You want me to do what?

So, my father-in-law and a certain Anty have asked me to take some pictures for them.  Flattered...Ummm YEAH!  It was also a good excuse and some great motivation to get after shooting in full manual.  I could do so much more with my pictures but this would require some brushing up on settings and a fair amount of reading on a trusy blog.  The Pioneer Woman.  I get along with her so well for a whole lot of reasons.  She lives on a working cattle ranch, she likes to take pictures, she grew up in town, and her stories are so entertaining and make me laugh...did I mention that this friendship is one sided and she has no idea I even exist.  I suppose I shouldn't take it personally.  Anyways, back to the reading.  She has great tutorials on Aperature, ISO, Shutter speed, and a slew of other tricks to the trade.  So when the husband and I went out for a walk with the kids  tonight and after I had crammed my brain until I could cram no more, I needed to apply the stuff...easier said than done.  The words "oh, bugger" and "what the heck" may have escaped my mouth a few times and of course I blamed the camera.  The most frustrating part is that I am so slow to get things to where I want them and by the time I do the subject has moved or what I saw has changed.  Sigh.  (Internal voice preaching away; Practice, practice, practice, must get better, kids move fast and horses are curious when you crouch down around them to get a shot!)