273/365 - 1st Place Reader

Randi won first place in her class this week for reading the most books and successfully passing tests on them. She has been working really hard on achieving her goal and she exceeded it by reading 45 books, more books than anyone in her class has read in one given week. Her teacher gave her a journal and some art paper to reward her accomplishment. She was busting at the seems with excitement when I picked up up this afternoon, and needless to say, I am one proud Mama!

272/365 - Another Storm

Another storm rolled through this evening. I love the smell of the rain, and I purposely took some time to just sit and watch and enjoy the downpour. It was cleansing in more ways than one.

Quarterly Top 5

One of the best thing about doing the Quarterly Top 5 is looking back and seeing what I've captured over the last 3 months and then picking out the real treasures. My 365 project has inspired me to capture many moments that I normally would have overlooked, and almost all my Quarterly favorites are pictures that I took because I was looking for my picture of the day, so for that I am thankful. Another benefit of the Quarterly Top 5 for me this time around is with summer and all that comes with it, I've felt like some of my creativity went out the window and it has been a challenge to keep up with a picture each day, so a lot of my photos have just been snapshots...capturing our daily lives, and nothing real inspirational. So when I looked through the photos I posted last few months, I only had a few that jumped out at me, so I went back into my files and looked at all the 100's of photos I took on vacation and haven't had a chance edit or play with yet, and I found two treasures. I did post one of the pictures in a collage, but it was small and pretty much SOOC, but today I had a chance to play with it and went from liking it to loving it. However the other picture needed some editing, so I didn't use it while on vacation and then completely forgot about it, so it was a treat to come across it again and have a chance to finally post it now.

1. This photo is my forgotten treasure; taken while walking the pier in San Clemente, CA.


2. I posted this in a collage back in July, but I love the softer processing I used on it here, and I'm glad to have the chance now to showcase it by itself. This photo is so my girl. She loves the ocean, she loves dancing, and she loves being a girly girl. And I just love her!


3. More twirling...from another perspective. This was taken in very low light, at the end of the day, and is definately something I wouldn't have tried to take if I hadn't still needed a photo on this day!


4. Everytime I look at this picture I'll think of the fires that raged this summer through Texas. Ryan was paying homage to them by composing what he called "fire music".


5. Daddy always makes things a little less scary! Especially on the first day of school.


Thank you to Courtney, Amber and Sarah for hosting this challenge; it really has been a pleasure to participate.

271/365 - Reasons to get a kitten

1. They're cute
2. They add an element of humor to your life
3. They give you something to take pictures of other than the kids for a change
4. However, your kids might even ask you to take a picture of them with the kitten
4. And if you're really lucky, they'll give you one of their good smiles because it was their idea to take the picture

270/365 - Storm

A storm blew in from the NW today and we got some more much needed rain.

269/365 - A boy and his cat

These two are spending a lot of time together these days!

268/365 - Holy cow...I mean cat!

This is where I found Teddy this afternoon. Holy cow, how did he get up there?
Later Ryan finally admitted to putting him there so he could build him a giant landing pad made out of every pillow and blanket he could get his hands on. Oh the things boys will do! Don't worry, poor Teddy wasn't hurt as I rescued him before he considered making the flying leap to the pillow pile below.

267/365 - Subaru

When I look at this car I see my Mom pulling in the driveway.

When I look at this car I can still hear my Mom saying "here, take my car" and handing me her keys when I was off to do errands and she wanted me to save on gas (because her car gets much better mileage than our SUV).

When I look at this car I remember Mom driving up to the curb in front of our house to pick up Randi and Randi climbing in the front seat to ride the 2 blocks to Mom's house to play or bake or do art together.

When I look at this car I think of reusable grocery sacks and Enya on the CD player.

When I look at this car I picture Kai sitting in the front seat, perched like a queen being chauffeured around by my Mom.

When I look at this car I think of trips to the store, trips to Padre, trips to the movies, lots of trips together with Mom.

When I look at this car it makes me happy but it also makes my heart skip a beat...

266/365 - The Fair

The Fair is a really big deal here so the whole town just about shuts down today so everyone can go to and enjoy the fair. The kids had the day off school, so we went to IHop for breakfast and then had a really lazy day around the house. I didn't feel like picking up the camera today, so here are some photos from our adventures at the Fair last night...

265/365 - Western Day, Rain & The Fair

In celebration of the County Fair, today was Western Day at school. The kids got to wear their cowboy/cowgirl duds and did a little performance for all the parents in the school gym this morning. It is one of my favorite events of the year because I think every kid in the school dresses up and their is so much energy in the air. One of the many advantages to living in a smaller town is little things like a County Fair become a big deal, and the kids here get to enjoy and appreciate things that are often overlooked in larger cities.








Before we headed out to the Fair, some funny stuff began falling from the sky! You know it's been a long time since it's rained when you feel compelled to take a photo of it like it's some rare event!



Later that evening when we got to the Fair, we found that Ryan's class had won the tri-color ribbon for the art project they submitted. He was super proud and excited when he saw it and wanted to be sure to show us which pie was his! Each kid was asked what their favorite part of the Fair was and then they had to draw a picture of that thing; Ryan answered the Rides and Games. That's my boy!

264/365 - Fair field trip

Ryan's PreK class went on a field trip to the County Fair today. We spent most of our time at the petting zoo and got up close and personal with a horse, calves, sheep, goats, pigs, and Ryan's favorite, the baby chicks. It always amazes me how rough and tumble he is on a day to day basis, and yet how gentle he is when he's around animals.

263/365 - Rosie

Today we celebrated the life of a beautiful woman. Even though Michael and I knew Rosie for over 20 years, we didn't get to really know her until we moved here 3 years ago, but that didn't stop Nanny from treating us like she'd known us forever. She was warm and kind and generous and always had a kind thing to say and some sort of treat for the kids. She was a brave, strong lady who lived a simple life, yet raised 3 wonderful, good hearted, successful boys, one of whom I'm lucky enough to call my brother in law. I'll miss Rosie her and the many good times we shared together and hope the heavens know what a special angel they have amongst them now. Rest in peace Rose Marie Davis.

262/365 - The day after the dog show

Dog showing is hard work!

Teva and Piper (or "the girls" as we call them) are sisters. They were born almost 13 years ago, though I remember the day like it was yesterday. It was early in the morning; Teva was the third born and Piper was the last born out of 8 puppies. It was a magical litter. All 5 of the dogs that were shown became Champions; 2 of them taking Specialty Best in Show wins. Several of the them earned stock and agility titles, and one is a Hall of Fame Dam. One of the pups is a registered service dog who still assists a young girl with Muscular Dystrophy. And all 5 of the pups that were certified through OFA (Orthopedic Foundation of America) came back Excellent, which is the highest rating possible. All in all, it was a very special litter.

When the kids took an interest in dog showing, I knew "the girls" would be perfect partners for them. They're well trained and know just what to do in the ring. And true to form, they've exceeded my expectations and have been so good for the kids in so many ways. They've behaved perfectly in the ring, making the kids look like they know more than they really do. They've put up with a lot of running and pulling and being turned around in all kinds of directions without complaint. They've given it their all and then some and have asked for nothing more than a treat and a little love in return. I think they've enjoyed getting out and strutting their stuff once again, but I also see that the years are catching up with them and they aren't as spry as they used to be. Therefore a well earned rest the day, or whole week, after a show is well deserved.

261/365 - Dog Show #2

When Randi first started showing in Pee Wee handling, she was afraid to go in the ring by herself, so I usually had to go in with her and hold her hand while she showed her dog.

This went on for about 2 years and then one day I finished a dogs' championship and needed help taking another dog back into the ring, so I asked Randi if she wanted to show in the ring with the big dogs? I told her I couldn't hold her hand but I'd be close by, and that this time they would be judging the dog and not her, so she had to do her best. She said she would, and she did. She didn't look to me once for help and did a great job presenting the dog. Later I asked her why she wasn't afraid to go in the big dog ring by herself yet afraid to go in the little kid ring by herself? She told me she didn't like being the only one in the ring (and she was usually the only kid in the Pee Wee class.) So, as luck would have it, the next couple of shows we went to had other Pee Wee's entered, and I found a class for her to show one of the big dogs in, so she got even more time in the ring without me. This weekend she was entered in Sub-Jr handler, one age group up from Pee Wee's. And while there were 2 Pee Wee's at the show, she was the only Sub-Jr. I realized it, but I'm not sure she did. This would be her first time in the ring without anyone else in there with her and without me to help her, so before her class I went off where she couldn't see me and waited to see what she'd do. When it was her turn she walked right in, just her and Cha Cha. She did her pattern perfectly and answered all the judges questions and never once looked to me for comfort or security. It was a big moment for her, and it was another one of those moments for me when I realized my little girl is growing up!




I also wanted to post this picture because even though it isn't the best photo in the world, it brought joy to my heart when I saw it because it's the first picture I have of me and Randi in the ring together. Randi is showing Teva, and I'm showing Teva's nephew,Chase, who finished his Championship this weekend.

260/365 - Dog Show

Randi loves to show the dogs, but I always figured Ryan would want to go fishing with Dad on dog show weekends, so I was surprised, and delighted, that he wanted to go to dog showing again this weekend. He was such a good boy and helped get Piper ready for the ring, asked where his arm band was and told me he needed lots of treats for his pocket. When he went in the ring, he was all business and did a wonderful job following the judges directions and showing off his dog. He was a crowd favorite once again, and I was so very proud of him!

I love both these shots because I FINALLY caught his sheepish little grin that I love SO much!

259/368 - Playing with ants

I love that Gee is so willing to get up at the crack of dawn, go outside in her nightshirt, sit on the ground and play with ants with Ryan so I can sleep for another hour or so. This is how I found them when I finally woke up!

258/365 - Walking

I joined my good friend Courtney for a couple laps around the park this morning. I really don't like to exercise and am not consistent about it at all, but when I saw Court walking around the park on my way home from dropping the kids at school the other morning, I thought to myself, now I could do that. So I did, and it was actually very nice. I really enjoy Courtney's company and friendship, so the time went by fast, and I've been a little sore all day, so I figure my muscles got a little benefit out of it. I hope we're able to keep it up a couple times a week.

257/365 - Tough day

My BIL's mother was admitted to the ICU over the weekend. Things were not looking good this morning, so I went to visit her. I knew it would be hard to go to the hospital and the ICU again, but I did my best to be strong when I walked in. I was told Rosie was in room #8, so on the drive there I figured out in my head what room that was. What I didn't take into account was the hospital had recently remodeled the ICU and added more rooms, so when I went in, I realized Rosie was in the exact same room my Mom had been in. When I walked in and saw Rosie laying in bed with a c-pap on, looking so frail and having trouble breathing, I was overwhelmed with emotion and had to leave to pull myself back together. After a bit, I was able to go back in and had a sweet visit with Rosie. She thanked me for coming, and as we were talking, I had a subtle sense of my Mom's presence in the room with us. I told Rosie she was in the same room my Mom had been in and that Mom was there with her, watching over her and would keep her safe. Rosie seemed to take comfort in that. I told her I loved her and left wondering if I'd ever see her again.

256/365 - Reflecting

255/365 - More Homework

Someone had homework today...and it wasn't Randi!

254/365 - Dress Up Kitty

Teddy found the dress up box today, and he really liked it!

253/365 - Luau Birthday Party

My sweet girl wanted to have a luau party for her birthday. The weather was beautiful so the kids were able to swim in the pool, a friend came over to teach the girls how to hula dance, and the cookie cake was devine, so all in all, I'd have to say the party was a big success.

BTW, Melia is an awesome hula dancer, and my little ballerina isn't half bad either. Click below to see her and Randi in action

252/365 - Grandparents Day

I was almost caught up on blogging and then I ran into a road block... I've had these pictures ready for a week, but I just couldn't seem to find the right words to go with them...

The Friday before Grandparents Day the kids' school hosts a Grandparents Day breakfast. My Mom was excited to go last year; little did any of us know it would be the last event she'd ever attend with the kids. This picture was taken by one of Ryan's teachers. She sent it to me after Mom passed. It is the last picture ever taken of her.


Gee went again this year, and I'm sure Mom's spirit was there as well, but it just wasn't the same without her.

251/365 - Get your twirl on

Gee likes to take each of her grand kids out for a special day of shopping for their birthday and then treats them to a meal at a restaurant of their choice. This was Randi's first year to partake in the tradition. Gee picked Randi up from school and took her to a couple of her favorite stores and turned her loose. Gee said she was shy and tentative at first and then the girl got down to business. She choose a cute Monkey Necklace and a funky journal at the first store and then picked out some adorable dresses at the second store. When they were finishing up, Randi told Gee that all their shopping had made her really hungry, so they headed over to Cracker Barrel where Randi ate everything on her plate without a single complaint! As soon as they got home, Randi put on her favorite new outfit and started spinning all over the house. When you're 7, it's really important that your clothes are cute, comfortable and have a lot of twirl factor!

250/365 - Happy 7th Birthday Sunshine

7 years ago today my life changed forever. The day started out like most other days at that time; I was 33 1/2 weeks pregnant, a little bit fat, still trying to get the nursery finished, and taking naps and resting whenever I got tired. I had no idea what was in store for me. I'd had some strange pressure and a bit of cramping for a couple of days, but not enough to worry or alarmed me, and nothing that a bowl of Ben and Jerry's Half Baked Ice Cream couldn't fix. I was sitting at the computer, checking emails, enjoying my ice cream, when in an instant, everything changed. Without warning, my water broke. I didn't even know what it was at the time, and I really didn't know what to do, so I called a friend who told me to call my doctor. My doctor told me to head over to the hospital so they could take a look at me, so I called my Mom (Michael was in Colorado riding horses in the mountains with a friend) and she drove me to the hospital with only my cell phone, wallet and insurance card in my purse. I wasn't having a baby, so I didn't need anything else right? Well, come to find out, I was definitely having contractions and they were actually pretty steady, but the funny thing was, I couldn't feel them. The Doctor was concerned, so she put me on Magnesium Sulphate and several other things, but all I was worried about was getting a good nights sleep and how was I going to do that with a bunch of wires hooked up to me, a belt around my belly and all these machines beeping around me? I was just getting settled in as best I could, when I felt like I really needed to use the restroom, so I called my nurse. She took one look at me, called for the doctor and another nurse, told me to keep my hands inside my bed and she and the other nurse started wheeling me down the hall, really fast! I still never really felt the contractions, but I did feel an overwhelming urge to push, and push I did, and about 20 minutes later I found myself looking down at the most precious little angel I'd ever seen. You were in quite a hurry to make your entrance into the world, but when you finally got here, time stood completely still and it was as if the earth stopped rotating for just a brief moment. I fell in love with you the minute I first saw you, and I find myself loving you more and more every day. I love your sweetness, your kindness, your gentle eyes and sensitive soul. I love your silly, goofy, funny little personality and the way you laugh and the way you make me laugh. I love snuggling with you, and I adore holding your hand and feeling like we are one together. I love watching you see and experience things for the first time; I love watching you learn and grow, and I love watching you breath gently as you fall into a deep sleep, so tired at the end of the day. I love being your Mom, and I simply love you! Happy Birthday Sunshine. May your day be filled with as much joy and love as you bring into the world and may you always know what a special gift you are and how much you are truly loved.

I wanted to capture a shot of Randi on her birthday, but she really just wanted to go back inside and play with Teddy, so this is what I was able to get...


Until later when I was able to capture the girl that I know and love. Though this isn't the portrait picture I was trying to get earlier, it is my girl. The real Randi. The way I see her every day and the girl that makes my heart sing.


Randi,
I saw this when I was out earlier today, and it made me catch my breath because it spoke straight to my heart, so this my sweet girl is my birthday gift to you.

My Five Best Promises.....

I promise to always love you...
...to have fun with you
...to respect you
...to help you find your dreams and let you live them
and finally...
I promise to be here for you...always! Right here!

Happy Birthday Sunshine!

249/365 - Teddy comes home

Teddy was transferred from the shelter to the vet's office this morning for testing, shots and worming. I got a call around noon informing me that all his tests came back negative and he'd be ready to go home after 3pm, so we all picked Randi up from school and went straight to the vets office to get him. We talked with the vet tech for a while and she told us that Teddy was too little to get shots and they were concerned because his eyes were a little watery, so they prescribed antibiotics and told us to bring him back in a couple of weeks so they could see how he was doing and to give him his first set of shots. The shelter estimated his age to be about 9 weeks, but the vet tech said he was probably more like 6 weeks at best. Kittens usually gain about a pound a month and he's barely a pound soaking wet, so he's just a little toot. It's a good thing he's coming home with us because we have some good vittles around here and know just how to fatten up a skinny little thing!

