Day 1: Take a Photo

31 Days of Adventure
Official Day 1
Take a photo of something familiar from a new angle.

The day we bought our 2007 Nissan Xterra we named it KYT. The license plates we transferred to our new rough & tough truck were 529-KYT. We bought KYT to transport us on an adventure of a lifetime: Project 2007.

Today our life is different from that free spirited year of 2007 is many ways. But not in the most important one: each day is an adventure. The sense of Adventure that we adopted from that year has never left the Scheunemann family.

Yesterday, as it says above, I was challenged to take a photo of something familiar from a new angle. At first this didn't seem like much of a challenge since my camera is a faithful friend. But then I decided why not take a photo of our Adventure Vehicle, KYT. Now, to figure out what a new angle is you need to know what photos you have already taken. I give to you the life of KYT through photos:

On the shores of Lake Winneabago. Ready for Project 2007.

First attempt at packing the truck for Project 2007

Road West.

Applying our first sticker.

Bison crossing in Canada.

Xterra Office.

Seward, Alaska

Traffic jam in Alaska. Not a bad place to be stuck.

Dirt road to Kennecott, Alaska

The Scheunemanns inside KYT.

Road to Kennecott, Alaska.

Haines Hwy, Alaska.

Ferry ride to Bellingham, Washington.

"Jarrod! Look up you need to remember this bridge!" Road back from California.

Stickers collected on Project 2007.

In Yellowstone with a Rental instead of the broke Excursion.

Pit Stop in Ohio to visit family.

Tunes for the way back to Wisconsin.

Cody in the backseat.

Rockin' the drivers seat.

Getting ready for Destination: Maine. Summer of 2009

Destination: Maine. Bringing along the kid gear.

Campground in Maine.

Auntie Leslie, Auntie Sara & six month old Cadence.

Cadence's toys.

Our newest Adventurer!

New Hampshire.

Saying goodbye to the Corolla. (Second crashed car from the right)

Ready for take off in the Tetons. 2010.

Cadence's Big Adventure in the Tetons & Yellowstone.

Towel Rack.

The baby gear's IN!

So's the tired baby.

I took note that we didn't have any photos of the top of KYT. So, yesterday this 6 month pregnant chic climbed up on a ladder while Jarrod & Cadence assisted:

Jarrod took photos with my iPhone of the shinanagins:

 

Here we go!

Photo from Cadence's Big Adventure out to Wyoming in July 2010 ©Jessie Marie Studio, LLC

I have been on a lot of adventures since getting together with my amazing husband, Jarrod Scheunemann. Our very first road trip adventure was out to Yellowstone & the Grand Tetons in 2001. Since then we have adopted the adventure lifestyle & have never looked back, bringing family, friends & now our kids along for the ride. We even named our first children's book Adventures with Ranger Roy: Acadia National Park.

Since I'm pregnant right now (an adventure in itself!) & due in the middle of adventure season (June 30th) we are sadly not doing one of our normal National Park Adventures this summer. Instead I've decided to embark on a 31 day challenge from my new friend Amy, from Expand Outdoors.  

I bring to you Day 1 of 31 Days of Adventure. 

Each day I will get a prompt in my inbox for some type of daily adventure. Join me if you would like. Today was the set up for the project. Below are my answers:

What does adventure means to you? How do you define it? 
Something new. Challenging. Difficult. Exciting. Shared with others.

When you hear the word "adventure," what images come to mind?
Grand vistas. Beautiful views. Flowers. Lakes. Rivers. Mountains. Our Xterra KYT. Trials.
 
Feelings? 
Excitement. Anxiety. Wonderment. Peace. Joy.

Activities?
Hiking. Biking. Road Trip. Swimming. Running. Live concerts.
 
Are there particular smells or sounds you associate with the word?
Rain. Dry air. Pine trees. Lake or river water. Chirping birds. Crowds of people. Silence.

Let the next Adventure begin!  

In Progress: Bike Love

Paintings #2 & #3 are done! Painting #1 is causing a bit of a fight. I will win.

Painting #2: DONE!

Painting #3: DONE!

Read Across America Postcards

Below are four interactive postcards designed for the literacy activity Jarrod & I created for our table at the Read Across America event going on in Urbana, IL on Saturday, March 3 from 10am to 1pm. Approximately 200-500 kids ages 1 to 6 years-old will participate in our literacy activity. Come visit!

At our table kids will be able to create a postcard or two to send to a friend or family member. We will have a variety of four postcards to choose from that represent four parks - two national (Acadia National Park & Yellowstone National Park) & two local (Lake of the Woods & Meadowbrook). On each card kids will be able to color something in, fill in missing letters, trace letters or match letters that teach them about the park on the card.

I want to send a shout out to my online critique group. You have been invaluable with the success of this project! If you would like to be a part of critiquing Jessie Marie Studio projects send me an email at jessie.scheunemann (at) gmail.com.

New Friends

Jeremy Miller, from Sticky Branding, challenged me to join BNI, an international business networking group, to grow my business.

I accepted his challenge.

And now you, my blog readers, benefit.

My new friends, who I meet with weekly, include everything from a chiropractor to an electrician. See the attached list (that I happened to design).

If you are in need of any of their services let me know - or give them a call! And don't forget to let them know you got their name from Jessie at Jessie Marie Studio.

Winter Work

Winter's been long for more reasons than gray days & long nights. Jessie Marie Studio has been busy wrapping up two big projects & diligently moving two others forward. See visuals below.

Program cover for Operation Stimulus 2012 - a conference put on by the Denver Transportation Club.

Poster design for St. Andrew's spring semester lecture series.

Ticket design for St. Andrew's spring semester lecture series.

Website homepage for Littlefield Auction Company. See entire site (still in the works) here.

Project Baby Scheuneman 2.0 due June 30, 2012.

Light in Darkness

Since the middle of October, I start my Wednesday workday with a Morning Meeting. I spend about a half hour in the woods with my Canon Rebel Xti photographing what I see. Rain, fog & gray clouds have joined me on all but one morning. Today I stalled in the truck longer than normal. The gray days have become draining.

Life can become pretty draining too. From the outside it looks like all potential for joy & color have been lost. Much like the minutes before I force myself out of the truck with camera in hand. Then you dig in. You start connecting with your environment. You start building relationships. And suddenly a beautiful story starts to form. Color screams from the grayness. Joy over pours from your soul.

I found vibrant color and an overabundant amount of joy during my Morning Meeting today. Not only in he photos I was taking, but in the promise of Christmas. The promise that Jesus will put His light into my gray & dull life everyday. 

"I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness." John 12:46

May your Christmas weekend be filled with light, joy & color!

See today's entire Morning Meeting here.