Fun with Frames

Your mission, should you choose to accept it:

Gather old/ugly/abandoned picture frames buried in old hope chests and storage closets.

Find some of your favorite colored items and put in a pile.

March above items to nearest Home Depot for a color match in those small $3 color samples.

Have at it with your ugly old frames.

Careful not to go overboard with the pretty paint. Keep all of your nice brown frames se-par-ate.

Print up photos.

I knew instantly that the above oval frame had to be yellow. It looked too fussy in brown. It seems that a nice funky yellow, orange or green can be used to tone down overly prissy items.

This brown frame was the only frame I ended up buying. I did not have enough suitable brown frames, so I had to find one at my antique store.

Play with frames on the floor til you find suitable arrangement. Then throw them on your wall without giving it too much thought.

Hm. Something is missing.

Just so happened to get a little magazine in the mail with the following inspiration:

A little table underneath your frames anchors your collection nicely.

This little table just so happened to be within arms reach.

And presto, you are done!(Or not so presto if you are me. Simple projects like these seem to take me more time than anticipated).

And here are some additional views of the frames nestled in their new environment.

I happened to have a few left-over frames.

My friend Jessi embroidered those birds(in green frame) as a parting gift before she moved.

I decided to put these remaining frames in front living room.

Before:

After:

Calvin saw these frames and said "Hey! Where am I?"

Not to worry dear boy. Mama is not done just yet. She has lots of photos that still need framing.

You should see the little{big} pile of frames accumulating in my front room. I had a hay day finding great deals today at all the junk stores.

To be continued at a future date...

Yosemite in a Day

Or the post otherwise known as "what were we thinking???"

Well, we(meaning John) were thinking:

it would be amazing for the boys to see lower Yosemite Falls,

{We were thinking} of playing outdoors all day at one of God's most beautiful creations,

{We were thinking} of the grand view of Half Dome,

{We were thinking} of wading through ankle-deep babbling brooks,

{We were thinking} of introducing baby to icy-cold water for the first time,

And finally, we(as in me) were thinking of traipsing through the meadow beneath majestic granite walls just before sundown...

What we were most certainly NOT thinking was:

-half-hour road delays due to construction

-driving into Yosemite for almost an hour on dusty, bumpy, dirt roads due to aforementioned construction

-massive crowds in the park {on a Wednesay no less} that I'm still puzzling over

-hysterical screaming baby on never-ending ride home which literally made my ears ring

-husband almost falling asleep behind wheel but couldn't stop for coke because baby above just fell asleep

-cranky wife that kept thinking "NEVER again in one day"

Ah. You win some and you lose some.

We had a fantastic time while there, but paid heavily on the drive home.

And the meadow, one more time for good measure:

I think it almost makes up for the lousy drive home.

So, what crazy hair-brained things have you been up to lately?

Hume Lake Take 2

Well it's about time I update ye old blog. What a slacker. I really did want to post sooner, but could not justify shirking my responsibilities.

It was time for Hume again. So we packed{and repacked} our bags and typed our itineraries...

Ok, it was John who typed the itinerary. Isn't he so cute planning our little trip??

And off we went!

One of the biggest appeals to staying at Hume, are the constant reminders of God's glory.

I love these signs scattered throughout the camp. One of my favorite signs reads Proverbs 12:16: A wise man overlooks an insult.

I'm sure this verse could save many friendships!

We stayed in a perfect little cabin that suited our needs just right.

John took Finn and Calvin to see the Giant Sequoias, while I napped in the cabin with Ollie and Twain. Here is Finn's rendering.

And of course there was baseball. Lots of baseball at Meadow Ranch.

My little team in the cute dugout.

Ollie preferred to feed Twain than play ball.

Hume was so good for Ollie--it brought out his spirit of adventure once again.

Ollie has been scared of the outdoors lately. At Hume, he returned to his old self and was escaping every chance he got.

Upon returning home, Ollie is no longer afraid of our backyard(he had been boycotting our backyard since the sprinklers went off on him)! Hume is just therapeutic.

I wanted to spend more time trying to figure out the lighting in this cool green bathroom hallway, but people would have found that creepy, no?

Besides, it's a crime to spend too much time indoors when the weather is so beautiful.

One of the biggest treats was hanging out with a very special girl.

Ally and Aaron were lodging just up the street from us. If you know Ally, you consider yourself blessed. Ally is beautiful inside and out. She is one of those rare gems that really cares about helping other people. Plus she's super fun and incredible with kids. She truly inspires me to get down on the floor to read to my kids more.

Her family is beautiful and I love them all so much.

They accompanied us to Boyden's cave.

Ever been inside a cave?

The very instant I stepped inside the cave I thought "Oh...no..."(Think Phoebe Buffay from Friends. That's exactly how it sounded in my head--Oh...no...).

The claustrophobia was suffocating.

There, in front of my friends and wee brave family, I was gonna have to chicken out. Every one was gonna know I was a skeerdy cat. And I thought the Nemo ride was bad. Ollie and I stuck together at the yellow-gated-entrance(going in...out...in...out....in...out) while the rest of our party forged ahead into tight, dark cavernous spaces. I admire their bravery. Truly, I do.

I really wish I brought my camera because{from what I saw} it was truly enchanting.

Here is Calvin's sketch.

See? Enchanting! And you get bonus points if you can spy Calvin's bat. (yes, there was a real live bat at the entrance to the cave.)

Finn and Hannah totally hit it off. They were constantly huddled together over rocks and sticks.

We got to borrow Hannah from time to time. She might just be a keeper.

Yep she's a keeper alright. I will have to invite you to their wedding.

At Grizzly Falls.

Strangers watched in awe as I photographed Twain's tumble...and subsequent drama-queen display.

Sundays at Hume are kind of special. They hold a big church service in Ponderosa Chapel for all to enjoy. Unfortunately, I took too long getting ready that morning and was left behind watching a certain mischievous Oliver and Twain.

My punishment?

I had to watch them go up&down&up&down&up&down&up&down the cabin stairs ad nauseum. Oh it was punishment indeed.

Stairs kind of scare me. I have mental images of my boys tumbling to their doom. We tried gates earlier in the week, but they seemed to create even more treacherous conditions.

It was time to let the boys learn to climb stairs. I figured the more they practiced the better they would get. And besides, I am trying very hard not to be such a freakazoid helicopter mom. Baby steps, people. Baby steps.

We are still celebrating our fat little ankles...

and oozing pudgey ooey gooey baby goodness. (does anyone find it odd that we liken our babies to Cinnamon rolls?)

Our last night at the Hume dock.

We could stay here all summer.

And now, off to pack our bags for a day-trip to Yosemite. Weee!