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on a bus ride with local ladies

(warning:  random heart ramblings here)

I'm terribly shy for taking photos of local neighbors but I so long to share with you the local scenes and beauty.  It's ridiculous for me to be so timid for this because in this culture, I'm honoring these friends if I want their picture and they'd probably all pose bright and happy and at least one person in most every group pic would give bunny ears to another and it could be real lively and fun... but I'm an introvert and this just overwhelms me.  Most the time, I'd like to just smile and nod at most the people I pass on the street and keep walking to the grocery store for veggies and eggs.   

Sadly, rather than feeling honored, often I'm annoyed, when people want to pose for "bunny ears" with my kids and make them stop from wherever we're going or whatever they're playing to smile with strangers who usually don't even say hello- but just want a flashy pic they can boast of on social media.  

Still, a huge piece of my heart still hungers to capture more local beauty, more natural shots, even though I squirm when we're targeted as the subject of their photography.  (There's no way around this being a very sad, broken thing in me to have to confess.  I hate it but it's all true.)  

I'd love to get more natural shots of my neighbors.  Nobody looking, please.  Just a regular still life on film (digitally.)  So I'm trying to get sneakier with using my phone.  Savvier about pulling off the "I'm just texting someone" look while I snap away like a totally silly fake spy.  Somebody please tell me how I can do this better- not interrupt their conversations and just take an honest good photograph?  I'd love to get a few more shots of local scenes around us:  life and people, that we've come to love so dearly.

  

           

In other news...  two princesses stopped by our living room to play games the other day.  

in honor of Uncle Greg- whose Monopoly legacy burns deep in the hearts of our kid crew.

masterful hairdo done all by her big sis!

And we took these two awesome guys (who work at Matt's company) to the mountains to see if we can make some fun business stuff happen out that way this summer.   It was a great excuse for a day of fresh air, run-in-the-grass, JOY!