This year for St. Patricks Day ... we had a special dinner and family gathering at Grandma & Grandpas the night before and for breakfast the boys had some green milk. Just a little something to make the day special. Here's the link to last years fun St Patricks Day 2010. ~Michaela
Goodness it's been a while... I've resigned myself to the fact that I'm not much of a blogger or very social in the month of January. For me January is the time to find my center, to reflect on the previous year, be present in the now and by February I'm able to move forward and get excited about the new year.
Last year was an exciting year for me, I had so many great sessions and met so many new clients that always turn into friendships. Photography is a constant challenge for me and I love that... finding my style, what makes me unique... working on my skill and the technical aspects of photography... I feel fortunate to have found my passion and am able to do what I love for a living. Being a business owner is an entirely different challenge for me, I have such a new found respect for anyone that embarks on being self employed and being a small business owner.
Ed and I have been taking the boys on nature hikes all over Olympia... again... trying to find our center... needing some balance from the hustle and bustle of daily life. We start out the morning with a great breakfast. One of our morning favorites... ground sweet pork sausage from Johnson's Meats , 1/2 a dozen eggs, mix it up, scoop spoonfuls into pan and fry. Blueberry pancakes with a little homemade Jelly... I take frozen Spooner's Berry Farms strawberries from last summer and equal amounts sugar (I try to use less)... bring to a boil and pour into jam jar. Some of our favorite places to explore; Kennedy Creek Salmon Trail , McLane Creek Nature Trail and Mima Mounds Prairie. There are so many more in our area... if you have a favorite... please share and leave a comment! ~Michaela
When I was in the 2nd grade I remembered bringing empty baby jars to school for a class project, I was so proud because they came from my new baby brother. Each child received a baby jar filled with heavy whipping cream, we shook the jars all day until it turned into butter and then we got to spread the butter on crackers for our snack. It was one of my favorite childhood memories. I decided to do this with my boys and tried it a different way as well. We simply poured the cream into a bowl, whipped it until the fat turned to butter, put the butter in a cheese cloth to separate from the left over liquid and that's it.... butter! The boys had lots of fun, I really believe kids should learn about where their food comes from and this is such a fun and easy project to try. We also tried the shaking method... great for getting the energy out of busy little boys... and the funny faces were too cute! ~Michaela
ps.... send me some love.... we photogs LOVE comments our blogs!
ps... I swear my kids have clothes... they really do... but most days when we're hanging around at home or working on projects they just run around in shorts with no shirts! The minute they get home from pre-school they rip their clothes off!
In my attempt to keep Easter sugar-free.... we made play dough filled Easter Eggs for our pre-school friends.... and we had our own egg hunt in the yard... the eggs were filled with nickels, dimes, & quarters.
Dying Easter eggs with art tissue paper... I thought we would try something different this year...... super easy... just place tissue on egg, dab with water, let dry, and the paper ink bleeds onto egg.
Those pesky little Leprechauns hid gold coins for the boys but left a big mess for Mom to clean up! They didn't even wipe their boots off before coming in and left muddy boot prints on my clean white sheets! (By the way Grant's bangs look a bit funky because he decided to cut his hair the other day.)
I spent most of my childhood in Germany and one of my best memories are of this sweet little treat called "Topkuss". I remember going on many morning walks to the bakery with my Tante Ruth and Onkle Willie and this was my favorite treat to get. It has a wafer cookie at the bottom, a creamy marshmallow on the inside (I don't like marshmallows but this stuff is yummy!) and a layer of chocolate on the outside. I found these at Hess German Bakery in Lakewood. http://www.hessbakery.com/ We also have two European Bakery's here in Olympia:
Oskar's German & European Deli
It's been a busy year for me and my 2nd year in business, after wrapping up sessions and holiday orders, I really needed to take a break from my photography business to enjoy my family and little ones. Ed and I took the boys for a little hike and some Old School Pizza... It's one of our favorite places to eat out. I loved the beautiful natural light coming through the windows at old school. Wishing you a warm cozy winter and a wonderful holiday season! ~Michaela
http://www.oldschoolpizzeria.net/
As summer comes to an end I can't help but reflect on a great summer memory. I remember when I came to America for the first time as a young girl, we went to Buffalo, NY to visit my Dad's family. Everything was so new and different from my small town in Germany. One day we were all outside in the neighborhood and I hear this music coming from down the street... the kids are all screaming with excitement and there he was the ice cream man! The song is called The Entertainer...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cFkae0j_Ns
You can imagine my happiness and surprise when one day I hear this same song in our neighborhood now... and knowing my boys can also have this great summer memory! Our ice cream man is a great guy and knows when he comes to our house there will be a photo shoot! ~Michaela
I made a bean pole tee pee for the boys to play in... it didn't quite turn out the way I planned, next year it'll be much better. Grant enjoyed playing in it one evening while picking beans for dinner.
