photographs – Page 9 – Surprised By Joy

Photos of the Week: September 7

September 7, 2024September 6, 2024Posted in Photo of the week, UncategorizedTagged photographs45 Comments

“The difference between school & life? In school you are taught a lesson and then given a test. In life you are given a test that teaches you a lesson.” – unknown

This week, we did a lot of end-of-summer projects to get ready for the rainy weather. Cooper helped.

We stained the steps. Cooper helped.

Our friend Eric said that he had some style advice for Miss O so she’d be memorable for the first day of 4th grade (left). Fortunately, she choose to listen to her aunt Lindsey instead!

Starting Kindergarten. Miss O did online Kindergarten so this feels like the first time I’ve really experienced this rite of passage. I’m not sure I can even encapsulate all my feelings about this. Except to say that there’s so much hope and potential that comes with this milestone!

The last (likely) lemonade stand of the summer. At least that’s the plan…

Photos of the Week: August 31

August 31, 2024August 30, 2024Posted in Photo of the weekTagged photographs44 Comments

“Music in the soul can be heard by the universe.” – Lao Tzu

Biking through a rainy summer afternoon. Soaked but still delighted by the freedom on two wheels!

Enjoying more of Miss O’s birthday celebrations.

Cooper has the Force all wrong. And apparently, light saber on the tongue makes a dog thirsty!

Holding bunnies and rope climbing. Both require strong, steady hands. I just made that up but it sounded like a theme.

Back to school soda display and the sign of the week.

And one note about the featured photo. I get up at 5:30am and for most of the summer, the sun in Seattle is already up. I’m so grateful to be seeing sunrises again. It’s something that Vicki and I talk about on next week’s Sharing the Heart of the Matter podcast. Stay tuned…and please subscribe!

Photos of the Week: August 24

August 24, 2024August 23, 2024Posted in Photo of the weekTagged photographs66 Comments

“Did I offer peace today? Did I bring a smile to someone’s face? Did I say words of healing? Did I let go of my anger and resentment? Did I forgive? Did I love? These are the real questions.” – Henri Nouwen

Young Cooper had another week of ups and downs.

First, was the day that Mr. D abandoned a strawberry popsicle on the edge of the counter. Cooper was the first to notice and positioned himself under the drip. It was like manna dripping from Heaven.

Second, was Miss O’s birthday. She got a gift card for her favorite Boba tea shop and was elated. Then Cooper stole her wallet, took it outside, left the bills all strewn about, and chewed the Boba gift card. So the next day, he had to do the perp walk with Miss O to the Boba shop to see if they could still redeem the card. Fortunately, they could still read the numbers on the card, and all was forgiven.

On the subject of interesting pets, Rusty the Crested Gecko shed his skin. Does he look all new and shiny?

We had bike camp this week.

The delightful Miss O turned nine-years-old and let everyone (including Cooper) help blow out the candles.

Handsome Mr. D graduated from pre-school.

In the ingenuity of kids category, we have a picture of a unique way to beep an electronic door lock. Miss O had Mr. D to put her backpack on (the key was in the front pocket), then lifted him up to the door to buzz it. Oh, to have that much energy…

Which I thought paired nicely with the sign of the week.

Photos of the Week: August 17

August 17, 2024August 16, 2024Posted in Photo of the weekTagged photographs, whidbey island42 Comments

“There is pleasure in the pathless woods,
There is rapture on the lonely shore,
There is society, where none intrudes,
By the deep sea, and music in its roar;
I love not man the less, but Nature more.” – Lord Byron

When we were on vacation, there was a seal that swam every night in the bay. Even though I knew roughly when he’d show up and where, the best I could do is a snap of his face and his splash. I salute the patience and talent of wildlife photographers.

It made me even more grateful for the herons and eagle that sat still long enough for me to photograph them. So very cooperative!

Cooper was happy to have us home. Unfortunately, he got a little piece of grass stuck way down in his ear and had to have it surgically removed this week.

Picking plums from our tree – the hard way and the easy way.

Rock climbing camp with a side of foos ball.

And the sign of the week paired with one more image from the bay.

Photos of the Week: August 10

August 10, 2024August 9, 2024Posted in Photo of the weekTagged family, photographs, whidbey island62 Comments

“Sunsets are proof that no matter what happens, every day can end beautifully.” – Kristen Butler

This crow has been honing his ability to pick up bread crusts all week. He picks up one, two, three, four, then drops one. It seems he’s figured out that three is his limit and then he carries them away. The bunny has nothing to do with the process but he’s in the yard looking cute.

We are still on vacation. Nonetheless, there is a lot of productivity and creativity going on.

We’ve spent a little time paddleboarding every day this week. I’m not sure what’s going on in the third picture – but the water is pretty cold so perhaps Miss O is tell Mr. D to get out!

Beach time, pool time and son shine!

My kids have been finding me the most beautiful tiny shells on the beach. They get down low and bring back tiny treasures like miniscule shells, a sand dollar smaller than a dime, and scalloped shells smaller than my pinky fingernail. The shells are so tiny that it’s almost impossible to take a clear picture of them. The more that I ooh-and-aah, the more that they bring me. It’s so fun – just like the sign of the week.

