FtVF - Horsing Around

I make no beef about Vault Fridays. Mostly they are for me. Mostly I like to look back at these pictures. Plus I know that some of the people that I care for most might like a look back as well. In fact, some of these pictures might be new to them.

So into the vault.

For those unaware, Jeremiah's parents have a farm. A big fat farm. I LOVE it. They stock the freezer full of frozen treats, they have horses, plus lots of room to breathe. It's great. The few times that I have been able to visit, we ride the horses.

When I was younger I took lessons and I loved it. I am always telling Jeremiah that I would love a horse. And a goat. And a pig. Mostly his response is silence. Which is okay. I bet he's just thinking how much he would like those things, too.

Right?

Anyway, these pictures are from 2006 and (I think) 2007. I am not one hundred percent sure about the black and whites.

I got the brown horse. And the dog. I LOVED Sparky.

Jeremiah got Angel.

Absolute, one-hundred percent pure joy - The horses eager to get back to the barn. The home stretch. A fantastic memory. I still remember how much fun I had on this strip of land.

Different year. Same horses. And I just want to let you know that I am NOT naked. My clothes are just pastel. Blue shorts, blue tank. Not naked.

Remember how I said that Jeremiah always managed to catch some pictures of me that I really like? This is one of them. I LOVED hanging out in the barn, spending time with the horses. I especially like it when they nuzzled/nudged me for a treat. 

And that's about it. I've been trying to dig up some old pictures on the old computer, and I'm a bit overwhelmed. But loving it.

The Fourth. Of July.

Yeah.

I'm waaaaaay behind on posting this. Like, two months.

My mom and I took our DSLRs outside on the fourth to play with sparklers. By adjusting the shutter speed on the camera, you can catch some cool images. Like these:

 One thing worth noting is that you have to write the letters backwards in order to get it to be correct for the camera. For example, you still start with the "L" in love, but you write it backwards. Takes some thought and some practice. I mean, for everyone else. I had it perfect the first time. I joke.

Really, I just wanted to show the cool pictures. I had fun and would love to try it again sometime. Probably not in Arizona. One spark touches the ground and the entire dried-up state will go up in flames. So I'll probably wait. Another year. Sigh.


Anyone else try fun things with their cameras? Have suggestions? Questions? Leave a comment!

Schoolin' & The Lake

For my final presentation in my research class, we had to give a brief introduction of who we were. We had to do PowerPoint, which I hate. I styled it up a bit and relied more on speaking than including my information in my slides. Which is technically how you are supposed to do PP anyway. Here's how I introduced myself:

I used Picnik for this. If you don't have Photoshop, this is a great way to do some special stuff to your pictures.

The point being, I went from being a Lake Girl (not to be confused with a Laker Girl) to a Desert Girl. Still sad about it to this day. I miss water constantly and I'm pretty sure that the ONLY reason I'm still here is because I have a pool that I can swim around and around while reading and drinking. And squirt gunning the dogs. Oh, and the sunshine everyday isn't bad, either. But I'm freaking done with the triple digit temperatures. You hear, that? Done.

While I was home (and dad was out being Ranger Robb) mom and I went out and took some pictures. Here's the lighthouse on the channel between White Lake and Lake Michigan.

 I love how the water sparkles and how it is endless. Water as far as the eye can see. Gorgeous.

In fact, I'm going to end on this positive note and not even get started on water safety and how dangerous the lake can be. Look at that. No lecture for you today.

Where's YOUR favorite place?

Ranger Robb

We've been enjoying the Labor Day weekend here in Phoenix as it was intended. Eating crappy food and relaxing. We got the supplies on Saturday. The supplies include hot dogs, soda, chips & dip, baked beans, and ice cream. I should point out that we only get turkey dogs, chips & dip, baked beans, and special drinks twice a year. That's it. Twice. Memorial Day and Labor Day. I told Jeremiah all day yesterday that I felt wrong for getting so excited about processed meat. Seriously excited.

Apparently my stomach didn't think the food was as great as I did. I don't think a stomach that is used to fruits and veggies can handle chip dip. Or potato chips, for that matter. Anyway...

SOME people are actually working today, and I'm pretty sure my dad is one of those SOME. My parents are both retired (as are Jeremiah's) but my dad went out and got a job working at the state park. He gets to wear a uniform and everything. Khaki, of course. Park rangers wear khaki. They call him Ranger Robb, which is fun to say. Try it.

We brought my dad dinner once while I was there and he took me on a picture tour of the park. I should mention that I've gone to this park for as long as I can remember. I grew up here.  I should also mention that I got some suweet shots with my SLR, but Jeremiah pointed out that people can lift my shots right off the blog and claim them as their own...so you only get to see the okay pictures and not the great ones. Because I don't know who you are. 'Cause you don't leave comments. Just sayin'.

Anyway, here's my dad, leading the tour...

"So if you look to your right, you'll notice..."

 

"Emily Brooke, get your ASS away from the nest!"

