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Yellowstone Thermal Activity {Chen Family Vacation 2014}

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Geysers, hotpools, & mud pots … OH MY! The above is of course, “Old Faithful”, which did you know is not the biggest nor most impressive geyser in the park? It is simply the most predictable geyser in Yellowstone & thus the heart of tourism, as it’s an easy view. My Favorite Little Mister’s favorite though was the Anemone Geyser which he nicknamed “the toilet geyser”. It is the top right photo {with Old Faithful going off in the background…away from the crowds!}. There are 3 small holes in the earth which alternately fill every 7-10 minutes, then burst into spouts of steaming water about 6 feet into the air for a couple minutes, then (& HERE IS THE BEST PART!) drains back into the earth making a toilet flushing gurgling noise! AWESOME! We stayed for about an hour is all. Ha!

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The hotpools are beautiful. BUT SMELLY. Sunshine Girl gagged & almost threw up several times. It became quite funny actually. Think of the hot air around you smelling like rotten eggs & that is what the sulpher smell of the earth is like. YUCK.
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O.K., Yellowstone is just plain weird. We talked to some “locals” & they gave us a few golden tips: 1. Hike to Fairy Falls, but go beyond it to Imperial Geyser {the above left photo} in which there are no more boardwalks to keep visitors away from delicate thermal areas & random GEYSERS going off next to a mountain! Crazy! 2. On your way back from that hike, once you near the Grand Prismatic Hot Pool {the most famous in Yellowstone}, take the “paths” up a gravelly hill for an upper view of the Grand Prismatic. It was SO cool, but SO slippery & dangerous. {This was not true trails, just “paths” hikers had made & the park ranger highly discouraged us from climbing it as there many broken bones there every year…} We did it anyways & this is Sunshine Girl overlooking the Grand.

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Here is some trick photography {which the kids were SUPER into this trip} of My Favorite Little Mister puffing smoke & the bottom photo is Mammoth Hot Springs.

 

Enjoy!

Grace & Peace,

JulieFreeSHIPPING

National Park Portraits + Thoughts on Race from My Sunshine Girl {Chen Family Vacation 2014} | Life Verse Design Blog - […] you are not sick of my vacation posts yet, but I just had to share with you all some of my favorite portraits of my kiddos. Above […]

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Yellowstone Wildlife {Chen Family Vacation 2014}

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We just returned from a 16 day road trip out west to the Badlands, the Black Hills, Mt. Rushmore, Custer State Park, Yellowstone & the Tetons. Here are some wildlife highlights:

 

The above image is essentially the epitome of Yellowstone: bison next to geysers next to creeks in the middle of forests!Yellowstone Photo_0002

This was our home for 13 nights straight. Camping is THE WAY to experience Yellowstone at it’s finest.

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Bison. Road blocks. Calves nursing. The above bison decided to walk along side our car for a bit.

 

We even got to watch 2 bison swim across a river!

 

And, you know you’ve been in Yellowstone too long when you are animal hunting & say, “OH, it’s JUST ANOTHER bison!”Yellowstone Photo_0004

White tailed deer. Moose eating the “river grass” & elk! {Elk are another one of those, “OH, it’s JUST ANOTHER elk!” sightings.} So amazing to see so close!

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Now, here’s some action: we are driving along & you learn to park when you see a crowd & there was a huge heard of elk feeding at dusk, but Sam said NO ONE is looking at the elk… so, we happen upon an area where a grizzly bear {actually 3 different ones} fed off of this bison carcass for 5 days straight. We saw days 2, 4, & 5. It was amazing to see the size of the carcass diminish before our eyes. This other photo is on day 4 when you could see the grizzly ripping the pink meat off the bison! At one point, she was aware of another bear in the area & tried dragging the carcass off! {It did not get far} {Oh, & this all happened in the Canyon area about 2 miles from our camp site… a little weird knowing you are in bear country.}

