Amy Coffey Photography

I've moved!

2009-01-26T10:07:00.004-06:00

Hi all. I just wanted to let everyone know that I've moved my blog... sort of.

Here's where I embarrass myself. I'm SO out of it when it comes to following feeds or whatever... see, I don't even know how to use it properly in a sentence. Haha! Anyway... I don't know what that's going to mean for you folks that follow me in any of those programs that keep up with blogs for you. So, I'm posting this in hopes that you'll be notified that I've updated my blog, and you'll see that I've moved.

So, my new blog is found here:
www.amycoffeyphotography.com/wordpress

However, I've redirected pretty much all traffic to end up there. So... yeah... like I said... I don't know how this works. Haha! Do whatever you've gotta do to keep following me. :) Pretty please?

Thanks a billion!

love, love, LOVE

2009-01-22T14:47:00.002-06:00

Cinco de Maya!

2009-01-20T16:43:00.004-06:00

Aw... my baby turned five. I truly canNOT believe it. Five. She's a sweet little thing, and she's still very much my baby, but she's also growing up. Maturing. And, before long, she'll be rockin' kindergarten. THAT I can't handle, though I know it's coming.

It seems like the years are a blur. Five stinkin' years... where does the time go? And, what's wrong with my memory? Why can't I remember anything? I've always known my memory is horrible, but I'm starting to be irritated by it. Thank goodness for this blog... at least I have blog entries from the past two years to remind me of what's happened in our lives. I wish I remembered more from when they were babies. I wish I'd been into photography then.

But, alas, I do not remember, and I was not into photography. So, I mourn the loss of those memories and kick myself for not compensating for known weaknesses back then. Sigh.

Do your kids ever just drive you bonkers? Absolutely nuts? As I sit here trying to recall any sweet little anecdote from Maya's baby stage, my children are running around wrestling, squealing, giggling... While I love that they play well together and enjoy one another's company, they're supposed to be cleaning their room. That's not happening. Obviously. All I ask is that they leave me alone while I blog. But, they're not. So, no sweet anecdote of Maya. (Not that I'd actually be able to remember one anyway, but it definitely won't be happening with that sort of distraction.)

And, after I told them sternly (read: yelled at them - hey, I'm not perfect) to leave me alone while I blog, they stomped off to the room they're supposed to be cleaning. Among voices and giggles muffled by the closed door, I hear Emma taunt, "try to bite me!"

Why? Why? Why? That's all I've got. Why? Why would you want your sister to try to bite you? Crazy... I'm telling you... they make me crazy!

I should just get on with the pictures. The craziness keeps me from being able to think straight.

Some of the kiddos... sweet Kyden. I always LOVE pictures of him:

This is Anson. He's Emma's best friend, son of my best friend, brother to Maya's best friend, and our neighbor. :)
Ahhh... and this next one... Emma ran up to me and hugged me around my waist. She looked up at me and grinned her impish little grin. She was so close to me that I couldn't get the camera to focus down on her, thus the out of focus picture. But, I don't care. Not one bit. I have NO idea when I'll see this for the last time, and I'm thankful that I captured it. I'm sure the end is near, and that breaks my heart. Even if she wanted to run up to me and hug me spontaneously as she gets older, she'll soon be my height. (Hey, I'm not that tall, okay?) Plus, we all know she absolutely will *not* want to hug me spontaneously in the years to come. :(
This is Josie... she's the girls' cousin, and she loves all things girly! PERFECT fit with my girls. We actually had our first quasi slumber party. Jo & the girls. Yay! It went REALLY well!
And, to fit in with the fiesta theme and because my girls ask for them every chance they get, a pinata! All that remains is this poor bull's head. The kiddos (and it looks like some adults, too) enjoyed it! (By the way, I HATE dappled lighting. Seriously. I didn't want to take ANY pictures out in this lighting, but I'm trying to force myself to quit being a perfectionist. I've been doing okay with that, actually.)
This next picture requires a little explanation. See, I made the mistake of making an elaborate cake for Emma on her first birthday. First of all, I HATE baking. I like cooking, I hate baking. Second, I don't have any cake making experience... no classes, no time saving tips, nothing. I just do what I have to do to make it work, and that seems to take me hours upon hours. Third, between mommy guilt and my girls' memories, I can't seem to get myself out of it. Year after year, I make myself miserable making cakes the day before their birthdays.

So, this year, as usual, I ask Maya what she wants on her cake, all the while keeping my fingers crossed that her request will be something SIMPLE. What does my kid request? Her face. She wants her face on her cake. Seriously? Who wants that except Maya? And, how in the world am I gonna pull that off? Ugh.

I had the brilliant idea to base it on her Mii. SO much easier to recreate. It still took me eight stinkin' hours. Here she is with her cake aka my magnum opus:
Maya blowing out the candles:
And, because our families are full of really mature folks, we couldn't resist:
Oh, so bad, but, oh, so amusing!

And, yeah... about the title of this blog entry... Curt's been just WAITING 'til Maya turned five. I'm pretty sure that idea was conceived before Maya was even born... Cinco de Maya. Ay yi yi.

A lot to catch up on...

2009-01-16T17:13:00.004-06:00

Well, I've been putting off this blog for a while, obviously. It's been over a month. In that time, I've celebrated Christmas, visited my brother in California again, celebrated New Years, celebrated Heather & Curt's birthdays, and lost my Nana. It's that last thing that's kept me away. I knew I wanted to and needed to blog something about it, but I just don't like to sit down with my own thoughts sometimes. You know?

I just want to say thanks for all of your prayers & good thoughts for myself & my family as we've gone down this difficult path with my Nana. Even though we had time to prepare, I think I wasn't even over the initial shock that she was sick in the first place. It just doesn't seem right. I know that I should be thankful that we had time to say goodbye, and I am. But, I still have to say that I'm incredibly saddened that we lost her, not to mention angry that she even got sick. Stages of grief, anyone? Except, I'm stuck on anger. And I have been. For a while now.

But, that's not what I want to say... I just got sidetracked. I want to just remember the joy and, truth be told, sometimes frustration that she brought into our lives. Her personality was larger than life! She was very much an Italian woman. She was always so passionate one way or another... it's like she felt things to a greater magnitude than normal people. I think I got a little bit of that from her, actually. I'm emotional... whether it be great joy & happiness or a deep hurt, I feel it to my core.

The thing I'll remember most about Nana is how she was always, ALWAYS willing to just laugh, and laugh hard. Her laugh was infectious. She never concerned herself with "acting her age." Not that she wasn't mature or anything... she just had fun. I remember when she got on a big ol' trampoline and jumped and laughed. Seriously... she laughed hysterically the whole time she was jumping. That was the summer of '96. She was almost 62 then. Good times. And, every visit with her was riddled with laughing or occasionally a little drama. But, that's okay. I'll miss her... drama & all.

