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These cool clouds were in the sky when we got home yesterday afternoon

had to get a photo and ended up taking a few

these are stitched together to make a panoramic picture

Last night was the last night my parents were here on their current holiday staying with us. It coincided with family night, and we kicked off after dinner with a game of UNO with everybody involved. Mercedes is funny. She likes to get the cards and when she has to put cards down thinks that is bad. When she has to pick she loves it!

Jude usually wins UNO and did again last night by a big margin.

After we put the little two to bed, Miranda Jadeen, Jude and I and Grandad and Grandma played a game of Carcasonne. Mum has played it before but Dad hadn’t. It was a very close game with the end result being a win to me, and then Miranda second with Jadeen and Dad separated by a point with grandma next and Jude coming last.

The results aren’t really important. What is is the time spent bonding as a family, learning group communication and playing skills (for the girls) and the time spent together.

I have today responded to two articles written by Cheryl Critchley a columnist for the Herald Sun. I guess she has a job a little like mine sometimes – she writes for a living! I think maybe I do more typing than she does (I average about 1 million words per year).

Anyway the two articles were Is homeschooling good for kids? and the current controversy about the Bill Hensen Underage nude (art) photographs titled Are nude photos of children ever OK?

Nude photos of children answer.

Hi Cheryl

I completely agree with your comment that photos of nude children are inappropriate as forms of public art. While most families have shots of their kids naked, part naked etc they are usually as your photos of your kids are described, candid and funny reminders of times as a family where the nakedness is not the point of the photo, though often the focal point. Rather the point of these photos is the family fun and memories.

I took some cool photos of birds while at the park last night with the kids. Check these out. I was trying to get some good group shots of cockatoos flying together, but the light was too low and the shutter speed wasn't fast enough to stop the flight of most of the birds. So I wasted a hundred or so shots to get about 1 halfway decent one. Thank goodness for digital cameras.
However I did get these three good ones, including one in flight against the evening sky. Click them to see the larger image. I particularly like the reflective content of the center shot of the water fowl. The ripples make the water look very metallic.