Fall Photos

I couldn't let November go by without posting something....so here are some fall photos from our leaf cleanup in our front yard.  The leaves seemed to come down all at once this year.  There wasn't any wind to blow the leaves around to our poor neighbors, so we ended up with the biggest pile that we have ever had.  This is one of my favorite family activities!  The girls had so much fun playing in the leaves, and literally disappearing into the pile that was nearly as tall as me!  We knew we would have a lot since the leaves were four inches deep across the lawn before we started raking!

Things Not to Do While Driving 75 mph on the Expressway...

1.  Don't fall asleep even though your husband has.

2.  Don't fall asleep even though the road is dead straight, and there is nothing along side the road, not even a solitary tree.

3.  Don't try to watch a movie, even though your little girls are watching one in the backseat.

4.  Don't talk on your cell phone.

5.  Don't hit a deer, even a small female mule deer, or your car might look like this!

Sadness!  By the way, I was not doing any of the other things listed above, and no person was injured.  I'm sure the deer was a different story.

We were on our way home from our visit to Yellowstone.  We had eaten dinner about one hour before this happened, but I was not sleepy.  It was nine o'clock and had just gotten dark.  Hubby was sleeping because he was sick, so I had the privilege of driving this boring stretch of Wyoming interstate.  I did see the deer perched along side of the road looking like she might just wait for me to pass.  Unfortunately, she decided to spring forward.  I did have enough time to hit my brakes and slow down, but it didn't really seem to help much.

After the collision, I wasn't really sure what to do.  I kept driving, but at a slower speed.  I asked Hubby what to do, and he said just to keep an eye on my gauges and drive to the next exit.  It was completely dark and we wouldn't be able to see much if we did stop, plus, what if we couldn't get the car running again?!  Thankfully the next exit was only a few miles away.  I think a piece or two of the car (or deer? uggh) may have fallen off on those few miles, and there was a lot of noise and whistling.

Once we got to the exit, we realized that the passenger side door would not open.  We got out to survey the damage and I was quite shocked.  The gas station attendant called state patrol and gave us some garbage bags and duct tape.  Since the nearest state trooper was about an hour's drive away, we asked if we could just meet him there rather than wait.  He agreed, so Hubby cut a few pieces off the car, taped up a few other bits, and we were back on the road.  We were not sure that the state trooper was going to allow us to drive the remaining four or five hours home considering the state of our vehicle, but we thought that we really might need the accident report for our insurance to cover the damage.  The trooper did let us go, and he assured me that I had done the right thing in just hitting my brakes, worse accidents happen when people try to swerve and avoid hitting a deer.

So, praise the Lord that we were all safe!  Thanks to our insurance, my car looks good again.  I still don't recommend hitting a deer though.  The insurance deductible took a good chunk of our summer budget, and going without a car while it is in the shop can be challenging too.

Sister-in-Law

This is my sister-in-law.  (I will call her Fifi.)  She is a Senior in High School this year, but I have known her since she was three years old.  It has been fun to watch her grow and mature over the years that Hubby and I have been married.

I remember helping Fifi to learn her colors the first time we met.  She was a very energetic, fun, and happy child.  Now she is a lovely and intelligent young lady.  She is a very good Auntie to our two children.   The last time Fifi visited with us, she volunteered to play with our girls so that Hubby and I could go out on a date.  She volunteered herself as babysitter more than once, and Hubby and I were so appreciative.  She even brought along an activity to enjoy with our girls.  Our girls felt so special that their Auntie had planned this fun project for them. Graciously, Fifi also helps us out around our house when she comes to visit.  Last summer she was my painting partner.  This summer, unfortunately, she was my weeding partner.  I had to spend hours out in the yard pulling weeds, and Fifi was there much of the time helping me.  She never once complained!

Even though Fifi is my sister-in-law, I have grown to love her like my own sister over the years.  We have a lot in common.  We both enjoy scrapbooking, and other papercrafting, as well as photography, and other girly things like flowers.  Whenever she comes to visit, we shop at all the local craft stores.  I always use her visit as an excuse to go to Archiver's and do some scrapbooking with her.

As a Senior in High School, much of Fifi's future is unknown and uncertain.  While somewhat scary, it's also exciting to think ahead to the future and imagine what God has planned for her life.  I look forward to watching God's work unfold in her life over the next few years.

1st Baby Photos

We now have two ultrasound photos of our baby.  We actually have three, but I will not be posting the photo revealing her gender!  The photos are not great, but they do provide a glimpse of our precious baby girl.  She appears to be developing perfectly.  It's hard to believe that even at 21 weeks, she weighs less than one pound, but looks like a perfectly miniature human being!  We praise the Lord for His blessings!  The first photo was taken at 12 weeks, and the second one was taken at 21 weeks.

