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Zoom In, Zoom Out: Runniculas

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May seemed to be slipping away from me, and then I ended up with a nasty cold which is so unusual I was quite taken aback. So my hopes of getting a lot of watercoloring done fell along the wayside with most other creative endeavors. 

A friend recently brought me a beautiful bunch of runniculas. As part of one assignment for the photography course I'm taking I pulled out my macro lens and had some fun.

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I'll be back later with a long (long overdue) One Little Word post for April. I'd better hurry as it will soon be time to talk about May's intentions!

Zoom In, Zoom Out

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It's time for Helena's wonderful meme:  Zoom In, Zoom Out. You'll have to indulge me for awhile. It was such a long, gray winter I'm obsessed with the beautiful spring flowers. This week when we walked through the park, the magnolia blossoms were mostly on the ground. The tulips, however, are still gorgeous.

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I love the colors in this collection planted near the conservatory.

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And I always love red and yellow.

 

More Watercolor

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I've fallen behind in the Watercolor for Cardmakers class. The featured cards just get more and more beautiful every day, and I'm a bit overwhelmed by all I want to try. I do have a couple cards to share. The first one is watercoloring a stamped image from Jennifer Razsa's lesson on Day 5. In my desire to use some of my older wooden stamps I chose "Happy Birthday Topiaries" by Uptown Rubber Stamps. I don't even know if they're in business anymore. Every time I purge my stamp collection, this one makes the cut. It's whimiscal nature gets to me every time. 

I used my Inktense watercolor pencils for this one, and it was definitely a learning experience. I'll be giving it another go once I've tried some of the other techniques.

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The next card was also a learning experiences from the lessons on Day 3:  watercolor stamping. This involves applying ink directly to the stamp and then adding water to the stamped image. I followed along with a video by Dawn Woleslagle on her WPlus9 blog to create this card. She's one of the instructors for the class, as well.

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I used another older wooden stamp by Judith for the mason jar. It's a bit bigger than I would have liked so I'll search through my acrylic stamps next time for a better choice. The flowers, foliage, and sentiment are all from Dawn's "Fresh Cut Flowers."

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I'm anxious to try this again soon, as I think I know what I what's needed to improve the watercoloring here. I'm hoping to find time today to watch the last three days worth of videos for class so tomorrow I can give another technique a try. I've always thought these classes were well worth the money, but this one far exceeded my expectations. I'll be working on these techniques all summer!

 

Happy Mother’s Day & Watercolor #4

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Today is Mother's Day in the States, and I've had quite a lovely one. Before I share a little bit about my day, I thought I'd share the cards I sent to my daughter and and gave to my daughter-in-law. Sarah's been spending a lot of time in her yard, so I sent her a gift certificate to a lovely nursery around the corner from their house. A floral card seemed appropriate. One of my goals this year is to use some of my older stamps and decide if they are ones I want to keep. The stamp collection is the one thing I really didn't spend a lot of time purging in January, although I did give a nice sized box to the charity shop. I decided this stamp of tulips by Lockhart is a keeper.

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I colored it with Copic markers, adhered it to a Paper Source embossed flat card, and then to a card made with Simon Say's new Fog cardstock (a new favorite.) The sentiment is from Avery Elle.

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Betsy's card is another card for the Watercolor for Card Makers class. I posted another card using this technique earlier. This time I was quite happy with the way the Distress Inks stamped off the acrylic block.

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The die cut is from Simon Says "Happy," and the rest of the sentiment from Winnie and Walter's The Big, The Bold, and The Happy. After mounting it on Papertrey Ink's Tropical Teal card, I added two gold die cut hearts left over from a previous project. 

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This is also the week of my birthday, and I took some money I've been saving and purchased a fixed aperture 17-50mm lens for my camera. We're finally having some splendid spring weather, and the Lilac Festival in Highland Park opened on Friday. This morning Tracy and I walked through the park and I had a chance to try out the new lens.

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This is just one section of a huge pansy bed they plant for the festival each year. The design is always different.

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Despite a lot of rain Friday night and some pretty strong winds (we were in the park for Tracy's brother's band performance), the magnolias have survived rather well.

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My main motivation for purchasing the lens was to improve my ability to take photos in low light situations. I'm asked pretty frequently to take photographs at Presbytery events, usually in a church where I'm uncomfortable using my flash. And then, more importantly, I'd like more consistently good shots of grandchildren indoors. But I have to say, I'm pretty pleased with the way the lens performed outdoors today. It's the heaviest lens I own, but wasn't a problem during our three mile walk.

After lunch, we went to the nursery and purchased the geraniums for our patio bed, and a flat of marigolds to plant along the driveway. Tracy bought me a beautiful hanging pot of geraniums, vinca, and lobelia which is hanging by the front door. (Forgot to take photos of these!)

Matt, Betsy, and Skylar came for dinner, and we had a nice long Face Book session with Sarah, Adam, and Caleb. I couldn't have asked for a nicer day!

 

Watercolor: Part 3 & CAS(E) This Sketch

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Back again with yet another card from the techniques introduced on Day 1 of the Online Card Class. This time it was the embossed resist technique which I've done before on a smaller scale. I didn't have a background stamp with the open spaces they recommended but I thought this one called "Tiny Flags" by Hero Arts might work.

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I embossed it with gold on the smooth side of Tim Holtz's watercolor paper, and used Distress Inks to watercolor diagonal stripes, and adhered it to a card made with PTI's Raspberry Fizz cardstock. The stamp is a very old wooden one by Savvy Stamps. I needed an anniversary card for my brother-in-law and sister-in-law and this looked appropriately festive. The card design is based on this week's sketch from CAS(E) This Sketch. It couldn't have been more perfect!

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Here's a closer look at the watercoloring.

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We're off in just an hour or so to celebrate Mother's Day with Tracy's mom and siblings. We're celebrating a day early since his brother, Greg, who's band was inducted in the Rochester Music Hall of Fame last week, flies back to Texas tomorrow.

Watercolor for Card Makers 2

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This was the first technique taught in the Online Card Class on watercolors. Once you've painted a watercolor background, you lay a stencil down on it, press it in, and when you lift it up here's what you see.

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I absolutely love this technique and will use it again, I'm sure. Luckily it worked well on the first try!

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I used my Winsor and Newton travel watercolor set with the Crafter's Workshop "Mini-herringbone" stencil on Tim Holtz watercolor paper. My favorite thing about this watercolor paper is how white it is. Both my cold press watercolor pad and my regular watercolor pads are more cream colored. I bordered the watercolor piece with a piece of Worldwin "Light Terrific Teal" cardstock. I used to be able to buy this paper locally. When the last of the local shops went out of business I stocked up on a lot of colors, but they're beginning to dwindle. I love the range of colors and it's a great weight for matting. 

The sentiment ("Oh, Happy Day" by Avery Elle) was stamped on vellum, layered on another piece of cardstock and stitched down. I'll enter this in Virginia's View Challenge:  Stitching, even though there's not a lot of it!

Watercolor for Card Makers 1

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As soon as I saw it advertised I signed up for the Online Card Class:  Watercolor. I've tried nearly all the techniques from Day 1, and have four cards I'll share here over the next few days, but today is Day 4, and the list of things I want to try is LONG! Like every other Online Card Class, this one is packed with techniques, videos, and great tips that apply to more than just watercolor. I thoroughly enjoy these classes.

My first attempt at using Distress Inks and an acrylic block to stamp some intense watercolors wasn't a total success. I wasn't really happy with one of the colors I chose, but when I cut the piece into strips and alternated them, I ended up with a card I like.

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The die cut & stamp are from "Wonderful Words: Thank You" by Papertrey Ink, and the cardstock is Papertrey's True Black. 

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I was happier with the second attempt, but I'm saving that one to post on Mother's  Day. Off to see the videos for Day 4!

Zoom In, Zoom Out: Week 19

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I got an early Mother's Day gift from Tracy this year. I didn't have anything particular on my wish list, but several weeks ago received a flyer from the Community Darkroom. An instructor who I knew through Camera Rochester was offering a course "Beyond Your DSLR," and it looked like something I'd enjoy. We just finished our third class, and it's been very interesting. Much of the first two weeks were quite technical, but I knew enough to keep up, and had several "ah ha!" moments. He has me shooting on manual again which I hadn't done in a long time, and our first assignment was to learn how to set custom white balance. I found that relatively frustrating, and not particularly helpful since I shoot in Raw and can easily adjust white balance in Lightroom.

Last week's assignment was to shoot 10 images all with Daylight White Balance since that replicates the old film world more closely. We were to work on good exposure, focus, and composition. I put off doing the assignment until yesterday (the day of the class) since I was hoping for good weather, and finally got some. 

Although these are not the images I shot for class, I did remember to get some shots for this week's Zoom In, Zoom Out while walking through Highland Park. There were lots of photographers walking around the park yesterday. It was a gorgeous day, but folks are a little worried that the lilacs won't really be blooming by Friday when the annual Lilac Festival begins. 

The flowering trees, however, are in full bloom.

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And most of the magnolias survived a week of wind and rain. I love the contrast of them against the deep blue sky.

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You can check out other Zoom In, Zoom Out photos here on Helena's blog.

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Thinking of You & Anything Goes Challenge

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Here to share two cards created for the same friend. One was sent a couple of weeks ago, and the other just yesterday. Around Christmas, she fell and broke her wrist so severely that she still is unable to drive, open her mail, or do many of the ordinary things we take for granted. It's been a long haul, but she is one of those "glass half full" people who downplays the whole experience.

The first card is a lift from one of the inspiration pieces from the February Simon Says Card Kit.

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Everything except the gems in the center of the flowers came from the kit.

The next card is quite unusual for me. I took a variety of art materials to Chicago with me, and one day was playing around with some watercolors. I was also doing some doodling for an art journaling class I was taking, and created these flowers with watercolors on a piece of Tim Holtz watercolor paper and some Molotow paint markers.

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I cut the same "Simply Framed" die I used on one of my recent Project Life cards to cut a black frame and the watercolor piece. Then I cut the new Phrase Play #3 die and used just the "Hello" from it over the watercoloring, and the coordinating "A Warm . . . " from the accompanying stamp (all Papertrey Ink). Simon Says' new cardstock, "Audrey Blue," was the perfect match for the card base.

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The Online Card Class: Watercolor began today, and although I watched all three videos, and have multiple ideas percolating in my head, there wasn't any time at the creating table today. I am linking these cards up to the Simon Says Wednesday Challenge "Anything Goes" Challenge, for which I see there are already over 700 entries! There's no lack of inspiration for card makers on the internet.

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It’s (Inter)national Scrapbook Day

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I was up early and thought by now I'd have multiple Project Life pages to share, but it's been one of those days where other projects have taken far longer than I anticipated. The day's not over, but we have a play at Geva Theater at 4:00 followed by a trip to BJ's to pick up some groceries. Hopefully, I'll get a start on a few more pages before bedtime. 

At any rate, I did finish the February Project Life pages earlier this week . There are just two spreads for February, and only one of them shows any snow! That's because the best of the photos came from our brief trip to Florida, and the rest were taken inside. When I finished it seemed odd to have such bright and cheery photos for a typically gray and cold month.

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I purchased Tracy Larsen's Simply White templates a month or so ago, and was delighted to find how easy they are to use. I like the clean, white look of the page using them. I also discovered Epson's Premium Presentation Paper recently. I have a wonderful (but old) Canon printer, but the Epson paper worked beautifully to print the photos as well as the journaling card (Cathy Zielske). It's a nice weight, and much less expensive that the Canon Luster or Ilford Pearl photo paper I typically use. The journaling card is from the February Cocoa Daisy "Day in the Life" kit.

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The title card was created with Papertrey's "Monthly Moments" and "Slide Frame" dies, the Winnie and Walter "The Big, The Bold, and The Happy" stamp, and the Mini Heart Collection die from Memory Box. 

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More Simply White templates, and a journaling card from Cocoa Daisy.  I made a pocket for our Beach and Towel card from the Jupiter Resort with a piece of patterned paper from Simple Stories. I forgot to print a caption for the photos from the George Eastman House, so printed on an piece of transparency and added it to the top of the photos with two tiny pearls. I used a new Papertrey Ink die, "Simply Framed" to create the pocket card "you and me."

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You can see the subtle grid stamping on the bottom of the card. I layered three of the outer frame, so the card is slightly recessed. The banner die is from the "Count Down" die, and the sentiment from "A Few Pointers." I won another generous gift certificate during the April Papertrey Release party and used it to purchase several of their stamp and die sets meant for pocket scrapbooking. I know I'm going to enjoy them, and have some card ideas percolating as well. The little hearts were left over from the die used on the title card.

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This was one of my favorite beach photos. The colors of the sea and sky that day were just wonderful. The day we were at Jupiter Beach it was incredibly windy and the colors were much more muted. The caption was stamped with an older Lawn Fawn set by the same name.

You may remember that our reason for the February trip was to see Tracy's stepmother who had been diagnosed with early onset dementia. On a happy note, we heard yesterday that Betty is doing much better. They changed her medication, and her memory and ability to function relatively independently have returned manyfold. She's in a new assisted living facility and doing really well! We needed some good news around here.

Happy Scrapbooking! 

ZIZO: Hope for Spring

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It's relatively cold, and very rainy. But, thankfully, not enough rain here to cause the awful flooding that's happening south of us. Late last week, however, it was nice enough to walk through the park, and the magnolias were just beginning to bloom. Driving by Mt. Hope Cemetery in the rain two days ago, I noticed that the magnolias there are in full bloom. There's no sun in the forecast until Monday, so I hope the blooms stay on the trees so we'll get a good view of them in full bloom. They don't last long. They're one of my favorites!

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I'm linking these up to Helena's meme:  Zoom In, Zoom Out, though I almost always think it's better to Zzoom Out, then Zoom In. 

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Two Cards for Keep It Clean and Simple

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I have two cards today for the Simon Says Wednesday Challenge:  Keep It Clean and Simple. Most of my cards would fit this challenge, but these latest two—one for a friend's birthday and the other for a friend whose husband entered hospice are definitely CAS.

First the birthday card. I bought a new stamp set by Penny Black , "Blooming Garden," while we were away. When I first started stamping years ago, I owned a few wooden stamps by Penny Black, but this is my first acrylic set. It's all florals. I'm taking a watercolor card class that starts next week, and I think the images will be perfect for watercoloring.

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I love these poppies, and this time I colored them using Copic markers. I added a little Wink of Stella glitter to them as well, but try as I might, I could not get it to show up in a photograph. The sentiment is also from a new stamp set I found in Chicago by Avery Elle called "Oh, Happy Day."  The font for these sentiments if very different from anything else I have.

The next card was inspired by this one Cristina created for last August's Papertrey Ink release of "Mum's the Word. "I started with an embossed flat card by Paper Source, and masked the border to stamp inside.

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The mum was stamped once, and then again without reinking. The sentiment which seemed perfect for this sad occasion is combined from "Boutique Borders: Sympathy" and "Winter Hills." All three sets are by Papertrey Ink.

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When I heard about our friend entering hospice, it occured to me that we always seem to have at least one friend or acquaintance with serious health concerns. It's probably a function of our age, but too many of them are younger than we are. I count my blessings every day, and continued good health is top on the list.

Make It Monday: Water Splats

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Given that Papertrey Ink is my favorite stamp company, and I own more of their stamps than all the rest of my rather extensive collection combined, I thought I'd be participating in the Make It Monday challenges on a regular basis. But it hasn't happened. I was intrigued, however, by Nicole's video this week about using stamp pads to blend inks, and then adding water to make "water splats."

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I ended up really liking this process, and the final card, which will be in the mail for my niece who turns 21 next month. I used Orange Zest, Raspberry Fizz, and Summer Sunrise for the ink blending.

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The Wet Paint stamp set works wonderfully with this technique. I mounted the final piece on a piece of gold cardstock, then on a Raspberry Fizz card. The star die cuts are new ones I picked up this month from Memory Box, and they'll be getting a lot of use!

ETA: I'm entering this in the Moxie Fab "Hip on Handwriting" challenge.

April Papertrey Ink Blog Hop

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Being away for 10 days meant the month of April just flew by. Here it is, the 25th already. We've finally had a few spring-like days and are beginning to see the green buds on trees and bushes. What a relief! We planted some pansies yesterday, and we have a bouquet of daffodils from our yard on the kitchen table. This month's Papertrey Ink Blog Hop challenge was to find a piece of embroidery to inspire a card, and I was anxious to use some new floral images I got in my last Papertrey Ink order.

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Although there's plenty of inspiration in this inspiration board, I went off to Pinterest to see what I could find. I knew from the start that I wanted to use theBotanical Blocks stamps to create my cards. The bright colors against a black background attracted me to this piece.

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The orange, yellow, and greens seemed perfect for the sunflower image in Botanical Blocks.

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I embossed the sunflower block with Memento Luxe Ink and colored it with Copic markers. The sentiment is also from Botanical Blocks, and I added just a narrow cardstock frame and two A Muse black pearls to finish it off. Here's a closer look.

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Next I found this piece with a much different color palette.

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I decided to try watercolors for the image of the rose, and again embossed it with the Memento Luxe ink. I love that you still get the fine detail of the stamp after embossing.

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I chose the purples and greens from the inspiration piece as well as the pink border. I added a few white highlights with a Molotow paint pen in the center of the rose. I dry embossed the border with a Spellbinders Matting Basics die which made the perfect frame, then hand cut the sentiment and popped it up with a piece of adhesive foam. The Soft Stone card base seemed perfect for the watercolored piece.

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I'm linking both cards to this week's CAS-ology Challenge:  

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It was fun to play around with a new product, and it's good to add a couple cards to the stash for the long list of May birthdays on my calendar.

Zoom In, Zoom Out: Easter Fun!

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The Typepad platform has been down (in my case) for over four days. Whoever or whatever hacked the site certainly caused a big hassle!

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But it's back up today in time for Helena's meme Zoom In, Zoom Out. This week was a no-brainer. After church we quickly changed clothes and went to Matt and Betsy's to "help" Skylar with her Easter egg hunt. She loved it. We loved it.

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"Oh, no," cried Skylar when she saw this egg. Although the plastic eggs had only been in the yard a few minutes before we arrived, a squirrel had eaten away both ends of the egg and stolen the M&M inside!

We found another surprise during the Easter egg hunt, just outside the fenced in yard.

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If you look closely you can see a nest with three tiny eggs. Here's the momma who wandered off the nest as Skylar was looking for eggs along the fence. She didn't seem overly concerned about us at all.

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A family friend of Betsy's arrived with a little wagon filled with two stuffed bunnies while we were there. Skylar loved the bunnies, but the wagon was the best gift.

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Fortunately, Skylar is tiny so she's not too big to be hauled around in the wagon herself. After her ride, she hoped her dad could get in. Not so much.

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While we were in Chicago we took Caleb to the Museum of Science and Industry. Grandpa picked out a bubble gun for Skylar, and it was a huge hit with both Skylar and her dad.

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I loved the pretty bokeh in this one. I hope you had a lovely weekend. Our weather was spectacular for a Rochester Easter, but it's turned cold and rainy again today. Ah, Spring in western New York!