They say she was about 16 years old here:

Love, love, LOVE this:

This is my Nana and Grampy. He deserves a whole blog of his own... truly. I've missed him for many, many years now.
This is my most favorite picture of my Nana of all time. She had this framed in her house for several years. I just love it.
And, me & Nana the summer after I graduated high school. This is the summer that she jumped on that trampoline.
You know... I just really feel like we should have had at least another ten years with her. It's crazy because I had GREAT grandparents into adulthood. Notice that's plural! Now? Now I only have one grandparent left. I've lost too many, too young. I'm just so tired of all the losses. I really am. Can I say "uncle" now? I give up.

I'd like to end this post here. I just don't know that I have the wit to do the rest of this blog justice. But, I've been a terrible blogger and a terrible blogging mom. A month's worth of time has passed in my kids' lives without me documenting what's gone on. And, believe me, there's a lot. Most recently (maybe I'll work backward... I don't know...), Emma marked a rite of passage. You know EVERY girl has done this at least once, if not multiple times. Ladies out there... it's happened to you, hasn't it?

That's the sort of thing that happens while mom's at Wal Mart, which is exactly what happened this time. Curt called me assuring me that I'd have to cut it out of her hair. He was all worked up and grouchy. Men just don't have the mad hair detangling skills for this. Or the patience to try. They'd rather take scissors to it. I told him to leave it for me, and I'd handle it when I got home. I got home and laughed hysterically, truth be told. It was funny. Look at her. Then, I went and got my camera. She was NOT too keen on having pictures taken. I told her that if you go and get a brush stuck in your hair, you HAVE to have a picture taken. That's the rules. She cried. I'm a mean mom. I'm okay with that.

Anyway, a couple minutes after I put the camera down, I freed the brush. And, there was NO involvement from the scissors. Men. If they had any experience with this sort of thing at all they wouldn't be so dramatic, right? I mean, I've had a brush stuck in my hair a time or two (or fourteen). Why do you think my house is round brush free?

I've GOT to get back into this...

2008-12-11T10:30:00.005-06:00

I've been so bad about blogging lately. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I haven't touched my camera since the day after Thanksgiving. The cold weather does it to me, I guess. I just don't want to go outside if I can help it, and there's nothing fun going on inside. Oh well...

So, I've got some more photos to share from when I was in California. This is right after I discovered Photo Booth on the computer. :) Fun times.

Here's me & my siblings. Heather decided (and announced) just before the fourth picture that we should make a funny face. Thus, her funny face. This was the first time we used Photo Booth, so we were totally unprepared for how quickly it takes the pictures. So, yeah... Heather's the only one with a funny face. :)

And, we decided to take another round with all funny faces. I think maybe they were just playing tricks on me in that first one, eh? And, one more because Miles didn't make that much of a funny face in the second set. This is better, though, aside from leaving me hanging in the first one again. Oy. And, then I decided to take some pictures with my Aunt Cynthia because she is SUCH a hoot. All I could do, though, was laugh hysterically at her faces & commentary. Good grief, she makes me laugh! I'll take my four bazillion chins (see the fourth photos) for a good laugh like that!
And, finally... me & sweet Nana. She liked it. :)
And, to my family... I love you all! Thanks for all your sweet comments. I had SUCH a good time getting to visit with you. If any of you want a disc with the pictures on it, email me your mailing address, and I'll send one out to you. amycoffeyphotography@gmail.com

Take care!

Thanksgiving with Nana

2008-11-30T20:30:00.006-06:00

Man oh man... where do I begin? So, I mentioned earlier that Heather & I were going to spend the week of Thanksgiving in California visiting our Nana. I can tell you now that this post is going to be exceptionally long. I think I might sit here for hours trying to find the right words both to recount the events of the week, as well as the swell of emotion I have/am experiencing.

Back in August, it was discovered that my Nana has a malignant brain tumor. Though she underwent surgery, it could not be completely removed. It is aggressive in nature, and has taken it's toll on her. She doesn't have much longer, so it was now or never, you know? It was unexpected and is affecting her quickly. Heather & I went knowing this would be the last time we would see her. How's that for anxiety inducing?

For the time leading up to us going, I felt a pretty constant tug of sadness. I guess in all the deaths I've had to deal with, I've never had warning... I've never had the chance to say goodbye. How do you say goodbye like that? Before going, I felt like I might burst into tears at any moment. I swear... it seems that her illness has brought about emotions in me that I hadn't realized that I hadn't dealt with. Like my Grampy's death... and Michael's death... and what it would be like to return to a family where my bio father has burned a bazillion bridges.

Anyway, I kept telling myself that surely it will be better... the constant "down" that I'm feeling will be gone when I've said goodbye & the anxiety of it all is gone. Yeah... not so much. I still feel like I might fall apart at any moment. I don't want to feel like that. I knew that I, of course, would lose it when I get the news that she's gone, but I just felt like I would have a little peace after seeing her. But, now, now I guess the sadness comes from wanting to be with her still.

Over the past week, she exhibited such a sweet spirit. She was calm, witty, feisty, funny... she was so beautiful, and I just enjoyed being with her so, SO much. Though I was quite nervous & very intimidated in the beginning, I delighted in taking care of her. I caught a bit of insight into her very being... the things that make her tick. It's like all the extra was stripped away, and what remained was her sweet, sweet spirit. It pained me so much to say goodbye to her. And, the tug of sadness remains.

Okay... so, I've got to get on with my story. We arrived on Monday. My Nana insisted that everyone who came into town would stay at her house. Can you see where this is going? Have you seen those holiday movies where all the family comes back home? There's always endless drama & angst & catastrophes & fighting, etc., all driving the family to feel the need to start drinking? Well, I've always watched those movies and thought, "ummm... yeah right. That doesn't happen." Okay, folks, let me tell you that it absolutely does. And, like at least 100 times as bad as the worst of them all!

In addition to my Nana & her husband, there were NINE of us staying at her house. NINE! She has a two bedroom home. Yep.

So, her brother Ernie & his wife Patty were given the other bedroom, of course. The other seven of us? Well, we all camped out in the formal living room. We had two & a half air mattresses as well as a couch & loveseat. Good times. Really. I know I'm often sarcastic, but with this, I'm not. I'm totally serious when I say it was a good time! There were ENDLESS hours of laughter into the wee hours of the night despite my aunt Cynthia's pleading for us to go to sleep. Of course, it didn't help that as we all started to settle, she'd do something over the top to make us all laugh again. Ay yi yi. Sleep deprived doesn't begin to touch what I am right now. I would guess that I got no more than 20 hours of sleep during the time I was there... Monday - Friday. This is a girl that needed 32 minimum.

Anyway, I've got such an unbelievable story to tell, but it borders on being unkind. I'll have to be vague. I'll tell you, it felt like I was in the Twilight Zone. We all said that numerous times throughout the week. From being locked INSIDE the house to being without a car of any sort for days upon days, from screaming matches to fearing for my life and not being able to get out because of being locked inside, it was an absolutely BIZARRO trip! Truly. At one point we thought we were being recorded. No seriously. Doesn't it all sound so unbelievable?

