Cameras

I am hoping you can help me! We are wanting a new camera and should get it soon, but I can't quite decide on what I want.
I don't want a big detailed camera that is more than I would understand.
I want one that takes great pictures of people and can also do nice scenery photos.
I want one that is sturdy.
It needs to have a long battery life.
For fun I would like one that takes short videos. That is pretty standard, it seems, though.
I want one that is all in one piece, currently mine isn't. It still works though.
That can take pictures in pretty quick succession. 
 

What is important to you in a camera?
Do you have one you recommend?

Do, Please tell.

~Anna

My Memories of Jackpine 2010

As fall comes into view each year we take a journey to

Northern Minnesota

Near the little town of 

 To enjoy times in God's amazing world.

We pass through quaint towns

 We go under beautiful skies,

 Pass by neat art work we only get to see once a year.

 Get water at an artisan well

 And wait patiently in the chilling breeze for our jugs to fill.

 We won the prettiest campsite "award".

 Bundled under lots of layers to sing around the camp fires with 

 some of our dearest friends and family members.

 Some visited the afternoon away,

 While others built cities and conquered villages in the sand.

 At night we sang and listened to more great sermons in the waning hours of the night. 

Some fell to sleep in awkward shapes.

But woke refreshed to see another morning to sing around the campfire!

Some of my favorite memories are of camping! Do you have good memories as well?
~Anna

Flowers

It is time to deplant and remove a lot of the browning plants around my house.

Some of the flowers still are keeping going even though it is getting quite cool.

The other evening I walked around and took pictures of different flowers that I have been enjoying this summer. I planted lots of marigolds this year because we took off to a very buggy start. They seemed to do their job some. At least they added lots of color!

The echinacea and rhubarb are my exciting ones for the year.
 We have learned what parts to use of the ecchinacea and had a lot of tea with it while some were sick around here. It is virtually a weed so I am happy it is being useful now too. It was nice as just a flower too because where it is growing nothing else was, except for lots of peppermint.
 Then the rhubarb is very exciting because we all love deserts made with rhubarb and don't get it very much because we don't have any growing near here, but now we do! I do hope it makes it through the winter okay. I don't know if I transplanted it at the right time or not, we shall see. If winter holds off for awhile I am going to be tempted to harvest some. It is growing so nicely.

Lee, A Life Of Virtue

This is a book review for the book, Lee A Life of Virtue.  
I found this to be an excellent book. Both enjoyable to read and full of educational facts. If you are studying the Civil War, great leaders or other random American histories this would be a good book to choose. Mr. Perry gives you background into the Lee family as well as showing you the beginning of Robert E. Lee's life and married years before the war. Since I was raised and have spent all my years in the north I have felt like the civil war had merit. In reading this book you realize there are two sides to every tale. I had known that Lincoln's reason for the war was not slavery but unification of our nation and this book lends more evidence to that. During the war years in this book it also lets you see just how horrible war is and how hard we should try to avoid it. That may not have been intended by the author, but it is certainly brought out in the statistics of the battles you read of. After reading this book I continue to feel great respect for the man, General Robert E. Lee! 
I received this book through Booksneeze, an excellent way to get free books!

Adventures at Willow River State Park

We packed a picnic lunch and after church we headed over to Willow River State Park. I had heard it was neat and there are cool water falls you can play in. 

Turns out they are cold water falls 

and they are fun to play in.

At the falls there is a path and an 173 (if our counting is correct, one lady said 176 and DJ said193) step staircase you can climb, and see amazing views out over the river, falls, a lake and where the dam should be.

Looking down on the falls from the look out area

Crossing a footbridge to get higher up the falls

Looking out from behind a waterfall

While we were walking to the falls we walked through a camping area, it smelled so good with all the campfires smoldering in the fire rings. We came home smelling like we were camping just being by all the fires and smokers. Since it was a holiday weekend and the last of the summer it was a pretty busy place but still you were able to enjoy nature and see neat things. 

There is also a dam further south on the river a little so we looked that over, too. There were a lot of people fishing off of it and around it.
Swimmingly good,
~Anna


Had quite and adventure in  getting this post up. For some reason the program is sure it knows more than me what I want for fonts and spaces between items.