In regards to photography, there is only 1 time of day that you shouldn't attempt to take pictures lest you tempt the photography gods... when it's bright and sunny outside. It makes for awful photos with lots of squinting, blown out colors, and very poor light. Well guess who hauled her camera all around the Arizona State Fair for hours during bright sunlight? And I looked like a tourist, but I don't care. Actually, I think I did pretty well which just goes to prove that there are no hard and fast rules for photography!
The Lord presents me with constant opportunities for growth. And attempting to always be a student of life, here's the current lesson I'm learning. As happens frequently, this time I am learning from my children. Aren't kiddos the best teachers? Sometimes they are mirrors, and sometimes they are chalk boards. Today they are bull riders!
To see the Griswold family do the AZ state fair enter here
So we start off on our adventure in our own back yard. New places, new faces, in a sea of opportunities.
Sunny mounts the bull with some fear, but she's still lookin' cute! It's a priority when you're 15. Not so much when your 41. These days I just aim for bathed.
The ride starts, and she's still lookin' cute.
But the ride might be harder than we anticipate...
...and we may need to shift our priorities...
...or we might get thrown a direction we'd least expect, like special need's children, disease, loss of a job, surprise baby. God's path often turns in directions we least expect..
...and we even may fall and look silly,
but turns out she was lookin' cute all along 'cause lookin' cute comes from the inside.
Same bull. New rider. New lesson.
Patch mounts the bull like this every single time. He gets a running start, and at just the right moment he hurls his body into the air and catapults himself into the saddle, all with this broad smile of anticipation. I can't believe I captured it on film! Patch lives his life this way, hurling himself into life and lessons with zest. I wanna live like that too!
But Patch has a harder time on the ride than Sunny. Same bull, same turns, but he has to fight harder to stay on.
The turns surprise him more, and he has to hold on tighter.
But for some reason, Patch seems divinely equipped with stronger arms and hands, and he also seems to enjoy the twists and turns more.
See that smile?
Patch does it all with a huge grin! He even seems to let his body relax a little and takes in the whole experience. He lets his body flail around and soaks it in.
He falls off a lot! He gets back on a lot!
I wanna learn from Patch too. It's ok to enjoy the ride. Get back on. Take it. Ride again. Smile a lot.
Isn't this lemonade pretty? I had to stop and look at it, and even had to take a picture of it. That's silly. I don't care.
And cause we're in Arizona, the Mexican equivilant of lemonade is horchata, licuados, and raspados. That's too close to my childhood! Mmmmmmm!
to be continued...
i would have to stop and shoot that beautiful lemonade too! have you been to the ranch market at 16th st & roosevelt? reminds me of the colors there. so gorgeous!
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