Playing around with focus...

When it FINALLY stopped raining this afternoon, the little Gomers and I ventured outside to muck around in the wet yard. The kids were thrilled to be outside and quickly amused themselves. I took the opportunity to play with our new camera. I ventured past the automatic settings to the semi-automatic "A" (Aperture) mode so I could control how much of the shot was in focus. I'm not going to attempt to explain Aperture, but Wiki has a good explaination here if you're interested. Have I mentioned that I'm REALLLY loving my early grad present?

Jorge (you know... Jordan... Jorjor... Jorge!)

Here are a few more pictures with our new camera!! We bought a Nikon D60 DSLR. I'm loving it so far and haven't even really ventured far from the automatic settings. I love when pictures capture the kids' personalities... I can just keep snapping pictures and then choose the ones that fit their personalities.

Abby & Jude

My grad present from Jon & the kids is a new camera. Although I'm still a couple months away from having all my requirements completed, we (okay, so I) wanted to have it for our upcoming trip to NB to see family and friends and to celebrate my dad's 80th birthday. The learning curve going from a simple little point & shoot to a DSLR is going to be enormous, but I'm soooo looking forward to learning (after...ahem... I finish off my doctorate). I took these pictures this afternoon.

What we've been up to...

It's been awhile, so here's a little update from the Gomers... Jude got a firetruck from his Nana & Papa for his birthday... he LOVES it. It makes lots of cool (loud) noises... Mummy doesn't love it nearly as much as Jude & Jordan do.

Jordan also loves wearing Daddy's boots.

By lunchtime on his birthday, Jude started throwing up. He had birthday jello. He threw up his birthday jello. He was a sad little birthday boy.

Jude and Abby finished gymnastics at the end of June. Jude adored his coach, Brianna. She was AMAZING at keeping the attention of 6 3-yr old boys.

This is Abby's coach, Mike. Jude had coach Mike during the last session. He would often give Mike big hugs :)

Abby and Jude had their friends Katie & Nolan in their classes. The boys would share snacks and play cars while they waited for their sisters to finish their classes.

This was Abby's last day of school. Jude liked pretending he was going to get on the bus with Abby. Jordan just liked watching for the bus!!
We celebrated Canada Day at our house with friends & family. Our friend Katarina took lots of fabulous pictures... check them out!

We took Abby & Jude to see Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs. They started playing The Taking of Pelham 123 in the wrong theatre, our theatre. The Taking of Pelham 123 is NOT a children's movie. Jon took the kids out during the previews where Orphan was the first preview. Orphan is REALLY NOT a kid's movie. We switched to another theatre that was also playing Ice Age 3. Mummy, so very NOT impressed with the error, spoke politely but assertively with the nice manager who refunded our money and gave us 4 movie passes, 2 free popcorn coupons, and 2 posters. The kids LOVED the movie (and the popcorn). It was Jude's first movie. Jordan stayed with Grammy who has been here visiting since the end of June.

Grammy is our laundry and dishes fairy...I REALLY like having a laundry and dishes fairy!

Jon went to Fort Severne to inspect a bridge yesterday. It's in the Arctic, the most northern community in Ontario. There was still ice on Hudson Bay. He did not see any polar bears.