Evolution of a Sunset

First it looked like this:

and then it looked like this:

The only thing that would have made it better was the gorgeous Pacific on the horizon.  Beautiful.

Family Photo Shoot

This weekend I had the opportunity to photograph my brother’s family.  We do a white elephant gift exchange at Christmas and a couple of years ago I wrapped up a gift certificate for a family photo shoot.  Unfortunately, due to health reasons, it took a while until I was up to reimbursing them.  So here we are, two years  and over 650 pictures later, and I am delighted with the results.  I thought I’d give you all a little peak at their gorgeous family.  Ready? I know I am not the most imaginative photographer.  And looking at these I can see some things I should have done differently.  But, all in all, I think they turned out really well.  And it was an absolute  privilege to take them.  So I’ll chalk it all up to a happy memory and a good experience and an opportunity to show a little love to my family.  Merry Christmas!

In My Shoes

 

 

. . . sigh . . .

More Girls

I only know how to post four pictures at a time without screwing up all of my alignment stuff. Sean has been trying to convince me to tweak the blog to make it more picture-friendly. I think I will take him up on it - maybe tonight. In the meantime, here are some more pictures form our impromptu photo shoot this morning. I think Anna looks gorgeous is virtually every shot. Alyx was kind of wiggly (read: blurry), but we managed to get a few good shots.

Alyx does actually smile now, but it is hard to capture on film. I will try harder. (I think Alyx is gorgeous, too. Can you tell these are my babes?) ;>

And I love sweet baby toes. Everyone who sees these beauties say they are definitely dancer's feet. Oh, how I hope.

Tulips and Blankets

In a bit of a frenzy I grabbed my camera the other morning to snap a few shots of my rapidly fading tulips. They were just too gorgeous and all those good intentions I've had of photographing them finally materialized into actual action.

It seems like we've had a rather strange spring - lots of warm and lots of cold all jumbled up together. Snow one week and seventy degree weather the next. Strange indeed; but the flowers have been shown to best advantage with all the sunshine between all the pouring rain (and hail and snow).

On Monday I was feeling so very springy that I coerced the family into eating dinner on the patio. Before the prayer was even said most of us were swaddled in blankets. Needless to say our foray outside did not last long, maybe twenty minutes. I was the chicken that packed it in first (I hate being cold - the older I get the more I think I really am a California girl at heart - the beach, the water, the sun, swimming pools, flowers year-round). Oh, well, at least we made a memory. ;>

The Tree

Thanks to Djeryd our Christmas tree is up. This wonderful little man got home from school one day, tromped up to the attic (the attics are very accessible in this house - yea!!), and hauled down all the Christmas boxes, including the tree. He set up and decorated the tree, then hauled every last box back up to the attic and put everything away! What a great kid!

This year we decided (after getting the idea from some friends) to let every single person in this family put the star on the tree. It all felt rather silly to me to keep putting it on and taking it off, but it kept the kids happy. They were all satisfied, and that counts for a lot.

We also took a family picture in front of the tree this year which we have never done. I think it is a neat tradition that lots of families do, but we've just never thought of it before. It was actually rather exciting for me because we got to drag out the tripod and I got to use the delayed release on my shutter. Very fun to play with the camera. ;>

Before and After: the Entry

Remember this?

And don't you love this?

Ta-dah!

My front entry is finally finished! Yea!

(Sorry the pictures are so stragely oreiented - the area in which to take photograph is very narrow and long - kind of tricky for anything panoramic. I think I need a bigger house.) ;>

Beach Trip

On Saturday we trekked up to Tillamook for a day at the beach. It was in the nineties at home, but the Oregon Coast is no respecter of inland temperatures. It was a seventy-ish, and bit breezy. We forgot to take this into account and left without coats or sweaters, except in the case of my always prepared (sometimes overly-prepared husband). At least he was kind enough to share his only sweater with me. Ah, true love. ;>

I loved watching Anna experience the sea with Daddy by her side. It was very sweet to watch them to together and see that trust that she puts in him.

Sorry there are no real picutres of Djeryd. He spent the whole time with his arm buried in a sand castle trying to fashion a tunnel.

And what would a trip to the beach be without ice cream? Yum!

Fruits and Flowers

Please double click on this image so that you can see it in all of its mouth-watering glory. These are all goodies in my garden right this very second. Baby grapes are growing on a vine which is threatening to overtake my patio. We are eating blueberries like crazy around here, and under-ripe apples (the kids - not me). I am not sure what the fascination is with bitter, hard apples, but the kids can't seem to get enough of them. My father-in-law was very concerned about me thinning the apple tree this year so that the remaining fruit will mature to a large size. Needless to say I did not bother thinning the tree, since I knew (after having three apple trees at our old house) that the kids would gladly do the work for me.

The flowers are a particular joy to me, since I planted them all (excluding the purple hydrangea). The ranunculus were planted this spring from a bag of corms (though, I do not care for the color selection). The roses and echinacea were all planted several years ago in a small rose border at the back of the house. "What?", I hear you say, "I thought you said you planted all the flowers in this picture." I did. Several years ago, Sean and I house-sat while my in-laws went out of town for a week. We decided to put in a small flower border while we were there as a surprise. Now, I get to enjoy beautiful blossoms I planted long ago, never expecting to call them my own.

How can one not be satisfied by all that good, gorgeous stuff?

Blossoms

I wish I had a straw to drink in all that gorgeous color. Enjoy!

A Trip to the Temple

We spent last Saturday morning walking around the grounds of our beautiful Portland Oregon Temple. The weather was gorgeous. I took advantage of the entire family being in their Sunday best and took some new portraits for the living room wall (I love my camera!!!!). I would love to post more pictures, but I have so much trouble importing more than four or five (it does horrible things to my spacing and alignment), that I find it best to take the path of least resistance. I thought a collage would short-cut the problem a little.

(I, obviously, did not take the pictures I am in - Sean and a friend are to thank - respectively).

I am ridiculously proud of this last shot. It is my "Ensign - General Conference issue" photograph.

Silver Creek Falls

We spent Memorial Day at South Silver Creek Falls with family. We started with a lovely hike in the cool of the day. This is such a nice time of year to spend in the woods, as far as bugs go. After our hike we ate lunch on the big grassy lawn along the creek, and the kids played in the water. It has been a long time since we have had such a beautiful Memorial Day. What a blessing! Enjoy the pics!