Visiting Grandma

We made a trip to Willmar last weekend to visit Grandma. It was a great weekend. The kids love going to see her and they had a great time. They even got to spend some time alone with her which they love.


The weather even cooperated. We ate outside and played outside. They girls love the pond and fountain.



I love how they pretend to fly and actually make themselves fly.

Picasa

I am a big fan of Google applications at the moment.

As you have probably noticed, I like to take a lot of pictures. I used to be really good about getting them developed and into albums. But I now take mostly digital pictures so I do not have anything to really put into albums. (I know, I know, I could print them and put them into albums. But I take A LOT).

So, I did a pretty good job of organizing my pictures on my computer but they were hard to share. And worse yet, what if something happened to my computer.

My smarty pants husband told me to use Picasa by Google. I said no. It would be too hard to learn and not worth my time. He said you can make albums and give captions and even share them. But I was afraid it would be too hard for this low tech girl to learn.

Was I wrong!!! I started to use this about a year ago and really love it. It immediately downloads your pictures from your computer when you open it. It organizes them by dates and keeps them in the folders that you put them in when you put them on your hard drive.

And best of all, the albums that you put them in are great. The captions are easy to type in. They are really easy to share. And there are great tools to use as well. You can fix red eyes, mess with the color and light (to the left if a pic of the individual pics. This is where you type captions and work with the tools). Along with some other things that this low tech girl does not really understand. It even holds the small videos that your small digital cameras can take.

One of my favorite features is that you can make a personalized screen saver with your pictures. I know, you can do this with a lot of things but this one is different. IT is kind of like a slide show but not really. It is hard to describe. And my girls think it is really cool to watch.

Anyway, enough rambling on. If you are looking for something new or not, check it out. It is really easy to work with and I love it.

Problems with Palin

As I watched Gov. Palin speak at the Republican, I was really turned off. I understood why so many liked her but she was not the person for me. I was having a really hard time putting my finger on what the problem was exactly but I knew that she was not a person I wanted in leadership.

As I started reading more and more things about her, I finally put my finger on it. She if very much like President Bush in her attitude for how to deal with people who do not agree with her. She tends to get rid of them. She has fired (or tried to) many people who have tried to stand up against her.

I also have not liked how they seem to be keeping her a secret. Their campaign has not made her very open to the public. Again, I understand this. They want to ride the wave of her popularity all the way to November. But you should be asking yourself this question; What is it about her that they are trying so hard to hide?

Now, I am all for passion and fighting for what you believe it. But there is an ethical line that should not be crossed. People can disagree and that can be handled in an adult manner. I also think that disagreement and discussion is an important ways of learning and finding the way to work things out. I do not agree with bullying legislation and policy with fear and intimidation.

Please think seriously about who you are going to be voting for in November. I think that it is important to be comfortable with your decision whether your candidate wins or loses. And remember, you can NEVER throw your vote away. However you choose to vote is your way of using your voice and you have the control.

Water

I think that my favorite thing to take pictures of (besides my kids) is water. I love how it flows over waterfalls.


I love how it looks moving over rocks. . .


. . . or over land.


I love how it sits on flowers.


It is calming and peaceful. They are things I could look at all day.

What are your favorite things to take pictures of or look at?

Been a While

Sorry it has been so long since my last post. We have been busy, just like the rest of you. So here are a few things to catch you up.

We were in Duluth for Labor Day weekend. We had a great time. The weather was great and we were even able to go swimming. We had a different rental house this year. It was pretty cool. It was on Park Point. It got to be hard sometimes with the bridge going up a lot.

After that, we met some friends at the zoo. We had a great time. The kids loved it of course. Again we had great weather so we really enjoyed ourselves. It is amazing how we know how to enjoy the good weather in Minnesota.

That same weekend, Kris took Caroline to her first baseball game. He won 2 tickets to see the Twins in the suite his company keeps. She loved it. Of course, all she could talk about was the food. She especially loved the train ride there and back.

The it was time for Caroline to start Preschool again. She loves it. She was so happy to be back and see her friends and make new ones. This year she gets to go 3 days a week instead of 2. She likes that a lot. Mommy had to work the Primary elections that day but was able to take some time to see her off on her first day. Caroline just went right in. As a parent you love that and hate it.

And this last weekend, my Mom threw a big party for my Dad. He has jujst retired after 39 years of service to Norman County. This is a big decision and a major life change, but it is time. And he will be much happier.

Now, we are trying to get into our new rhythem for the fall. Soon we will be all set.