Back to School

the summer had some fun moments, but i can't say i'm sorry it has come to an end. maybe now i'll have more time to blog, anyway. mesa was off to her first day of 7th grade this morning and zephyr started 8th grade. getting up early again was a shock to the system. i will enjoy this final year with both of them being in middle school and able to walk one block home.

Indigo Girls

i must admit, i have missed blogging. but that seems to be an activity better suited for the school year. during the summer, it seems a travesty to spend any free time inside on the computer. by the time i get back to it, i'm sure we'll have lots of photos and life to catch you up on. for now, i couldn't help posting about our honored role as guest blog photographers on adoption cubed. rebecca does a much better job recapping the indigo girls concert than i could anyway.

Prodigal Returns

not really the prodigal, just the eldest. dieterich is back...and after a few days cleaning bricks for a neighbor, looking more like a chimney sweep than a college student home from his first year at lewis & clark in portland, oregon.

Mother's Day

hope all of you mothers found a way to enjoy the day yesterday. it was a balmy 70 degrees here, so we used our rec center pool memberships for the first time this season. we pretty much had the place to ourselves...i'm not sure what constitutes a successful mother's day for others, but you can't beat hanging out by the pool reading while the kids splash happily. dinner was a stone-soup affair...pull whatever you have out of the cabinets/fridge and make it work. so you might not think hash browns and shrimp go together, but when mothers don't have to shop or cook, they do!

Tree Transfer

so you thought the few trees we have in lubbock just grew there? and how lucky for neighbor joan to have a son-in-law who transplants (big) trees for a living. happy early mother's day!

Spring Showers

maybe the drought is coming to an end here. a few intermittent showers yesterday had mesa doing a joyous celebratory rain dance around the yard. gotta love the enthusiasm and appreciation of children. the skies continue to open up this morning, bringing much-needed refreshment and that awesome damp atmosphere that the kids say "smells like connecticut." now if things would just grow like they do there.

Lighting

we bought a light kit a couple of months ago that is pretty cool, but instead of figuring out how to use them we keep figuring out ways not to use them. i'm not sure what our aversion to our fancy new indoor lighting is about, but it seems to raise our blood pressure trying to achieve the look we want...so we usually end up just working around the need for it. for a recent product shoot, we just moved the items outdoors and created a backdrop there instead (don't drink the coffee...since we didn't have any made, this is actually water mixed with bbq flavoring ;)

State!

well, zephyr and manning didn't advance to nationals (in maryland this summer...whew!) but they made a great showing at the texas history day state competition. the pair advanced to the finals (top 8 out of 44 teams) with their exhibit on the israeli-palestinian conflict & compromise; had a great weekend in austin; and came away with lots of ideas and motivation for next year.

Austin Bound

last time we were in austin, we took this reflective photo of a downtown building while eating on the patio at a mediocre south american bar & grill that had been highly recommended. we gave it the thumbs-down and took pictures instead. today, just zephyr and i are heading to the capitol city...where he is competing in texas history day tomorrow against 40+ other exhibitors from across the state. schedule conflicts with the kids prevent us all from going, which is disappointing, but i'll have the camera on hand to share the trip.

Moving On

you want to know what happens next with paul potts, right?