MLK Day - A day in the park - Saginaw, TX

Afternoon Playtime in the Courtyard - June 30, 2009

Where has the time gone?

OH MY GOSH! The last time I posted here was Christmas?! YIPES! I guess there is a lot of catching up to do. Since Christmas we've all four had birthdays. The kids are out of school for summer. Michael had a few business trips out east. I just got back from a weekend in Los Angeles and am planning a 10 day trip to Vancouver and Victoria, BC. For those of you who haven't heard, I quit my job when the kids got out of school so I could spend the summer with them. I don't regret it one bit! I am NOT the sort of person who can thrive sitting at a desk all day, especially without anyone to talk to. I'm going to re-dedicate myself to my photography. It seems that is what makes me the happiest and what I can contribute to my world to bring joy to other people. I have been doing some volunteer sessions for hospice patients again and it reminded me just how much I love sharing the family portrait process and how special it is to see the glow on their faces when they get their beautiful images back.

I will try to post a few picasa albums to catch up backwards to Christmas and hope that I can be better about posting from here forward. I guess I did share a lot of photos that I had made into web galleries, such as the Wisconsin Spring Break photos. I'll post those links here too so they won't be forgotten. There were some very special moments during that trip, such as meeting baby Emily! I can't wait to spend another week or two out there later this summer. I enjoy the drive up there and I've really come to love the time spent on the farm with my Mom and Dad and my kids.

Hugs to everyone reading this!

Twas the Night Before Christmas...

These are some shots from Christmas eve. You'll see kids decorating cookies for Santa, writing letters to Santa, feeding the reindeer on the patio, and then the visions of "after" Santa left the presents and stuffed the stockings. Shhh... Santa just left... ;-) (Remember: you can click on the slideshow above to go to the gallery.)

Our Sea World Adventure

I had time this morning to sort through and select photos, so I was a good Momma and put a batch of photos from this weekend online. ENJOY! (Remember: you can click on the slideshow above to go to the gallery.)

Sea World

I needed to get away for the weekend, so after picking the kids up after work on Friday we hit the road to San Antonio and had a Sea World kind of weekend. They sure know how to suck the money out of your pockets there, but we had a great time and memories (and photos) to last a lifetime. I wish I could tell all the stories here, like when Ivan touched a dolphin for the first time and excitedly told Bianca, "It's feels like touching wet leather!" I giggled and couldn't help but mutter under my breath, "That's because they ARE leather," and Ivan looked at me quizzically so I added, "As a matter of fact, Ivan, YOU are made of leather... just a different sort." I'm sure those comments will come back in some confusing conversations at a later date. I can already hear Michael asking me, "WHAT did you tell the kids!?"

Anyway, fun times. I can't wait to post more photos. You just gotta see Bianca's face painting. Wow. Another story begging to be told.

Face Painting

Bianca has been begging since the spring Ft Worth Main St. Arts Festival to have real face painting done. She saw the kiosk at Sea World and I was silly enough to tell her we would do it before we left. Today it was time to leave and she had not forgotten! I was crazy enough to pay $16 to have my daughter's face painted... with GLITTER too... and then spent 20 minutes scrubbing the paint off her face in the bathtub with every makeup remover I could find in my bathroom cabinet, and then it stained my bathtub purple! She still has a purple tint on her face and looks freakish. GIGGLE! The things
we do for our little girls.

Feeding the Dolphins

Crazy Purple Thing

(That would be me.)

That's me about a month ago. The photo was taken at the home of some photography friends when I was showing off new lighting gadgets. I got a Pocket Wizard controller for my Canon 580EXII speedlight so I can trigger it wirelessly off camera on a light stand shooting into an umbrella. Then I did what Don Macgregor would do and I metered the background to determine the shutter speed to match the background ambient light to the flash illumination on the subject and... viola. Suh-weeet!

School Photos - Fall 2008

These are Ivan and Bianca's school photos. Ivan is really looking comfortable in front of the camera these days. Boy have we come a long way with him! Bianca is proud of having lost two teeth. You can see by her awkward smile she is showing off those grown up teeth popping through on the bottom.

Compare these to last years goofy grins... (click here)

Halloween Weekend 2008....

....or, alternatively, "It's about damn time you put up some new family photos!" I thought I was busy before I had this full-time day job gig. For those of you who haven't heard or haven't cared, I'm working a day job downtown Fort Worth in one of the Bass Buildings doing super top secret investment research for an unnamed company at an undisclosed location. (Of course I'm being over-dramatic. Is there any other way to be?) :-) It's late! I should be in bed! I'm punchy! Nevermind! Just look at the photos!!!!!