Ryan got to bring home Froggy Giggles from school today, so we took him to the vet with us to have him checked out as well. Froggy got a clean bill of health and was super excited to meet little Teddy. Ryan asked me to print this picture for the book that goes back to school with Froggy Giggles, and I like the photo so much that I decided to use it for my picture of the day as well.

248/365 - Fire Music

Texas is on fire! We're safe with no flames close to us, but Michael's Mom had to evacuate last night and came to stay with us because a huge fire is within 5 miles of her house. We've had the news on this afternoon watching for updates, and it inspired Ryan to compose his own, somewhat eerie song called "Fire Music".



Years ago a photography instructor taught me a wonderful lesson; he said after taking a picture like I think I should take it, take it again from another perspective. His message came to mind this afternoon when I was taking pictures of Ryan in this wonderful light. I was in a tight area with the 50mm on, so I didn't have a lot of options, and I'd changed the camera to Monochrome a few shots before, but I like this second shot too.

247/365 - Decisions, Decisions

Picking out a kitty was easy, now comes the hard part...picking out just the right toys!

246/365 - Kaz

We've had so much fun with Kaz. The kids love her, we love her, and we all hate to see her go. We love you Kaz and can't wait for your next visit. Aussie Aussie Oi Oi!

245/365 - Meet Teddy

Randi has been asking for a pet of her own for months now. We've looked at and considered hamsters, gerbils, dagu's, chinchilla's, etc. However, I'm not keen on the idea of an animal having to live in a cage and knowing how kids are, I'm afraid it'll be fun and exciting for about 2 weeks and then the poor thing will be yesterday's news, so we switched gears and talked about getting a cat instead. Michael loves cats, and even though I prefer dogs, I don't mind cats...especially cute one's with fun personalities. So we brought up the idea to Randi and she seemed on board with it. We looked on the Pet Finder site and one kitten in particular caught her eye. His name was Teddy. The next day I went to our local animal shelter to see what they had to choose from. Most of the cats there were older than what I wanted, however, much to Micheal's horror, I almost brought home a Siamese and an adorable Chihuahua. So early this morning I called the shelter Teddy was listed at to see if he was still available, and as luck would have it, he was. I also asked if they had other young kittens as well so Randi would have several to look at and choose from and was told they had lots to pick from, so we decided to head up right away so as to not risk loosing Teddy to someone else. We had a talk with Randi on the way there telling her that just because Teddy was cute in his picture, he might not be nice or want to come live with her, so she needed to keep her heart open and let a kitten choose her and not to fall in love with one for the wrong reasons. She took it all in and seemed to understand what we were saying. When we walked into the cat area at the shelter, Teddy and his litter mates were in the very first cage Randi walked up to. We took him and one of his sisters out to play, then we got out a couple of very timid grey kittens who just wanted to run away and hide under things, then we got out an orange kitten that must have been on crack because he was so crazy, and we got out a few others that were sweet, but none were as kind and gentle and loving as Teddy. When the kids picked him up, he just lay in their arms and when they played with him he wanted to be with them and didn't try to run away. He was docile and calm, yet playful and silly. After about 30 minutes, Randi asked very sweetly if she could adopt Teddy? I asked her if he'd spoken to her heart, and she said he had, so that was that, and we began the process of officially making Teddy a member of our family. He has to go to the vet for shots and micro-chipping, so we can't pick him up until next week but he is already very much loved by two little children...and truth be told, I like him too!




Randi wanted to fill out the adoption forms all by herself.

244/365 - Go Cami

Our niece Cami is a high school freshman this year, but she is such a great athlete that she made the Varsity volleyball team, so Michael, Kaz, the kids and several other relatives went to support her at her first game. Cami played awesome and her team won. Yeah. Go Cami. We're so proud of you!


Bottom row: Kylie (niece) , Randi, Hunter (nephew)
Middle row: Holly (niece), Cami (niece), Courtney (niece), Kaz
Back row: Glenn (BIL), Gee (MIL), Colleen (SIL), Michael