Field Trip

Did you know that Simpleville is a very historic area? (well, historic in an American timeline)
We are planted right in the middle of where the "Wild West" got it's name. Lots of gold has been mined in this area an a lot of incredible history! The county is laced with quaint neighborhoods and streets that date back to the 1800's.


The kids and I took a little field trip, a mere 3 miles away to Columbia, where it all began. You can mine for gold to this day and walk through the original shops, touch original stagecoaches, horseshoes, etc. Look at the original "bandit" guns...yes, the boys loved it!

I love this as it captures about 5 minutes of awe from our day:

After their little history lesson, they were free to roam and explore...this area has a lot of large rocks, trails, and trees to climb on, not to mention a lot of original mining equipment that seems to replace the urban playgrounds...who needs monkey bars anyway?

They were so excited to go through the mazes of rocks...they're actually holding hands in this photo. Melt. My. Heart.

Some hard core rock climbing:

Of course Bee found the mud puddle first, so that he could be nice and dirty for the remaining part of the day...

What did Honey do? Well, she was worn most of the time, but when Mommy Bee wanted to take a few photos, she sat in the stroller. She doesn't seem to like the stroller much, unless she has a binky and something to run her fingers through (here, Sister, a bonnet will work...note to self, make her a blankie!).

All three of my children seem to be very "tactile"...I'm wondering if she'll be an avid thumb sucker and blankie lover like both her brothers.

What's that, bright eyes? You would like to come back? Perhaps next time we'll bring Daddy Mock and just maybe treat ourselves to some good ole home made ice cream.

If you're in Simpleville area, this is a fantastic place for photo shoots...be sure to hit me up for a slot...as soon as we're settled (in my terms, which could be a while!), I'll plan some sort of mini-session day there. Stay tuned!

Bee Hive Boot Camp (and silhouette tutorial)

This is exactly why Boot Camp was started....this face.

Oh, how I would love to one day not say, "Oh..........Beeeeee". Because if Bee isn't testing, he's "exploring", which always leads to testing in some form anyway. It's a tiring cycle.

I should have kept count of how many times I said, "I am only going to ask you ONE time" today. It would be a really impressive number...like, really impressive. But Boot Camp is going well and I can already see that it will be worth it... or so I keep telling myself until Daddy Mock comes home and can take the job as Sergeant for a bit...

So, I got a few emails on how to make the silhouette...I remember a few years ago there were tutorials all over the internet, so googling may be your best option if my directions aren't adequate...this will be a non-photoshop option of how to do it...yay!

Directions:

1. Choose the cutest kid possible. Okay, sorry, had to do that...let's try again.

-------

1. Take a photo of your child staring completely at a 90 degree angle in front of the light so you get a good line of his or her face.

2. Open the photo in MS Word. Crop it so that it's only the face (in order to crop it, select the photo and in the editing tool box, click on the "in front of" button).
3. Double click on the photo and size one of the sizes according to your frame size. My frames were 8X10, so I made sure the width of the photo was about 6" (keep in mind you'll be cutting about a half-inch based on how well you crop it). Use the same width dimension for additional children as well... you can also rotate the head a bit, I did this with Bee's as he was looking down.

4. Print out the photo on a thicker card stock paper... the thicker the better and more dimension it will give in the frame.
5. Cut around the profile...make sure to keep some little hairs and cowlicks on as these add a bit of personality and really capture who your child is at the present moment.
6. Paint the profile... I would suggest some type of glossy acrylic paint, but all I had at the moment that was black was chalkboard paint... it ended up a bit dull, but still works.
7. Use spray mount or evenly apply glue to the back of the profile... I only had children's craft glue and it ended up giving me bumps... again, the consequences for being impatient and impulsive, sometimes you just compromise for quick results! Apply onto the background of your choice...I used old scrapbook paper, but a thick white card stock is good and traditional...also maybe some off white linen resume paper, I'm sure that would be very "classic".
8. Make sure all paint/glue is dry, put in your frame and hang! Simple as that! These are great ideas for thank-you cards, birthday invites, gifts, etc.

I'm thinking of replacing Bee's silhouette shot with his "naughty face"...what do you think?