Painting, redecorating, manual labor, office, office, and more office. Thank God for my mom and Curtis! They both helped a tremendous amount so that I could redecorate Curtis’s office and repurpose his old stuff. I can’t wait to show y’all before and after pictures but Curtis has to see everything first. Plus I have three more things coming next week for his walls. 🙂 I’m never happier than when I have a project. Woot! We celebrated the 4th of July with our neighbors. Happy 240th, America! (And a personal pet peeve… it’s not ‘Murica or ‘Merica… you aren’t saving any characters and it’s not kitchsy or cute… please spell our country properly. Please? My children had better pay attention to this.)
Day 183 ~ Oleander Abundance
Our oleander bush is going bonkers with blooms. This is the first year it’s really producing and it’s so gorgeous. My mom really has a gift with the landscaping. Everything is so beautiful this year.
Nikon D750 | 105mm | f/4.5 | 1/400 | ISO 1000
Day 184 ~ Looks Like Candy
Our neighborhood has some awesome parties thanks to Chelsea, a little powerhouse of a young mom who organizes all of River Chase’s events. Her hubby, Regy, loves fireworks and, with neighborhood donations, puts together a massive fireworks show. This is one of the first images I got from our show. I shared 23 with the neighborhood but will only subject y’all to five. 🙂 I think this one looks like lollipops or some other kind of candy.
Nikon D750 | 35mm | f/16 | 5 | ISO 100
Day 184 ~ Delicate Bursts
These are those tiny little white burst of fireworks that remind me of firecrackers in the sky.
Nikon D750 | 35mm | f/16 | 5 | ISO 100
Day 184 ~ Fill the Sky
There were some BIG fireworks too… big enough to fill the entire sky. Whoa.
Nikon D750 | 35mm | f/16 | 2.5 | ISO 200
Day 184 ~ So Much Color
I love all the colors in these. They coordinated the fireworks with music too… very impressive!
Nikon D750 | 35mm | f/16 | 10 | ISO 200
Day 184 ~ Layers of Patriotism
I love this one. I got those tiny white bursts with a big red one… love how they all layered together. <3
Nikon D750 | 35mm | f/16 | 10 | ISO 200
Day 185 ~ Finding Dory with Jenny
Sunday was a free day on a holiday weekend, so we packed up the kids and met Jenny and Chris in Round Rock to watch Finding Dory. I HAD to see it with Jenny because we watched Finding Nemo together when she was a little girl. I swear it was like she was a little kid again. I always enjoy going to the movies with Anna too, she laughs unabashedly and it makes my heart happy. The movie was great!
Nikon D750 | 35mm | f/1.8 | 1/160 | ISO 2000
Day 186 ~ Ready for Nana’s Concert
Monday was the actual 4th of July and mom was performing in the Hill Country Community Band in Wimberley. Just like last year, they performed with the Wimberley Community Choir again this year. Anna was anxious about the noise and little kids (of which there were very few, mostly white hair in this audience), so I let her wear her noise canceling headphones into the church. She handled it so well!
Nikon D750 | 35mm | f/1.6 | 1/200 | ISO 1000
Day 186 ~ 4th of July Concert
Ready to play! Do y’all see Nana? Front row, second from the left.
Nikon D750 | 35mm | f/3.2 | 1/200 | ISO 1000
Day 186 ~ Nana Performing
I’m so proud of my mom. She’s continued to play her flute all these years, pushing herself to study jazz and play with different groups. She so enjoys the HCCB, especially this 4th of July concert and the Christmas concert. She’s made some great friends here too. I’m hoping to join her one day with my flute too and I wish Curtis would join the choir, he has a great singing voice.
Nikon D750 | 35mm | f/3.2 | 1/250 | ISO 1000
Day 187 ~ We Have the Best Neighbors
Curtis had to travel again and I was able to continue redecorating his office starting on Tuesday. I got all of the furniture moved in except for the desk which was just too heavy for me to manage. I put a call out on our neighborhood Facebook page and I got two volunteers to help… Michael and Michael, lol. They had to open both front doors to get the desk in then it wouldn’t lock again, so Michael got up on the ladder and took it apart to fix it. We really do have the best neighbors. Thank you guys!!! (Reveal is coming next week!)
Nikon D750 | 35mm | f/2 | 1/250 | ISO 1600
Day 188 ~ Ironclad on the House
Taking some trash out, I saw this giant black and white beetle on the side of the house. I think I shot one last year too. It’s called an Ironclad Beetle, or the Zopherus nodulous haldemani. I think it’s a really cool looking bug, almost like a cartoon drawing or something.
Nikon D750 | 105mm | f/8 | 1/200 | ISO 1250
Day 189 ~ Nervous Nestlings
As soon as these nestlings saw me approach, they were on full alert. The baby barn swallows are definitely taking short flights away from the nest now. A couple of days ago, I noticed a wing hanging over the edge of the nest. 🙁 That means one of the babies passed away I think. There were four and now I’m only seeing three. Poor thing.
Nikon D750 | 105mm | f/3.2 | 1/200 | ISO 3200
Thanks for looking! We’ve been under a heat advisory all week… hope y’all stay cool out there!
