experimenting...

FIRST ~ a HUGE disclaimer!!
I don't know the first thing about taking pictures.
I just know I enjoy messing around with it.
And I haven't even moved my camera off AUTO yet!
I hear there is a whole new world to explore when I get the nerve.

So with that said...

One of my favorite things to do is play with my photos in a post editing program.
I don't have Photoshop so I use two simple and FREE programs.
One is Picasa and the other picnik.
I don't mess around too much.
Just some tweaking here and there.

Both of these shots were taken within minutes of each other.

In this one I enhanced the cool tones, deepened some of the shadows and then added just a little bit of highlights back in.

In this one I enhanced the warmer tones, barely touched the shadows and then added a few highlights.

I really like them both.

The top ones just feels watery and swimming pool-ish.

The bottom one feels warm and summery.

more experimenting...

One of my favorite subjects...
my kiddos!

In the first two pictures I brought in more shadows to darken up his eyes.

In these two shots I left the shadows and highlights alone.
I added some saturation so the blue of his eyes was enhanced and then I softened up the edges.

P-u-leeeeeeeeeese!!

I love this kid.

Is it him or the flowers??

Cooper loves to play at Ethan's house.

When it is time for him to come home he usually steals a flower from Ethan's entryway and brings it home to me.

This time was no different.

He came through the door with not just one flower in hand, but two.

He said to me:

Mom! Mom!
(putting the bloom right smack on my nose)
You have to smell this one first.
It is just delicious!


Sigh...
just delicious indeed.

Our ward is what? CORNERSTONE!!

Back from another year at

GIRLS CAMP!

I'm sad this picture does not include all 34 of our girls!

We had a troop - that is for sure.

And such fun ~ every single one of them!

Our Stake Camp theme this year was

BELIEVE IN ME.

It carried so many meanings and the Stake did an

incredible job of pulling out every possible angle

and providing the Young Women a beautiful experience.

Sister Cavenee in our stake wrote a song especially for camp

to compliment the theme. She was truly inspired.

The words are so sweet and tender and yet carry such a power

that it was always a rush to sing this song and hear

the strength and spirit just pouring from these young ladies.

Goosebumps, again and again.

The Spirit always confirms truth but

high in the mountaintops it is a whole other experience.

I was blessed to be surrounded by these Young Women

for nearly a week and I marvel on every occasion at these

amazing YOUTH OF ZION.

The Lord is preparing them for incredible things.

And spending time with Maddison is such a highlight for me.

I love you Sis. 17 and then some!

2008~2009 School Year ends with much celebration!!

Maddison is now a freshman and ready for Highland High.

I, on the other hand, am not sure I'm ready for her to keep on this fast track to growing up.

You had an amazing year Sis!

Cooper sang his heart out and moved and grooved in the kindergarten program.

His performance pleasantly surprised me.

And I could never say enough about his fabulous teachers.

Thank you Mrs. Monsegur and Mrs. D - we love you!

What a fun night!

The girls got a bit caught up in the excitement and left a piece of themselves on the tour bus...

yeah, they kissed it.

The Highland Jr High Ladycanes basketball team ended the season with a

CHAMPIONSHIP!!

It was amazing to see Maddison try something new, work hard, improve and be a part of such a fun group of young ladies.

And thanks Coach Little for believing in her.

Davis' Little League team had an awesome season.

They battled an undefeated team for a place in the championship game and lost in the final moments of the game. It was a nail biter!!

They were a great bunch of boys and Davis and Brent enjoyed being together for another season of ball.

The Trailer

The Twilight Saga: New Moon 'Trailer'

Come on! You know you want a sneek peek.

The only person who looks good wearing a Cub's uniform

would be my six year old son.

Cooper had soooo much fun playing his first year of Little League baseball.

I thought he might struggle at having patience with the other boys that don't eat, drink and sleep baseball like we do. But he was just thrilled to be playing the game in a uniform and on a field and being part of a team. It was fun to watch him play and love it as much as his dad.

Cooper did have a size advantage over most of the boys on his team. Especially in this case...

A lesson in history

When you ask someone in our family about an

Arizona historical fact

and then give them the assignment to put together a project

that tells all about it...

This is what you'd get!

Beside getting help with the initial structure for his

rendition of the famous blooper over Jeter's head by Gonzo,

Davis did this on his own.

You set the bar high, my son!!

Now what...

I never thought that this accomplishment...

...would cause me such mixed emotions.

What does it mean when your baby can tie his own shoes??

I never encouraged him to learn to tie his shoes.

I just always did it for him.

Because when your baby can tie his own shoes

there is nothing left for you to do.

Now what...

I'm not needed around here anymore.

Maybe they are hiring at the mall.

Lead me, guide me - and He does.

Our ward camp leaders and myself went to LoMia on Saturday to pick out a hike for our Young Women this summer.

We felt the Spirit guide us as we walked and talked.

The Lord loves these girls.

He wants them to have testimony building experiences that will sustain them through this journey on earth and see them to the temple.

As leaders we are only a source to provide those experiences.

I'm so grateful for mountain top inspiration.

waiting...

My friend emailed me this morning. I loved what she shared.