I saw this gigantic nest. Kind of freaked me out. I'm not entirely sure if it was still being used, but seeing as how I have a horrible tendency to be allergic to all things stingy or bitey, I decided to not stick around.

"Why are you stepping on that?"

I just liked the leaves. It's actually a weed, but I got in trouble a little bit when I smooshed one.

"And if you'll look up...Emily? LOOK UP! I'm trying to show you something!"

Swan feather. So pretty. My mom has pictures of the swan's feathers actually being used in nests by birds, but when we opened the house, there was a mouse that had taken over and jumped out at my dad. He may or may not have jumped back and screamed a little. Or maybe that was me. I have pictures of it, but again...

"Take the picture FAST. I think I heard the mouse coming back for me."

The next house had BABIES in it. I took two very quick pictures and left because babies need their mom and food, and I wasn't either of those things.

Ranger Robb reporting for duty!

Lastly, here's Ranger Robb driving the green thing. Freaking lucky duck, that looks like fun. He also gets a WALKIE TALKIE. I might have stolen borrowed his walkie talkie to talkie in a phoney baloney call. And I might have gotten the walkie talkie taken away from me. Oh, and a truck. He gets to drive a big manly truck around the park. Of course, he has to clean old-fashioned, hole-in-the-ground toilets, so maybe not so lucky.

So what are YOU doing for your long weekend?
This is the part where you hit the little comment button and tell me what you're doing this weekend.

Michigan, Oh How I Love Thee...

This is why I love Michigan. Great song, Great People, Great Scenery. Makes me just a little homesick and I am thinking that our next home will be in a greener state. Or maybe just north of here? Who knows. Anyway, enjoy. I did. I even got a little misty. I would love to be part of something this fun.



Happy Friday, All! Any fun plans for the long weekend?

Yes, Michigan!

Okay.

We all know that I have a love for my home state that rivals...nothing. There is some pride going on here. The trees, the lake, the snow...

Then I saw this website that someone posted on Facebook:

http://michiganawesome.myshopify.com/

Now, for those of you that aren't from MI, you probably won't care. But I got such a kick out of their stuff. Totally planning an order.

p.s. Happy New Year, wherever you may be! 

Analyze This

Take a look at the picture. The whole family together on a canoe trip. Mummy is obviously the photographer here.
Did you notice that my brother is the only one that received a life jacket? What the heck. So I came up with two reasons that this could be.

1) Adam was, obviously, the favorite, or
2) I was fearless and/or stubborn and wouldn't put a jacket on.

Then Jeremiah introduced reason number 3...
3)Maybe Adam was the only one they thought might try to get out of the canoe.
(Pretty dead on considering boyfriend and brother have never met.)

p.s. I know I have a fem-mullet. It is NOT my fault that my hair didn't grow in right away and that when it did it totally grew on the sides and not on the top. I was all, "business in the front, party in the back" for quite awhile.

Video - Going Home

So I was totally going to post the video but now I am not. If you saw it in the three minutes that it was posted, good for you. I just didn't want my last name on the blog and the video has my last name. So sad.


p.s.
Of all the craptastic things. I remembered to turn down the temp in my fridge at the end of the school year (turn up the temp?) but then quickly forgot about it...what with nearly cutting my finger off. So walking into my room I faced a filing cabinet of wilt-y papers and a moldy fridge filled with water. This is in addition to the cockroaches and crickets dead all over my floor. Shit Shit Shit. Welcome back.

Going Home

Here is the script that I wrote for the movie I made while at Tech camp. I might post the movie, too. But the script I can share now.


Going Home
It's been said that you can never go home again. Until this summer, I disagreed. In the most literal sense, I took yearly trips home to Michigan to visit family and friends. In a more figurative sense, it's hard to feel like a grown-up when you are sleeping in your childhood bedroom with the stars still glowing on the walls at night and knowing that your childhood treasures are tucked safely away in the basement.

And this home? It's just down the road from the lake. If you are a true West Coast Michigander, you call it "the lake" or "the big lake". To everyone else, it is Lake Michigan. A crucial part of a lake shore girl's life.

Sitting outside, breathing in the fresh air, the smell of flowers, and feeling the safety and security that comes from the surrounding trees. Knowing the lake was there if I needed it. Those were my trips home in the summer.

But this summer's trip would prove to be different. On this trip I would be packing up my bedroom of 26 years. Saying goodbye to the home in which I spent the majority of my life. I could never go back to this place. Walk through the woods. Spending evenings on the deck, watching birds, cats, and relaxing.

When I got back to Arizona, I glanced through all the pictures that I'd collected over the years.

Pictures of the lake. My lake. With my family at the lake until sundown when I was little. When I was older, it was long days and late nights at the lake. Then introducing my boyfriend to the lake. Showing him the dunes that I climbed as a child. The channel that had the warmest water. The best place to view the sunset.

It was then that I realized that while I was losing my childhood home, I could keep the memories and I would be okay. Because the lake is my guidance, my compass, my constant.

And I can always go home again. Because every time I put my feet in the sand, I am there.

I am home.