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And, the grand finale of Yellowstone was our last night there & Pumpkin-Poos just wanted to see a wolf the entire time {she would ask every park ranger “where the wolves are?”} … This is Hayden Valley & we spotted the onlookers {I am talking scopes, biggest camera lenses I’ve ever seen, etc…} so we pulled over to see a 5 pack WAY off in the distance. The alpha & another were frolicking around & quite playful, but it was far it was hard to see. So, I said let’s go look for more “action”… as we drove to the next outlook, I watched the pack as best I could & notice they were QUICKLY moving closer to the road, so we parked it. We got out to watch the above alpha wolf cross the road with another & learned there was another bison carcass behind a hill {out of view}. We waited for a while, watching the remaining 3 wolves playing, and low & behold, the alpha wolf trots back across the road with a hunk of bison meat in it’s mouth for the pack!

 

All of this meat action reminded me of a funny sign in a gift shop that said, “VEGETARIAN: a Native American word for bad hunter.” So funny.

 

Come back again to see the thermal feature of Yellowstone & some sweet portraits I took of my kiddos!

 

Grace & Peace,

Julie

 

 

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National Park Portraits + Thoughts on Race from My Sunshine Girl {Chen Family Vacation 2014} | Life Verse Design Blog - […] you are not sick of my vacation posts yet, but I just had to share with you all some of my favorite portraits of my kiddos. Above is […]

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My BEST Birthday Gift EVER!

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Do you remember when I met my “rock star” Laura Huliska-Beith?!

Well, as we were walking up to her front door, my awesome hubby turns to me & says, “I think we should commission Laura to paint something for your 40th birthday or as we look through her originals, you can just pick something out!” Umm… YES DEAR!!!! And I already had a plan …Laura Huliska Beith Photo_0001b

I took this photo of my kids about a year ago to commemorate them doing one of their favorite things: reading while surrounded by nature. Immediately I knew I wanted LAURA (!!!) to illustrate my very own kiddos. I sent the above art direction along with other various head shots of my kiddos to Laura & the process began. (OH! & as a book designer myself, being able to art direct such an amazing illustrator was a BONUS! AND, by the way: if there are any publishers out there looking for an illustrator who goes above & beyond, she is your gal)

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Laura kindly documented the process of the painting for us in the above images. How fun is that?!

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And HERE is her interpretation of my photo…. LOVE! LOVE! LOVE!!!!!

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We all did the happy dance when the package arrived. Pumpkin-Poos was running wild. Sunshine Girl could not believe she “EVEN SIGNED IT FOR US!” & my Favorite Little Mister said, “cool.” The above shows some close up shots of the DETAIL & love Laura put into my art: my Favorite Little Mister reads his owl book & an owl reads a book about my Favorite Little Mister! How fun is that?! That dog licking Pumpkin’s toes is Laura’s own dog & Sunshine Girl loves cat woman & she even added a black cat. The most thoughtful detail of all: an origami bird, just for my Favorite Little Mister who made origami for Laura while in her studio!

 

MANY THANKS to my pal Laura!!! We just got the art framed & it is simply amazing. Best birthday present ever.

 

Grace & Peace,

JulieFreeSHIPPING

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9 Years

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My Sunshine Girl turned 9 today! {A few weeks ago, my Favorite Little Mister turned 11, so it is birthday season over here!} Was she not the cutest baby?! Oh, how I miss those cheeks!

