Second Generation Flower Girls

If a certain blog-reading aunt wants to renew her wedding vows in the near future, I happen to know where you could get 2 very cute, second generation flower girls (complete with vintage (HA!) matching dresses).

These three kids...

...make me smile.
....are full of energy.
....call me Aunt Amy.
...live way too far away.
...say some of the funniest things.
...are the cutest kids I know (other than my own, of course!).
...don't sit still for photos (but I still managed to sneak in a few good ones).

Random Thoughts.....

1. I have strep throat! I went to the dr. yesterday hoping he would tell me otherwise...but I have strep. He gave me a shot (I hate shots...and this one really stung) and a prescription. I fell much better today, other than the fact that it still hurts to swallow. At least my fever is gone and I have some energy back. I hate being sick!!

2. Our kitchen tiling project is almost finished. The "tile man" (as we like to call him) ran out of tile and is finishing up tomorrow. I love how it looks! I'll post a picture next week when it's done. We've been wanting to have this done since we moved in.

3. The "carpet guys" are in our family room right now installing our new carpet. YAHOO! They're still working, but so far it looks great (and smells good).

4. I'm headed to my parents tonite with Jacob and Jenna. We'll be there through Saturday. I'm looking forward to the visit....not looking forward to the drive! Chris isn't coming until tomorrow afternoon because of basketball practice.

5. In less than 24 hours we get to see Brenda, Jill, Carsyn, Luke, and Payton. Can't wait!! I'm planning on shopping with my sisters (and introducing Brenda to Archivers!!), taking lots of photos, and being Aunt Amy for 3 1/2 days. It doesn't get much better than that!!

6. Both my Grandmas and several other family members are coming to my parents, too. Can't wait to visit with them...and eat some of their yummy foods for Thanksgiving!

7. Thanksgiving - can't wait for my throat to feel better so I can eat and eat and eat! I haven't eaten anything other than soup and applesauce since Saturday night. I'm ready for home cooked Thanksgiving food!! Brenda and I also have plans to eat at Swenson's. Yumm-o!! (as Rachel Ray would say)

8. I had two different photo sessions last weekend - my friend's new baby on Friday night and then Ryan, Becca, and Brinkley on Sunday afternoon. I was excited to be taking pictures of someone other than my own kids and really happy with how they turned out. I'll post some photos next week.

9. I dug out the Christmas CDs to listen to on our trip to Stow today. I figure that will help keep my energy up! Now I just have to decide which favorite to listen to first!!

10. Can't wait to decorate for Christmas on Saturday and Sunday! I love decorating for Christmas!! I hate dragging everything up from the basement...but love decorating. I wonder if I could pay someone to bring it all up for me?!?!

HAVE A HAPPY THANKSGIVING!! Be sure to check in next week. I'm sure I'll have lots of photos to share of our visit!

Meah

Meah is one of my first non-family members who is a returning customer. I teach with her mom and had the opportunity to take her photos at 3 weeks, 3 months, and now 6 months. I think this is my favorite age to photograph. They can sit up...but can't move yet! It's the perfect photo scenario! I spent two afternoons at Meah's house taking photos outdoors and then in her nursery(which is one of the coolest nurseries I've seen!) She was so cooperative and her mom is so laid back and willing to let me try anything. Dad even stepped in to make her smile and laugh. Here are just a few of my favorites.

Playin' in the leaves....

These photos were actually taken several weeks ago - when it was warmer and there were still leaves on the ground. Jacob and Jenna were extra cooperative that day and I love the photos I captured. These are just a few of my favorites! Oh...and the "kiss" photo was totally spontaneous...it wasn't posed at all. I just happened to have my camera ready at just the right moment! I love when that happens!!

Our NEW school

After months and months of watching the construction, the new Van Wert Middle School/High School is almost ready to open! Yesterday was the dedication ceremony and open house. Chris and I had the opportunity to tour the school several times during construction, but it was so exciting to see it all finished! The dedication ceremony had an awesome crowd and even more people came to tour the building. I took my camera, but it was really hard to capture good photos. First of all, it was so crowded and secondly, the pictures just aren't the same as seeing the school in person. Below are just a few photos to give you a sneak peek.

Top to bottom:
1. The HS gym floor - the gym is HUGE! We spend a lot of our time there from November to March
2. Jacob, Jenna and some of the other basketball coaches kids sitting in our seats in the gym
3. Mr. Covey at his room door
4. The kids in Chris' room
5. Chris' journalism work room

Meet the Gordon's

I was asked by my Aunt Nancy to take a family photo of her family at my Grandma D's birthday party. I was hoping the weather would cooperate a little more and we could be a little bit more creative with the setting...but it was cold and rainy...so we went with plan B and took photos on my parents' deck. She wanted a family photo before my cousin, Jessica, leaves. Jessica will be leaving after Christmas to go to Poland for 2 years to do mission work. Her family (and all of the rest of us!!) is really going to miss her. Please keep Jessica and her family in your thoughts and prayers as they all adjust.

