The Way I See It

Isn't She Beautiful

2009-03-01T15:28:00.000-08:00

Yes she is! Miss Aubrey is perfect, although she was determined not to participate happily with the nakey pictures. We wanted dad to hold her skin to skin. He had been reluctant so far because he was afraid that she would pee on him. Well he pegged that one! Luckily we were there, camera in hand, to capture the moment.

But it was all worth it.

In the end she was much happier in her jammies. Aren't the tulips beautiful?

Hanging out with the Ducks

2009-02-03T07:18:00.000-08:00

Last week I spent a morning with Terry's family at the Harveston duck pond in Temecula. It was a perfect morning to shoot pictures and the kids were a delight. Maddy feed the ducks and then we set off to shoot around a gazebo. I'm not sure why but the sprinklers around the gazebo kept turning on and off. (Personally I think there was an evil landscaper involved.) They would run for about 30 seconds, turn off and 10 minutes later turn on again. The first time it happened we had Maddie pearched on a rock and several sprinklers were pointed right at her. We were all so shocked, she just blinked and flapped, but didn't move. The rest of us were did about the same. Mom asked Maddie if she was OK and she said 'Do it again '. You gotta love kids!

Stars and Stripes

2009-01-25T20:15:00.000-08:00

It was an honor and a priveledge to shoot Teisha and Brock's wedding. Teisha is a nurse and Brock a marine who has served our nation in Iraq through three tours. Everything about their wedding was about thinking of others, honoring others.

She wanted him to wear his dress uniform.

She wanted to wear jeans and a t-shirt. He told her that if he had to wear his dress uniform that she had to wear a dress. This is what she picked for him. Top secret until she walked down the aisle.

The sword ceremony was fun. Notice the guy on the left blocks them from going forward will the guy on the right gives her a swat.

After the ceremony we went across the street to take some pictures at the memorial. Brock's "people" were amazing. They were so light hearted and jovial yet they have been through so much together. All day I was dumbstruck by how they have served our country. Thank you seems like such a pathetically small show of gratitude. This is the memorial which has the names of his people who didn't come home. It was very imortant to him that they be included in his special day.

The best thing about Teisha and Brock is that they are just plain crazy and fun!! Did I mention that she wore his combat boots that he wore in Iraq as her wedding shoes? Check out these last three photos, are they hot or what?!

Happy Birthday Izzy

2009-01-22T11:09:00.000-08:00

Our baby Izzy has finally arrived and we are soooo in love. My oldest daughter Megan and her husband Gaspar welcomed their second child and my first granddaughter Saturday morning. Her name is Isabelle Madelleine, but we have been calling her Izzy for a while. There is nothing like a new born baby to believe in miracles. I was fortunate to be at her birth and this is a picture of her when she was a few minutes old.

What a difference a day makes!

2008-10-30T21:17:00.000-07:00

Sweet 'N' Salty

It seems like an unlikely combination, Salty N Sweet. That was kinda how my day went. But then it seems like that is how life goes.

I spent the majority of the day at urgent care for my middle daughter. She sprained her knee. Ooouch! I had to roll her around the hospital in a wheel chair. I had a great time pretending to almost run her into things with her bad leg which was jutting out. Sounds horrible but we were laughing our heads off. I think Rene thought of it as a kind of Mr. Toads Wild Ride. It was fun to have such a good time with a bad situation.

On the way we stopped at Starbucks. They gave us samples of the signature Carmel N Salt hot chocolate. OMG yummy!! We almost started licking the cups. Check it out.

This evening my oldest, Megan, helped the younger kids to carve pumpkins. My grandson Isaac loved it and practically took over. He's almost two but he definitely thinks that he is the boss. He kept telling her to "open" the pumpkins so he could scoop out the seeds.

2008-10-28T13:53:00.000-07:00

Up to the Mountain

For weeks Zach, my son who is autistic, had been asking to go "up to the mountain". We live at the foot of Mt. San Jacinto which has a little village called Idyllwild at the top. Sometimes in winter when we need a snow fix we will go "up to the mountain" to go sledding. Zach always associates the mountain with snow and I had been explaining that there wouldn't be any. Finally I asked if he would like to go hiking on the mountain. One Sunday we drove up and had a wonderful time.

After cruising the town looking for the trail head, we hiked up Strawberry Creek. It was quiet and cool. Every sound seemed to echo in the stillness. It was so exciting to show the kids Stellar Blue Jays. I had seen them in Yosemite and fell in love.

Zach was the leader on our hike. Always telling us to hurry up.

The kids loved it and we definitely want to go back.

2008-10-27T11:30:00.000-07:00

First Post

Wow, this is scary. What do you say in your first Post? I've put off this project for a long time because I have a tendency to ramble on, not to mention the horrible grammar. It's a rather embarrassing flaw to have. Thank god for spell check. Well I have so many things to journal about and so I am going to finish the first post, push the button and move on.