I know this paints a really sketchy picture. It does. But, the good news is that all of my family was on the same side of it. It wasn't one of us that was causing the chaos. It was like a super sense of camaraderie was forged amongst us as we were all living in this crazy, unbelievable world for a week.

I so enjoyed seeing all of my aunts & uncles, as well as all of my cousins. I hadn't seen some of these folks since the 80's. Yet, by the second day, everything felt so comfortable, almost like all that time hadn't passed. Sure, I didn't truly know them all, but it was okay. We laughed & reminisced & looked at pictures... all that good stuff. We all grocery shopped together (the SINGLE time I got out of that locked down house the entire week), and we all cooked together. We formed assembly lines to put together enough grinders to feed the house. Mmmm. We took turns jumping up frantically searching for Teddy, though I think Cynthia & I shouldered more of that burden than the others. They didn't seem to have the same paranoia about Teddy as she & I did. :) (Teddy is the dog. He escaped the house once before, if you can believe it. Anyway, we were all afraid for our lives should Teddy escape again, thus the constant hunt for Teddy around the house. Someone would say, "Where's Teddy?" and that would trigger it.)

So, while it was seriously nuts, and there were countless times I found myself shaking my head in disbelief, it truly was SUCH a fun, memorable experience. If an oxymoron could be embodied in one week's time, this would be the week. My Nana had every one of her grandkids there. Such a special time... I fear it may never happen again, though I certainly hope it does even though Nana will be gone.

Okay, I've GOT to get on with the pictures.

This is my cousin Shannon... she is Cynthia's oldest.
My brother Miles... more on him later. :)
Nana & Miles hanging out at the dining room table...
This is my aunt Cynthia. She is seriously one of THE funniest people I know. She doesn't even have to try... she's just hilarious!
My sweet Nana & her husband.
My aunt Laura... she's the glue that holds the family together, and I'm SO grateful for that. I know it must cause her stress, but she is just amazing!
This is great aunt Patty. She is married to Ernie, Nana's brother. They flew in from Massachusetts. And, boy, does she make a good grinder! :)
This is my uncle Stan's son Shane. He seems like such a good kid, and he gave me some awesome tips for my computer! Nice. In the background is Chet. He's Laura's oldest son.
Shane & younger brother Brian...
This is my uncle Stan. The boys above belong to him. I've got to tell you that I was completely thrown for a loop when I saw Stan for the first time. I guess it's been awhile, but it wasn't until this visit that I noticed how much he looks like my Grampy.
This is Florence Ruby, Cynthia's daughter. She is SO incredible when it comes to taking care of Nana.
Nana doing her eye brow raise. I LOVED seeing that this week.
Great uncle Ernie... Nana's brother.
Another of Shane...
Florence & aunt Cindy, Stan's wife.
My uncle Keith, Laura's husband, and their daughter Sarah...
Ernie...
This is my brother Miles & his mom Brenda. She was the only step mom I ever knew. It truly was SUCH a blessing getting to see her again!
Cynthia's youngest Amelia.
I wish I could remember what's going on here... I have NO idea, though.
Wade, Laura's youngest, and Brian, Stan's son, playing Pachisi. No, not PARcheesi, PAchisi.
Chet & Shawn, Cynthia's son.
Sweet Nana. For whatever reason, she was totally intrigued by electronics. She'd sit and look at them for 20 minutes just pushing buttons...
Nana with ALL of her grandkids...
I mentioned earlier that there would be more about my brother Miles. Oh gosh, I don't even know where to start. It's been almost 20 years since I last saw him. Far too long. As this trip was approaching and the sadness over what I knew was coming set in, there was one thing that made my spirit settle... that gave me comfort. It was knowing that I'd see Miles again.

I've had so many questions in my head, so many daydreams about what it might be like to know him. He is just perfect. He's sweet, and kind, and thoughtful... He's only 24 years old, but he's so mature & wise for his age. He's an absolute joy to be around. Though I sometimes didn't know what to say to him because, well... I don't know him, I felt a comfort in his presence. It wasn't uncomfortable (for me anyway) to sit with him quietly. I just hope that he felt the same way. I mean, it's kind of crazy to think about... when you grow up with a sibling, they just HAVE to like you... no choice. But, what about when you are only really getting to know them as adults? Does he HAVE to like me? I'm desperate to be a part of his life and him in mine.

I feel sick thinking about the number of years that have passed, the number of life experiences, the joys & sorrows that siblings share... SO many missed. I wish I could go back. There is just no way I'll let the future resemble the past. No way.

So, while it was a great joy to get to see him, I'm saddened that the time we had together was so brief. It's anybody's guess as to when we'll get to see him again, but I can tell you it will be too long.

Miles - if you see this... move to Texas! Make the move, little brother. :)

All in all, it was an amazing trip. I'll treasure it always, and I'm sure I'll ache to relive it many times in my life.

All my love, Nana. I miss you much.
And, in Nana fashion... toodles!

I'm in love with my family.

2008-11-22T13:18:00.003-06:00

Seriously in love. Since I'm going to be gone over Thanksgiving this year, the girls decided that we needed to have a "feast" before I left. With Dad's help, they surprised me today at lunch. I adore all three of them. I can't say much more than that, or I'll start crying again. :)

Family Photos

2008-11-20T09:08:00.002-06:00

So, I know I've been away way too long. Though I don't seem to be overly busy right now, I just can't get myself to do much of anything. I'm not physically busy, but my mind is crazy busy, and I'm just emotionally exhausted for lots of reasons. I don't have a whole lot of sunshine to spread around today, but I DO have pictures I want to share... so, here I am!

My sister & I are heading out to California on Monday to spend the week visiting our Nana. She is ill, and it's... well... one of those things. We're also going to be seeing a lot of that side of the family for the first time in years & years. LOTS of years... some of them we haven't seen since the 80's. While there is a certain necessity & urgency for the visit, I have to say that I'm excited (and maybe a tad nervous) to see everyone! I'll be seeing my brother Miles for the fist time since I was a child. SO excited about that!

Anyway, Heather (my sister) wanted to make a little album for my Nana with pictures of our families. That, of course, is where I come in. With so many little ones running around between the two of us, family pictures become outdated quite quickly. And, hey, it's always fun to have a new family photo, right? (I didn't say it was fun to MAKE a new family photo... now, that's a NIGHTmare, and we ALL know it!)

Our family photo day turned into a really fun extended family photo day. Not only did we do family shots for my family & Heather's family, we also did my cousin Jesse's senior pictures, my cousin Alison's family picture, shots of my parents, shots of my aunt & uncle, shots of Heather & I together, my mom & Rob (my aunt) together... all sorts of things! It was fun! But, I ended up with HUNDREDS upon HUNDREDS of shots, as you can imagine.

