After ten hours on the road, it seems Emma has gone all trucker on us!

You may call her Buck.

Her toothpick is courtsey of Neely's Barbque.

The pulled pork was yummy but the sticky floor was slightly off putting if you get my drift.
A bunch of turtles hung out at the dock waiting for left overs.
We don't see big turtles like that in Wisconsin.



Nashville was busy and full of character!
We went right to the main drag and strolled up and down Broadway and 2nd.
Patrick liked seeing where the Titan's played.
I enjoyed the kitchy neon lights.
We explained to Patrick what ba donka-donk means.
And everyone ate ice cream, except me.

You know.

Trying to shrink my ba donka-donk!





Badonka-donk??




Seven hours after leaving Nashville we arrived in Fort Walton Beach.
We found the rest of the gang visiting and watching over the girls in the pool.




The sand is a lovely white and the water was perfect.
The girls played in the surf and I was a terrible nag about it.
Katie cried when she got a mouthful of water.

Janet's two littlest girls are with her this weekend. Katie, Sarah and Lauren are all playing so nice! I think this will be Katie's best vacation ever!
She never gets to be with anyone her own age when we travel!








We are still waiting for Jim and Janice!
But I was busy clickin as soon as I arrived!
How I love my sisters~

Emma shot this for me!
Good job, huh?


So today we have a bridal luncheon and rehearsal dinner.
Patrick is on a fishing boat as I write.

I wonder if he remmebered sun screen.

This morning I tried to take some sunrise shots.
I will load those babies when I get a chance.
Everything is sooc as I am without photoshop...

Get your unaltered images here.


Hope you are all well and enjoying whatever today brings!

Don't forget...what happens, matters.

Encourage one another,
Donna

I learned to use a new feature on my D700 yesterday.

Emma modeled for me.

Do you see that she is a nice, pretty color?
Do you see that she is not blue?

I did not edit the color in photoshop.
I am one happy photographer.

Soon, I will share with you the little, easy adjustment I used in the camera to get the color right.

(I remember Audrey doing something similar when I was at her workshop, but I had other issues on my mind at the time.)

We are headed to Florida on Wednesday for a wedding. My sister Sue's son is getting married!
Destination wedding! Woot!

We can not believe it, but all seven of the Glyman children will be at the wedding!!!
One boy, six girls.

All of us.

I can not wait to just sit and look at all of their beautiful faces and listen to their lovely voices and laugh and drink it all in!!!

Two sleeps.

Just two sleeps and we will be together.

By the way, it has been ten years since we have all been together.
I was expecting Katie.

Inconceivable! (That's for Janice ;o)


I will try to blog from Florida...but I can not promise I will.
Check the comments for updates if you don't see anything on this page for a week.



Hey! And if anyone in the Destin/Fort Walton beach would like to book a session...give me a jingle.
I think I could fit someone in on Sunday!


Oh! Funny story.

Yesterday, Katie came with me while I shopped for a few fresh and new tops to wear on the wedding weekend.
I rarely shop for myself.

I think Katie liked Talbots. She was very sweet to say,

"I like this. This is pretty." "If this was smaller, I would buy it."

I was determined and rather serious as I always am when I am faced with the dressing room.

But as we checked out, Katie said,

"I know what you can do. You can come here when I'm in school."
"I guess I could." I said with a chuckle.




Encourage one another,
Donna

Do You Realize - that you have the most beautiful face
Do You Realize - we're floating in space -
Do You Realize - that happiness makes you cry
Do You Realize - that everyone you know someday will die

And instead of saying all of your goodbyes - let them know
You realize that life goes fast
It's hard to make the good things last
You realize the sun doesn't go down
It's just an illusion caused by the world spinning round





























Scenes from a wonderful week......


Boy O' boy...

do I ever realize.


Encourage one another,
Donna

p.s. Melinda took a few of these shots!
She is a master at the "self-portrait."

No one would mind if I built a little cottage right here. Would they?











We went on a little adventure yesterday.
Governor Dodge State Park and Brigham Park.
And a quick stop at A & W for some smooth, tasty root beer.

What is your favorite root beer? I'd like to know :o)




I bet you are wondering what is on the back of Emma's t-shirt, aren't you?

wildolivetees



Here in Madison we have concerts on the square. The square around the state capitol.
It is a beautiful setting. On the week of the fourth of July there is a patriotic theme.

