe): "It's called 'Chicken Divine'; it's something Uncle Kendall's mom used to make for him."

Tyson: "Uncle Kendall's mom? Auntie Jewel?"

Me: "No, Auntie Jewel isn't really Uncle Kendall's mom... she just acts like it."