176/365: Grapevine, Texas

We went walking around this cute little town right before the sun set.

175/365: Hello, Dallas!

We had a very tasty seafood lunch in Dallas at a local catfish place on Friday! The picture I took of that meal was supposed to be my picture of the day. But I don't think the pictures did it justice. So, instead I'm posting a photo of hubby and daughter that I took on one our several stops that day. It's just too cute not to post!

174/365: Texas, Where the Wild West Begins

We visited a character-filled ranch called Enchanted Springs in Boerne (Kristin blogged about her own visit to the ranch here.) I hope to do a collage of our visit to the ranch, too. In the meantime, here's one capture.

I thoroughly enjoyed meeting Kristin, too! She's got a kind and generous spirit -- and I am honored to call her a friend.  Here's my version of the photo she posted.  

173/365: Horse-back Riding

I have so many pictures from this day (Wednesday, June 22nd) that it's been hard to decide what to post. I'm also behind with my posts so in an effort to play catch up, I'm posting three from that awesome Texas day! I hope to put a collage together of other favorites and post later (when I'm back home!).

Kristin braved muck and heat for the kids to ride this beautiful horse! The kids had a great time. Randi, I should mention, is wearing her favorite shirt!

172/365: The Alamo

We could not be near San Antonio and not visit The Alamo. Can you tell how excited the kids are?! In all fairness, it was in the high 90s, so I can't blame them for not being thrilled!

Hubby took this photo of my son and I. Hmmm, don't we put up with a lot as mommies?! LOL

171/365: At the Gruenehouse

We got a very warm welcome to Texas from Kristin and family! We're really enjoying our visit. Her husband Mike grilled up some very tasty burgers made with a special secret sauce. And no, I'm not permitted to reveal it! Just let me say they were as yummy as they look!

After dinner, we did what Clickin Moms do and snapped some photos of the kids having fun in the pool.

170/365: Travel Day

We almost missed our second flight yesterday. Things got a little crazy with the kids and then the zipper on my Jo Tote camera bag busted. Sigh.

169/365: Daddy's Girl

She wraps him around her finger and he never minds. He loves to read to her and help her with her prayers. He's big daddy tough sometimes but mostly all softy inside. He doesn't even know what an amazing father he is and how blessed we are because of him. Happy Father's Day.

168/365: Bleached Daisy

In the rush of things, I barely got to take a photo today. I feel as washed out as this daisy. Thank goodness, we have rest and relaxation in our near future!

167/365: Sneak Peak for Friends

So glad I got to do this session for our friends! They're such a fun family!

166/365: Balloons

She's not thrilled because she preferred to be off playing with bubbles!

165/365: Late-Night Driving

We had a full day in Buffalo with shopping and doctor visits. It was almost a quarter to midnight when I realized I had not taken a picture of the day. We were on the road so all I could do was pull out the iPhone! I did not know it had flash capabilities! LOL  So nothing special here--just did not want to break my 365 streak! (Added an Instagram filter).

164/365: Exhaustion

My little one had a full day of activities on her last day of preschool. They had a mini-field day with a bounce house, and by the time we finished our day with a family dinner, she was exhausted. I hope she forgives me for posting this!

163/365: Texas in the Works

We're finalizing the details of our Texas vacation--and we're so excited! We're visiting the Texas triangle, which I think is also referred to as the Texaplex (Dallas/Ft. Worth, Houston and San Antonio). I'm very much looking forward to meeting Kristin and posting photos of our visit.

I'm off to blog hop! I'm so behind on visiting the blogs of my fellow Project 365 bloggers, especially since I was without a computer for two days while it was being preemptively repaired (apologies to all!).

162/365: Thank Heaven for Cupcakes!

We had two birthdays to attend on Saturday. At the second party, they had these heavenly cupcakes that were dairy free (from Lollicakes.ca). The chocolate ones had chocolate chips and were soooo tasty. My hubby thought I was overdoing the cupcake theme by posting yet another cupcake photo--but I say you can never have enough cupcakes! LOL

161/365: Painting Pirate Ships

Today my daughter's class went for a fun walk to paint pirate ships! I'm amazed at their teachers' creativity and at how they got 15 preschoolers to "pretend" to paint (their paint cups held water)! I took quite a few individual and small group photos--but these are the only ones that I could post without permission.  I was actually at the school as a volunteer photographer at their annual sports day (a fun experience!). Our daughter's class is having their sports day and teddy bear picnic on Monday. Can't wait for that!

160/365: Be Still Frenzy

Today I went with Ian to his very first field trip. His toddler group got to ride on a city bus and then went through a bus wash! (Yes, we rode to the city's bus wash--just like a big car wash! LOL).  He's serious here but he really enjoyed it. I just think he looks so big in this photo--where did my baby go?!

I had to capture one of the orchids up close. I can't wait to get a real macro lens one day--a razor sharp one, too!

It's been one crazy week--and it's not over yet! I still have to shop for two birthday parties. Once  those are behind us, it's packing and prepping time! I'm so excited about our Texas vacation! I'm thrilled to have the chance to meet fellow 365 blogger -- Kristin, too! YAY!

159/365: Orchid Love

 I love orchids! I especially love that I bought these for just $3.99!

158/365: He's Intense

My little man can be quite intense--and determined. Love that about him even though it can frustrate me! That's his sister running off in the distance.

Shot with the 50mm, which I'm still not too sure about its accuracy. I did switch up the settings today so I'll keep playing around with it before I have a final verdict. For those who wanted to know how I micro-adjusted the lens, I followed the manual and this Canon document, here. Please remember not all camera models offer this option. 

157/365: Fine-tuning

I spent several hours today, micro-adjusting two of my lenses. It wore me out! I hope to see it pay off. In the meantime, here's a shot from the calibrating session.