Return to the Sandilands

It was good to return to the trails of the Sandilands this past Saturday - cooler weather prevailed and the bugs were endurable until our return to the car. I put on around 16kms that evening together with Pat & Gord. Kind of weird being filmed the whole time though as both were wired up with little digital helmet cams. Hmm...now I know what some of the wildlife I've taken pictures of feels like.

Grand Forks Escape: Canad Inn & Waterpark

We decided to do a family trip to Grand Forks (July 10-13th) because of our amazing exchange rate for the US dollar, do some shopping and check out the new Canad Inn & their amazing water park. We were not disappointed! Here's a few shots taken with my cheaper point & shoot Optio digital:Aimee enjoying Grand Fork's Canad Inn's waterpark - amazingly kid-friendly!

Chels & me shooting some hoops at one of the pools at the waterpark.

Some of the cool decor at the water park - sort of a "island theme" - very cool!

The family in the hot-tub - Zach is a little stunned apparently - not the most flattering shot but hey not all my pictures are amazing ha!

A shot of our arctic theme room for the kids - kind of cool as they had their own space as did we!

Chelsea modeling one of the bunkbeds - complete with amazing painted walls.

Aimee beside her favorite penguin!

New 7 Wonders of the World

(CNN) "The new seven wonders of the world were named Saturday following an online vote that generated server-crushing traffic in its final hours. The final tally produced this list of the world's top human-built wonders:

• The Great Wall of China

• Petra in Jordan

• Brazil's statue of Christ the Redeemer

• Peru's Machu Picchu

• Mexico's Chichen Itza pyramid

• The Colosseum in Rome

• India's Taj Mahal

Before the vote ended Friday, organizers said more than 90 million votes had been cast for 21 sites."

I've been to one of them - Mexico's Chichen Itza, so apparently i have some traveling to do if I want to see them all. Machu Picchu is definitely on my to do list & I was so close to going to Petra when I was in Israel. Still need to see the only remaining Ancient 7 wonders of the World - the Pyramids of Giza.

First week of July Pics - Holidays!

One of our favorite aspects to our place is the backyard and of course the inflatable kiddie pool is a must with our Manitoba summers of heat & humidity! So here's a few shots of the kids enjoying the backyard pool!Zachary's first plunge with his doting sisters Aimee & Chelsea.

I'm not convinced the hat is a great fashion choice but it kept the sun off his head.

Zach's surf shorts are pretty rad from my perspective!

Aimee with her gorgeous eyes!
Zee chillin'

Chels & Zach

The pantry at the Star Lake cottage has this cool glass door that I discovered the girls playing in when they were supposed to be getting ready for bed. It just so happened there was some cool light shining into the cottage from the sun setting & it just illuminated the girls well - so a little artsy but I think the results are cool!Chelsea peering out in discovery mode!Another more artsy shot of the girls in the pool - they play with water while I play with light!

7.7.7

Hmm - apparently today was the day to get married my wedding photographer friends tell me. It seemed like a pretty normal one for me but it was good. A little work - mowed the lawn, a little fun - playing with my kids, a little food (okay lots) - homemade mac & cheese (Wen makes a killer onion/cheese sauce) for lunch and then for supper we had Pat & Dar over for some of my bbq'ed chicken thighs along with grilled veggies (red onions, mushrooms, baby tomatoes, & zucchini), jalepeno cheese stuffed peppers (red, orange, & yellow). They brought some salad and saskatoon pie...it was all very good! Yes, I am an aspiring backyard chef & had three marinades (Barcelona - includes some fresh basil, diced jalapeno peppers, garlic, olive oil, sherry, etc; Citrus & Tarragon; & Honey-Barbecue). Then we spent sometime playing the Wii & Gamecube games down in the basement where it was nice & cool. That was 7.7.7 - admittedly a cool date to get married but for us a great day to just chill' with friends & family.

Nature Pics from Long Weekend

A random collection of pics from the last few weeks - most from Star Lake and a few from home.

My flower-collecting daughter Chelsea.

I'm really bad at remember names of plants but amazing colors that just pop like fireworks beside the busy bee hunting for pollen.

I have no idea how old this can is but finding litter like this in the park after so many years is a little disturbing - so I changed it into art.

I liked how the sunlight caught this wild grass - interesting greens & oranges.

Using the same light as the shot above only with daisies - playing with the lines of the stems somewhat to.Another daisy shot with a special guest using it as a landing strip.

Sunsets at Star Lake are never dull it seems - great time to play with the camera!

A shot taken after a T-storm from the park behind our place - some cool clouds!
A closer look at those wacky X-File'ish clouds - a flying saucer would look perfectly normal with that apocalyptic skyscape.

An alien-looking caterpillar taking strides up grass - extreme sports perhaps?

Another great Star Lake sunset...

I picked some daisies and threw them in the lake to play with my camera during a sunset and this is one of the results...a little surreal & yes pretty artsy - no apologies!

Another shot utilizing the floating daisies - no tripod - used the dock which due to all the rains is almost the same level as the dock.

The Mighty Ducks of Star Lake

Another series featuring a clearly identified subject - the mighty ducks of Star Lake. They happen to rest upon our shoreline occasionally - I guess they like the beach?A classic headshot - good color in the shot but not overly exciting.

One of my personal favorite shots in this set - I love how the middle duck pops amongst his blurred siblings. I got unbelievable close to these presumably wild ducks who only got nervous when I got closer than a couple feet from them or made an unnatural sound.

Another tight closeup - wildlife photographers recommend focusing on the eye of the subject but ducks are tough because of their large beaks which tend to become the focal point - so I focus just behind the eye.

Another group shot of the ducklings - not sure how old these babies are but they still can't fly.

I like the huddle of the ducks on the beach with the lake within squawking distance!

Another headshot - with a curious nip of feather in its' beak - probably from grooming itself or one of its ducklings.I'm in the water for this shot - which panics the mama duck a bit until all the ducklings leave the beach and start to explore the shoreline. They calm down eventually and I get a whack of pictures of them in the water. I had to really play with my exposures here with the fading light of the sun setting.A shot taken basically right above the duck in the water - I wanted to capture the webbed foot utilizing the almost clear water that magnifies the sandy bottom. The orange-y color is the result of the light & sand below.Another favorite shot of mine - taken at their level towards the shore with the sun setting behind me. My camera was inches from the surface of the lake & I managed to still get their reflection in the water along with some color from the sun.

Exploring Tinker Town

One of our best entertainment options for kids in Manitoba - is Tinker Town. I was pleasantly surprised as to how well-run the place was - much more kid-friendly than the Morris Stampede or any of the Shopping Mall amusement ride events. For one the ride operators aren't escaping a warrant or under the influence (as far as we could tell). Here are a few shots (again taken with my cheap Optio as it is easier to stow away than my SLR).

Chels & Aims enjoying a boat ride at Tinkertown.A sign of future teenager-dom & drivers education?

Chelsea & Aimee absolutely love riding horses - especially on the musical carousel.

First time for Aimee & Chelsea on a Ferris Wheel.

I snuck aboard the carousel without a pass so I could take a few shots of the girls in motion.

The girls speeding off in fun!