Veterans from the various 'services' are asked to stand when their theme song is played.

It touches me so much and I get all emotional.
And I am thankful for their sacrifice.

How little do my countrymen know what precious blessings they are in possession of, and which no other people on earth enjoy! ~Thomas Jefferson

The winds that blow through the wide sky in these mounts, the winds that sweep from Canada to Mexico, from the Pacific to the Atlantic - have always blown on free men. ~Franklin D. Roosevelt

Encourage one another,
Donna

Emma's friend made her a summer mix cd and this song is on it.

And I loved it right away.

Turns out, it is a remake of a Buddy Holly hit, Rave On.




I prefer the new one. But that video reminded me of a jitterbug video I showed Katie a few months ago.

Get ready to learn to jitterbug.



I don't know if anyone has time to watch that film clip.
But all I could think of was....my, how things have changed.
The sense of humor is so different!


***

Fourth of July Friday Five


How do you feel about fireworks displays?
What were the details surrounding one of your mishaps with fire?
Who in your life could be described as a real firecracker?
When did you last feel you were being put on display?
How confident are you in your barbecue skills?

HT to Friday Five. org


***

Is anyone watching So you think you can dance?

I am and I am loving it!


***

Hoofbeat Ridge day camp has ended.

Katie's group won 'Softest Coat' in the grooming contest.


While we were gone, Katie stayed with Amy J and Carrie.
I never worry about a thing when Katie is with Amy J and Carrie.

Carrie and Katie play so nicely together and Amy is so organized and on top of things.
She is the Queen of Planning and organizing. We all marvel at her.

So it was especially hilarious to find a little plastic bag and Katie's overnight bag sitting at my front door yesterday morning.

What is this, I wondered when I spotted it sitting there.

I opened the bag to find a note from Amy.
Seems that Katie's lunch was switched with the lunch for four adults.
The lunch that Katie took to camp had four sandwiches and cherries.

The bag on my doorstep contained a special Crystal light packet and a bottle of water and a bag of Cheetos.

Amy, with her kind heart, felt terrible for this little switcheroo and wanted Katie to come home to her Cheetos and Crystal light, so she left them at the doorstep.

I wish I could have seen Katie's face when she saw the bag of sandwiches.

I don't think she was too disturbed by it at all.

I happen to think it was super funny and much more memorable than the original plan!!!

Oh Amy! Your little blunders are a blessing!

Katie ate her Cheetos as soon as she got home!


Fireworks tonight!
Big Fun!


Don't forget the Friday Five. It looks like a good one!


Encourage one another,
Donna

This is Mickey Lu's at night.

It is a place of memories and deliciousness.

It is a place we love.

Emma and I stopped for lunch at Mickey Lu's yesterday afternoon before going to Peter's wake and funeral.

When we met up with Matthew and Melinda at the church they hadn't eaten yet.
They wouldn't be hungry for a few more hours.

When they decided to take a quick break near dinner time I told Matthew to take Melinda to Mickey Lu's.

And he just couldn't.

He couldn't go to a happy place. A place of such pleasure. Not right then. He just couldn't.

And I understand it. I remember when my parents died, I thought I would never smile again.

How could I ever experience joy and happiness when my parents were dead?
How could I stand in front of the crowd and cheer a cheer?

It seemed impossible.

But two weeks later. I did.

It takes time. But we must go on. We must live. And we must live joyfully and with thanks.
We believe Peter is in heaven and everyone will miss his sweet, faithful soul terribly.
But we also believe we have a purpose here on earth. We can not give up living when our beloved ones leave us.

It may be the hardest thing we are ever asked to do.

But we must.

Learn God's truth and pass it on.

And

Love.


Ben, Bo and Peter came to Matthew and Melinda's wedding.

This morning I searched my stack of pictures to see if I had one of Peter.



This is Peter and his big brother, Bo.
Together.
Always together.

I will never forget Peter; a young man who loved and served the Lord.
I will never stop praying for his special family.

In a week or so I will send this picture to Patty and Claude.
One of you suggested that a note after a while was a blessing.
A note that your child was remembered and loved.
I am thankful for that suggestion.



I sure hope Matthew and Melinda make it to Mickey Lu's today or tomorrow.
He just may not be ready tho.