I'll just be sharing pictures of Heather's family & one of my family today. I'll share the others of the extended family when they let me know which ones to process. (wink, wink!)

Heather's family
The always beautiful Summer:
Stud muffin Ryan:
The boys were SO super cute & cooperative. The Red-Headed Bandit:

Sweet Ky:

And, here's a quick one of my family. I don't love the posing looking back on it, but, hey... what can you do. :) Heather snapped this, and I think she did well. Who knows what we were laughing at...
Heather & I. I really like this one, aside from the glasses glare that looks like bright turquoise eyeshadow. Ha!
And, one last one of my parents. :) Aren't they cute!?!

Rock the vote!

2008-11-04T07:29:00.005-06:00

Don't take your right for granted... go VOTE! Seriously! GO!

And, then keep up with the results:

A day late and a dollar short?

2008-11-01T23:31:00.003-05:00

Yes, I know Halloween was yesterday. That's okay. Personally, I think any day is a perfect day for carving pumpkins! :) Right?

So, this post could be a lot lengthier than it's gonna be. I'm just exhausted right now, both physically AND emotionally, so I think I'll keep it short and sweet. For the most part. Ha!

Mom was recruited to watch the boys (my crazy nephews) tonight. We decided we'd go on over, too, and have some pasta and carve some pumpkins! We've had four pumpkins sitting in our garage for QUITE some time now, and we'd never gotten around to carving them. There's no better day for that than the day after Halloween, right?

Anyway, mom mentioned I should bring my camera to get some pictures of all the kiddos. Craig's in China right now & has been for the past several weeks and will be for the next couple weeks. She thought he might enjoy seeing all the grandkiddos on my blog. And, so my plan began to unfold.

Since Pa (Craig) can't be here with us, I thought I might... well... fashion a stand-in Pa for the evening. Bwahahaha! Plus, I KNEW he'd love what I had planned. I began my lengthy google research and studying tutorials until I half way figured it out. And, my custom "Pa" pumpkin carving template was complete. Enough.

When you look at this next one, it looks like a crazy mess... the pumpkin, that is. Just don't look at it. It looks better in the dark, I promise! I think mom & Curt were TOTALLY doubting me at this point. Heck, I was doubting myself. Ha! It worked out, though.

Now, I'm no pro at this, and it's obvious. Don't look at the details too closely. I had a few hiccups in my pumpkin carving endeavor. (Read: my first stupid pumpkin was, like, calcified or something... IMPOSSIBLE to cut into. Seriously... there was a thin layer of hard white stuff under the skin. Of course, I didn't discover this until AFTER I'd spent hours transferring the pattern to THAT pumpkin. Sigh.)

Anyway, like I was saying... don't look at it too closely. Or, for that matter, don't look at it too long, either. If you just glance quickly & maybe squint your eyes, it looks *just* like him! Ha! Wink, wink.
LOVE this:

Good times! We miss you, Pa!

On a final note, I just want to acknowledge that there are many people missing Michael today. No matter how many years pass, there's still the ache... As much as I feel like I want to remember him with a big ol' blog post today, I think I'm emotionally ready to burst. I don't want to go there tonight. So, suffice it to say, I miss you so, so much, Michael.

HWIC - Head Witch In Charge

2008-10-31T22:16:00.003-05:00

Oh, yeah, baby! Head Witch In Charge! Bwahaha! For those of you that know what I'm talking about, you KNOW it's funny! Don't deny. It's bad, yes, but funny! Flava Flaaaav!

Anyway, happy Halloween, everyone! I've got to say, I just love Halloween more & more the older I get. It's a big ol' pain, but it's good times. In fact, this year, I decided that I'm dressing up myself next year! I only decided that this afternoon, so it was kinda late to make it work today, but I'm already brainstorming what we might do in '09! :)

Well, I went back to fashioning the girls costumes myself. Yes, I bought them last year. Yes, it was OH so stinkin' easy (no pun intended), and they were absolutely adorable. But, you know how after you have your first child, you somehow forget how horrible childbirth is? And, then you decide to have another? And, then, when you're in labor, you suddenly remember? Yeah, I think that's how making Halloween costumes is for me. I forgot how much of a headache it is until I'd dropped some serious cash & gotten about half way in. Then I remembered.

Oh well.

So, the girls were little witches this year. Although, we don't do the whole scary, gnarly, nasty thing, so they were more like punk rock witches. Fun times. Unfortunately, I was working my little fingers to the bones today trying to get these things finished up. That's what happens when you change the game plan after you've already COMPLETED the costumes. So, time to leave crept up on me. I had NO time to get pictures, so I hauled the girls out in the garage & made it work.

Maya:

Emma:

So, yeah, we had a witchin' Halloween! (Yes. I did just type that.)

I forgot.

2008-10-14T19:46:00.003-05:00

So, I forgot to post pictures of Emma on geek chic day. If you'll remember, we don't like making fun of people. We believe geeks can be fashionable, and we believe that being studious is ALWAYS in style. :) So, here's Emma:

And, I'm pleased to announce that Maya's hair is FINALLY long enough for piggies again! YAY! LOVE her hair in piggies!
It was rainy this evening, so we spent a few minutes outside just playing. :)
And, she's done with me. Oh well...

This makes my heart sing...

2008-10-13T13:56:00.003-05:00

I've never done this before, but I've GOT to share a local news story that is so sweet. Obviously, I have a special place in my heart for Down Syndrome kids, but I think anyone can appreciate this!

Article from the Dallas Morning News:

Never has the selection of a homecoming queen sent so many tears falling so freely.

Kristin Pass, an 18-year-old senior with Down syndrome, became Aledo High School's homecoming queen Friday to a joyous standing ovation and the flutter of a thousand tissues on a remarkable night for an amazing young woman.

Her grandfather, Dr. David Campbell of Corsicana, escorted her onto the field and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek as Kristin joined eight other young women in the Homecoming Court to await the results of the vote, cast by the 360-plus members of Aledo High's senior class.

Then came the announcement ... and pandemonium.

"Oh my gosh! I was sitting in the student section and everyone stood up, crying and cheering for Kristin," said longtime friend and fellow senior Meaghan Geary, 17, who first met Kristin in the third grade. "It was great!"

Carolyn Pass stood at the edge of the football field, taking pictures of her daughter and friends' daughters in the court, when the stadium erupted.

"It's just something you can't even imagine," she said. "And afterward, everyone was just running down to her, congratulating her. And the other girls in the court, they're all just beautiful girls, inside and out."

Ms. Pass said she spoke later with a friend. "She said the only mistake anyone made was not handing out crying towels."

The vote may have been a surprise, but no one who knows Kristin doubts her popularity, her mother said.

"Kristin has a lot of friends – she likes everyone. It doesn't matter if you're tall or short, pretty, not pretty, smart, not smart – she likes everybody. She has great friends. And Aledo is a great community."

"She's just the neatest kid in the whole wide world," added her aunt, Chari Hust of Houston, "and everybody sees that."

Clay Gilmer, who works in the stadium press box, running the scoreboard and clock, said people pushed toward the windows as the young women were introduced.

"They were all pulling for Kristin," Mr. Gilmer said.

When she won, he was thrilled. "This has been such a special time, a special week for Kristin," he said. "And I was really taken by the maturity and the love shown by her friends, her peers, her classmates.

"That makes this a double blessing."

Kristin pronounced the evening "exciting" and "awesome."

She was so thrilled, her mother said, that she took her crown to bed with her.

"She's real proud of it," her friend Meaghan added.

Kristin and her family, including sister Kendall, now a freshman, moved to Aledo when Kristin was in the third grade. She was embraced by the people in town through good times and bad, including the death of her dad, J.T., two years ago.

"We've always had great experiences here," her mom said. "We've been blessed, and I think Kristin brings a lot of blessings to the people she knows."

Her selection as homecoming queen was a wonderful surprise. But Meaghan seemed to have an inkling that it could happen.

"Everyone loves Kristin," she said, "and I didn't know for sure, but in class everyone was like, 'Who are you voting for?' and everybody was like, 'Vote for Kristin, she's so good.' "

Kristin doesn't care what's on the outside, Meaghan said. She's friends with everyone, and everyone admires that.

"She's the person we all want to be," Meaghan said.

And, pictures taken by her mother:

Twinkies! Ha!

2008-10-08T10:27:00.002-05:00

Ah, it's twin day. :) I approached it a little differently this year. I could have made them match EXACTLY, but it wouldn't have been very fun or stylish... just a t-shirt & jeans, you know? So, I thought to myself, "hmmm... if I had a set of boy/girl twins, and I had to dress them alike, what would I do?" Forget that the boy is 30 years old. :) That's what he gets for not helping me come up with something.

So, yeah, T-R-E-N-D-Y here we come! Curt is so NOT trendy! I mean, I'm not saying he's not stylish, I'm saying he's not trendy. He doesn't like the trends. He's always saying he's "too old" for that nonsense. Well, when you're dressing six year old twins, trendy is fun! Haha!

Okay, so it's not THAT bad, right? Ha! All he could do last night when I was putting his outfit together was shake his head. Oh man... fun times! Here are HIS problems with the outfit:

suit jacket with jeans - BIG no, no for him
loosely tied tie hanging low
tie with jeans
top it all off with the hat

Now, he LIKES the hat, and he wears the hat. He just doesn't like the hat with THIS gettup. I think it's just the final touch to a perfectly put together trendy outfit. :)

There are a couple of ways that I think these outfits could be a little more twin-ish. I wish Emma's vest wasn't denim. What can you do, though? I wish it were a suit material. That would have been perfect! But, what I wish even more than that is that I had a vest for Curt! Haha! That would have been TOO much fun! I threatened to run to town to buy one for him last night. He was not amused. Oh well...

And hey, if anyone giggles at his outfit today, and he starts to feel embarrassed, he just needs to tell them, "whatev. I'm a POPstar!" Bwahaha!

More to add today...

2008-10-07T21:12:00.003-05:00

Okay, so, if you haven't read my LAST blog post, you should go read it. This one is basically an update to that one.

Curt came home for lunch and told me that when he was taking Emma to her class room this morning she would not go into her hall. She cried and said she was embarrassed. Curt made a deal with her that he would go get Mrs. Ripley (one of her fave teachers that she'll never have), and if Mrs. Ripley thinks it's too silly, then Emma could come home and take the hair down. (Wink wink! Like a TEACHER is gonna tell her it looks silly!) Anyway, she was okay with that. It certainly helped that Mrs. Ripley came around the corner wearing a huge fro wig on her head! Ha! So, Emma agreed to stay.

Well, when he told me all that, I thought, "Oh great. I've scarred my kid for life. She'll remember how mean we were by making her wear crazy hair to school. It'll be one of those stories that morphs into this HUGE crazy drama making us parents look EVEN worse than we should!" (Yes, I truly thought ALL of that!) So, I thought I needed to soften the blow. I had the BRILLIANT idea to fashion my own hair into a crazy mess & go for a visit during recess. Hey... if SHE'S gonna be embarrassed, she's not gonna be embarrassed alone, right!?! Yeah. I felt like a fool. But, it's only fair. I shared her hair with the world, and now I must share my own. Sigh.
So, tonight when we were sitting around the dinner table playing "good part/bad part," Emma's good part of her day was that she actually did NOT end up being embarrassed of her hair! YAY! No scarring this time! :)

When she got home from school, however, she was ready to take it down. And, honestly, I can't say that I blame her because after about 20 minutes of those stupid rubber bands in my hair, I was starting to get a headache! I knew what to expect when we took out her hair, but she did not. She was quite surprised and pleasantly so. CURLS!
Then, she contrived this FABulous plan to take a photograph with one dog on each side of her.

My thoughts on the matter: "Ummm, yes, Emma. I would LOVE to accommodate you on this matter as these dogs are SO pleasant & well behaved." (Insert eyeroll.) They're like herding cats, those two. But, hey, she could get just about anything she wanted from me at that point because I'm still absolutely CERTAIN I've caused a need for therapy today. Another sigh.
Aren't those boys just SO cooperative? She envisioned one SITTING NICELY on either side of her looking at the camera. The fact that we got them to STAY STILL is a miracle. Truly. Look at the dork on the left. Ay yi yi.

Okay... on to my NEXT big saga. THIS was my Thursday:

I'm still in total disbelief. Get ready because this is LONG! You'll be horrified, too, I'm sure!

So, I adopted the two pups, right? They're full grown... about 2 years old, I think. Anyway, they had been neglected & abused by their original owners. They were rescued by a sweet couple which I, in turn, adopted the dogs from them. It all went through a local humane society.

Okay, so, I paid an $80 adoption fee for each dog. That was to include the cost of neutering, a heartworm test, a rabies shot, as well as all their puppy shots. Well, you have to go to certain vets that work with the Humane Society to have all this done. The Humane Society set up an appointment for Thursday with a vet about 45 minutes away from me.

I loaded up the dogs bright & early Thursday morning. Fortunately, I left Maya with Curt in case the dogs got irritable in the far back, as I'd be the only adult in the car and wouldn't be able to control them. We get to the little town where the vet is located. I turn on his street. I drove up & down that RESIDENTIAL street two times passing it by each time because it wasn't obviously a vet. Turns out, it's a SHED in the backyard of this house!!! That should have been my first warning.

So, I get the dogs out of the car & am having to coax them to the door of this place. (They're VERY nervous about anything new... very skittish because of their past.) Anyway, I open the door to this shed-thing expecting that there will be some sort of reception. I should have known there would NOT be reception, though, because the entire building is about 8 feet by maybe 14 feet?

Anyway, when I open the door, I'm RIGHT THERE in his work area! The main room was about 8 foot by 8 foot with CLUTTER to the ceiling!!!!!!!! There was a work table in the center of the room with a KNOCKED OUT DOG ON IT'S BACK! It's legs are TAPED to the side & he's CUT OPEN WITH HIS INSIDES ON HIS OUTSIDES!!!!!!! Ummmm! I was completely shocked! Before I could even make any sort of sense of the situation, he was injecting my dogs with sedatives!!! It all took place literally within 5 seconds of getting in the door.

At this point, my dogs are flippin' SCARED out of their minds. The vet was showing no compassion or gentleness what so ever. He got one of them into a crate in that room with him, but he said he didn't have another crate in there big enough for the other one. So, he opens this door to a closet-type space. This area is probably 4 feet by 6 feet maybe. Anyway, there is a space of floor right as you walk in the door maybe 1.5 foot by 1.5 foot (if that) that is clear. The rest of the closet was loaded from floor to ceiling with GARDENING tools!!!!! He shoves the other dog in a dirty, scratched up crate in there. I was horrified. He comes out of the closet & closes the door. He just leaves my poor pup in a dark, windowless closet without letting me reassure him AT ALL. I was so heartbroken for my dogs. And, honestly, I've never been a "my-dogs-are-my-kids" type person. I mean, I love them, but I'm not like that...

So, I'm in the main area, now, with this 90 year old vet, the dog up on the table, and my other dog crated. I literally had NO idea what to do.

I excused myself outside and called my contact at the Humane Society. I was crying at this point because I could NOT believe it! Not only was it BEYOND skeevy, but he couldn't even do the heartworm test because he doesn't have the facilities for that. Ummm... ya think!?! Holy cow.

So, my contact was HORRIFIED, too. She could NOT believe it. She told me to get them out of there... don't leave them, which I already did NOT want to do! I did NOT want to leave them!!! It was insane. So, she made a few phone calls and found an animal hospital about 45 minutes away. She said they would take the dogs immediately if I'd scoop 'em up & bring them over. So, I went back in & told him thanks but no thanks. My dogs were not totally knocked out. They were awake but could not function. They couldn't walk or even stand. I had to drag/carry my 60lb. dogs out the door & up into my car by myself.

Anyway, so, I get them into the back of my car & we're driving along. Well, at this point, I'm guessing they were INSANELY nervous & unsure of what was going on, plus they were irritable as all get out. (Understandably so!) So, about 30 minutes in to the drive, they start fighting VICIOUSLY in the back of the car making all sorts of weird sounds & snarls... barking, biting, the whole thing! They wouldn't stop & they wouldn't listen to me. I've only had these dogs for about 3 or 4 weeks, I'm guessing, and while I think they're super gentle & sweet, you just NEVER know what a dog is capable of, you know? They were VICIOUS! I didn't want to stick my hand back there for fear of them attacking me, too. So, I just cried. Ha! I was so nervous about the whole thing... I got shaky, and I could feel a panic attack coming on. The whole morning & now this fighting just broke me down, I guess. I had to call Curt, and he talked me through it. Crazy, I tell ya!

The new vet was much nicer & more reassuring. They were kind to my dogs & just professional, you know? I just couldn't believe it. Anyway, that was my morning. It was horrible. I felt like this place should be on Dateline. You know how they have random folks practicing dentistry in their back bedroom or something?!? Ay yi yi.

So, I go to pick up the dogs on Friday. I get there, and they tell me that Chuy has heartworms. Great. That's fantastic. Really. Now we're working on that.

Guess what the dogs did next? Yep. They licked at their bits SO much that they tore open the incision. Another fantastic moment for us. Of course, I discovered this on Saturday evening. That's how it works with kids, and apparently that's how it works for dogs. They'll get sick on the weekends. I had to call a local vet to see them after hours, and I got to PAY for that doozy, too. Yay.

It gets better folks. No, truly, it does. The dogs are now on antibiotics twice a day. Whatever. Here's the best part... EVERY STINKIN' DAY, we get to WASH their bits with a mild soap & water! YES, WASH THEM! Then, we get to treat them with neosporin after that. Oh joy of joys. I know you are laughing right now. That's okay. I've come to terms with the fact that I've done SOMEthing to deserve this.

The ONLY redeeming factor of it all is that I get a bit of entertainment value out of my dogs because they now get to wear the e-collars for TEN days! It's the LEAST they deserve, I can promise you that! Enjoy:

Go ahead. Judge me for finding humor in it if you want. All I have to say is that you're not the one hand washing gnarly dog bits daily because your jerk dogs couldn't leave well enough alone. Final sigh.

So, here's the good news. Tomorrow is twin day. As he did last year, Curt had the bright idea to be twins with Emma. Fine. BUT, he gives it all absolutely NO thought. Like, dressing a grown man & a 6 year old girl as twins... that's easy? I always struggle with what to do. Well, THIS year I've devised a BRILLIANT scheme. If I have to figure it out all by myself, I'm going ALL out. Bwahahaha! Now, I'm not gonna dress him like a girl or anything, but, man oh man! It won't be THAT bad. To us. To him, it'll be HORRIBLE! He's very much the "I'm too cool for school" kinda guy. There are certain things he'll wear and certain things he won't wear. Tomorrow, it's all gettin' thrown together into a wonderfully coordinating ensemble. :) Stay tuned!

It's that time of year again!

2008-10-07T09:30:00.002-05:00

First, let me say thanks for the support, guys! You all are awesome!

Second, it's spirit week at school. Remember last year? Unfortunately, they took out my favorite day this year. No 80's day. :( Bummer.

Anyway, today is crazy hair day. Last year, I fixed about half of Emma's hair before she asked to see it. She looked in the mirror and immediately started crying. She was "embarrassed." She made me take it out. I was irritated, to say the least. I'd spent at least a half an hour on that one stinkin' side.

This year, though, I thought she'd be all for it. I thought she'd be older & more confident. Well, guess what happened this year!?! Yep! I fixed half the head, and she starts crying. I was so irritated again that I just had to leave the room. Not my proudest moment as a mom, but you KNOW there are times when it's best to walk away. So, I did.

I came back a couple minutes later, and we chatted about it. She was embarrassed again. I told her to be a rockstar! Haha! She bought it. Or, maybe she was just distracted enough by me jumping around like a maniac sporting the rock on hand sign. I was just demonstrating how she needed to own it, you know? I mean, if a kid giggles at her hair (which it's crazy hair day - hello!), I told her to tell them, "whatev... I'm a rockstar, and my mom's a rockstar, too" whilst making the rock on hand sign with both hands. You know... owning it?!? At that point, I think she was more embarrassed of my behavior than her hair. Niiiice. Mission accomplished. :)

So, here she is sporting her crazy hair:
Anybody got any ideas for geek sheik day? :)

Well, I went and entered a contest.

2008-10-01T15:29:00.003-05:00

I came across a contest. On a whim, I entered it. I haven't entered a photography contest since I've been into photography this go around. (Just one county contest 10 years back when I was in college...)

Do I really think I might win? Not really. I think there are several pictures far better than mine, but it doesn't hurt to enter, right? So, anyway, there's a popular vote to choose one of the winners. There will be other winners chosen by the judges later.

I debated whether or not to even post this on my blog. I feel like asking for votes is borderline... I don't know... goofy. I mean, it seems like the absolute WORST photo submitted could win if they have quite a network of friends that are willing to vote for them. I feel if-fy about asking people to vote for my photo knowing that there are better submissions.

SOOOOO... what I'm asking is that you hop on over to the contest & vote. Vote for me if you so desire, but I'd also like to encourage you to take a gander through the rest of the photos. There are some awesome shots there. Vote for your favorite! I'm okay with that! :)

Here's my entry:

It's image number 0099. WHATever photo you decide to vote for, you can vote by clicking on the image & then clicking on vote for this picture. Or something like that.

Truly, though... vote for your fave! :) I'm not opposed to the loyalty votes, though. Haha!

Here's the link to the contest: Capture the Summer Feeling Photo Contest

Twin boys

2008-09-25T14:30:00.002-05:00

Okay, so, Curt & I went and did something C-R-A-Z-Y last week. We both always said we'd never have another dog (well, pet of any kind) after our yellow lab Roofus. He was an INSANELY smart dog. He knew ALL the tricks. BUT, he was a total freak. He was beyond hyper, he was obsessive compulsive, and he chewed. Everything. As he got older, he didn't settle down. He was NUTS!

Well, Curt would now like to thank Jeremy White for bringing Hank & his dogs out for church a couple weeks ago. Haha! I went to that service (Curt couldn't go with us) and left thinking we needed a dog. Ha! The girls & I teamed up & ambushed him. He couldn't refuse. But, if I'm being honest, it didn't take much convincing at all.

So, I looked around the web & found the perfect dog. (Insert LOOONG dramatic pause.) And his brother. We weren't looking for two, but these guys were SO cute. They had been rescued by a sweet couple that wanted to adopt them out together. I wanted one, so, unfortunately (or not... I haven't decided) we got both. They are half Weimeranar & half Lab.

They have no manners. No, I should really say that they are the most ill-mannered boys around. But, they're smart & learning quickly. They know how to sit now. They also walk on leashes FABULOUSLY, though they were absolute DEAD WEIGHT the first couple times we tried. (They'd never been on a leash. In fact, they didn't even wear collars until us.) I guess they aren't horrid because they don't dig, so that's great.

The couple we rescued them from said they were named Chewy and Shadow by their original owners. The name Chewy should be a dead give away, right? They say it's short for Chewbacca, but I know he was named that for a reason. He IS a chewer. Ay yi yi. We changed the spelling to Chuy, though. You know, like our favorite Mexican restaurant? Ha! And, the rescuers didn't like the name Shadow because they said it was "stupid." He's not gray, so they didn't like it. They changed it to Lukey after Luke Skywalker. Well, I didn't like that, so we changed it to Charley. Curt likes the name Charley A LOT. I'm not sure why. If we'd ever had a son, it would have been a battle over his name. So, his full name is Charley Brown Coffey. :) And, so they have matching initials & because we like to give the dogs full names, Chuy's full name is Chu Bacca Coffey. Haha! (Remember Roofus' full name was Roofus Super Funk Super Pup Coffey? This is better, wouldn't you say?)

So, meet the boys.

Chuy:

Charley:

Charley is standing, Chuy is laying down.
Tell me how cute they are! You know it's true.
Oh, and, by the way, don't judge my photography skills here. They have NO comprehension of the word "stay." (Think: nose to the lens. Ugh.)

A few more from the Counting Crows show...

2008-09-11T22:48:00.003-05:00

Okay, first, I want to say thank you all SO much for your really sweet comments! You guys are THE best! Have I said it before? I just love you guys & all your encouragement.

Second, I've got some more shots to share. I combed through the photos again, and I came up with another bunch that I love as much as the first bunch. I'm sure I could go through them another three or four times, too, and come up with even more. Man. SUCH a good time.

Here goes:

And, more from Curt:

Quite possibly my very favorite from him:

Amy hit the atmosphere...

2008-09-08T20:00:00.005-05:00

Can I just say I had one of THE coolest experiences this weekend?!? I don't expect I'll have many more like this one.

Do you remember WAY back... over a year ago... when Curt, D. Brown & I went to a private Counting Crows concert at the House of Blues? I was able to take my camera, and I watched the concert through the lens snapping photo after photo? I shared them here: first Counting Crows post. Well, the super fantastic D.Brown has a great friend, Alicia, that works for them. My pictures from that concert made their way to Alicia, and she liked them. She offered me a photo pass to a future concert should I ever want to go & photograph.

So, guess what I did this weekend! That's right! Counting Crows, baby! Alicia was absolutely fantastic and got Curt & I both "working" passes to the September 6th show at the Superpages.com center in Dallas. (Or the Starplex... whatever it's called.) The difference in a media pass & a photo pass is that the media pass only allows you in the pit for the first three songs, but the working pass allows you to stay in the pit for the entire show. The pit? Yeah... it's in FRONT of the front row! In front of the barricade... with the security guys. SO awesome!

We both took TONS of photos. Oh. My. Gosh. We have a billion to sift through, at least. But, these are some of my faves from my first pass through. First, though, is a quick one of Curt & I sitting in the lawn outside the main area waiting for the Counting Crows to come on. It's actually one of those hold your arm out as far as you can & hope it's in focus type of shots. I'm really pleased that it's actually sharp! Haha!
Adam Duritz:
Adam & Dan:
Charlie. And, might I add that I'm pretty sure Curt is his biggest fan. If only Charlie'd known that his biggest fan in the entire world was standing two feet in front of him...

My friend implores me
For one time only...
Her kindness falls like rain
It washes me away...

Playing A Long December. One of these days, I'd like to see Colorblind.

This is probably my favorite of Charlie.
Dave & Adam...

It was so fantastic that Curt was able to shoot the whole time, too, because he got some GREAT shots that I completely missed! Though he'll be working up his own blog post soon, I thought I'd share a few of his here on my blog, as well.

This is my favorite from him:
And, he got some amazingly clean shots of Dan. Check out these last four images:

It was SUCH a good time. Thanks Alicia for allowing us this opportunity!

Apt blog title, eh?

First soccer game...

2008-09-06T11:02:00.009-05:00

So, we signed Emma up for soccer this fall. She's never played before, but we figured with her quickness & her competitive streak, she'd do great. And, she does! She seems to LOVE it. It's right up her alley.

She had her very first game this morning, and can I just say that it was one of *THE* cutest stinkin' things I have EVER seen. Oh my gosh. Adorable.