Photos of the Week: August 3

August 3, 2024August 2, 2024Posted in Photo of the weekTagged photographs, whidbey island54 Comments

“Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul alike.” – John Muir

We’re on vacation on Whidbey Island this week. In a few words, this is what we’ve been up to.

We started by washing the windows so we could see the view.

On the beach. We found the clams but don’t dig them up – just try to avoid the spray.

Hammocking and stick ball.

Playing in the water.

Whidbey wildlife.

The scene and the sign of the week

Photos of the Week: July 27

July 27, 2024July 26, 2024Posted in Photo of the weekTagged greenlake, perspective, photographs38 Comments

“It’s pointless to believe what you see if you only see what you believe.” – Marie Lu

We spent some time with our favorite spitting frogs. They’ve delighted us ever since Miss O was a baby and still are loads of fun!

I take all of my photos with my camera phone. This week I upgraded my phone – not to the latest version but still four versions newer. Everything is looking a little bit brighter now.

Mr. D spent some time appreciating a puppy that wouldn’t steal his undies.

The cat letting it all hang out. And Rusty trying to get out.

The hard thing about living in a glass enclosure must be that the key seems SOOO close.

Mr. D lost a tooth, turned five, and lost another tooth – all in ONE week! By the second tooth, which happened to come out on his birthday, the tooth fairy was so tired that she almost forgot to write back. Thank goodness for the whisper of paper during a good night kiss to remind the tooth fairy of her duty.

We spent some time pedal boating around the lake we always bike, drive, and walk around. It was so much fun to experience it from another perspective.

This last photo and the sign of the week also challenge our perspective!

Photos of the Week: July 13

July 13, 2024July 12, 2024Posted in Photo of the weekTagged mariners, photographs41 Comments

“When I was young, I used to admire intelligent people; as I grow older, I admire kind people.” – Abraham Joshua Heschel

It was hot last week. I suspect us adults (and I’m talking about me) wouldn’t complain so much about it if we cooled off like kids.

We went to a Mariners game. When Mr. D put his mitt in the air, I was struck by how puny it was but how much hope it held. And then the guy next to him in an Ichiro jersey caught a pre-game ball and flipped it to Mr. D. I love the kind people in this world. Of which, there are a lot more than the news has us believe.

Anyone who listened in to the Buttercup story might find this latest chapter a little repetitive… 🙂 We discovered a baby bunny who needed to be rescued. The kids named her Poppy. Unfortunately, she succumbed to her injuries before we could release her to the wild.

Given all the mesmerizing pet eyes around here, including Rusty the gecko, the sign at 314 seemed perfect for the sign of the week.

Photos of the Week: July 6

July 6, 2024July 5, 2024Posted in Photo of the weekTagged photographs, summer43 Comments

”And so with the sunshine and the great burst of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

It feels like we’ve settled in to summer. Here’s how I know:

Because we’re hiking.

Swimming

Enjoying the 4th of July

Adopting Rusty the Crested Gecko. Okay, that has nothing to do with summer, but it happened this week.

Learning to play the ukelele, celebrating a yellow belt in Aikido, and the because the sign of the week reminds us to go the beach every day!

Photos of the Week: June 29

June 29, 2024June 29, 2024Posted in Photo of the weekTagged mt. rainier, paradise inn, photographs69 Comments

“Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves.” – John Muir

(Featured photo is mine – the full moon rising over the Tatoosh Range as seen from Paradise Inn on Mt. Rainier)

We went to Mt. Rainier last weekend to stay at Paradise Inn – one of the fantastic National Park lodges. It was built from a stand of Alaska yellow cedar on the mountain that had been killed by a fire. The lodge opened in 1917. The original building was constructed without a single nail being used. But nails and braces were added later because of the strain of heavy winter snows the lodge endures.

Some wildlife we saw on the mountain. The chipmunks were everywhere but I’ve never seen a mountain goat up there. Mr. D said as we were climbing (see next set of pictures), “There’s something moving over there.” And sure enough, it was a goat.

Climbing on the mountain up to about 7,000 feet. Mr. D absolutely loved it. I turned us around only because I was concerned he’d be tired on the way down. But he never uttered a complaint.

Mt. Adams (12,281 ft) is visible behind Mr. D in the first photo. Mt. Rainier (14,410 feet) is behind us in the 2nd and 3rd photo. And Mt. St. Helens (8,300 feet) can be seen in the fourth.

Now you see it, now you don’t. A picture of the Mt. Rainier from the same vantage point in different weather conditions. I’ve been climbing on the mountain when clouds roll in. It’s always stunned me how fast it happens that the conditions change. Also how completely disorienting it is when you can no longer get your bearings.
In a post I wrote a couple of years ago, When the Clouds Roll In, I told the story of the time that I was doing a training hike on Mt. Rainier and my friend and I had to gingerly feel our way down the mountain. The same day a 27-year-old doctor who had just moved to Seattle to start his residency died on the mountain when he attempted to snow board down in those conditions.

But it’s more or less safe to do hand stands on the mountain. Not that I would try that, but Miss O did. And we also hiked down to Narada Falls which was booming with all the snow melt this time of year.