McMillan Photography

Kallie's Purple Hair

2010-07-05T15:26:00.006-06:00

Crazy Weather

2010-07-01T07:59:00.004-06:00

This was the storm that came through town a few weeks ago! Mat was driving home from work on Hwy 10 and my car ended up with a shattered windshield. Thankfully it didn't hit our side of town as hard as others or I'm sure the windshield would have been gone!

Kaylee

2010-06-30T08:44:00.005-06:00

Dance Dance!

2010-01-26T18:32:00.003-07:00

Kallie at her best...while she's a dance class!

Isn't She Lovely...

2010-01-25T14:35:00.003-07:00

Kaylee Ann was born on the 22nd of this month! She is so tiny and just breathtakingly beautiful. I know her mom, Sherri through work and was nice enough to let me come by and snap a few pictures of her new one.

Ellie

2009-12-20T18:11:00.005-07:00

Almost two years ago I had the pleasure of shooting a long time friends wedding. Danielle and Mike invited me to be apart of their life and it was so much fun! Then a little over a year later I get to go to a baby shower for Miss Ellie. She wasn't born yet and I was so excited to get to take pictures of Danielle's big tummy (no offense), but the weather didn't seem to want to cooperate with us everytime we planned pictures. Then Ellie made her arrival and I tried many times to get up there to visit. But fate just seemed to be against it! Finally after almost FOUR LONG MONTHS, I was able to visit Danielle, Mike and Ellie.

She is the most adorable little girl, and Kallie just thought she was the "bees knees!" I think the only thing that upset Kallie is that I was taking pictures of Ellie instead of her!

Kelti

2009-12-17T10:00:00.003-07:00

Now this is a special little girl. She has been through so much in her short little life and is still just as happy as can be. I was able to meet Kelti for the first time at Dani's baby shower in August. We (Kelti and I) had a blast. I crawled around on the floor with her and we had a grand ol' time. That was ofcourse, before I shoved my big huge camera in her face! It was so hard to crack a smile from this one, but she is adorable just the same.

LORELAI

2009-12-14T21:23:00.004-07:00

This girl makes me smile. Kallie and Lorelai had a blast playing together. They are a lot alike because they are both so out going!

Ballet

2009-12-06T09:16:00.005-07:00

This was both Kallie and my first Ballet recital. She was so fun to watch, with wonder and amazement. Kallie started dance class this year in September. All she talks about is Miss Chapin, her dance class helper that is in ballet. We've gone to the park to watch Chapin dance and now of course we couldn't miss the OJC Dance recital. Kallie was so funny because as soon as Chapin walked on for her solo dance, she leaned over a whispered "Isn't her dress beautiful!!" I hope I never forget that moment.

Goodness I have a lot to learn about that type of photography. I did try my hand a few and here are the ones that I like..

Kids at weddings

2009-12-03T13:46:00.005-07:00

Even though I'm at a wedding for the Bride and Groom I can't help but get caught up in the kids that are there. It never fails you have one talking through the ceremony or that they are the first ones out on the dance floor. No matter what they are always some of the funnest parts of weddings. I love trying to get pictures of their facial expressions and all the cute things they do. Here are a few more from Tiffany;s and Gary's wedding.

Moments

2009-12-01T19:06:00.007-07:00

There are so many things that I love about weddings. They are always fast pace (unless they are running late then it's just crazy), There is so much emotion behind the scenes and during the ceremony, the bride and groom, kids...I could go on and on. I just love weddings, they make my heart smile. But nothing makes me smile more than when a Father and Daughter find that special someone to add to their family. This was the first time I've photographed a wedding that had a commitment ceremony for their daughter in their ceremony. Here are a few of the moments that I thought we special.

Brittany was able to walk her father down the isle.

Most Handsome Man

2009-11-30T22:14:00.006-07:00

This past weekend I had the pleasure of meeting on of the most handsome ring bearers ever! Well they were both cuties! But this post is dedicated to Caden Cole (Shannon tell me how to spell it!!). He was a cutie pie and a real gentleman all night! ;o)

Kallie's Christmas Wish

2009-11-18T20:58:00.003-07:00

I love my daughter to bits. Lord knows I do, but I think this is one Christmas wish I'm not going to be able to help with!

