Photography Fun

Hi Friends and Family,

Today after shopping at BJ's for the wedding I'm helping to cater next weekend I decided I wanted to try my hand at photographing moving water. Really wanted to practice slowing it down. Here are a few shots so that you can see how I did. It was fun and I had a little extra surprise while out shooting moving water.

Quote of the day: Use what talents you possess. The woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best.

Enjoy. . .

My Sweet Meghan

Most of the time I talk about our other children and Meghan gets a little left out. So today I wanted to write a little bit about Meghan. As you can see from the photo above that Meghan just loves Noah. She lights up when she is around babies and little children. In days past she would be happy wherever she was and always made her own fun. But lately she hasn't been herself and isn't happy unless she is with babies or little children. With the onset of more seizures and other issues, she just hasn't been her usual self. Right now Meghan is going through some adjustments with new medications. We are hoping that soon the doctors will get everything squared away and she will return to being a happy go lucky young woman again. This has been a really challenging time for all of us as we adjust to all the mood swings, seizures and other issues. We all just love Meghan so much and want her to get better soon. Hang in there Meg and keep working with your doctors so you can get back to doing what you like to do most.

Quotes

Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.
~Mother Teresa

I just love quotes. In a brief sentence or two you can really be inspired or moved. That’s why you’ll see at least one quote on my blog entries. Lots of times they will go along with my entry for the day, but others they won’t. Today I was inspired by the quote above. It really is true. So many times we remember the kind things that people say about us. Kind words or a compliment can make us feel so much better about ourselves and some days it may just have been the only nice thing that happened to us that day. Maybe, just maybe, this quote will inspire me to say at least one nice thing to someone each day.

To my family, friends and fellow divas. . . Thanks for blessing my life and making me feel special. Not sure what I would do without each and everyone of you.

Noah, Kenny and Keith

Hey!

Well, I'm back from Dallas, Houston, and Austin. It was a whirlwind trip, very short, but very sweet. Got to see Noah for a few hours. He is really growing and still the same little happy baby boy. This weekend he learned to pull himself up in the crib and greeted Adam with giggles and smiles after his nap. Fortunately, we didn't take the new camera with us to Houston, so Adam got the "shot". This is Noah at 9 months, standing for the first time in his crib.

The concert was great. My sister, Shelley, Nichole and I had a wonderful time. Keith Urban was fabulous as usual. He is so nice to look at. I was pretty sneaky and managed to slip by the lady checking tickets and snuck down in front. I was pretty proud of myself for that move. It was wonderful being so close to Keith! No, I didn't have my camera. Shelley and Nichole convinced me to leave it in the hotel room. What a mistake. I never seem to have it when I need it most. :-) Well, I'll just have to go see them again!

Kenny Chesney was great. I have wanted to see him to experience what all the hype was about. He has won entertainer of the year 4 of the last 5 years. (The losing year was to Keith, who we all know is really the Entertainer of the Year!) Kenny was very good. His stage was set up nicely and had great lighting effects and big screens to make it easier for those in the back (us) to see him. He looked like he was having a good time and put on a great show. I can see why he sells out and people really seemed to enjoy the show. Keith is still my favorite, but Kenny was indeed very entertaining.

Quote of the Day: "Country music is three chords and the truth." ~Harlan Howard

My Very First Award

Several weeks ago, July 25th to be exact . . . I received a very prestigious award. The Brilliante Blog Award. My dear friend Debra Rector did the honors. She has the most awesome blog and you can view it here. Debra's blog contains funny and memorable stories as well as fabulous photography. Check it out, you won't be disappointed.

There are several rules to follow once you receive this award. I might have a little trouble with number 3, but I'll try to complete it.

1) Place the logo on your blog

2) Add a link to the person who awarded you

3) Nominate at least 7 other blogs

4) Add links to those blogs on yours

5) Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs.

Here are my favorite blogs:

Jamie Payne's Our Crazy Life: Jamie is such a wonderful mother, friend and scrapbooker. She also happens to be Debra's daughter. Her blog is lots of fun to read and reminds me of those days when my kids were young and life was crazy all the time.

Chere Mortensen's Miss Priss' Follies: Chere is such a fun loving adventuresome woman. What a dear friend and always so giving and helpful. Check out her blog for some great tips from her favorite handyman.

Pam Griner's Pam's Little Blog: Pam is the perfect southern lady. Always fun, happy and a great joy to be around. So glad she has joined our diva group.

Marlee Mortensen's Miss Marlee's Blog: Marlee is Chere's daughter. While I don't know her very well she is a darling young woman. Loves to have fun, just like her mother! Keep up the good work Marlee and blog about all your fun times.

That's all the blogs I can think of to nominate. Hopefully all of you will enjoy reading the ladies blogs as much as I do.

Quote of the Day: "The better part of one's life consists of his friendships." - Abraham Lincoln

More on Hawaii

Today I"m writing a little bit more on our Hawaiian vacation. It's actually a good thing, because it helps to remember what a great time we had.

Our first stop was the Island of Kauai, also known as the Honeymoon Isle. Kauai is the oldest island in the Hawaiian chain. This has got to be one of the most beautiful places I have ever been and Kauai can truly be called paradise. Believe it or not, this island has not changed much in 24 years. Mitch and I actually spent our very first anniversary there, along with my sister and Nichole. The lack of changes can be attributed to the hurricane they had in 1992 and the fact that much of the island is inaccessible by car. The island has the famous NaPali coastline that runs along one entire side of the island. All of the beaches there are only accessible by boat or hiking. The scenery is quite breathtaking with steep cliffs and waterfalls all along the coastline. If you ever get an opportunity, take a boat ride along the NaPali Coast, it is well worth the time and money.

The first adventure we took was to sail on a katamaran along the coast. The day was a typical Hawaiian day, but lacked a lot of wind. Our sailing trip was perfect with a very calm sea and clear water. We saw dolphins, a monk seal, lots of waterfalls, beaches. We were even fortunate and saw and swam with a sea turtle on our snorkle adventure. (We really need to purchase a decent underwater camera for our next trip.) The scenery was as spectacular as we expected and was a great way to begin our trip. Click on the photo below for some scenes of the NaPali Coast along with some other shots taken on the Island of Kauai.

Finally!

I know it's been quite awhile since I last posted. Things have been extremely busy. The trip to Hawaii, working late and catching up with the Cheer Booster treasury have taken up valuable blogging time. However, tonight that's changing. I think I'm finally ready to post a few Hawaii pictures. They are going to be out of order as the visit to the volcano park was on the last portion of our trip. But these are the shots I’ve been working on in Photoshop Elements.

During the 4 years we lived in Hawaii we were never able to see an actual volcano eruption. Fortunately for us, while we were on vacation this year there was a rather large eruption taking place at Kilauea. After much cajoling I was able to convince Mitch to take a hike out to the viewing spot to watch the lava flow into the ocean. We had to stop at the hardware store to purchase flashlights since it would be pitch black and a short walk on the lava to return to the car. It was absolutely amazing to see the power of the steam and heat as the 2400 degree lava flowed into the ocean.

The photo above is truly amazing to me. Walking out along the lava you notice that it has killed everything in its path. However, there are places where the ferns are starting to poke up through all that rock. Hard to believe this is what the earth may have looked like millions of years ago.

Quote of the day: I'd rather regret the things I've done than regret the things I haven't done. ~Lucille Ball