Bethany was commenting yesterday that she doesn’t get the chance to get out and about to take interesting photos. Alex and I frequently go on photo outings, but Beth usually stays behind. So yesterday, on the way home from the movies (The Princess and the Frog – go see it!), we made an impromptu stop at Nepean River to take some photos.

And for the first time ever – I’m still in shock – Alex was without any cameras. So the three of us camera hopped on my little camera. Not recommended photo-outing procedure.

I’ve also been working on some more portrait-style photos, as I don’t feel comfortable with them. Of course this may be due to my lack of models… any takers??

location: Weir Reserve
models: Bethany and Alexander Johnson

• Tudor Nametags

• Hair Clip Board
• Alice in Wonderland Charm Bracelet

School holidays means sleepovers in our family. When I was little I would visit my grandparents and ‘one more week’ my way through the entire holidays.

Now that I’m older, and am apparently now the cool cousin (turns out I’m cool to six-year-olds, who knew), it means sleepovers with Becca – or, more accurately “Beekie”.

I tried to get a few photos of our fun so I should share what Hannah sleepovers look like but, as usual when trying to play with Hannah, most of the photos turned out like this…

And this was the best of the blurred ones. She moves so fast that it’s often hard to get a clear shot.

This sleepover was rather low-key for a Hannah-over. There was no princesses to save nor goblins to fight. But still, we had fun.

There was blocks…

And much toy accessorising, including new scarfs for Bear (the same bear that received a dress last year) and Ted, ribbons for Skye, Lily and and Rosie, and bracelets all around.

Basically this meant that she knit a row of a scarf – all on her own! I was so proud – before giving it back to me and saying i could finish it. While she likes craft, she’s not into the organised craft-thing. She much preferred to cut the wool into little tiny bits and then knot them back together.

But Hannah knows the Becca-rules. She’s more than welcome to almost anything she can find in my craft room – but she has to actually make something. All those little bits of wool had to be used for something.

At first she thought a hat would be a good idea. Especially since it meant she could try her hand at fashion photography…

But this idea waned when it the ‘hat’ kept falling off. But new ideas flow fast with Hannah… nothing to worry about! Out came the Hannah-beads. I try to keep some Hannah-friendly supplies on hand, and these bigger beads are much easier for her to thread.

Everyone in the house was soon adorned with more bracelets, necklaces, anklets and headbands than one could ever want.

And of course, no sleepover is complete without some colouring in and a Disney movie or two…

And a bedtime story… in case you can’t tell there are about 20 toys in the bed with us

The next day was filled with more drawing, watching another movie, and riding the new scooter she got for Christmas and then a trip to Spotlight (where she managed to find a new fairy mask).

All in all we had a great time… she even tried to talk us into staying another week.

We were talking about children on twitter today – which led to the sharing of photos and eventually the sharing of our own baby photos. And while looking for an appropriate photo to send, I came across these amongst my mother’s photos.

It appears that my love of beads – not to mention the sharing and teasing – started very early in life*.

*okay, so I already knew that, but this was the first documented evidence.

Alex and I braved the heat and set out to the library today. I coaxed him with the promise of photography magazines and he crumbled.

We managed to get a parking spot in the very front row, right under a shady tree – virtually unheard of for a Saturday morning! There were still plenty of people around, however, enjoying the library’s air conditioning no doubt.

I went in with a plan. Return books. Reborrow the one I hadn’t finished. Pick up the two books I wanted. Don’t look at the other books. Don’t pass go. Don’t pick up $200.

That so didn’t work.

With Alex off looking at the photography section I had far too much time on my hands. I sat down, desperately clutching the three books I was leaving with. JUST THREE! I didn’t move – I wasn’t going to move. And then a book caught my eye. And then just one more. And then…

Well.

I left with a small pile. And yes, I do stand by that ‘small’.

And of course, no Alex-and-I outing would be complete without a photo here or there.

A while ago I came across the blog shutterboo, a photography blog that I absolutely love. It was Brooke’s blog that inspired me to flesh out my photoblog (which was little more than a repository) in the first place.

Brooke also hosts a shutterboo Weekly Challenge on flickr which I joined with the intention of participating in a few weeks back but never managed to actually get to it until now. I was determined to participate this week. I WOULD make it!

And then the topic was toilet.

Hmm…

I had no idea what I was going to do as I didn’t particularly wish to take a photo of a toilet. I took a couple shots anyways, but nothing that I really liked. Starting to consider whether it would be work the weird look of asking others if I could photograph their toilets, I decided to give that a rest and go for something else entirely.

So what do you think? Toilet-ish enough?

It is not uncommon, while babysitting our cousin Hannah, for my sister to look at me squarely in the eyes and say, “This is all your fault. You’ve messed her up for life.”

To which I reply a hardy – I sure hope so.

Hannah has the best imagination of anyone I’ve ever met, something I always try my very best to encourage – much to the dismay of however takes over her care once I leave. We play fairies and princess with just as much regularity as we play pirates and pretend video games (we run through the house, proceeding through the ‘levels’).

When Hannah and I play, a stick is never a stick but a magical wand that has been entrusted to us by a princess frozen in Jack Frost’s lair. A leaf is not a leaf, but a pirate’s “super power” electric sword, charged (from the tree of course) with the power of exhaustion – this was today’s gem, that was entirely of her own devising. We have games that no one else will ever understand – and if they do, they need to be committed.

Today we were ‘Playing Faces’. Having received a new camera for Christmas herself (pink of course!), she’s far more tolerant of our house’s shutterbug tendencies. Today she and Beth sat on the back step and Played Faces.