A Tribute to the Number 4

Thanks to a fellow homeschooler/blogger, I’ve taken him up on his photo challenge.  Last week he randomly went to folder number FOUR and chose picture number FOUR and shared it on his blog.  He runs a secretive, anonymous blog where we rarely get glimpses of him or his family.  And then when we are graced with a photo he removes it before we can gather the family around the computer and share the love.

All that to say, in Tribute to the Number 4, and MoreThanAnElectrician, (see my blogroll) here is the photo:  (I’m going to go find out what it is at this very minute… so I’m in just as much, if not more, suspense than you are…..)

OK, my niece is NOT going to be happy about this tribute to number four…. AT ALL.  This was taken in 2005 and now she is a tall, willowy teen with contacts.  Sorry, honey.  But it was MoreThanAnElectrician’s fault.

Let me try again with my other set of pictures ……. please stand by……  Here is a tribute to the number One… folder number one, picture number one.

This is sunburned Austin fast asleep after a day of waterskiing at Lake Tahoe in 2007.  He just saw this picture from last year and is not happy with the tribute either.  I don’t think he’s had a haircut since this G.I. Joe hairdo.  He’s more of a surfer dude now.  Now that I think about it, I haven’t seen his forehead since 2007.  I think a Thanksgiving haircut is in need. 

MoreThanAnElectrician has made two enemies today.  Sorry!  And I thought this was such a great idea.  (sigh)

Whitney, if you read this, come over so I can take an up-to-date picture of you for my blog.  :o)

The Photo Essay………

Disappointingly, I’m here to tell you that I remembered quite a few things on our whirlwind trip to Tahoe.  The cord to download my photos from the camera to the computer was not one of them.  There will be no photos essay of Tahoe this week.  I can find google pictures and fake it, but it’s not the same.

On a brighter note, my sister-in-law, Jennie, the brains and beauty behind Bags for Zaza was interviewed!  Here is the blog:  http://www.profy.com/2008/07/21/social-media-grassroots-fundraising/   Very cool, Jennie.

Back to Tahoe.  The sun is shining.  The air is a cool 82 degrees.  O.K. that IS cool for people who live in Phoenix.  The grass is green.  The lake is blue. We are relaxing and playing games and watching the children play in the freezing cold water.  Before we arrived here to see the hazy skies, I was unaware of all the fires burning in California.  Wow.  There’s LOTS. 

I am taking fabulous pictures that I am forced to wait to share.  Please stand by.

www.bagsforzaza.blogspot.com The bag auctions end tomorrow morning.

Capturing the Life of a Boy

Pouring over past pictures on the ‘puter, I happened on this gem.  It’s a collection of quality paraphernalia from the drawer in my 11 year old son’s desk.  I remember taking the picture because I was trying to capture the ordinary things in life that get overlooked in scrapbooks and photo albums, but are the essence of raising boys.  Call me weird, but I get such a kick out of boys’ stuff.  They’re such BOYS!

The customary desky type items are accounted for: ruler, heavy duty black paper “clip” (what are those things called?) and rubberbands.  But upon closer inspection you see it is not single rubberbands… 27 of them have been fastened together, I’m assuming, as a weapon of mass destruction, possibly used in combination with the cork and the ruler.  A CORK?  What in the world?  Is he moonshining under his bed again???

Onto the thank you cards.  I can see three different ones in here including the whole pack of yellow ones on the left side with blood dripped on them.  These are given to our children every Christmas in their stockings from Santa because Santa knows that boys need to be taught how to be thankful, given the tools and step-by-step instructions.  Seems I dropped the ball with the step-by-step part.  <Sigh>

The disposable camera made me chuckle because the boys only use these at summer camp.  I took the picture at the end of October.  Was he going to ask to have them developed in December or January when he was missing camp the most???

The out-of-its-case CD would make my husband’s heart pound…. every CD has a home and that’s where they should be.  How many times do we have to say it before it clicks in his little head?

My personal favorites in the picture:

#1 The coiled metal scrubbie in the bottom right corner….  why, oh why?  Was there dried macaroni stuck to his bed that required a ScrubBud??  Or was it being pulled apart piece by piece and wrapped around his teeth as self imposed braces?  Or possibly used with batteries and a high-voltage shocker?

#2 The carefully ripped out piece of the Peaches and Cream instant oatmeal box.  Our younger son sometimes does this if he is needing to spell a word.  But PEACHES AND CREAM?  Boys don’t write things about peaches and cream.

Don’t miss the ordinary in your house.  Go get the camera and take some defining pictures that capture the here and now.  I hear it will be gone in the blink of an eye.