Kallie is on the verge of turning 4, this December. She is so adorable and has decided that she needs a sister. She has been asking for one for a very long time but Mat and I just kind of blow her off, by saying "Well, we're going to wait and see if Daddy gets pregnant!" Not only has telling her that blown up in our faces but she has figured that since everyone is asking her what she is asking Santa Claus for, she might as well ask for that sister she hasn't gotten yet.

While we were in Texas for the funeral, we were able to meet Kedron, my cousin Ronni Jo's new baby. He is the cutest little thing I've ever seen and Kallie and I both got our baby fixes (for awhile) with him. Not only did she love holding a baby, but it solidified the fact that she wants a sister. Every time she held Kedron, he cried. So she walked away from him saying "We don't want a brother, huh? They cry too much...boys just cry TOO MUCH!"

Here are some funny pictures of the first time she was able to hold Mr. Kedron.

I Love Veils

2009-11-12T22:59:00.003-07:00

These pictures speak for themselves.

Memories

2009-11-11T15:07:00.008-07:00

Yesterday was my Papa's birthday. I can't tell you how old he is because I honestly don't know...to me, my Grandparents are still young...and they are, young at heart. As a I grew up my sister's and I often visited during our summer breaks and we have some of the most treasured memories with them. When our families get together I'm usually the one who is doing impressions of all Grandma and Grandpa or even Great Granny. We all usually laugh so hard we are crying by the end. I believe that they are two of the most loving people in this world. Not just because they are my family, but because they choose to love every member of their family, whether we all get along or not, despite our failings.

This past September Mat and I went to Texas for my Great Uncle Melvin's funeral. While we were there I was surrounded by all my childhood memories, so I decided to try to capture them as best I could, that way as Kallie grows up she can look back and see who they were and what my stories are all about.

There is always a project of some kind going on at their (my grandparents) house. Grandma is forever saving things because she is going to use it some day in a craft project or scrap booking. Not mention all the things she's crocheted for us all. And Grandpa is usually doing something in his shop for one of us grand kids.

Cross Stiched Kallie

2009-08-04T13:04:00.006-06:00

My Cousin, Andrea, does the most beautiful cross-stiching. She knows about a company that you can send photographs to and they turn them into a pattern to follow. She was generous enough to do one for Mat and I. I chose a picture of Kallie that has to be one of my absolute favorites when she was about a year and half. This is what it looks like.... Aren't the details amazing? Look how little those stitches are!!!!

This is what the picture looked like that she used as a pattern....isn't the likeness amazing?

Giraffe

2009-07-22T14:15:00.003-06:00

If one looked at me like this........

I'd proabably do this too!

Sisters....What more can I say?

2009-07-17T18:46:00.003-06:00

Pure Joy

2009-07-06T22:46:00.002-06:00

I think these pictures say it all.....

Stratosphere

2009-06-10T17:34:00.007-06:00

Vegas

2009-06-07T21:06:00.003-06:00

Megan

2009-05-26T12:22:00.003-06:00

Yesterday was a sad day for Me. I found out one of our doggies died. Megan was adopted from the Dumb Friends League in Denver. She cam from an abused home but had the sweetest personality. She stayed with Mat and I for 2 years until Kallie was born. She and Kallie didn't quite see eye to eye so my In-Laws decided instead of giving her to someone we didn't know that they wanted her. She was a good dog and I like to think had a good life with us. She died of old age, but the weird thing about it is she waited for her buddy Skippy to come be with her before she let go. Maybe she knew that BJ was going to need some companionship for awhile.

Just for Mirada

2009-05-15T20:06:00.002-06:00

Here is Miranda (or should I say her belly) and Mr. Brayden. He is so funny with the Baby bump! I think when I took these she was around 12 weeks. I can't wait to steal some more pictures at the end of the month!

Polka Dot

2009-05-09T16:57:00.007-06:00

I still really don't exactly understand how we ended up with Mr. or Mrs. Polka Dot. I do know however that it was mostly my doing that caused us to have yet another animal in our house.

It's not very often Kallie and I get the day just to ourselves any more so I felt like a feild trip so to speak for Easter. Kallie and I decided we would go look at the chicks and ducks at the local feed store. She loves animals and takes every chance she can get to go see one or two or more. It was a blast to see her looking and asking so many questions about all the little chicks and the woman that owns the feed store was so patient with her and answered all her questions and explained about what types of Chickens, Ducks, