on my iPhone: July 2011

I love having a good quality camera at the ready, when I don't feel like carrying around my digital. The camera on my iPhone is worth the price alone, and there are so many cool apps you can add to it.

Here are 10 shots from July 2011, in no particular order.

4 man splashdown. Matt, Luke, Bart & Evan. I don't know what was trickier; trying to avoid the sun flare or trying to avoid getting wet.

Max having a snack poolside.

Lola and her funny sit. Bunny ears optional.

Me, zombified.

Bart & Emma in Chicago.

Lola under someone's bed. I didn't take this picture. I just found it on my phone.

Chicago, as seen from my Segway.

Evan & Luke by the pool. I turned them into bubble faces, and they look awesome.

In my pond today.

Driving with my girl.

5 good things- June 2011

Welcome July!

I wasn't home at the end of June/beginning of July, and this is the first chance I've had to blog my five good things for June 2011.

June is a hard month. Every year I am gobsmacked at how much there is going on in June. It's like I have selective memory loss every time it rolls around. For the record, July is shaping up to be nearly as busy. I'm wondering where the 'slow down' button is.

1. & 2. the weather/my garden

June was a perfect month for people to don't like the heat of summer. We rarely turned on the AC, and didn't water the yard at all, because we had plenty from mother nature. Everything in my yard is lush and beautiful, and more things are blooming at the same time. The weeds have been manageable. It just plain looks good. It makes me happy.

3. Emma testing out of Algebra 1.

My kid doesn't want to take Earth Science next year, so she took it upon herself to attempt to test out of Algebra 1 and go directly to Geometry and Biology next year. With only 3 days of prep, she passed the test. Awesome.

4. A new club

These four girls are the newst addition to the Canton Celtic U15 girls white team. We tried to stay with Rush, but after the first day of tryouts it became clear that there were not going to be enough players to have a team. We didn't want to have a combined team like last year. Options were looking bleak. Our coach suggested we go to the second day of tryouts in Canton, so we did. All four girls made the team. It will involve more driving, but they will get to play, which is all they care about.

5. First birthdays

My nephew Max turned 1 on June 5th. I love getting to spend time with him one day a week. He enjoys every minute he is here with us, and this summer is going to be so much fun. Emma is his 'primary caregiver' until school starts, and it's lovely to watch them together. They will have a bond forever because of the time they spend with each other now.

And this brings us to the heat of July! I hope I will be able to think of 5 things that make me happy, and that 4 of them won't be air conditioning!