June, What Our Summer Looks Like

Here's a sneak peek at our June. The month has flown by because we've been pretty busy. From pool time, splash pads, mud slides, bubble pits, tent games, hikes, t-ball, movie watching, and drive-in movies to relaxing at the end of the day, our days have been very full. And of course we've done some fun birthday celebrating.

I found this fun format for a "taking stock" post on an Australian blog that I read. It was fun to sit down and as quickly as I could answer the following prompts:

making : Cheese, sometime soon. I went to a neighborhood activity and attended a mini-class where I was taught how to make mozzarella. I’ve gathered nearly all of the supplies, just need to grab a few more.

cooking : Recipes that don’t involve turning on the oven in an effort to be energy efficient. We’ve been eating a lot of sandwiches, salads, and grilled meals.

drinking : Lots of ice water. We finally decided to that we should keep our freezer stocked with bags of ice because it helps us to drink more water during the hot summer months.

reading : The War that Saved My Life and Slim by Design

wanting : A new camera.  

playing : My oldest is playing a lot of t-ball, although the season just ended. She enjoyed it though!

deciding : What to cook for dinner tonight, I’m thinking pizza.

wishing : Summer would last forever.

enjoying : The kayak that we bought for $50 last fall.

waiting : For the paint to dry on a craft project we just completed. “Fairy Houses” for a fairy garden we are installing in our backyard.

liking : Caprese Sandwiches, we had them last night for dinner.

wondering :

loving : Swimming lessons. The girls have learned so much. It was really fun taking the Parent Tot Class.

pondering : What book I would like to read next.

considering : Going to see a movie.

watching : Lost, we’ve been re-watching the entire show at night after the kids go to bed.

hoping : That the plants in my garden won’t die and will produce vegetables this year.

marveling : At how fast time passes.

needing : a pedicure.

smelling : Peonies...in my yard for a few weeks and now in the house because I bought some Mrs. Meyers All Purpose cleaner that smells like peonies.  

wearing : Lots of skirts and shorts. And my Chacos, non-stop.

noticing : That I need to clean my Chacos.

knowing : That I need to go to bed earlier tonight.

thinking : About WWII, because the book I am reading about is set during that time period.

sorting : Through stuff that I should get rid of.

buying : A car sometime in the next few months, hopefully.

getting : Excited for a few summer trips.

disliking : The fact that in two-months, my oldest daughter starts school. I would keep her home with me forever if I could.

opening : The washing machine to take out the laundry and hang it up to dry.

giggling : At the silly things that our almost two-year old does. She is pretty funny.

feeling :   Very content and happy that it is summer.

snacking : On lots of popcorn (the girls are, I don’t love popcorn).

coveting : New cameras...

helping : My daughter finish up her last few weeks of pre-school.

hearing : Lots of Taylor Swift, we have her music on repeat right now. My girls especially love the song “Bad Blood.”

looking : For birthday present ideas for my youngest

London & Paris Instax Mini8 Photos & Opinions

Before I left for Europe my sister and I tried to find pictures taken by my Great-Uncle when he visited Europe over fifty years ago. We thought that it would be cool to take a few of the pictures along and find some of the same locations that he visited to see how they had changed. The plan was to possibly hold the old picture up and take a new picture at the same location, but more than anything we just wanted to see his pictures. Unfortunately we were unable to locate them and so instead I thought it would be fun to buy an Instax Mini 8, which is something that I have considered purchasing for a long time. As a kid I LOVED to play with my parents Polaroid Camera and so the idea of instant photos sounded both useful and fun--useful as visual reminders of details for my travel journal. I decided that if I was ever going to buy one, before my trip to Europe would be the ideal time.  I purchased the yellow one because it just seemed to be calling my name, although I also loved the pink and blue. This brought the number of cameras I took to Europe to three... Excessive, I know. But photography is something that brings me joy in life and I wanted good photos to help me remember my trip. 

And ultimately it was fun to use the Instax Mini 8 to create photos like this one below of St. Paul's Cathedral. 

Paris Photos (Linked to similar photos that I took at the same time on my DSLR Camera): 

Row 1: L - Blossoms and Notre Dame Cathedral R- Beneath the Eiffel Tower

Row 2: Eiffel Tower

Row 3: L - My sister with the Eiffel Tower, which didn't show up. R - Twinkle lights Eiffel Tower

Row 4: Front Entrance to the Palace of Versailles

Row 5: My sister in the gardens behind Versailles

Row 6-7: Versailles Gardens

Row 8-9: The glass pyramid in front of the Louvre

Row 10: Place de la Concorde

Row 11: L - Eiffel Tower with Carousel R - Eiffel Tower with Blossoms

Row 12: The gargoyles of Notre Dame 

London Photos (Linked to similar photos that I took at the same time on my DSLR Camera): 

Row 1: L - Greenery in Hyde Park R- Pigeons in Hyde Park
Row 2: L - Kensington Palace R - The London Eye
Row 3: London Double Decker Bus
Row 4: L - House in Notting Hill R - Red Phone Booth with Elizabeth Tower (washed out in photo)
Row 5: Parliament
Row 6: Elizabeth Tower
Row 7-8: Shaun the Sheep, Shaun the Sheep at the Tower of London
Row 9-10: St. Paul's Cathedral
Row 11: Tower Green in the Tower of London
Row 12: Trafalgar Square
Row 13: Westminster Abbey
Row 14: White Tower inside the Tower of London 
Row 15: L - Buckingham Palace R- church door
Row 16: L - Car in South Kensington R - Blooms in South Kensington

And now for my opinion on the Instax Mini 8... Pros: I loved how it looked, it was fun waiting in anticipation for the photo to develop, I loved the picture I took with St. Paul's Cathedral next to the Instax, I love the fun effects that film can create. Cons: The results were very inconsistent. I tried taking pictures in several different lighting situations and the only time of day that the photos turned out really well was in early evening, before it got too dark. Prior to that it was too bright and everything became washed out regardless of the exposure settings. There were several instances where the lighting seemed ideal (at least for my DSLR) where the photo didn't turn out at all on the Instax. Out of the 50 pictures that I took, 10 were completely blank, several were washed out, and only a few were what I considered to be gems. Do I need to spend more time learning and experimenting with the camera? YES. However with the camera costing around $70 and the photos costing $1/per photo, it makes for a very expensive experiment. For the time being I sent the camera back because the resulting photos didn't justify the cost, however in the future I wouldn't mind trying again to see if I can get more consistent results.