I took my camera, of course! The sun was HARSH, but what can you do. I'm no sports photographer, that's for sure, so these are pretty much just snaps. I just love that you can see the excitement and enjoyment all over her face in many of these. She truly loved it. :)
Waiting for the game to start:
Her first moments in the game. She seemed to be a little unsure of how aggressive to be, but it's obvious that she was enjoying it! I love the excitement on her face. It's funny, too, because it seemed like all the kids were unsure about trying to steal the ball from someone. They'd kind of hesitate almost as if they were trying to be courteous, you know? Too cute!
Finally getting the hang of it. She tried SO hard & did SUCH a great job!
Doesn't she look like a legit soccer player!?! Haha!
Water break:
Her turn as goalie. She didn't see any action. :)
Walking through the tunnel of parents at the end of the game... she obviously enjoyed that!
So, yeah... overall I think she had a GREAT time! I think their team actually won, though they don't officially win or lose, you know? That's a good thing. :) The score was 3-2. Emma attempted many goals, but we need to work on the precision thing just a little. *wink wink*

Playing with fire...

2008-08-30T23:14:00.003-05:00

Okay, so I feel like I really have to qualify this post a bit. It's TOTALLY out of the norm for me. It's crazy different. Really.

It all stemmed from a photography challenge, of sorts, that I've been given. I've been asked to create a photograph that embodies the idea of fighting for your family, protecting it. So, while the wheels have been turning, my idea kind of morphed into this crazy, emotionally disturbing vision. Well, actually, it wasn't as disturbing in my head as it now seems to be. The more I look at it, the more it really bothers me. I don't know. I'll quit going on about it... Either way, I'm absolutely positive that this photograph is in NO way what I've been comissioned to do. Ha! But, it was fun to be challenged into creating this. It pushed me out of my comfort zone, and continues to do so. It's probably evoked more emotion in me than almost any other photograph I've created. And, not the good kind of emotion, either.
Everytime I look at it, it creeps me out more. Of course, the FIRST thing out of Curt's mouth when he saw it was, "ooohhh... fire in my hand!" So, yeah:
Doesn't he look creepy, too?!? I told you this was not my normal stuff. I'm off to have nightmares, now.

One of my most favorite people in the world...

2008-08-30T01:24:00.004-05:00

Seriously. This guy is hands down one of the funniest guys I've ever met. Justin was one of Curt's students for several years until he graduated a couple years ago. There were times over the years that he drove me absolutely insane. I literally told Curt I wouldn't be going to any school functions anymore if this kid couldn't get his shenanigans under control. It wasn't just an irritation. He actually made me angry. All the time. It's like... he had an INSANE amount of energy, and he didn't understand boundaries or personal space, you know? And, for a football season, it was directed all towards me. Oooohhh... drove me nuts! He evened out & quit that nonsense. Thank goodness.

Anyway, he's got this personality that everyone just loves. You can't NOT like this guy. And, because he was so likable, he'd get away with murder. I swear. The rules applied to everyone but him. And, it made me nuts. I tried to teach him about integrity. Not that I'm the highest integrity person... I'm not saying that by any means. I try, though. Justin did not. Ha! I'd tell him, "just because you CAN get away with it, doesn't mean you should." Or, "just because no one enforces the rules with you, doesn't mean you should take advantage of that. Follow the rules. Have some integrity, Justin!" He heard it a BILLION times from me, I'm sure. It's not like he was doing anything terrible... just taking a lot of freedoms that the other students didn't have. He never listened to me.

So, like I said, he graduated a couple years ago. I really adore him. Thankfully, he must be fond of us, too, because he comes out for visits occasionally. And, can I say, he gets me laughing until my side hurts just about every time he's here. Curt always seems really irritated with his antics, but I think that just encourages him. It's like, Curt has dealt with him and his over the top personality for years. He's learned to tune him out & not laugh. I guess when you're the teacher, you can't be encouraging behavior like this in class, so Curt would NEVER indulge him. It's just stuck with him. He still rarely allows himself to laugh at Justin's insanity. I, however, think he's hysterical. And, it amuses me even more when Justin is being absolutely OUTrageous, and Curt is standing in the corner shaking his head in disbelief with NO hint of a smile on his face. Is it bad that I think it's funny when people harass my husband!?!

So, yeah, he came back tonight for a football game. It was great to see him... entertaining, as well. Much of the reason that I love Justin is because he's just... himself. Often times, I find myself thinking, "my gosh... who would behave like this!?!" Him. And, I love that about him. I love that he's just comfortable being a total maniac all the time in front of anyone. He's always in a great mood, always really upbeat... just a fun, fun guy.
And, yeah... I have NO idea why. Why anyone would do this:
This is what he called his "wedding-on-the-beach run."
Oh man, so yeah... entertainment. For sure.

But, for the sappy part. The part that makes me feel like a proud mama... he told me a story tonight about how he was recently "accidentally" given a privilege (in da club) that is not appropriate (a.k.a. legal) for his age. He said that he thought about it briefly but decided to follow the rules, though no one would have ever known any better. He'd remembered that I'd harped on him about it for years, and he knew I would be proud. He had integrity. And, he knew it. :) Yay! Though I was most often doubtful that the seeds planted would come to fruition, they did! At least once, right!?! Haha! I'm proud of him, and I'm so delighted to know him.

Bonnie Berry

2008-08-29T15:17:00.002-05:00

Okay, so I had the privilege of meeting the most fantastic photographer back in April. Bonnie attended The Lab Workshop, and I was immediately smitten with her work. I just think it's so real & refreshing. It's just... unique.

Not only is she a fab. photographer, but she's also just a really cool person. I had a great time getting to know her a little back in April, and we'd talked about trying to get together at some point to hang out & swap photography. You photographers out there know how it is, right? You know... you might as well not exist according to the photographs?

So, we finally got she & her family out for a visit earlier this month. I LOVE her family. Her boys are just amazing & sweet & fun. She & her husband are both just so intelligent & witty. Josh is A-MAZING with the kiddos... so patient. Anyway, it was a good time. I think we both took TONS of photographs over the weekend. Here are a few of mine:

Obviously, the next two are not in focus. I don't care, though.

So, uh... is it okay to post a bunch of random photos with little to no commentary?

2008-08-13T23:42:00.002-05:00

Because, well... I'm falling further and further behind. If I can't just blog a bunch of photos without having to blog an explanation, well, it's never gonna get blogged at this point. :)

So, first up... a super sweet family that I had the privilege of photographing last week. LOVE this family. These kiddos were SO stinkin' sweet!

And, next up... the band from my church did a live recording this past weekend. It was way cool. They asked me to photograph it, and it turned out that I had a really, REALLY good time. It was out of my normal, you know? Obviously, the lighting was HORRENDOUS, but it adds to the mood right? (wink, wink!) ISO 3200, anyone?

Okay, and finally... I took these quickly today in the back yard. I was just testing out a lens. We'd been to the Stockyards again shooting some senior pictures, so Emma was QUITE dirty.

On this next one... eh... who knows?

Though I ADORE the last one here, the verdict is still out on this lens (Canon 50mm f/1.4).