The Tale of Two (or Three or Four) Sunsets (a.k.a You Capture - Sunrise/Sunset)

There were many reasons I was not excited about this week's Sunrise/Sunset assignment:

1) I don't wake up early enough to capture a sunrise, especially now that Daylight Savings is over.

2) There are so many trees surrounding my house, it's difficult to see the sunrise or sunset from my house, which means

3) that I have to travel somewhere with all four children in order to view such a thing, and

4) they tire of me taking pictures.

5) It's been raining so much here I have had my doubts that there is still a sun in the sky that needs setting or rising.

So I was going to just skip the assignment, but then I decided to go look for a chair to replace the recliner I moved from my room to the family room. And, yes, this story is connected to the sunset. Here's what happened:

Sunset #1
I found this great chair for $399.00. I really didn't want to pay that much, but it was a really cool chair. I made sure I asked Tim the friendly sales guy if the pillows come with the chair. Duh! Why wouldn't they? he said in his head as he nodded in a friendly sort of way.

But I didn't want to shell out $399.00 without talking about it with my husband first. So I went home, packed up the whole family, and took everyone to the furniture store. On the way, I noticed that, while I could not see the actual setting sun, the sky because of the setting sun was gorgeous. So what was a 20 minute trip to the furniture store turned into about 45 because every couple of minutes, I said, "Ooo, ooo, pull over."

What made it especially difficult was that we were driving east, so I had to crane my neck the whole time to see the gorgeous sky. So we pulled over every few miles until my husband finally said I had enough pictures.

So then I just took them out the window as we drove and when we stopped in traffic.

And then I remembered the sunroof and took some pictures from there.

Anyway, to make a really short story really long, my husband thought the chair was really cool too. And then he asked me if the ottoman came with the chair. "Well, duh," I said. "I asked Tim the friendly sales guy if the pillows came with it. I'm sure I remembered to ask Tim if the ottoman comes with it. Right?" So I called Tim back over. "The ottoman comes with the chair, right?" Nope. The ottoman is an additional $199.00. $199.00 so my dirty feet have a place to rest. Yeah. Not going to pay $600.00 for a chair. So all of that and no chair. In my defense, you'll notice the price tag on the ottoman was backwards the whole time I was there. Both times. Out of sight, out of mind. Plus, sometimes, I'm just plain out of my mind.

Sunset #2
Sunday was a gorgeous day. Temps in the 70s, sunshine. I knew that there would be a fabulous sunset, but I had also been invited to play volleyball, and volleyball waaay trumps sunsets. But on the way home from volleyball, I spied yet another gorgeous sunset sky, so I quickly had hubby pulled over and took this:

As you may have guessed by now, I am no professional photographer. And I therefore have no idea what that white circle is in the picture. It is not the moon. It does not show up on the photo before this one or on the photo after, so I don't think my lens is dirty. I have not photoshopped that in. My theory? I captured an alien spaceship! Of course you more pro-fessional photographers out there might have a different theory, one that does not involve extra terrestrials. If you do, though, don't tell me; I'd prefer believing I captured something that belongs in Area 51.

Sunset #3
We are studying Ancient Greece, so when I first started thinking of alternatives to this assignment besides, you know, actually capturing a real sunset, I assigned my daughter the task of writing a myth that would explain why the sun sets. Here is her myth:

The Sun Bearer and Her Daughter

There was a village on the top of the world. The people there would keep the sun in the air all the time. There was a beautiful woman who was in charge of it all. She had a daughter named Lunar who was more beautiful than a patch of daisies.

One day bandits came and took Lunar away. The chief sun bearer sent all the sun bearers after her. Since they were gone, the world was dark.

Meanwhile, Lunar came across a gem and cracked half of it off. She threw the half up in the sky, and it started to glow. The half of the gem shows how far away she is. That is how the sun sets and the moon rises. Lunar is stolen away every night.

Of course the myth had to be illustrated, so I presented all the kids with an art project called a Rainy Day Picture, an idea I stole from Samvach at To Be Busy at Home. Here is Alex's:

Sunset #4

Finally, another alternative I had to actually doing this assignment was to pull from the archives. These sunset pictures are from our trip to Panama City Beach in May 2009. I think my husband took the best one. (Maybe he should be doing these You Captures instead of me!)

For more sunsets (and hopefully some sunrises from Morning People), visit Beth at I Should Be Folding Laundry.