More Nerdy Adventures!

 Mike and I visited Matthew at school today. We wanted to see how "Nerd day" was going. 

 Matthew was excited to have dad help him with something. It was a writing assignment on why they liked to write. Matthew wrote about why he does not like to write

Here was Hannah by the way. She had no problem writing about why she like to write. Hannah...there is just no turning you into a nerd...a book worm maybe. Even on the ride home from school she has her nose tucked into a book. 

 Matt...he was cracking us up.

Another bookworm by the way

Yes, my son is a nerd!

Today at school they had "Nerd day"

Matthew was very excited about it. 

We in fact talk all the time at our house about how nerds are pretty cool.

Matthew was very excited about his costume! 

Cutest nerd I have ever seen.

I am going to sneak into school early and get some more of him and his classmates.

I wonder what Hannah looks like???

The truth is...

 I have been feeling like the worst photographer in the world the past few days...

Honestly, I think most of it is just getting used to my new camera. There is also the fact that I really love to follow so many amazing photographers. This is what pushes me to be better but also makes me feel so  incredibly inadequate somedays.

My mentor gave me the best advice once upon a time...

You have to get worse before you get better

Then I sucked it up and processed this photo shoot.

...Maybe I am not so bad

Just a quick time out: I am seriously not blogging this for all of you to tell me nice things. I seriously had a moment that I thought I was done being a photographer(not that I call myself one) Then I got an email from someone that I recently took photos with that reminded me why I do this. 

Then I worked on these photos...and they took my breath away. 

I am getting there...

 I am finding the perfect black and white for me...

 I am finding the perfect color for me...

 I am finding the perfect light for me...

and that camera...

I am growing into it. 

Sometime I will share with you the email that brought me back from the depths of giving up.

Honk Squeak Scratch Boom!

 Matthew had his music concert at school on Thursday. His music teacher told us about an event sponsored by the Rochester Symphony. It was for 4th-6th graders to come try music instruments with professional musicians. 

Mike and I were actually surprised that Matthew wanted to go. He has hated music this year and said it was not his thing. 

 This was the map showing were all the instruments were located. 

 The first up was the trumpet. Matthew really wanted to try this one first. I thought it was nice that the instructor was so young. However, when I asked him about his age he got kind of uncomfortable. Maybe he is older than he looks. 

 Then it was on to the percussion room. Matt really wanted to try the drums.

 Little drummer boy!

 I don't know that this is called...

 But I do know that when this guy played it, it was one of the most beautiful sounds I have ever heard. 

 I love this shot! Even if it reminds me of monkeys:-)

 This was actually Matthew's favorite instrument! I was kind of surprised. He was a little worried when we went in the room as there were no boys in there. He also had a hard time holding the violin for a long period of time but she assured him that it gets easier.  

 She was wonderful. Actually, they all were. 

 Then it was off the the Sax. Look at those dimples! Too cute. He did really well with this one.

 I love this picture! It is my favorite from the day. 

 The last one he tried was the Cello. We thought he might like the bigger easier to  hold version of the violin. 

Again, the instructors were incredible. She really build Matthew's confidence. She told him that he was a natural and hoped he was a future musician. 

It was a really fun event. I am so glad we went. 

A perfect pair

Mike's grandma must remember everything. This year for Christmas she sent Mike two different types of jalapeno jelly. Mike LOVES jalapeno jelly. How she remembered this is beyond me. This jelly is AMAZING! Today I made Mike a PB&J with it and my weakness...White Chocolate PB!!! This has been one of the luxuries that we have cut out over the past few months. This jar was actually given to me as an anniversary gift last month as we celebrated 15 years of marriage. That brings us to today...You see 20 years ago today I met my sweetie. I am happy to say that just like this PB&J we go together amazingly well.

Thank you Grandma Dot for another one of your perfect gifts:-) You have been part of the glue that held us together all those years. 

Freckles

Every night when Matthew goes to bed I lay with him for a half hour or so and talk. It has become a favorite part of both our days. We talk about school, friends, laughs and anything else that comes up.

On the nights that we are running late and we don't get the chance, we both miss it.

I learn a lot from these short sessions...

I learn just how much I love these freckles. 

Yes, I love being a mom...but more importantly, I love being HIS mom. 

Thank you God for freckles 

I see the moon...and the moon sees me

 Matthew got a telescope for Christmas. This was big excitement for him! Grandpa brought it for him and we were all excited about it. 

We spent 3 full days at Christmas trying to figure it out. It was exhausting. 

 We were baffled...

So we emailed the astrology teacher at the local high school for some help.

This man is the nicest, most patient teacher I have ever met. 

Now I know why. He taught us that telescopes take patience. 

Yep! They sure do.

 He taught us so many things in such a short time.

One being that when you use a telescope you take the big cap off on that end. There was a little cap attached to a big cap. We only thought that you took of the little one. That was our main problem.

He also showed us many other incredible things with Matthew's scope.

 He taught Matthew a little math to go with his telescope

 Mike was equally fascinated 

Sure enough tonight we were able to see the moon. It was even a full moon. You have no idea how fast the moon moves!

So Grandpa... your gift is amazing! We have it figured out and we in awe. Mike and Matthew spent many hours tonight checking out the moon. 

Thank you for a gift that will really help a young mind grow.

You are the best!!!!

