I have just four words for y'all...Corning Museum of Glass!!
It was such a great time!
Obviously, we were there all day and I took heaps of images,
I am just sharing a small portion here.
The first 30 minutes (the part you're about to see),
we toured a lot of the displays and art and stopped for lunch.
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I highly recommend a visit.
After lunch we saw a hot glass demo,
where one of the gaffers made a blown glass bowl.
We watched a glassbreaking demo,
my daughter got called onstage and broke some glass.
They even gave her a free figurine to take home.
​She was beyond thrilled!
They also had flame working and optical fiber demos.
We finished up our visit by making our own
​ glass tic tac toe game to bring home,
​but all that is for another post...so stay tuned. :) 

Continue following this month's blog circle with a visit to the incredible Sonja Stitch Fotografías in Barcelona! 

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It snowed...a lot! So my husband decided to take the day off of work
and build an ice castle in the backyard with our little helper girl.
(Although, she mostly just ate snow and threw snow balls at him, lol)

I'm not going to lie, this ice castle took more than 30 minutes to create.
I didn't want to cheat, so I photographed it in 5 minutes increments that added up to 30 minutes,
going inside to warm up in between shots.

I'm not a huge fan of the snow and cold, but they had a blast!
These are the kind of days and memories I know she will never forget.

My lovely girl is now seven and a half.
My friend Rachel made her this pretty floral crown.
I was planning on doing a small session
while the leaves were still at their fall peak.
Unfortunately, I was so busy with work and homeschooling
that most of the leaves had already fallen.
Even so, there is beauty in the stark, bare trees.

Continue following the blog circle with the incredible Hayley Hay up next.

We went on a field trip this month specially designed for homeschoolers.
It was hosted by The Strong Museum of Play in Rochester, NY.
We learned all about a butterfly's lifecycle and did some crafts.
Then we were allowed 20 minutes in the butterfly garden,
which, in my opinion, was the best part of the day.

In addition to hundreds of butterflies, they had a toucan (way smaller than I always pictured them), some turtles (one of which seemed to be doing yoga - see photo below) and a bunch of quail.
Also, one really rad chameleon!

The highlight was when Nolie got to hold one of the butterflies.
An educational experience full of great memories!

Please continue this month's journey, with a visit to the incredible Amanda Voelker Photography!

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One of my favorite movie quotes ever, is from The Village,
where William Hurt's character says to Joaquin Phoenix's character,
"You are fearless in a way I shall never know."
I feel that way about my daughter much of the time.
I am afraid of everything in life.
I have ALWAYS been afraid, always been exceedingly cautious.
I didn't learn to ride a bike until I was 14 years old!!
Yes, you read that right, FOURTEEN.
Fear has always held me back, paralyzed me, made me a quitter.
I am so proud that she is not that way.
She learned to ride her bike without training wheels this month.
She is not afraid of falling.
She is just seven and she is fearless in a way I shall never know.

Post Script :: The day after these images were taken,
my husband surprised her with a new big girl bike. :)

Be sure to follow the blog circle over to the gorgeousness that is
A Rock and a Soft Place Photography

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It is my busy season for photography.
Between weddings, newborns and family sessions
I am always either shooting or editing
at any given time of day.
On top of that, we were feeling a little homeschool burn-out.
So, when I saw that I somehow had an ENTIRE WEEK free IN JUNE
we packed up and hit the road for a much deserved Mommy and me vacay!
We did so much in just 4 short days :: we went on a whale watch, toured a potato chip factory, swam in the ocean, visited a jam kitchen/petting zoo and tons more.
One of her favorite things though, was the 30 minutes we spent
feeding trout at this fish hatchery just a mile from our motel.
She fell in love with this one fish. She named him "Wide Ball",
because he had wide set eyeballs, lol.

You can continue the journey with A Rock and a Soft Place Photography's
30 Minutes in the Life HERE.

It all started when she opened the bathroom door
and saw her shadow on a strip of light on the floor.
​She shot me an "I love you" so of course I grabbed the camera.
Then we decided to go around the house looking for cool shadows and window light. Here's what we captured...

Now follow the blog circle over to the incredible ::
It's Still Life Photography ny Elizabeth Willson
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I told her that Daddy would be home soon and she was on the lookout, every so often turning back to watch her cartoon that was playing on the t.v. 
​Dreamy light and her lovely eyes make even the most ordinary moments... breathtaking! 

Continue to  follow the blog circle over to Karen Hunt, Photographer.

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Just a simple 30 minutes in the morning and yet these images encompass so many of the things I love about her!

​She has ALWAYS had wild and crazy hair. Granted, this is an example of extreme bedhead as she had just woken up, but it's always loose and unruly. It's who she is, it's how she likes it.

She has always wanted to be a big sister. We've never been able to give her that gift, but I get to see glimpses of just how great she would have been at it, when she cuddles him so sweetly. She sings him lullabies and mirrors the way I rub her back and I say "Mama knows" whenever I'm trying to soothe her.

Thank you so much Journey to Artist for choosing me as one of the newest additions to this beautiful project! I'm looking forward to these small, quiet moments each month and sharing the journey with you all.

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