I love these little people! My cousins are all such cool kids – I only wish we got to spend more time with them. We had a blast with them last weekend. Check out photos here and here from last year’s get-together.
Author: Lindy
My name is Lindy, I'm in my 20s, and I have a passion for creativity! I love photography, graphic design, travel, cycling, and trying new things. I have a list of "30 goals before I'm 30," which include trying things like rock climbing, going on a mission trip, visiting Italy, and learning to sew. So far I've completed 15 of the 30 goals with 3 years to go!
Photo of the Day: Nineteen Months Old
Lil’ Miss K turned 19 months old yesterday – she’ll be 2 before we know it! Her current favorites are talking, throwing a ball, and sliding at the park. She was a bit grumpy while we took these photos – it was almost bedtime and she’d just had vaccination shots. She’s not changing as quickly as she used to, but feel free to compare to last month’s photos.
Lesson in Photography | Natural Light
If you wonder why I only book portrait sessions at the beginning or end of the day – this is why. We squeezed in a visit to Grinter Farms last week between church and lunch, which was unfortunately right around noon – the worst possible time of day to take outdoor photos. Notice the sun beating down on us, the awful shadows on our faces, and the squinty eyes? The “golden hour” right before sunset or right after sunrise is the best time for natural light. I will say I’m still happy we got to visit this huge, beautiful sunflower field. Next year we’ll be sure to visit much earlier or later in the day so I can get even better photos.
Photo of the Day: Bright Sunflower
One of thousands, maybe even millions, of sunflowers at Grinter Farms, in … you guessed it … Kansas (the sunflower state).
Photos of the Day: Simple Play
Sometimes we just need to hang out at home. Lil’ Miss K and I had the best time just hanging out in her room a couple of days ago. She loves to close the door, wait for me to ask where she is, and burst in to “surprise” me! She also enjoys playing with toys that have been hidden away in her toy box for a while, even if she is getting a bit to old for them. Oh, how i love this girl.
Photo of the Day: Eighteen Months Old
I’m a couple of days behind, but Lil’ Miss K turned a year and a half old on Saturday! It’s hard to believe she’s halfway to two. Here’s how she has grown since last month.
Minecraft/Stampy Cat Birthday Party
My nephew turned seven (wait, he’s twelve? where did the time go?) a couple of weeks ago, so he came up with his own Minecraft/Stampy Cat theme. I’m not sure what all of it means, but I could tell he put a lot of thought and creativity into it! We tried to take a couple of photos with Lil’ Miss K while we were together as a family, which worked out great for my sister and nephew, but not so great for her daddy and me! See what I mean below. 🙂
Bring Your Dog to Work Day
Yesterday my office hosted its annual Bring Your Dog to Work Day in support of the American Cancer Society Bark For Life event. The day began with a doggie meet-and-greet, and the dogs hung out around the office throughout the day. We wrapped up the afternoon with an ice cream social, complete with ice cream doggie treats! I didn’t have a pup to bring to the event, but I did get to doggie-sit while one coworker was on a call. It definitely made for a lively day at the office!
Nicaragua Mission Trip – Wrap Up
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7
It’s hard to believe we’ve already been back from Nicaragua for a week and a half. It’s hard to go back to “normal” life, and I pray that I don’t slip back into a lifestyle where I take what I have for granted. Did you know that people who make over $40,000 are richer than 99% of people across the globe? Hearing that really put things into perspective for me.
Here’s a bit about our travel day home, if you’re interested. If you have any questions about Project H.O.P.E., what we did, the people of Nicaragua, or anything else, please let me know in the comments below.
Saturday, July 25 – Some of the group had to leave for the airport around 4 a.m., and others didn’t fly out until about midnight Saturday night. We were lucky to have a mid-day flight. I woke up around 7, had a dry cinnamon roll, and packed up my stuff so the Project H.O.P.E. maids could clean out the rooms for the next group arriving that afternoon. We all hung out in the cabana and the kitchen until mid-morning. (They brought out some fruit and eggs a little later on, which I was grateful for since the cinnamon roll didn’t fill me up.) We quickly said our good-byes and hopped on the bus for the airport.
When we flew in to Nicaragua it was late and I was disoriented, so I didn’t really get a feel for the airport. This time I realized how small it was – just one two-story building and one runway. Check-in went smoothly, then we found out our flight to Miami was delayed a couple of hours, because the plane was coming from Miami, where storms had been passing through. I was pretty nervous that we weren’t going to make our connection. Jerod and I split a small wrap in the airport, and we had a smooth flight with one beverage and no snacks (thanks, American Airlines) and landed in Miami around 8:30 p.m. (6:30 Nicaragua time).
Our connection to Kansas City left at 9:30, so we only had an hour to get through customs. We ran through the airport, only to have to stop and wait through a long line at the immigration kiosks. Then we had to pick up our bags…but our bags hadn’t even appeared on the conveyer belt yet. I found someone at the American Airlines information desk and notified him that there were 21 people still waiting on bags for a flight leaving in 30 minutes. He made a call and found out it was delayed 20 minutes, but he was able to delay it another 10 minutes or so. He told me to gather our group when we got our bags, and he’d make sure we made it to our flight. When I found the group, several of them had already gone ahead (every man for himself!) so that plan fell through. Once we made it through security and re-checked our bags, there were staff there letting people to Kansas City through, so I think he did pull some strings for us. He was the nicest American Airlines staff person I’ve ever dealt with. I was one of the last of our group to arrive at our gate – making it just in the nick of time. Unfortunately there was no time for dinner.
Thankfully we had a smooth flight to Kansas City. Once we arrived around midnight, everyone split off pretty quickly with a few hugs, ready to be home. My bag never arrived, so I filed a report, and Jerod’s dad took us home. When we got home I immediately went to Little Miss K’s bedroom and picked her up. She barely opened her eyes and really had no idea what was going on, so I got to hold her in my arms while she slept for about 10 minutes. The next morning she clearly had no idea I had held her, because she was thrilled to see us! I was so happy to see her, too.
We had an incredible trip – one we’ll never forget, and one I hope to be life-changing. Again, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask. And if you are considering going on a mission trip, JUST DO IT! You may regret never going on one, but I promise you won’t regret taking that leap. Oh, and my bag arrived at our door two days later with everything intact.
Photographic Rhodes 