Last weekend I went to my very first boy scout camp out. Steven promised me that I would not be the only girl there...you know where this is going, right? Yes, he lied. I was surrounded on all sides by boys and dads. Steven and I joke about how I set him up on "man dates". If one of my girlfriends has a cool spouse and I tell Steven about it and we wind up all going out somewhere, he will joke about me setting him up on a man date. So, this scouting weekend was kind of like a giant man date! It was boy heaven. All the little guys were running around with sticks and playing in the dirt. The big guys built tents, cooked food and made fires. The little guys obsessed about the fires, constantly asking what they could throw into the fire. I think I might have said "put your shoes back on" and "stop messing with the fire" at least 200 times.

Sayer had his BFF, Jack, there. They are so sweet with each other. They even walk holding hands sometimes. I just love that. This was my attempt to get a sweet picture of them together. At age 7, the only way to catch the natural smile is to get it while they don't know you're doing it. Otherwise, it looks like these...

We rented a teepee fully planning to all sleep in it. When we got there, it had dirt floors, moldy walls and a bunch of little holes everywhere. No thanks! The kids loved it though. It was like their own private fort. Luckily we brought tents too.

We ate well, the guys made a great dinner. Without knowing what was in store and envisioning a dinner of hot dogs, I had brought along some of my own provisions.

You will be proud to know that I left the laptop at home. OK, I did bring the iPad. Hey, you gotta have something to read right? I did sneak off a few times to draw in my sketch book, take pictures and read my Sookie Stackhouse book on my iPad. You know, there's only so much boy that one can take.

Ahhhh, so pretty...wait, what Sayer, what have you brought me?

yep, worms...of course it had to be worms! OK, let's get back to the pretty stuff.

Wait, you want more worms?

I know, that was mean (insert devilish giggle). I'll leave you with something pretty. This is my favorite nature shot from the weekend.

The kids had so much fun. On the way home, Finnian looked out the window with this wistful look and said, "I wish we never had to leave from the boy scout camp".

I would never say that I believe in fate. I can say that when I look back at certain moments that, at the time, seemed like disasters or failures it now makes sense why they didn't work out. It's almost feels like there is a plan in it all. So, with that in mind, I am forging ahead. I think that very good things are in front of me. I think it took pushing myself out of my comfort zone a little to get the wheels in motion.

My next big leap...applying for a gallery show at Lawndale. At this moment I can't bring myself to start writing the proposal but it's due on March 15th so I don't have too much time to procrastinate. So here goes another...

jump. free fall. unravel. come together.

Boys...brothers...what else can I say?

Tomorrow we are all going to a boy scout camp out. Yes, my three guys and little old me. Wish me luck. I'm not prissy by any means. I even enjoy camping but I am having visions of portable toilets, hot dogs, 30 boys, their dads and me. Yikes.

Give me strength.

What about you? Any favorite shots this Friday? Please submit them to my Favorite Shot Friday Flickr Pool or leave links to them (your blogs etc.) in the comments below.

Happy weekend!

On Wednesday afternoons I teach a photography class at my studio for the Hope Stone Center. My  students are between the ages of 12-17. Today they learned a little about studio lighting with Anastasia as their model. I showed them a few simple one light set ups and they learned about using a reflector.

These next shots were taken by the students themselves and I think they're awesome! I had a little fun with them in Photoshop. Next week they are going to separate into two groups and come up with an idea for a portrait and choose wardrobe. I'm looking forward to seeing what they come up with!

Give my students a big round of applause! I think they're looking forward to next week. Would you like to see more of their work? Check out our Hope Stone Flickr group.