Matthew has a very tender heart.

I need to pray for him, too.

Encourage one another,
Donna

Talkie Blog!!!






Encourage one another,
Donna

Katie is attending horse back riding camp this week.
Her little friend Carrie has gone in the past and recruited Katie to come along.
Then we found out that Katie's good friend from Madison was going also.
Super fun!!!

They ride a school bus from here the there.

It is all so very exciting.

On the way home from bus pickup I heard happy excited voices reciting the names of the horses:
Bucky, Daisy, Zoey.

When I dropped Carrie off the girls ran out to the woods for a quick romp and they came back with these beauties.



A cup of Joy.


The flowers had short little stems so I just filled the cup with water and plopped them in.

"Katie, you need to pick longer stems." I said.

We will see if she remembers.



Here is how the iced cut outs were packaged.
Each person had one at their place, tucked into a folded napkin.

They really were a special touch and we are glad they were happy with them.




You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.
C. S. Lewis


God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing.
C. S. Lewis



Encourage one another,
Donna

The wedding was a big wonderful happy family affair.
The cookies were a hit.
Patrick and I both thought the wedding message was meaningful and important.
Katie and I danced.
Patrick and I danced.

We had bacon wrapped water chestnuts.


***
Did you know that it is very wrong to say, "A good time was had by all."?

I learned this in journalism class at Hillsdale.

Most likely, it is not a true statement. Someone didn't win the door prize. Someone just heard bad news. Some one's shoes hurt their feet. Someone was not asked to dance. You know. Someone had a bad time.

It's also a cliche and good writers try to stay away from those.

Not me. I like cliche speak. Just not this one ;o)

It is one of the only things I learned in journalism class.

Besides the inverted triangle.

Most important facts at the beginning...ending with the dribble drabble at the end.
(Blogging takes a different approach.)


So now you know everything I know about journalism.


***




Christmas in June.

The DX crop made the boys look short. They are not short.

I'm not sure I will use this one.




I will probably use this one.



Just outside the church, I tried to snap a nice shot of the boys.

They were pretty stiff.

I told them.

Look at one another.

And they thought it was stupid and odd to gaze into one another's eyes.

Really???






And my sneaky ploy worked.

I made them laugh.




It pays to have a silly one in the pack.
The best shots came just after this one.



AWWW!!!



Matthew and Katie.

Awww....again....


Encourage one another,
Donna

Thank you all for the perfect advice and comments on Saturday and Sunday. Your wise words and stories touched my heart.
Thank you.

Iced cut outs. That's what we always called these.
Four hundred and eighty of them.



The bride and her parents are happy with them.
And that's all that matters.

Patrick Jr and Sr. Iced and sprinkled them...a lovely lavender.

I forgot to take my camera to the packaging party yesterday afternoon, but used someone's point and shoot to at least record the event.

I will take a picture of the cookie that will be placed at my place this evening.


While we were packaging cookies and sharing a salad lunch, the guys were golfing in a 'scramble'.

Our guys came in second place.



We were all invited to the rehearsal dinner.

Back in the day, only the bridal party went to the rehearsal dinner.
It was a large party with fabulous food in a terrific location.




I was asked to take pictures.

I found a spot with spectacular light. I think I will set up my studio right there.
Do you think they will let me?




Here is beautiful Bridget. The bride to be.



Our youngest and oldest.



Ellie and Steven. They were married last summer.




Here is my sister in law, Susan and her sister, Karen.
Susan is on the right.

They are really wonderful women. And so pretty!!!



Here's Dan, the groom to be. He has a great smile!



This is the view from my studio.
(just kidding)



The guy carving the prime rib had a stunning backdrop!!!




It really is a pretty city.


*****



We came home and looked for news on the internet.
No news at all.

Matthew does not feel comfortable calling the family. He feels they do not need...one. more. call.
I feel the same way. But is that wrong?

Would you call someone if you heard their son was missing and possibly drowned?

Or would you leave them alone? I honestly don't know what is the kindest thing to do.


I thank each of you for your prayers and good thoughts for this family.
Your comments yesterday were so appreciated.
You bless me every day.

We are in a strange place.
Celebrating with one family
and imagining how the other family is living the worst days of their lives.

"This moment contains all moments."
-- C.S. Lewis

Encourage one another....and love,

Donna


11:48: Update in the comments.

