Cookie Monsters

Tonight I conned Haylee into making cookies for tomorrow's Koffee Klatch. Haylee is 14 years old and a freshman at Sanger High School. She is always so busy with school and cheer that I rarely get an opportunity to snap a photo of her for this blog. Matthew loves Haylee and we affectionately refer to her as "the other mother." I wish they would hurry up and get those oatmeal chocolate chip cookies from the oven so I can try a sample!

Pop Day

My Pop turned 70 years old on January 24th. I cannot believe how time has flown by. Today my son and I took him out to celebrate over lunch. That was an adventure with Connor's meal being prepared incorrectly four times in a row and mine being wrong also. The birthday boy was nearly done with his meal before we began ours! An embarrassing birthday song from the staff topped off the fun. Happy Birthday Pop...I love you!

My New Friends

Okay, so they are not new. And actually, they are not my friends. But I intend to get to know them better. These old hand weights have been hanging out in the garage for way too long. Today they came out to play, or rather to sweat with the lady of the house. I intend to visit with them atleast three times a week. I hope that by posting a picture of them here that I will motivate myself to use them!

Miss Maya

Meet Miss Maya! This beautiful little girl has graced the Madsen Family. Last week, they were a family waiting with open arms & hearts to bring a baby into their home. This week, they are a family blessed with pink blankets and bonnets...and a new daughter, Maya Angie. Congratulations to Matt and Nicole and to Maya's two big brothers, Zach and Dylan.

I have meet few families as tender and loving. I am touched that you have let
my family share in the joy that your family has been blessed. Thank you

Snow. Cold. Nuf' Said.

Today's snow adventure. I have set my mind to sharing only two pictures & what a task it was to choose! Not because my superdeeduperty photographer skills were in top form today, but because there were literally over one hundred shots of children flying on disks, adults rescuing children from the recent and fluffy *11 feet* of snow, and dozens of smiles & gasps from a wonderful day at Shaver Lake, CA. This being said: I Hate Snow. I mean it. It is cold, it is blinding to the eye, and did I mention it is cold?! I hate being cold. But Eric and Jenniffer made sure I was bundled in top snow attire in hopes that I would whine less and enjoy my first snow trip in over five years. I chose this picture of Matthew because it was in fact, his first ever trip to the snow. He loved it. He walked in it, got stuck in it, ate it, and has already asked a half a dozen times to go back. I hope his father takes him before he is ten, because his momma still hates snow and who knows when I shall return! But seeing my Matthew's joy made it totally worth the trip! The next picture was of the lake on our way home. I found it breathtaking and it made the reason for the drive a very close second! I honestly might make it my Christmas picture for next year? What do you think?

Timmmmbbberrrrrrr!

Tree company ownership...It can be a blessing and a curse to be self employed. As you can imagine I do not climb the trees, or cut them, or trim or..or...or..... Today was a busy day with all sorts of mishaps with the bucket truck. However, before the drama I decided to share how hard Eric works. He is a good man. A very dedicated man. He is an extremely hard worker and will do anything for a friend or family member. And I guess, most importantly, he will do anything for his children. I need to remember to thank him more often. I often debate which is more difficult for me to do: say thank you or say I am sorry. (That might be a debate for a whole nutha' day and whole nutha' blog!) But for this one teensy moment, I will share my gratefulness to anyone who is kind enough to read this blog. In these photos you see him in a tree that stands tall and quite dead. Within a few hours it was down and completely removed never to be thought of again.

Koffee Klatch

I have recently built friendships with a wonderful group of ladies. I find joy in their friendship which continues to bloom more each week as we meet for our Koffee Klatch, Sanger View, or whatever you want to call this fabulous group of women! Sadly a few ladies were missing on this day :( They are strong, witty, caring, and purposeful influences in our small community. Thank you for bringing me into your group!

Hunter

Not just a name, but a description. Our German Shepard hunts out anything that he can...and chews it to shreds. Meet Hunter. He is now two years old. When Eric brought him home he was just a tiny ball of fur and I loved him. Then he grew up; technically he grew in size, but he still acts like a rambunctious child. I understand that he is a protector and will walk the property with the kids keeping them all safe and sound. I also know that his face and size are intimidating to people as they pull into the driveway. He scares the heck out of the pizza delivery boy. However, our UPS guy knows that by simply throwing a mini dog treat that our large dog will turn into a bouncy and friendly puppy instead of a guard dog. In all seriousness, he is a good dog to have around; our Hunter.

All American Rain

California is being hit by massive rain this week. This can be a plus and negative when you own a tree company! As I drove home from dropping Haylee off at school, I noticed this flag blowing in the wind and rain. I have seen it a bajillion times, but today it looked so lovely blowing in the weather! It stands proud in a rural area that is usually filled with families working hard to tend to their acres of vegetables. The flag in itself defines their dedication.

Apache Pride!

Today I decided to share our High School logo. I painted this a few months ago on a wall in our Game Room; it is close to four feet across. We decided to redo the kid room this winter to really encourage the older kids to invite their friends over even more. I love having them here! As a result we decided to go with an Apache: red, white, and black theme. The walls are black on the bottom half and white on the top half! We purchased an air hockey/pool table and a red sectional. Little by little we are putting it together, adding a large area for trophies and framed wall of pictures of the kids sport photos. I hope it will be a great recreation room for all the kids for years to come!