Seth & Amie

Another one of Hubby's former students was married in July and I had the privilege of photographing their special day.  They were married at the Briarhurst Manor.  It is a beautiful location for an outdoor wedding!  I was so honored to be a part of their big day.  Here are a few of my favorite images.

June 2008

Rosebud learned to ride her bike without training wheels way back in June!  I have not posted about many events from the summer, but I do plan to catch up at least a little bit. The girls don't have much opportunity to ride their bikes since we are paranoid about letting them ride in the street.  We decided to give them some practice by taking them to the junior high school tennis courts.  The school has four courts together in one fenced enclosure.  It works out great for our family.  The girls ride their bikes and Hubby and I play tennis.  The best part is that Pixie has a little basket on her bike and loves to ride around and gather the balls for us!

Due to my large supply of scrapbooking supplies, which I love, my husband suggested that I explore digital scrapbooking.  Apparently digital supplies take up A LOT less space than paper supplies!  I have done a bit of research and experiments with digital scrapbooking, and I just do not love it.  I think it would help if I actually knew how to do it.  Anyway, here is one of my experiments.  If any of you have any suggestions of how I can learn to scrapbook on my computer....please let me know.

A Gift From Heaven

One of the most precious gifts from Heaven above,

Is the gift of a daughter for a Daddy to love!

This Daddy has been blessed with three, and we can't wait to meet her!

Notes About Our Newest Family Member

We are so excited to welcome another member into our family.  We expect our little blessing from God to arrive sometime around February 7.  My guess, based on previous experience, puts our bundle of joy in our arms around February 21.

Both girls are very excited about having a new sibling.  We hope to find out next week whether we will be blessed with a baby sister, or a baby brother.  Rosebud would like a sister, and Pixie said she would like a brother for Daddy!  Rosebud is looking forward to being Mommy's little helper.  Pixie rubs and kisses the baby almost daily.  It is so sweet to see them excited about the baby.  Rosebud didn't really understand when we were expecting Pixie, so it has been a very special experience this time around.

Thanks for leaving comments.  It's nice to know that people are checking in on us.  I have been feeling fine.  I have had many of the usual symptoms associated with pregnancy, along with some issues with hayfever, but otherwise the pregnancy seems to be going along well.  We are very thankful for God's blessing in our lives!

An Announcement

Pixie has been drawing the cutest people pictures lately. She has been drawing them constantly, and I can't help but tuck a few away into her memory book so that I can remember how sweet her little drawings are. Yesterday, she drew a special person in her notebook...it is a picture of me, and I thought it would be a really fun way to share our special news!

This drawing will definitely be saved in her memory book!

A Funny Expression....

The other day, Rosebud handed me her empty glass which had been full of raspberry lemonade and said to me, "Mommy, it was so good, I couldn't enjoy it!" Her comment made perfect sense to me, but others may think it strange. Rosebud has a tendency to gulp down her food and drink quickly, especially if it is something she really likes. Hubbie and I are always telling her to take smaller bites (sips), to slow down and enjoy her food. This is why her comment made sense, but still made me laugh. I wanted to document this even if I didn't have a photo to go with it. *Sigh* I hope to get some photos on sometime, but there is just so much to do, and so many photos!

Not Forgotten

I hate to post without a photo, but I'm going to.  I have not forgotten my blog, or my handful of faithful readers...ha ha, but it may be a while before I find the time to post any updates of what has been keeping us so busy.  Here's a brief list of recent adventures...coaching soccer, playing soccer, kayaking, backpacking, bike riding, weekend trips, swim lessons, photographing a wedding, and processing over 600 photos!  Up next....Wyoming, Atlanta, and camping.  More to come....

Personality

While doing some math work with Rosebud a while ago, she was supposed to group things in tens. I decided to use m&m's to make it more fun. I thought it was cute how she purposely counted out groups of one color.

Engagement Photos

I did my first engagement photo shoot a few weeks ago!  Becca was one of Hubby's students and she called a few months ago to ask me to photograph her wedding in May.  I had so much fun working with her and Jason, they are a fun couple.  Here are a few of my favorite shots.

Personality

I had to smile when I found this scene set up by Pixie. It shows her personality to me. I often find things like this around the house where she has neatly tucked in her stuffed animals, or lined things up in rows. It must have taken a good amount of time and effort for her to set up each of these tiny animals! I bought these animals for the girls to practice counting and categorizing. Pixie loves these animals and plays with them all the time. She has another little quirk that I think is funny. Ever since she was very little, she would go around closing cupboards and doors. She does not like the dishwasher door to be open and usually will try to close it even when I am in the midst of loading dishes! I have a moose cookie cutter on the ledge of my stove that often falls forward on its face, and Pixie will always ask me to please fix the moose. Unfortunately, this part of her personality does not mean that she is always neat and tidy...she hates being told to clean up!

She's a Reader!

Rosebud is officially a reader! A few weeks ago she picked up Green Eggs and Ham and she read through the entire book with minimal help from me. I was so proud of her that I had to take some photos even though she is still in her pajampas. The photos are not great, but I had to post them anyway.

She has been reading signs, cereal boxes, books, and anything else she sees with words. It has been really fun to watch her grow as an emerging reader, and especially satisfying since I taught her to do it.

Wyoming

We are home from Wyoming and getting back into our routines. Granny and Grandpa came and stayed with us for two nights, and we enjoyed their company. We had a bit of a crazy trip since my husband's sister-in-law broke her arm just above her wrist on our second day. She had to have surgery so she was in the hospital for two days, and then had to return for half of the next day. Snowboarding can be dangerous. My husband's sister also had a visit to the doctor, thankfully, her injury is a bone bruise but not broken.

We, well most of us, still managed to have a nice visit together. We saw lots of moose, thousands of elk, hundreds of deer and antelope, a black fox, some falcons, and even a few eagles. I managed to get a picture of a bald eagle. Unfortunately, the eagle was obscured somewhat by some grass. What an incredible bird! We also did some skiing and snowboarding. Hubby was able to get Pixie to ski on her own. She was stopping and making turns by herself! Rosebud enjoyed skiing with her cousins and learned that she could ride the lift without her mom and dad! The cousins (five) had so much fun playing together. Hubby and I also had the opportunity to board by ourselves for a few hours high on the mountain.

Jackson is such a beautiful place to visit. We have visited five or six times now, and I would highly recommend it. Now, if I can just get my Hubby to take me in the summer!

Here are some photos.

Looks like this bald eagle is scavenging from a deer carcass. Look at his yellow eye!

I snapped this photo out the window while Hubbie was driving by. It is an amazing eagle's nest. I can't believe how large they are! It wasn't until I was sorting my photos on the computer that I noticed what looks like a bird carcass built into the nest. I guess eagles take "feathering" their nest seriously!

Just one more of my favorite...moose! Hubbie took this great photo.

Moose Country

We arrived in Jackson, Wyoming for a family vacation with my husband's family around four o'clock yesterday, and before we made it to our destination we had spotted two moose! I was so excited that I took some photos even though they were far away. This is what we saw:

I am pretty sure the one below is a male because he was very large, and the one above looks like a female, but it was hard to tell since they were quite a ways off the road.

We arrived in our condo before five, and while we were still getting settled, my sister-in-law spotted this:

It looked to me like this pair were very young. They were not very big as far as moose go, although they were still quite a bit taller than me! As you can see in the photo, there is a lot of snow here in Jackson! I'm pretty sure the moose on the left is male, and the other is a female. I followed these two down the street, slowly, for a while to snap some photographs. A car came along and split these two and I became trapped between them! Since both sides of the street were piled high with snow, I didn't really have anywhere to go. I decided to just freeze as the male sauntered by me on the other side of the street. Some other guests snapped a photo of me with the moose, and they promised to email it to me.

Here are a few other photos of the moose and the Grand Tetons. This is a beautiful part of the country!

 

 

New Site!

My new site is up and running! Please visit me here...http://coloradochronicles.net/

Paint Mines

We went for a walk in the Paint Mines, a CO state park, a few weeks ago. The sky was very blue, but it was a bit windy. The girls did not enjoy it very much until we found the rocks to play hide and seek.

Moving Day!

My wonderful husband bought me two domain names! I'm so excited. He bought one for my blog and one for my photography. He has been diligently working on these in his spare time, so my blog will be moving soon. First, I have to figure out how to post to my new blog, and then I will post the new address here. My photography site might take some time yet. I don't want to put the cart before the horse! I do have two more weddings booked for this summer, and possibly a third in August. I also did my first engagement session this week! It was so much fun, and the couple was so easy to work with. I will post some photos soon.

A Glimpse of Pixie

As I was doing my laundry the other day, I hesitated before putting these pants into the water. I had to laugh because it really shows Pixie's personality. She is into everything and is always going. She does things with gusto! She can be boisterous, moody, unpredictable, and intense, but she is also, silly, exuberant, and enthusiastic. This combination can be oh so exhausting, but also oh so much fun!!! You gotta love her! (It looks like I won't be handing down much of her wardrobe to anyone!)

Skiing

We took the girls skiing last Saturday and had a great day. The girls enjoyed themselves and the weather was great. They are improving their skills and we enjoy the activity together as a family. Oldest daughter, Rosebud, enjoys skiing so much that she asks to ride the lift again even before we have finished our run. Youngest daughter, Pixie, enjoys it too, but gets worn out a bit faster.

Welcome Poky Little Puppy!

My dear friend, the Mama of the House, had her baby this morning. They estimated the due date sometime between January 15th, and the 31st. However, they had to wait until February 8th to meet their sweet little one. I talked to my sister and she came up with a nickname of Poky Little Puppy. Here are some photos that I took this afternoon, he was less than twelve hours old. He is adorable! Congratulations!