Category: Photo of the week

“Don’t make money your goal. Instead, pursue the things you love doing, and then do them so well that people can’t take their eyes off you.” – Maya Angelou

The featured photo is the NY Eve morning sunrise on Whidbey Island where we spent the week after Christmas.

I selected two pictures from a whole sequence — and I don’t think Cooper was running from the heron. But looking at the photos, it just cracks me up!

Sticks and stones may break my bones — but they are SUPER fun at the beach!

The beach at winter – where kids and imaginations run wild.

Indoor vacation fun

We went to visit the Ballydidean Farm Sanctuary on Whidbey Island one afternoon. We met old cows, blind ducks, abandoned goats, and neglected pigs. What was incredible about the visit was the story of the couple that started it.

The couple wanted to have kids – but couldn’t on their own. They started down the road of adopting a child and didn’t know how long it would take. So they decided to pursue their other dreams — namely starting an animal sanctuary. Within a month of closing on the property for the sanctuary, they’d been matched with a baby and accepted two animals. Now they have a six-year-old child, over 100 animals and a non-profit in full swing.

We got a tour from the incredible woman who, along with her husband, founded the sanctuary. She smiled and told us, “We just said ‘yes’ to almost everything.” And wow, what a difference it makes.

It strikes me that we often can’t see the mark we make until we look backwards. So I love the guidance of the sign of the week.

(all photos are mine. I got the Maya Angelou quote from Real Life of a MSW)

”Some people feel the rain. Others just get wet.” – Roger Miller

Featured photo is one I took of a heron standing one-legged in a steady rain. Anything looking that peaceful seemed worth stopping the car to take a picture of.

Playing ball. Miss O had a busy choir performance schedule so Mr. D and I spent a good amount of time mixing up our sports metaphors (like the football jersey, baseball mitt, and tennis ball in the second photo)

Ice skating and meeting Buoy, the Kraken mascot.

Using leverage in all sorts of ways!

Spending some time with Santa (and my brother and his wife). I think Mr. D wore his Santa hat all week in preparation.

One of Mr. D’s holiday creations on top of a beautiful hand-crafted hot chocolate mug he received as a gift. A lot of heart in those gifts. 🙂

Happy Holidays, Everyone! Here’s to a great 2025! I’ll see you in the new year!

You can find me on Instagram @wynneleon .

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“The job of the artist is to always deepen the mystery.” – Sir Francis Bacon

Isn’t it amazing how kids can tilt and bend?

Kids and pottery. What could go wrong? Actually, everything went great.

Doing pottery reminds me of a story I heard about living life according to the ancient tradition of pottery. First you have to envision how you want it to be. And then you paint layers with colors that do not match what they’ll be in the end. Finally, only after the intense heat of the oven does the finish product appear.

Cooper getting photo ready — and then doing his best duck impression.

Cooper with attitude. And Cooper with the mark of a Playfinder. Now he thinks he’s a demi-dog. That’s a Moana 2 joke for anyone that’s not hanging with the Disney crowd… 🙂

Photos of kids with cameras — it’s a little meta, isn’t it?

The signs of the week. The first was made by Mr. D because he put a wet floor sign on his Christmas list. I told him we could make one. [note to self: teach kids to dry floor instead of just putting a sign up.]

“Passion is what makes life interesting, what ignites our soul, drives our curiosity, fuels our love and carries our friendship, stimulates our intellect, and pushes our limit…A passion for life is contagious and uplifting.” – Jon Krakauer

The flavor of the week starts with gingerbread house making.

Throwing rocks and riding bikes

Sword fighting and going for a sleep-over. No, I didn’t send them away BECAUSE they’d been sword fighting. 🙂

Miss O in a panda suit and bowing out after earning her orange belt in Aikido. Thank goodness she didn’t have to do the test in the panda suit.

The Christmas cactus that I’ve had for 33 years. My dad helped me buy it when I was 22 years old. Now that he’s gone, the cactus is one of the ways I feel his love for Christmas all around.

And another treasure – my mom. Who is pretty good at juggling balls!

Cooper wants to start a writing career. I hope he doesn’t lose interest…

“Success is not a doorway. It’s a staircase.” – Dottie Walters

We were moving things around in our house and had to temporarily remove a couple of doors. Which gave me a great opportunity to talk about the origin of the phrase “coming unhinged.” And to show how to put things back on their hinges.

Taking turns

Interesting things seen in the neighborhood

Making friends at home; and at one of our favorite winter rainy day places — the viewing room at the dump.

Getting ready for Christmas and our Thanksgiving Day outfits. I just want to say — Mr. D did his ALL by himself. Including tying the pair of gold Converse shoes.

We woke up one morning and discovered a car parked directly across our driveway. The kids were so excited to investigate – which really was going around and talking with all our favorite neighbors. When someone suggested that it might be stolen and noticed that the driver side door was jimmied, we tested the door and it was unlocked.

Miss O and Mr D wrote down all the clues and we reported it — and then about 15 minutes later, we looked out and the car was gone! Impaired driver? Stolen car? Still not sure…but boy did they have fun with the mystery! And talking to all the neighbors who were amused by the enthusiasm.

The heart of the week (a potato chip) and the sign of the week. It may be the last day of the month, but I think this “No” vember sign could still apply to all our holiday interactions and beyond.

“Ah, how good it feels! The hand of an old friend.” – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

The quote of the week is in honor of my dear, and longest time (I put it that way because she’s definitely not old) friend, Katie, whose birthday is today.

And the featured photo is a photo my kids wanted to take from our car on the way to school. The sky was stunning – and the collective awe equally amazing!

We spent a lot of time this week Halloweening in various activities. And also, trying to wash the red out. Miss O was dressed as Julia from the moving Luca hence the “Italian” hands.

Kids weren’t the only thing dressed up — the neighborhood got dressed up as well.

Cooper wanted to get into the Halloween spirit as well but mostly laid around.

The first is Mr. D’s hand on Cooper – I thought it went well with the quote for this post. The second picture is a small dog that wanted Mr. D’s attention at Doggy Daycare.

Making impressions.

Our neighbor’s skeleton family has grown. And the whole theme fits well with the sign of the week.

“Compliment people wherever you go. Praise every single thing you see. Be a ray of sunshine to everyone you meet.” – Rhonda Byrne

The annual pumpkin farm trek. Funny thing about going to this place once a year – all of a sudden it’s so noticeable how much we’ve grown.

The pumpkin farm had some very cute animals. No, I don’t believe the highland cow intended to stick her tongue out at us.

Some adorable chicks to hold.

An inflatable pillow to jump on.

Mr. D wanted a drum set so we improvised…and then thankfully put everything back away.

The second picture is near and dear to my heart. Every once in a while, there’s a special quality of light that always makes me feel as if my dearly departed are near. In this case, Mr. D was helping me seal the tiles that my dad helped me install in my driveway. I turned to look and there was a bright spot of light illuminating Mr. D’s face. It felt like a kiss on the head from my dad.

Far-fetched? Maybe. Provable. Not at all. Worth believing? My heart says so.

The heart (on my salad) and the sign of the week.