Saturday, May 31, 2008

Camping and Valhalla Renaissance Faire

We've had a busy May! Last weekend we went camping in northern Washoe County. Did some fishing, hiking, geocaching and catching up on sleep. Even watched a movie while there was a thunderstorm nearby. We camped with some friends of ours and as usual, had a wonderful time, even with the thunderstorms, rain and hail. Hey, at least we didn't get snow!
Fishing at Boulder. They recently stocked this reservoir so most of the fish we caught were small. Make sure to have a fishing license with you when you fish here. We've had the Fish and Game check on us several times at this remote place.
Who says the Nevada desert isn't beautiful?

Sunset - I can never capture the full beauty of this on camera
Part of a preserved petrified tree - near the George W. Lund memorial. Was supposed to be a cache here but we didn't find it.

Found this old shack by accident while we were geocaching
Found a cache on the way home.
A webcam geocache in Gerlach, Nevada

Today we went to the Valhalla Renaissance Faire at Camp Richardson, Lake Tahoe. Another fun time. Again, best explained with pictures:
The whole clan!
Actually got a target today!
I just had to have her arrested and punished! Worth the $3 I spent
One of the jousters from the Knights of Avalon
The man on the right would sit in the middle of the path and pose as a wounded man, while the man on the left would hide, covering himself with that tree branch, then come out and scare passersby. This was fun to watch.
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The Bubble Fairy. This was a new act for us and a great show
Yep, finally got myself a costume!

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

And They Shall Be Gathered

Tonight I watched Syd perform in the play, And They Shall Be Gathered, put on by the young men and women in our church. The kids have worked really hard for the past several months, and they did an outstanding job. Kudos goes to the adults that helped them with this. After hearing about the practices I wasn't sure what to expect. I really enjoyed it (can you tell?) The play runs about 70 minutes and tells of a young couple and the choices they have to make after joining the church in the Armenia in the late 1800's. Didn't get many pictures tonight, but I'll have more tomorrow.

We're thinking about buying a different lens for my camera. I have a Canon Rebel and love it, but one drawback I have is that I am not able to take good pictures of the kids when they are performing at school functions, or much anywhere at some distance with fluorescent lights. We had heard it is a good idea to get a lens with an image stabilizer, but those come with a big price tag. A friend of ours let us borrow a 75-300 lens that that does not have an IS. I have been playing around with it tonight and so far really like it. I'm more of a point and shoot person, so a lot of this camera talk really goes over my head. I want to be able to take pictures like a pro without having to actually sit down and take the time to read that darn manual. Don't we all! I'm taking it out when we go camping this weekend. Hopefully I'll be able to get some beautiful sunset pictures.

Sunday, May 4, 2008

Reno Feis


This weekend was the Reno Feis. Syd did a couple of dances yesterday, and most were held today. I attended an all day scrapbook crop yesterday, and got home around 12:30 this morning, and didn't land up getting to bed until around 1:30, then woke up around 5:45 am. Today at the feis I was sooooo tired. I tried reading a book while I was waiting for Syd's dance number, and I couldn't even see straight. Wow, haven't been like that for a long time. She did great, although she was hard on herself because, like all of us, she wanted to do better. She did get to move up in one dance - she got first places out of twelve. The solo dresses these girls wear are absolutely gorgeous, but they come with a huge price tag. New dresses cost around $1200 and higher. She has an idea for making one, but I see how intricate the designs on these dresses are and I am honestly not sure I could do it with my limited experience of sewing. We came home after the feis and everyone took a nap. Of course now I am burning the midnight oil, knowing I need to go to bed because I have to work tomorrow.




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