I am having a hard time blogging this morning.

Friends on Facebook are reporting a terrible accident involving a family we are very close to.
It is too awful to even comprehend right now.

We do not know the facts, with certainty.

And my prayers are sounding like begging at this point.

Emma says that's okay.




Lord in your mercy.
Hear our prayer.





I'll try to come back later today and post some baking pictures and a Friday Five.


Thank you for understanding.


Love,
Donna

Time to make the donuts.





Patrick is baking cookies that will be given away as a "parting gift" to all the wedding guests at our nieces' wedding on Saturday.

His brother, Joe, shopped for the ingredients and procured a large kitchen in which to work.

Yesterday evening we all assisted Patrick as he made the dough. (It needed to be refrigerated over night.)




It took a while to figure out how this Hobart worked.

I guess the cage is for safety. It just got in Patrick's way.

"We don't need no stinkin' cage."




It was just like old times. But not. There was no chocolate milk.

Both of our boys worked for their dad at the bakery when they were little.




This afternoon, the cookies will be baked and iced.
Friday morning they will be packaged.

Oh! We hope they turn out!

More pictures to follow....and I will see if I can get permission to include the baker and his brother in these posts.


****







I did get some relaxed photos of Patrick yesterday afternoon.
I like this one. His eyes were very sensitive to the sun. I'll have to try some nice back lit shots of him when we get some pretty evening light.





He has always been comfortable in front of the camera and had such an easy smile!



****

9:00

79 degrees

Summertastic!!!



Encourage one another,
Donna

The first meeting




Twenty years ago.

This was our family.

The little guy is Matthew. I think he wants to touch baby Emma.
The big boy in the middle is Patrick Jr. He looks just like a Patrick, doesn't he?

Patrick Sr. loves to hold babies.

If we go somewhere and someone has an infant, Patrick will ask to hold the baby.

I never do.

It's weird, I know.

But I think it is quite endearing that Patrick loves holding babies.

And look at little Emma. Oh dear. That little red hair on our little girl.

She was the perfect addition to our family.

This was my life....this was our little family.

Twenty years ago.

I loved being a young mom.
I never wanted to do anything other.


Patrick flew in to town yesterday afternoon.
Oh! It's so good to be together.

He laughs with abandon like me. I could hear it last night.
I loved listening to him laugh.
And he talks more than I remember.
Has something to say about everything I mention.

I had kind of forgotten that or maybe I never realized it before....


Katie marveled at our conversation.
I think she said, "You two are the same."




It sure is good to have him home.



Encourage one another,
Donna

p.s I will try to get some pictures today.
Can you imagine...I didn't take one picture all day yesterday.
That's a first!

My dear friend, Karen, sent me this youtube last night.

Chuck and Karen own Mickey-Lu's.

It is one of our favorite places in the whole world.

We all miss it and everyone in my family is a 'fan of Mickey-Lu's on Facebook". :o)

But I miss Karen even more than Mickey-Lu's.
Love you Karen!!!

Watch!








Marinette is the last town in Wisconsin on hwy 41, just before you get to Upper Michigan.

If you are on your way to the U.P. via Marinette....you must stop at Mickey-Lu's.

You won't be sorry.

In fact, you will be delighted.

FYI: It's closed on Mondays.


****






Katie said she was trying to make a face like Emma.

Oh yea. Emma does a little sideways glance thing.






***



Hello Nineties!!!

I have a rule around here.

We are not allowed to complain about the weather.

No matter how hot and sticky and flushed and uncomfortable we are....we can not complain about it.
Unbearably cold and snowy winters will make you do all sorts of things.

We have a cool car and a cool house and fans for hot nights.

Summer is for sweat dripping and sunburns and dips in the cool pool and trips to the farmers market.
It is a time for bare feet and mosquitoes and sunlight.

I am determined to love every sweaty second.



****


The girls of summer



Look at Katie's tummy!!! White enough for ya?

She borrowed her friend's super cute swimsuit for the afternoon.

Burned her little back in the process, but had hours of fun in the pool and sprinkler.

Super fun!!!

***

Patrick Jr. comes home this afternoon!!!
We can not wait.

I think I will bake a cake!!!


What special treat do you make for your friends or family when they come to visit?



Encourage one another,
Donna