Michela is one!

I took the opportunity to do Michela's one year old photos when we were down there. Here are a few of my favorites...

Michela's party

We traveled to Walnut Creek this weekend to celebrate Michela's 1st birthday. It was over 100 degrees when we arrived at 4 pm so we were all a little out of our element in that weather!

Since I was the official party photographer, I thought I would share a few...

Abigail loves her cousin!

Michela's new fun toy from her Uncle Marty...

Everyone waited to see how the birthday girl would like her cake. She wanted nothing to do with it!

We even tried again the next day... she still wasn't interested!

We watched her open a couple gifts before we left.

And took a few more pictures...

Michela was a very tired girl so she went down for a nap right before we left on Sunday. We had lots of fun, but were all glad to be home!

Beautiful!

Here's another beautiful girl that I took photos of at my mini-sessions day....

Isn't she adorable!

Happy Birthday Michela!

Michela is 1 today! It's hard to believe how fast time has gone and how much she has grown! Just for a fun walk down memory lane, here's a few photos I took when she was a few days old...

Happy Birthday!

Things

Things I love that I didn't use to even like:

1. Flip flops... have only been able to wear them for the past five years or so. Not sure why I could all of a sudden tolerate them..... but now I can't live without them.

2. Beer (especially Tangerine Wheat)... not sure when this really happened. I didn't like beer at all a couple years ago. It sure would've saved me a lot of money in college if I would've liked it then!

3. Texting... I used to wonder why everyone did this so much... why not just pick up the phone and call? Now I totally get it! It's so much easier if you just need to say one thing and not really have a conversation.

4. Coffee.... I tolerated it in college but didn't get to really like it until after I graduated. Now I can't imagine a morning without it.

5. Sushi... Can't remember exactly when I started to like sushi. Now it's one of my favorite foods. And yes, I do eat the raw stuff. My favorite sushi place is Tomo in Arcata.... especially the Tempura Yam rolls!

6. Vampire books (i.e. the Twilight series)... I would've never thought I would like vampire books. I had no interest in reading the Twilight series. Christina talked me into it saying they were really good. And she was right! It was a very addictive series and now that I am done with it, I am a little bummed.

7. Re-usable grocery bags... I just got my first couple re-usable grocery bags at Costco. It makes me feel like I am being responsible, even though I forget to bring them into the store half of the time.

8. Soccer... I never knew too much about soccer (I still don't), but now that the kids are playing, I really like it. It's a great sport to watch and the kids sure have fun playing it!

9. Overcast days.... they are PERFECT for photography, even if they aren't ideal for wearing shorts!


Things that I don't like that I used to really like:

1. Margaritas (well actually Tequila in any drink)... let's just say bad experience in college. 'Nuff said!

2. White mochas... this is how I got started with espresso drinks when I worked for the bank right out of college. Now they are just too sweet for my taste.

3. Crab.... got sick after eating crab once.... wasn't even the crab, it was the stomach flu, but it still makes me not want to eat it. I can eat it in things, but I just can't eat it straight or on a salad. Bummer!

4. Artificial sweeteners... I used to consume them in sodas, baked goods, and other foods. Now I know how bad they are and plus I really can't stand the taste of them. It's either real sugar or not at all for me!

Things I have never liked:

1. Liver... My mom made this a few times growing up... no offense to her cooking because it wasn't her fault... I just can't stand the taste!

2. Skinny jeans.... these don't look good on anyone, in my opinion!

3. Really big purses... I always think of a diaper bag when I see someone carrying a really big purse. Not that diaper bags are a bad thing, but when you don't have to carry one anymore, you don't want to look like you are carrying one. Know what I mean?

4. Windy weather.... I just can't stand the wind. I would rather have an overcast day than a sunny, windy day.

Now that you know what I like and don't like, I challenge my blogger friends to answer these questions too!

Kids and the horse

Last month when we were doing some cattle work on the ranch, John Egan come out to help. After I left, he took some pictures of the kids riding Salty. Thanks John!

Fortuna wants a Trader Joes

This was my photography job on Monday afternoon. A group of people here are trying to attract Trader Joes to the friendly city of Fortuna. They asked if I would take a group photo so they could send it in to Trader Joes.

The interesting part of this story is that I climbed a ladder.... in a mini skirt and flip flops... and stood on top of a storage shed to take the pictures....

I love....

being a photographer! I did some mini-sessions on Saturday afternoon and it was so much fun. I love capturing the cute expressions that kids make. I will admit that I am MUCH more patient with other people's kids than my own when it comes to photography. I guess that's to be expected.

I have gotten some good feedback from the parents so if they are happy with the photos, then I am very happy! Here's a couple of them...

I have had several people ask me if I am going to do this again. I will definitely do it next fall. I would love to find a time to do it again this fall, but things are so crazy. We'll have to wait and see....