Andrea,

As I was walking out of church yesterday, I walked by a certain family of handsome men and one beautiful daughter. The handsome men were sitting on the planter, enjoying the sun, saying hello to passer-bys, conversing with one another. The beautiful daughter was standing impatient, watching her brothers and Dad, and as I walked by, I heard this, "Why does it always take Mom so long? I swear, she talks to EVERYBODY she sees!"

It immediately took me back to my teen years, remembering the Sundays we waited for my Mom to make her way out of the building. And then to my daughters, waiting impatiently on me as I said my goodbyes every Sunday.
This whole episode made me think of two things:
1. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
2. And I am very grateful for friends to say goodbye to while my family waits.
Have a great week!

Vickie

I'm smiling today and thinking of wonderful friends and a super wonderful daughter! The circle of life goes on.

And soon I will stand in my friend's shoes.

And Maddison will stand in mine.

And she'll have a daughter tapping an impatient toe.

Waiting for her.

missing you

As much as I love being here, there is something I miss about home.

Family.

This is sweet Sophie...

and this is magnificent Maeci Jo...

Kami and Brooke, my darling nieces, make some adorable babies.

Sigh...

(((((hugs)))))

I love you all!

I don't know why this post is all messed up. I've tried to correct it. It looks great when I'm done editing and then when I post...I get this mess!!

Lessons from a lemon bush

I've never much thought much about lemon bushes other than I'd like to plant one in our yard.
I have, however, spent a great deal of time enjoying the harvest from the bush.
Thanks to dear friends who spare me the hardship of picking the fruit, I am able to benefit from the fruits of their labor ~ literally.

On a quick trip to California to share the happy occasion of our nephew getting baptized we stayed with Grandpa Brown.
He has a mammoth lemon bush.
Grandpa had picked and shared a countless number of lemons. Over and over he would harvest and share his fruit.
Until all that was left were these tricky little ones deep in the middle.

These guys are protected by strong, pointy thorns and they hurt!
I know because I fell victim to their sharp, nasty stab.

Right under the fingernail.

So my hero husband went in after those lucious little lemons.

Time and time again he would go back into the thorns
and then emerge with these beauties!

















He has battle wounds to prove that this was no job for
a sissy
or whimp
or whatever you want to call me.

Maddison came out to observe for a time.

As I was watching, my mind had drawn several symbolic messages from what I was seeing.

I asked Maddie is she could draw any symbolism for herself.

She just looked at me, rolled her eyes and said something about not having a clue what I was talking about.

OUCH!

Teenagers are great aren't they.

She may just as well as poured lemon juice in my wound.

Right under my fingernail.

So I've spent a little more time thinking about lemon bushes and not just the fruit they bear.

And I'll humor you (or me) with one of the many thoughts I had...

There is no sweet without the bitter.

And thank goodness there is bitter because it makes the sweet oh so lovely!!

or D&C 29:39 would have covered it too.

He loves her ~ he loves her not

A scream of disgust flew out of Maddie's

room the other night.

She had turned down her bed

and found this on her pillow.

Cooper laughed until he cried.

He got the reaction he was hoping for!

and all the while...

...he most definitely loves her!!

Hip Hip Hooray!

Another Academic Night for Maddison.

You ARE all that

and

WE LOVE YOU!

Whatcha doin'???

Making strawberry jam!!

Time to refill the freezer.

This...

plus this...

plus this...

equals this...

sparkling clean grout throughout your entire house!

Thanks hon! I love you to the moon and back!

The Sound of Music

You must see this.

After all, who doesn't love Julie Andrews and the childhood memories of this magical movie.

http://www.silverbearcafe.com/private/04.09/antwerp.html

I was smiling just watching.

People just making people happy.

Enjoy and have a very happy day!

If you can't find us at home...

you can find us at the T-ball Little League field,

or the Minor's Little League field,

or the Junior High basketball court,

or the D-backs games at Chase field.

Such a crazy busy, happy time of year!

Cooper's first game

Keep your eye on the ball..

Keep your swing level...

Let 'er rip!!

Seeing through my son's eyes

While Grandpa Brown was visiting this past week, he and his friend took Davis to the Desert Botanical Garden to see the spectacular blown glass art by Chihuly called The Nature of Glass. The blown glass was woven throughout the garden in a grand display. I sent my camera along with Davis (first time photographer) and told him to capture it all.

And so he did!

I found that seeing the glass, flowers and butterflies through his eyes was a wonder in and of itself. It was such a pleasure to have Davis give me the play by play of why he took a particular picture and what he was trying to capture.

He is amazing!

These are only a few of the nearly 75 pictures he took.

I hope you'll click on the collage and take a look up close.

Thanks for taking this one Susie. I love it.

An English lesson

Tucking Cooper in bed the other night, he pulled me in TIGHT and with arms wrapped around my neck said,

I just love you so, so, so, so much!

I kissed him repeatedly on the cheek and said,

I love you so, so, so, so much too!

Then he said,

No Mom. I said I love you more than two.

I had to think for a minute to catch the homonym.

I love this kid more than TWO.
More like SEVENTEEN!

It's what we do

Diamondback Baseball!!

Spring Training game in Tucson