Oh - and just a sidenote...see the good looking young man in the green shirt? That is my cousin Kyle who many of you remember as being the cute little ring bearer in our wedding 12 years ago. He grew up, huh??? (Well...at least on the outside...he's still very much a little kid at heart!!)

Nancy...I hope these are okay for you. I thought they turned out pretty good considering it was last minute. I'll bring you a CD with the photos on it at Thanksgiving and then you can print photos from the CD.

Week 4 assignment

These wouldn't fit in the previous post. Here are my photos for week 4. Our lesson was about using different lenses and different flash options. I had to take a photo using a different lens (wide angle - the pond photo) and a different flash option (speedlight - photo of Jenna). I'm still anxiously waiting for my critique on these!

Photo class update

My photo class is officially over. I feel like I have had my camera glued to my face for the past 4 weeks! I learned so much - not only about the different functions of my camera, but also about photography, equipment, and shooting in manual mode (which has been my goal since getting this camera in April). My class only had 5 people to start with, but by week 4 I was the only one left in the class. I'm not sure what happened, but I'm really proud of myself for sticking it out. Unfortunately, the instructor did not pick a "photo of the week" after week 1 since there were so few of us left (BUT...I'm pretty sure I got "photo of the week" for week #4 since I was the only one left!). Anyhow...I realized that I never shared photos after week 1, so here are my photos for week 2 and 3 (blogger won't let me put all of them in one post, so I'll have to share week 4 photos in a seperate post). I got very good comments from the instructor on all these photos, particularly week 3 (he said I "nailed the assignment").

Week 2 - metering for light - We had to take a photo in natural light and one in artificial light using the "white balance" setting to adjust for the kind of light we were shooting in in order to get accurate colors in our photos. We also had to skew the settings for one photo (my rose...it's supposed to be pale pink).





















Week 3 - depth of field and action shots - We had to take one photo demonstrating depth of field (focus on one subject with the background blurred) and use the settings on our camera to "freeze" action.

More random fun....

Thanks too all my faithful blog readers who took the challenge of listing 5 little known facts about them on their blog. It was lots of fun to read everyone's list!!!

And now for some more totally random blog fun. I found this link on another blog. You can go to this website and found out how many people have your name. I don't know how accurate it is, but it's pretty interesting! www.howmanyofme.com


It turns out that there are 20 Amy Covey's in the US.

I also searched for Chris (46), Jacob (7) and Jenna(1 - she's one of a kind!) just for fun. Try it!!

5 little known tidbits about me

I was "tagged" by a friend on her blog to put 5 little known facts about me on my blog. So...after a lot of thinking, here's what I came up with.

1. I have to sleep with blankets on me....even in the summer I need some kind of blanket. I just can't sleep well without being covered.

2. I have to shop for shoes in the kid's section. Once in a while I get lucky and can find a small pair of shoes in the "grown up" section...but not very often.

3. I am afraid of the dark....especially of being home alone at night. I absolutely hate walking past our big window in the living room at night!

4. When I eat m&m's, I first dump out the entire bag, then put them in groups by color, and then eat one color at a time. WHY???????

5. I am a tad bit obsessed with being organized. I make lists constantly. I label things with my handy label maker. I have labeled bins and containers for everything (even my kids' toys). I color code activities on my calendar. I am constantly reorganizing closets, cupboards, and drawers. I have files (labeled with that label maker) for everything. I even do the same kind of organizing in my classroom. I'm pretty sure it's a sickness. Just ask my family!


Okay...now it's your turn (I'm supposed to tag 5 people...but I'll just tag whoever feels like playing along)...what are 5 little known tidbits about YOU?!?!

Trick or Treat....round 2

Last night we went to the nursing home where Grandma B. is staying for trick or treat. There were at least 50 residents all lined up with bags of candy. Kids who are either relatives of residents or employees were invited to come trick or treat. Jacob and Jenna were really excited to get to wear their costumes again...especially since this time we got to be inside without cold weather and wind!! The residents were instructed numerous times to only give 1 piece of candy per child, but very few of them followed those instructions! Jacob and Jenna came home with full treat bags! It was such a neat activity - you could tell the residents truly enjoyed having all the little trick-or-treaters come visit...and of course the kids loved getting treats! I was really proud of Jacob and Jenna....they said "thank you" to each and every resident and were really very polite. Of course Grandma B. was pretty excited to have them there too!!














P.S. Just a little update on Grandma B.....she is doing really well and getting stronger and healthier. She has been given an official date to go home (mid-November) and can't wait!!! Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers as she continues to recover and get stronger.