Watching You Grow

Tonight I have been going through some files looking for things to add to my portfolio and I found this great shot of my Xsister in law and my nephew on his first birthday. He was covered in cake and she was about to dunk him in the tub. I love the way she looked up at me. It was just one of those moments.

My little ladies

Everyday that passes is another day that my babies grow into ladies. We went to the Elgin Christmas Tree Farm today for their Pumpkin Festival. I can't believe how big my girls are getting. They have changed so much in the last year. Sometimes I look at them and wonder where the time went!

Evacuees and Pedicures

Mimmie enjoyed the massaging chairs.....and the drink!

My grandparents evacuated on Friday to avoid Hurricane Ike. Since we received no rain even from the storm we all took off for the nail salon. Mimmie and I enjoyed a Margarita and a pedicure. The kids got a mini manicure and flowers on their toes. :)

Clara's Bible

Clara was presented with her Bible at church last Sunday. All children who are 2 years old, 1st graders and 6th graders are presented a Bible at the start of the school year. Clara was so excited because this is her first "real" Bible. She has spent the week "reading" her Bible. Last night she told me she was half way done. Wow! I'm impressed :)

100 things to do before I die

I just read that Dave Freeman, co-author of 100 Things to Do Before You Die: Travel Events You Just Can't Miss, passed away after falling and hitting his head at the very youthful age of 47...Wow. Talk about not ever being promised tomorrow....
I have had my list completed for quite some time...it was one of the first things I did after Bryan and I separated. Reading about Mr. Freeman's sudden death made me pull out the list and up date it...I was excited to see that I have actually accomplished some of the items on the list. I also needed to revise 2 things (one was duplicate, one no longer mattered.) Here is my list of 100 things I want to do before I die....

1. Throw a huge party and invite every one of my friends. May 5, 2007
2. Make love on a forest floor.
3. Shower in a waterfall
4. Attend Mardi Gras in New Orleans
5. Make love on a train
6. Attend the opera in a major US city
7. Learn to ballroom dance properly.
8. Fall deeply in love -- helplessly and unconditionally.
9. Drink beer at Oktoberfest in Munich
10. Spend New Year's in an exotic location.
11. Hike the Great Wall of China
12. Own one very expensive but absolutely wonderful business suit.
13. Scuba dive off Australia's Great Barrier Reef.
14. Have one of my photos hang in a museum
15. See the ruins of Pompeii
16. Attend the ballet in a major US city
17. Show up at the airport with a bag and some cash—by a ticket to a random place and travel there just for the hell of it.
18. Photograph the Northern Lights
19. Kiss someone I've just met on a blind date.-Completed 10/2006
20. Meet someone famous.
21. Have sex in a 5 star hotel
22. Have sex in a sleazy motel
23. Learn how to play golf
24. Cruise on Route 66
25. Party at Carnival in Rio
26. Visit the pyramids in Egypt
27. Fly first class.
28. Dance in the rain
29. Visit NYC once in each of the seasons-Fall 2005
30. See fall foliage in the north east
31. Eat Dim Sum in San Francisco's Chinatown
32. Kiss my love in the Eiffel Tower
33. Have great seats to see a Broadway show
34. Go whale watching in Alaska
35. Master the Karma Sutra
36. Take a cruise
37. Call in sick when I am not ill
38. Buy diamond jewelry from Tiffany's
39. Visit Washington DC in the Spring when the Cherry Blossoms are in bloom
40. Get married to a wonderful man who will take care of me and the girls
41. Tour a vineyard and stomp grapes to make my own wine August 2008, stomped grapes
42. Visit Michelangelo's Sistene Chapel in Rome
43. Eat and drink my way through Italy
44. Kiss the Blarney Stone
45. Ride on the Orient Express
46. Get out of debt-In Progress
47. Experience a White Christmas
48. Go on a photo safari in Africa
49. Send flowers to someone for no reason
50. Have flowers sent to me for no reason
51. Visit my family's castle in Germany
52. Have one of my photos published
53. Run a 5k
54. Retire
55. Eat truffles
56. Take a candlelight bath with a friend
57. Sleep under the stars
58. Ride the Trolleys in San Francisco
59. Raise my children-In Progress
60. Have grandchildren
61. Visit all 50 states
62. Eat real jerk barbecue, preferably from a roadside jerk hut in Jamaica itself, smoky, tender and spicy enough to make you cry
63. Get a massage on a beach
64. Love my job-In Progress
65. Take care of someone who was totally shit faced
66. Visit all 7 continents
67. Buy everyone in a bar a drink
68. Stay up all night talking with a lover and watch the sun come up together
69. Spend an entire weekend completely naked
70. Buy a new car with cash
71. Be kissed a midnight on New Year's Eve
72. Take a girls’ weekend trip some place tropical
73. Join the mile high club
74. Sit front row, center at a concert of my favorite band/artist
75. Drive the Autobahn
76. Learn to snow ski
77. Visit a Concentration Camp and meditate there
78. Visit Africa and help a child left orphaned by AIDS
79. Sunbathe on a nude beach
80. Do something kind for a complete stranger and expect nothing in return
81. Take a helicopter ride over the Grand Canyon
82. Invest in the Stock Market
83. Spend 3 months getting into optimum shape
84. Swim a mile
85. Save all of my change for an entire year and then use it to do something frivolous
86. Attend a fashion show in Milan
87. Swim in the Dead Sea
88. Explore the Smithsonian Museum
89. Witness the launch of the Space Shuttle
90. Let someone feed me peeled, seedless grapes
91. Write a love letter
92. Spend a day at a spa getting the works
93. Get a passport
94. Photograph a polar bear in the wild
95. Wake up early, pack a breakfast picnic, hike up a hill/mountain and watch the sunrise
96. Wake up next to someone who makes my world a better place.
97. Have my garage organized enough to park my car in it
98. Landscape the yard and create an incredible patio area with a water feature
99. Pay for my children to go to college
100. Continue to revise this list so that I continue to try new things!!

First day of School 2008!

Today was the first day of school for my big girls....FIRST AND THIRD GRADERS!!!!!

Started the morning off with a healthy breakfast...frosted flakes for Clara and honey nut cheerios for Emmie....
we remembered apples for the teachers
the traditional shot in front of the garage for Mama--I was begging them to be sweet...
backpacks and booties....
Cheese!!!--goofy grin from the first grader. She was all smiles today!
someone is too cool for school....

okay Mama---that's enough, you can go to work now......

My babies are getting too big! Seems like only yesterday they were in diapers and now they are chasing boys on the playground.

Biker Babes

My girls jumped in on the end of one of my recent shoots. My friend Joanne and her boyfriend Lance wanted a shoot with the Harley. My girls were in awe of the motorcycle. Lance was so sweet and told them that after we were done with the adults' shoot they could take a few pictures on the bike. Emma took the opportunity to run upstairs, change her clothes and do her hair and makeup. Clara was content jumping on the bike as is, although I did insist that she wash the blizzard off her face before any photos were taken.