Peanut Butter Striped Delight

**I made this dessert for my mom's birthday yesterday and it got rave reviews... thought I would share it here. **

35 OREO Cookies

6 Tbsp. butter, melted

1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

1/4 cup sugar

3 cups plus 2 Tbsp. cold milk, divided

1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP , thawed, divided

2 pkg. (3.4 oz. each) JELL-O Vanilla Instant Pudding

1/3 cup peanut butter

Process cookies in food processor until fine crumbs form; mix with butter. Press onto bottom of 13x9-inch dish. Refrigerate 10 min. Meanwhile, beat cream cheese, sugar and 2 Tbsp. milk with mixer until well blended. Add 1-1/4 cups Cool Whip; mix well. Spread over crust.

Beat pudding mixes and remaining milk in large bowl with whisk 2 min. Add peanut butter; mix well. Spread over cream cheese layer. Let stand 5 min. or until thickened. Top with remaining Cool Whip.
Refrigerate 4 hours.

What a weekend!

We had a crazy, but fun, weekend. On Saturday we had two soccer games, I ran to Eureka to drop off my photo contest entries, and then I had my portrait mini-sessions at Rohner Park. I had 21 sittings so I was very happy with the turn-out. I was also very happy with how the photos turned out.... I hope all the parents are happy too!

We had a fun, relaxing dinner with the Victorines on Saturday night. They did an awesome prime rib roast from Clint's Pacific Pastures. The kids each stayed with one set of grandparents so they had a fun night too!

Sunday was my Mom's birthday..... Happy Birthday Mom! We had dinner and dessert to celebrate. We also celebrated Charlie's birthday and Chet and Karen's anniversary.

It was a great weekend.....

Wanted: Computers

Abigail's teacher is looking for some computers for his classroom. I am pretty sure they can be a PC or a Mac. I am pretty sure the only requirement is that they are internet-ready to be plugged into one of the classroom's data ports. Let me know if you have a computer you want to get rid of that you think might work.... Thanks!

Sometimes you get surprised

I went to return "the shoes" to Famous Footwear yesterday.... and it was uneventful. The clerk didn't question it.... she already knew of the situation, and gave me my $50 back! I was actually preparing myself for some drama so I was pleasantly surprised.

I tried to go file some papers at the courthouse yesterday (long story) and it was closed for "furlough Wednesday." I was a little annoyed that I drove all the way for nothing, but got over it quickly. Today, I went back to the courthouse and got things done quickly and had a very helpful clerk filing my paperwork. Again, I was pleasantly surprised.

It is very nice when you are expecting a bad experience, but instead, get a good one....

Abigail's sleepover

Abigail had a sleepover last night for her last birthday celebration for #9. I am not sure how much sleep the girls got, but I am pretty sure they had fun! We had pizza here for dinner and then I took them to Healthsport's Open Gym from 6-9 pm. After we got home, they watched TV, played with their American Girl dolls and had fun girly time!

In the morning, the girls had huge cinnamon rolls for breakfast. We stuck a #9 candle in Abigail's and sang to her...

All in all, it was a great party for Abigail. Everyone got along, even if they didn't get much sleep...

Can you see us?

Watch this 3 minute video; did you see my and Andy's picture? The video is a promotional thing for Ranching for Profit. We've both been to their week-long school which teaches you how to make your ranching business more profitable. Now we are involved in Executive Link, which is the next step to help keep your ranching business profitable. Our business is on a board of directors with 3-5 other businesses and we advise each other on our businesses as a board of directors would. Check it out...

Celebration #2

and the celebrating continues... Andy and I took Abigail to the Brewery last night... her choice. J.T. was invited too, but wanted to go to Grandma Pam and Grandpa Charlie's instead. He said he didn't like anything at the Brewery. It was actually nice to be able to spend some quality time with just her.... Here's a couple photos that I took..

Finally! Got my phone call

from the district manager of Famous Footwear today. He was very nice and definitely wanted to make things right. He said he will call the Eureka store manager and tell him that I am allowed to return the shoes. He also said that he will find out who the original cashier was that sold me the used shoes. I wouldn't want to be that person!

This ought to be interesting... anyone want to come along? I will report back after I return the next week.

9

Today is Abigail's birthday. All birthdays are special, of course, but this one is even more special! Today, 9/9/09, she turned 9 years old!!

We let her open one gift this morning.... she was VERY excited!!

In case you can't tell from the picture, she got a hot pink Sansa Fuze MP3 player. I am getting it all set up and charged while she is at school so she can use it when she gets home!

Birthday celebration #1

We had the first of several celebrations for Abigail's 9th birthday last night with all the grandparents.

She could be the 3rd generation to go to Cal Poly....

Fall is here, but Winter is coming...

She wanted nine candles and the "9" candle on her cake...

The birthday girl with all the grandparents...

Pool Party

We went to a pool party for cousin Braylon's 1st birthday on Saturday. The kids loved that they got to swim! Here's a few photos that I took...

It was a great party!

Signs of Fall

I know it's not officially Fall for a couple more weeks, but it sure feels like it now. Here are some things that tell me that Fall is here...

1. It's chilly in the mornings, but then turns out sunny and beautiful. In terms of weather, Fall is my favorite season.

2. The leaves are starting to turn. I love all the colors.

3. There are spiders and spiderwebs everywhere! Ick, ick, and ick!

4. I have started thinking about Christmas shopping and gifts... a little crazy, I know!

and one of my favorite things about Fall....

5. Starbucks brought back its Pumpkin Spice Latte!