 

Being a June baby & a little girl, in the hospital I nicknamed her my sunshine girl. She has brought so much joy to our lives & continues to make us laugh & smile.2014-06-08_0038

She is a great sister. Besties with her big brother & so so so sweet {most of the time} with her little sis. It was early on {like at birth} when we could see her love for food. At age 2 we found her on the counter eating watermelon & in the above photo we had eaten ice cream with cousins the night before & I did not totally clean up the mostly empty containers & she managed to lick out the remains of the ice cream all over her jammies!2014-06-08_0039

She is full of joy & light. She is a mostly free spirit & one thing I greatly admire about her is her self confidence. Example: for the last year she has carried an Avengers lunchbox & when she started using it, some girls at school were horrified & asked her if it was her brother’s lunchbox {which ironically he would NEVER use} & she had no problem with it at all.2014-06-08_0040

She, like the rest of us, is a total nature lover. One thing I love about my kids. And, those deep brown eyes… so beautiful!!!! Here again is a food photo. 🙂 ha!2014-06-08_0041

Her first major haircut came at preschool graduation. She loved the pampering, though at heart she is a total tom-boy like me! She is a night owl. A CRAZY sleeper & very silly at bedtime.

 

She is also one of my best models & I think she is in more of my art than any of my kids. The camera loves her. Here the girls are holding some of the Demdaco plaques they are featured in.2014-06-08_0042

She is strong, brave & courageous in so many ways. The above photos is her daddy piercing her ears with a needle. ughhhhh. He did not trust the teens at Claire’s, so took it upon himself to pierce his own girl’s ears “the right way” & the numbing did not last. It was the longest 5 minutes & he was sweating bullets causing so much pain…. but, there is nothing a little ice cream cannot fix & once she had a mug full, she was all better, showing off her new earrings!

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Her strength also came into play the summer she turned 6 when within 2 weeks of each other she had 2 freak accidents & got 2 sets of  stitches. The ones in her lip the doc could not believe she did not flinch nor cry & even did 2 extra stitches where he had not numbed her!

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She is a natural beauty. She is a natural athlete & shares my love for soccer & her daddy’s love for volleyball. She excels at any sport she tries & loves playing around with the boys at recess.

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I LOVE how unique she is. This past fall, she chopped her hair 6 inches to become Paige from Tron Uprising for Halloween. Totally “became” her : full of attitude & spunk.

I LOVE how she is such a combo of me & Sam. My love of art, nature, soccer & photography; Sam’s love of comics, volleyball, Vespas … if you ask her the best day of her life EVER, she will tell you when daddy took her to Comicon! She went as Cat Woman & was in her glory the entire time. I bet she can answer any comic question someone would give her. She has literally read every comic in the junior section of the library & OH! I cannot forget her insatiable love of books!!! {I asked her who she wants a playdate with this week & she told me she will be too busy reading!} 2014-06-08_0046

This is one of my favorite photos of her ever, as it captures her heart. She is free & full of joy & loves to worship. She is full of compassion & I LOVE how she is my little theologian. Her deep thoughts & questions blow me away & it is so evident what God is rooting in her life.

 

We love you Sunshine Girl!!!! Happy Birthday!!!! May you always know God’s delight over you!

 

Grace & Peace,

JulieFreeSHIPPING

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Red Couch Photo Shoot {Julie Chen Photography : Downers Grove Photography}

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There is nothing better than a beautiful family on a red velvet couch in the middle of a forest for photos! The child lights up when she sees the couch she gets to snuggle her parents on. It is fun & unique & I always love these relaxed & playful shoots.

 

My red velvet couch has officially been retired, BUT I just acquired a CREAM vintage couch which I will be taking outdoors***  for more family fun! It is the same exact shape & design of the red velvet, but it is upholstered with a cream tapestry style material {not velvet, so it will not be so hot}.

 

This coming Father’s Day morning, June 15, I have 2 openings if you are interested in a couch photo shoot! Available at 9:15 & 10:00! Contact me thru the contact page if you are interested!

 

***Please note: I only do the couch photo shoots a couple times a year, so get yours while it is available!

 

Grace & Peace,

Julie
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Ivory Couch Photo Shoot | Life Verse Design Blog - […] red velvet couch out to fields & parks for some fun family photo shoots. Well, as described here, that beloved red couch has been retired & my friend GENEROUSLY GAVE ME a vintage ivory couch to […]

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