During the lockdown back in April, I came across a free class to learn the basics of stop motion video. It was really a class for kids, and I signed my boys up for it...but secretly I wanted to learn how to do it! I made the boys watch it, but after a few attempts, they were done. Not me though! I will admit, I have been having a lot of fun playing! I love coming up with the idea of what to do, how to do it and then actually executing it! 

Sometimes theses mini films are pretty short, like 8 seconds, and sometimes they're a bit longer. 

It doesn't matter what the subject is, or how long it ends up being, but stop motion is so much fun!

Have you tried making a stop motion video before?

Since October of 2019, we had planned to take a month-long family vacation that was an epic back east road trip. We had planned to visit both historical and tourist sites, like Washington, D.C., New York City, Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago and Niagra Falls, as well as sites that are important to the history of our Church in New York, Ohio, and Illinois. As a family, we spent many evening researching the different areas, finding the best camp sites, tourist activities, restaurants, historical sites, etc. It was a labor of love and effort. 
Then Covid hit. And our plans were frustrated. I will admit, I was a bit sad that our trip had to be cancelled. We are hoping that things will work out and we'll be able to go in 2021, but we'll see...
We decided to try something a little closer to home, less time and a little safer. So we decided to spend most of our vacation in Rocky Mountain National Park, in northern Colorado. 

I had been there a few times, as my grandma lived in CO, but my boys and husband had never been. This was something new and fun for them! 
We enjoyed the beautiful vistas, the gorgeous mountains, and the fresh air! The wildlife was a favorite, especially the pikas on the tundra.

Though it ended up being a "consolation" vacation, it was still a memorable one, and we were grateful to get to explore this beautiful area. And now that the area was recently ravaged by the largest wildfire in CO's documented history, I'm truly grateful we were able to go there this summer! 
Here's a little film I made of our trip.

I'm not sure anyone else cares about my Hanging Out monthly films as much as my family does! But it's fun to have them on here, so in my effort to catch up on my blog, I'm doing a two for one by sharing July and August. 
I will say that I feel bad sharing these in part because where we have has so far been impacted little by Covid-19. We have had much more freedoms than most people. We went on a few camping trips, school started (and my boys are actually to this day still going in person), and we have been able to participate in some sports with conditions such as spectators wearing masks and athletes only taking them off during the actual sport. I would say we have been super blessed. So here's a peek at July:

And here's our August, which picks up right where July left off, since we were camping that weekend. :)

It's been awhile since I've shared anything on the blog--in between kids whining about being bored, small family camping trips into the mountains and trying to stay sane, I'd almost forgotten all about this little blog. *shrug*

As the COVID rules have been loosening up here in Utah, we've been out and about enjoying our little corner one the world a bit more! It's still not the grand plans we had for this summer, but here's a quick look at what we did in June this year:

It's been a long year and I can honestly say I'm glad it's half over. Who would've predicted what 2020 would look like to the entire world? Not me, for sure! 

Though it looks different than I imagined it, I am grateful for the things I've learned, the patience I've gained and the slowing down of life in general. One thing that really helped me during this time has been photography! I've loved having more time to explore my yard--it was amazing to see my yard transform and come to life this spring! I also found a new love for my telephoto lens!

My telephoto lens is a beast! It's super heavy, but it has the most amazing compression and blurs the background to look like butter! I found that in addition to watching the birds in my changing trees, I could photograph the beautiful flowers and leaves! It was so cathartic for me, and I really enjoyed escaping the new normal for a few minutes and enjoying my view! 

Find more serenity from around the world by continuing through the loop and visiting Jillian Baudry, photographer in the south of France.

It's hard to believe another month has come and gone by! Between quarantine, homeschool, end of school, and trying to keep my kids from getting "too bored" and a torn calf muscle, it went by in a flash. I feel like our May film is fairly similar to our April film...but here it is anyway!

My boys have been handling quarantine rather well. I think the extra screen time and less school work has played a part in that! ;) But I wanted to find out a little more of their thoughts on all things quarantine and coronavirus. So I interviewed them (with bribery, because they didn't want to do it...), and made a little film with a lot of their answers. Right now they are 15, 13, and the twins are 11, so I thought a play on the title would be quite appropriate! 
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I dare you not to crack a smile as you watch! ;)

I love spring! The awakening of the earth after a long winter's nap brings me such joy! I am always in awe as I see the birds coming back from their migration, the daffodils and tulips as they make their way through the hard ground, the blossoms as they burst open on my trees, and the smell of fresh rain that hightens my senses. There's nothing that I can think of that rivals spring!

I love exploring the world each spring time, but this year with COVID and quarantine, it wasn't possible to go on adventures outside as much or as far as I usually do. I was going stir-crazy in not being able to get out, and that's when I decided I needed to do a nature project close to home--so I could find some serenity while never leaving. Of course, my camera and yard had to be part of the project, but I decided to make a couple more parameters to accomplish this task: video and my Lensbaby Edge 50. The Edge 50 easily converts between macro and landscape modes, so I could capture a bit of both. It was the perfect little lens to keep on my camera for this project. Over the course of a week, I went outside and captured the blooms and blossoms of different flowers as they made their appearances.;

Here's a look at my final product of the serenity I found in one week of April in my yard. 

I hope you enjoyed a little slice of serenity in my yard! The Serenity Project is done with some of my photography friends, so continue through the circle to see how they found serenity in their neck of the woods! Up next is: Pam Douglas, Still Life Photographer.

April was mostly spent at home, due to quarantine. As it was colder than normal, we actually spent most of our time inside. We spent time doing homeschool with all 4 boys while Dad worked from home. We celebrated the twin's 11th birthday, and tried to find new toys and things to keep us entertained and off of screens all the time. It was not the April we had planned in January, but we enjoyed the time at home and finding some joy with just us. Here are a few of my favorite images taken at home during the month.