Ye Old Barn

This gorgeous old barn is a few miles from my home (really close to the orchard that I posted a few days back!) I have taken its picture a time or two. Different seasons bring out a different personality in the old ramshackle barn...and each time I see it, it somehow totally speaks to me. "How do I look today? Do you want to take my picture today?" Yes, I love this old barn. Today with the dark gloomy clouds and rain all around me, it beckoned me once again. I was amazed at how vibrant the color of the barn stood out against the grass and background.

Am I too old to say BFF?

The old saying still stands strong: A Picture Means A Thousand Words. In addition to the photos in my project, I am quickly learning there is a story behind each. I would like to share a very special person with anyone who is reading! This is my BFF... Jenniffer. We have shared a friendship for over twenty years. She is the keeper of thousands of stories that span my teenage years and antics, building of our families and births of our children, losses of loved ones, and overall.... Everything. Everyone needs a person who they can tell anything and everything to and Jenniffer earned this job many years ago! She has made me laugh until I have cried and rightfully put me in my place in a way only a best friend can be allowed! My youngest daughter is even named for her (yes, the naughty "little monkey" Jenna, shocker, huh?!) This picture was taken last night after a wonderful dinner out with the boys. Jenn, if you are out there: Thank you for all the love and support. You mean the dearest to me. Truly, words cannot ever cannot express enough...But these pictures sure say a ton!

Sunny Saturday

Oh what a beautiful day! I felt incredibly inspired to take pictures today! Beauty is always right around us. The key is to have the camera in hand to catch the moments as they sneak upon you. Or in today's case: Plan it out!

I wanted to attempt a shoot outside in natural light and found it a challenge to work around the shadows... and a seven year old who decided she wanted to stare at the clouds more than at the camera.

The Homework was to implement pink

into the pictures and we nearly

forgot as Jenna wanted to hold

daisies. As we know, daisies are

yellow. And my homework was

PINK! I decided to share a few

of each.

Here is Miss Jenna Marie in her favorite shoes.... (yes, of course they are black) If you look real hard, there is a bright pink daisy hair clip from Miss Gwen which means I completed my homework requirement of PINK!

My Boys

Although I did not get to post my pictures yesterday, I DID make sure I took a few! I am finding it more of a challenge to post ONLY ONE photo! lol The only time I even made it out of the house was to pic up my son Connor from soccer. Let me introduce my boys! My youngest son is Matthew. He turned 3 in June and is quite a card. He is quickly beginning to love taking pictures and as I sat sick as could be in the car waiting for Connor, he took about thirty pictures of himself, the floor, the cars driving by and a pretty cool one of the hazy day.
My oldest son is Connor, he is going to turn 13 next month. Last year one of his best friends pointed out how often I refer to him as Son. As Matthew was playing with my camera he began polly-parroting me as he looked out the window at his brother..."Son! Where are you Son? I want to take your picture Son!" I TOLD you he was a card! When I told Connor to smile for the camera, he wryly commented on how crazy I was for taking so many pictures lately. Hush Son...and smile for your momma!

I Am Very Clever

Today my youngest daughter, Jenna was the lead character in The Spider Stories. Her class was performing a Reading Theater and she was totally fitting in the part of a spider that gets to proclaim "I am very clever". She is a second grader whose attitude and spirit overtakes her size! She is small but mighty and has wit beyond her little years. She might actually end up as a comedian in some dark hide-away of a comedy shop. If you ask her what her favorite color is, she will proudly beam that it is "black" then quickly remind me that she is waiting for me to paint a mural of a skeleton on her wall. Doesn't she know that she is seven years old and that she should like butterflies and pink or purple?! Oh wait, she wants the skeleton to be painted purple. I guess I will add that request to tomorrow's To-Do list...But for today, my Jenna is a Spider. A clever little spider in a pink shirt.

Why Did The Chicken Cross The Road?

I woke up this morning and knew that getting out of bed was going to be a task. My slumber was interrupted by a voice with way too much spirit hollering about tons egrets in the yard and something about my "picture of the day".

Like Flash Gordon I was out of bed trying to find my camera! Originally there were a dozen in the yard, but Jenna (7 yrs)
startled them. Thus setting me on a journey around my yard in slippers and jammies.



This strutting egret is by far our favorite. After looking for twigs and just messing off with his little egret pals, he simply took off in a totally separate direction with the attitude of "I am going to take on the day!" Which reminds me that I too, must do the same!

Lost In An Orchard

I will admit, I was not lost in the orchard. I actually stood on the side of a busy road as two diesel trucks and one minivan sped past me. This almond (or so I think) orchard stands more than fifty acres just a few miles from my home. I have driven passed it a bajillion times over the past 5 years. I have often thought to myself "what a great photo those trees would be" and today I finally stopped the car and proved my thoughts right! I love the dormant trees as they make a forceful black and white statement in contrast against the manicured grass and dirt rows. The view from the road was fantastic, but I will not be entering the creepy orchard in fear that I may in fact get lost.

BirdHouse

I have often found it amazing how people view the things they see. I for example tend to gear my eye towards things that are nature based. Why did I choose this shot? I liked the antique look of the red against the metal with the wheat looking grass in the background. I found this bird house at a yard sale last summer. I actually bought a different item and complimented the lady on the birdhouse and she threw it in for free! You obviously cannot tell from this photo but it is around four feet tall! I added a light paint on it to give it character to my liking and placed it in my pretend flower garden. I have yet to see any birds use it as a home, but the spiders sure think it is cool.

Coffee Beans

I know. I lied. They are not really coffee beans. But if you just so happen to have a coffee addiction such as I do...you can sort of see my vision! This photo was taken at the Mystery Spot near Santa Cruz, California.