Guess WHAT?!? My new little 35mm lens arrived yesterday! It's so small and light compared to my big zoom lens, I think I'm gonna like it :o)



As soon as it arrived I wanted to try it out, but I needed an assistant. A really good helper. OK, fine, a victim.



Hhmmm...wonder where I could find a victim....... OH, Hi Joshie !!   :o)

Nope.

But.....Josh, you don't even know....

Nope.

.....what i'm gonna ask........

I'm going on a run now, C-ya.

But, but, my new lens came in the mail, look! And I jussssst.....

That's nice, Mom. I'm leaving on my run now.

You see, if you could jusssst....

Nope.

JOOOOOOoooooSHIIIIIIIIIIIEEeeeEEE!!! PLEEEeeeeeeEEEeeeeEEEEEsse?

(Biggest exhale you've ever come out of a child) Mom?!.....fine. You have 3 minutes. That's it.

Awesome, because I have to practive my depth of field, that's why I ordered this lens in the first place and I'm so excited about it. I think even YOU'LL love this lens and it's so lightweight and you might want to borrow it sometime......

Mom......you're down to 2 1/2 minutes. Let's do this.

(I seriously don't know where this child learned time management, because he sure doesn't get that from me).

With that we headed to the deck!



Check it out ~ I love this shot! Look at my boy! Dang, this turned out so cool and cute at the same time! Don't tell Josh that though.



And look at that handsome kid, those eyes! I snuck this frame in because I love him. xoxo

OK, seriously, after we snapped a few pics even Josh looked at them and admitted, "That's pretty epic, Mom" and was grinning. Yup, I got a grin. I'll take it.



Then he was off.....leaving me all alone with the precious little blossom that I forced him to give to me. How sweet. I will treasure this blossom forever.



When I went inside with my tiny little blossom that Josh was forced to give to me, Piper really liked it.



And she thanked me for showing it to her.



And then she......



Ripped a petal off of my precious little blossom. Like a wild beast!



I mean, there were fangs and sharp teeth (all 3 of them) SNARLING, tearing and viciously ravaging the poor little blossom to death. It was scary.



She showed no mercy. One after another....RIP! Spit. RIP! Spit. I was quivering.



I couldn't belive my eyes. What did that sweet little Joshie blossom ever do to you, Piper?



I didn't think Piper had a mean bone in her body. I may have to rethink all of the fundamental truths that govern my life now. That may take 10 minutes.

THE END

The moral of the story is ~ don't make a 19 year old give you a flower when all he really wants to do is run ~ and never underestimate a chihuahua with 3 teeth.

JOSH MADE WEIGHT!!

We are so proud of our Josh!!  Way to go, Son!

He's been exercising, stressing out, eating well, stressing out, running half - 3/4 marathons and stressing out for 2 1/2 months now and HE DID IT!

Josh went in to PT at the recruiting station today and was spot on at 165 lbs, the requirement for the U.S. Marine Corps for his height. He texted me right away, he was psyched :o)

Next week he's going to go in for his official PT test (sit ups, pull ups, etc. within a certain time) and then he'll get to put in for a ship date for boot camp. We don't know if that will be August or October, but it doesn't matter at this point. We are just so proud of him, he's one more step toward his goal. Big smiles all around  :o)

I added another GREEN photo into the PW contest pool on Flickr~ I hate the clarity and the noise of this image, but it does convey green, for sure.

This was taken in Kamakura, Japan. I went to a giant bamboo garden with my friends Tammi & Teri and we had fresh whipped green tea made by a mamasan in full kimono, in the bamboo forest, by a waterfall. I mean, how cool is that? She gave us little cherry blossom candies on our place mat.

I kept pinching myself to make sure the experience was real. It was awesome!

We have more big news in our family!! Oh yes, big news like this doesn't happen that often.........

That's right! Miss Madison lost her SECOND tooth!

OK....so it might happen again, but whatever...

WAY TO GO MADISON!! Only 18 more to go!

While I was in Texas I was able to get a few photographs to commemorate the loss of her very first tooth. She is simply adorable! These small "moments" happen so fast and in a blink they're over. I was lucky to be there during that small 3 week window of opportunity, because from now on those teeth'll be falling out like crazy

Geez I can't wait until those two front teeth to pop out. I'll have to record her talking to me with all of her "S's" mithing from her thententhes.

A few weeks ago I was online reading one of my favorite blogs that was introduced to me years ago by my friend Lori (Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond). By the way, Lori and I are going to go visit Ree when she's here in D.C. on her book tour. It's already on my calendar.

HOLLAH!!  **High Five**

Anyway, PW was writing about a gift that was given to her recently by a visitor and the second I laid eyes on them I went crazy! I had to have them.

First, the name ~ "Peas in a Pod." And Lori, you're going to want a pair, also. I always see two peas in a pod representing engagements, couples getting married, love, blah, blah, blah...but you never see three little peas in a pod.

They are THE perfect representation of my little family ~ me, my Johnny and my Josh, ~ and also, my three little chihuahua girls, awwww, they are so stinkin cute (my boys, girls and the earrings) Take a look.

They are handmade, in fact, it took weeks to get mine as Joolie was overwhelmed with orders after PW put them on her blog.

The earrings have three little black freshwater pearls nested inside a sterling silver pea pod. Very chic. Love them. Well worth the wait.

Are they not the sweetest?

And they're sold on ETSY.com! Etsy.com is a wonderful site that allows you to buy and sell your own creations and support thousands of wonderfully talented ladies (and men!) in their craft. Take one look at the home page and you'll see what I mean.

Here's the JoolieJewelry Etsy shop address:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=vt_related_1&listing_id=43728957

I have to get dressed and get going now, tons to do.....and I'm going to wear my new earrings today  :o)