Shannon

I did not know Shannon, or her family personally. I did however know them silently. I learned about the family through a friend and I have been following her story for a while. I have thought about her daily and prayed hard for her. Her parents have inspired me beyond belief. Even now after her death the posts on the blog they have kept continue to amaze me. She is someone I don't want to forget. In reality this blog is a journal for me. It is the way I choose to document our life together. If there is one thing I have learned from Shannon's parents...it is that there is so much power in the beauty of an ordinary day. 

Shannon Anne O'Hara — Rochester

 

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Posted: Jan 07, 2012, 2:53 pm

The Funeral Mass for Shannon Anne O'Hara will be at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2012, at St. John the Evangelist Church in downtown Rochester. The Rev. Msgr. Gerald A. Mahon will be officiating. A reception will follow in the St. John's gymnasium. Visitation will be held from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Monday, Jan. 9, at the River Park Chapel at Macken Funeral Home, and one hour prior to the service Tuesday at St. John the Evangelist Church. Shannon O'Hara, 13, died Friday at her home in Rochester, after a nine-month-long battle against an inoperable brain tumor. She was born July 29, 1998, in Rochester, to Dan and Jennifer (Harkins) O'Hara. Shannon was an eighth-grader at Willow Creek Middle School. She previously attended Bamber Valley elementary. Shannon enjoyed school, friends and sports of all kinds. She was a huge fan of all the Minnesota teams, and she participated in athletics, playing youth soccer, being a member of the Mayo High School Girls Golf Team, and her favorite activity, playing youth hockey. She is survived by her parents; her younger sister, Erin; her maternal grandparents, Chuck and Gwen Harkins of Henderson, Nev., and paternal grandparents, Ed and Marian O'Hara of Edina; as well as 17 aunts and uncles, and 21 cousins, Eric (Jennifer) Harkins of Shakopee and their children, Jack and Laurynn; Mike (Connie) O'Hara of Rochester and their children, Kevin (Meaghan), Liam, Anne and Nora; Mary O'Hara of Florida, Molly (Norv) O'Hara-Sytsma of Seattle, Wash., Tim (Suzi) O'Hara of St. Paul and their children, Maggie (Doug Mackaman), Kallie, Brendan and Sean; Pat (Mame) O'Hara of Arizona and their children, Leila and Joe; Megan (R.T.) O'Hara-Rybak of Minneapolis and their children, Charlie and Grace; Katie (Bill) O'Hara-Scott of St. Paul and their children, Francie and Tessie; and Bridgid (H.J.) O'Hara-Hoppmann of St. Louis Park and their children Carey, Ellie and Teddie.

If you want to read the blog click here

Cutest kids on earth?

 I borrowed Carter the other day for a photo shoot. He is growing his hair out long this year and I wanted to capture it before he decided to get it cut. Seriously...Jenny and Mark make the cutest kids! 

That leads me to this picture of my oldest fur child...Gracie came over to help me get Carter to smile(turns out all I have to so is mention the Packer's playing the Broncos in the Superbowl and the kid laughs hysterically!) 

Gracie and Charlie have a bond. She loves to see him after school everyday. She even asked for a dog for Christmas. I am so grateful for our kid loving dogs. I took this shot on the fly as fast as I could without a second to adjust anything. It is one of my all time favorite of Charlie. It just shows how much he loves kids. He is such a good dog. 

I can't wait to show you more of Carter. Jenny gets first op though.

New Year's in the city, yet again

 I did not shoot much. My bag was heavy and it was crowded in the Mall of America. It was fun to just be...

I did have my camera for the Aquarium though!

Matt has always begged us to take him to the Aquarium at the MOA. I have always thought this is a very over priced exhibit and we have avoided it. This year when we booked our hotel through Priceline(an amazing hotel at a really great price!) we ended up staying in the MOA area. When I looked online to figure out what we could do I discovered that tickets are 50% off if you buy them online!! Little tip if you ever plan to go. This made it much more practical and worth the price of admission. 

 Matthew and I were so in love with these little Garden Els. They were pretty cool.

 This might be a little Jellyfish picture heavy...but I was so in awe of them. I wish it would not have been so crowded so I could have got even better pictures. 

 This little pirana was a rescue. Some pet store in MN had been neglecting him and he had swallowed 55 rocks. Matthew totally fell in love with him.

 We surprised Matthew with a behind the scenes tour of the aquarium. He got to see the research lab and the kitchen. Then they went above the aquariums and looked down on the fish. It was AWESOME(his words) and if you purchase it online it is only $6.00!!!

 Matthew's favorite is Koi. We watched them before his tour.

 ha! More Jellyfish. I am so in love with them:-)

 The first picture I posted was my favorite of the day. Matthew sat in the tunnel and watched fish swim all around him. He is such a science kid. I loved seeing the light bounce off his face as different fish swam by.

 This picture showed up a little dark but I wanted to show you how busy the tunnel was. The aquarium has four(I think) tunnels that connect in a C shape. Each tunnel has different kinds of see life. They were elbow to elbow packed with people. 

 This is in the Minnesota native tunnel. Matthew is giving a catfish a belly rub.

 After that we went to dinner and returned to our hotel to swim for a few hours. Then we retreated to our hotel room. Our cheap bid was accepted at the Sheridan 4 points hotel and it was incredible. I loved that hotel(even with the kid banging on his friends door across the hall at 5a.m.) 

Our bed was the best bed I have ever slept in in my entire life. It was perfect. Seriously the perfect bed(making the above kid...even more annoying, oh and when I say kid, I mean 23ish year old)

 and then it was midnight! 

 I personally am so glad to see 2012!

Right after the clock stuck midnight our little fish was out. It was a full day of fun and one of our best times together.