Getting ready for the Cold

Oliver is growing his hair out for the winter. He is starting to blend in with the leaves.

He is also ready to go trick n treating!!

Does the cold have to come???

Fall Colors

It seems like the colors are not as bright and pretty as they should be. We are already getting November temps. I hate to think of what November is going to be like!!

For more of the beautiful Orange colors please check out Yaya's oranges - http://yayastuff.blogspot.com/

Summer is coming to an End!!

Our weather here is starting to get chilly - So we won't be putting our boat out anymore this year. These are just some boats docked on the marina - I wish we could afford one and love to dream about staying all summer on one.

We will not get to see the lake from this view again until next year. The water is just to chilly already. I am thankful for the time we had this summer!! We did have lots of fun!!!

As the sun sets on another Summer!!

Gods Creatures

Here are a few pictures of the creatures we encountered while at Lake this summer!!

Does this turtle seem to have a bad attitude or was it just me??

I have no idea what type of bug this was - but I didn't let him get to close to find out!!

Love the dragon flies - They also seem to have attitudes!!

Got to watch where you are stepping in the creek!!

And of course the cuttest creature of ALL!!!!!

Trip to the State Fair

We went to the IL State Fair a couple of weeks ago and I thought I would share a few of my favorite photos.

This bike was awesome!!!

Loved this sculpture!!

Here is a video of Abraham Lincoln and a cow all made out of butter


We was there for the whole day and still did not get to see it all!!

Is it time to Hibernate Yet???

Sorry I haven't posted much - I have been so busy with work and a lot of traveling and many projects!! I thought I would stop and share a few of my summer photographs.

We have been having lots of fun on the water!!!
Spending a lot of time in the woods- Very Relaxing!!

As you can tell we always have a crowd!!

Worked on a video for my Aunt - That turned 80 This year!! - Happy Birthday Aunt Paula!!

Worked on pictures for my cousins' wedding- They had a 1920's theme & they made some beautyful pictures!!


Promise to add more pictures - Sooner - Hope you all enjoyed these!!

Sometimes I forget... That I am Blessed!!

I may never climb a mountain so I can see the world from there I may never ride the waves and taste the salty ocean air Or build a bridge, that would last a hundred years But no matter where the road leads One thing is always clear...

I am blessed, I am blessed From when I rise up in the morning Til I lay my head to rest I feel You near me You sooth me when I’m weary Oh Lord, for all the worst and all the best I am blessed!!

All along the road less traveled, I have crawled and I have run I have wandered through the wind and rain until I found the sun The watching eyes asked me why, I walked this narrow way I will gladly give the reason For the hope I have today

You’ve given me joyYou’ve given me loveYou give me strength when I want to give up You came from Heaven to rescue my soul This is the reason I know I know!!!

For my children!!

This is to let my children know that I will always be there to help them with my arms wide open. I may not always agree with the paths you take but I will always be there to help you finish!!! This is a video of Redmond and his father comes out from the stands to help him.

Taking A Break..... To Be Continued.....

I have been so crazy with vacation fill in at work & trying to cram everything into the very few days off that I have not been able to post. I will be taking a short summer time break & promise to return soon !!!!! - Hope everyone has a great summer & remember I will take time to stalk- I mean visit your posts!!!

PhotoHunt - In Memory

This weeks' PhotoHunt theme is "In Memory". These pictures were taken at a very pretty Grave Yard in St Francois, IL. I could not get my PhotoHunt link to work today, so I apologize for not having my link.

Carlyle Lake

This is when we first pulled in. We just barely made it before dark.

Oliver could not wait to get outside!!

We camped where the water was on both sides of us & the wind was CRAZY!

Only seen a couple of boats on the water. The water was to choppy from all the wind.

I think I wore Oliver out - way too much walking for this little one!!
(I will post more pictures later - just wanted to share these for now.)

Camping Time

I can't wait until tomorrow night!! - We will be rolling out Friday night and staying in this for the weekend


We will be sitting out doors during the night keeping ourselves warm by this:

We will be bringing a few of these supplies to also keep us warm:To bad the weather or the water won't be warm enough to do any of this:
I am sure we will have lots of fun anyway - I will be taking my camera to later share some actual pictures. Hope everyone has a great weekend!!!

Mr Fur Ball=OLiver

Oliver loves wearing his Yellow Hoody!! It keeps him warm,

and he looks cool-hip-in style!!

until mom takes it off - Then he hates the comb out!!

PhotoHunt-Purple

I thought I was going to have trouble finding Purple today - but after looking through my pictures I was surprised to find that I had several Purple captured moments. The above picture is a flower I found on the bluffs in Alton,IL

This is an Afghan Blanket made by my late grandmother. I really appreciate her hard work on those cold winter nights - she continues to keep us warm!!
These were my grandmothers favorite flowers. So this captured moment is in her honour.

This is a basket of flowers I recieved from a very dear friend for my birthday a couple of years ago & these always brighten my day everytime I see them!!


This is my hubs favorite picture. I cheated a little bit on this picture - This effect came through with using my hue & saturation adjustments.

Hope you all enjoyed these Purple captured moments!!

Please check out others at http://tnchick.com/

Mississippi in Memphis and St Louis

This is from our trip to Memphis. We see the Mississippi from the Missouri/Illinois views all the time and it is amazing that seeing it from the Memphis view is really not that different.

This is a picture of the Mississippi in front of the St Louis Arch - taken as I was crossing the bridge from Illinois to Missouri. (I was a passenger not driving)