Mulberry Street

I rode my bike tonight.  The sun was low on the horizon and the air was cool.  It was a perfect ride.  I haven't been on my bike in months and suddenly I wanted to store my running shoes until next spring.  Cycling is a very convenient activity for me, because Eric is my mechanic and coach.  He motivates me to get on the bike and drops everything to help get me out the door.  It also helps that I can borrow all his bike shorts (I do have my own jersey).  But, this isn't my point.  I am so tired of running and so is my body.  It was so refreshing to get on the bike and put double the miles behind me, in half the time it would take me to run.  I've been running since February and only taken a few breaks.  As a result my body is feeling the fatigue and overuse that comes with months of training.  I am also tired of finding the time it takes to go for a run, with or without the kids. In four weeks I'll be (mostly) done wit...

We go to the zoo frequently.  There are so many animals to see and learn about.  Every trip offers a new opportunity to spend time with an animal you maybe haven't seen up close before.  For instance, on this trip we arrived just as the zoo keeper was feeding the tortoise. He even chews slowly. What a great animal.  Emory got most excited about the elephants, probably because it was the biggest animal we saw and therefore the easiest to see. The kids loved cooling off in the spritzer.  I think they would have played there all day if we had not urged them on to see more animals. We walked through the "small mammals" house and enjoyed all the various animals.  The diversity in color, shape, and body shape is wonderful.  Plus, it seems the smaller animals have a little more personality than the larger ones. Visiting the big cats is always a must, because I can't get enough of their beauty and grace.  On this visit we heard the ...

These beautiful tomatoes, plus this wonderfully fragrant basil, made one fabulous homemade pizza for dinner tonight. We don't have a large garden, and most everything grows in pots, but I love what we have! In fact, here are all the shots of my garden I meant to blog earlier in the year.  

Do you ever get frustrated with your subjects?  I do.  On a perfect, overcast evening I thought I'd take some photos, only none of my subjects would hold still.  Little stinkers!  I do, however, find some things to appreciate about each photo though, because even though the shots are blurry, a little bit of each of their personalities comes through.

Someday I'd like to make a photo book of doors.  When we were in Montpellier, France, we found some wonderfully unique doors with great details.  I imagine that each door is so unique from the next, because there isn't a lot one can do to dress up their house, aside from flower boxes.  The best part about these doors is that they are functional and some require fabulous antique keys.  Every time a person turned their key and opened the door, I found myself lingering to catch a glance of what I might see behind.  We spent hours exploring the streets of the city and I got so excited at the sight of each door.  I have to thank Eric for being so patient with me while I snapped photos.  Out of the thousands of photos we took, I'd guess 25% of them are of doors.  Thanks hun. Photos by Alisha Photo date:  June 19, 2011

Genevieve composed this little ditty while she waited for our guests to arrive.  I'll give you one guess what the title is.

A day trip to the lake was long over due, so we piled into Sarah's van and took the kids to Alison's lake.  It was a very pleasant day with low humidity.  We built sand castles, splashed in the water, and chased dragon flies.  It was a great time.

Genevieve is growing up everyday.  Some days I am so happy about it and other days really sad.  She is such a great girl and we love her very much!  She has so much spunk and a fun personality.  I especially love when she talks with her "informative-know-it-all" voice.  She practices cartwheels, plays with cars and polly-pockets.  She always has a good idea on how to spend our day. I took Genevieve to her first movie at the theater.   Within 5 minutes she wanted to leave, by 15 minutes she was standing up and by 40 minutes she was tugging at me.   I insisted that we stay through the end, despite her protests at each scary part.   Miraculously, we made it all the way through Winnie-the-Pooh.   Yes, Winnie-the-Pooh had her scared out of her seat.   I didn’t think that was possible either.   In the end Genevieve's verdict was, "It was a little scary, a little sad, and a little happy."   I don’t believe we’ll be heading back ...

I’ve said it before and now I am sure of it – Emory is going to have some hefty tantrums in the future.   After telling him, “No” and taking something away from him, he fell to his knees and pounded both fists on the floor.   On another occasion, he wanted to go outside and I told him we needed to wait, so he leaned on the door and yet again pounded his fists.   I’ll be honest with you.   I am not excited for Emory’s next year.   Between the lack of communication and desire to do things, we are going to have some major struggles.   As a result I have rededicated myself to teaching him some sign language.   With a little luck, we’ll communicate just enough to avoid those fists. Emory loves strings.   In fact, he prefers strings to be attached – to something, anything, well perhaps something electronic, actually.   There are a few pull string-wood-toys around the house but I’m afraid he’s lost interest in them.   Instead, he likes to get ...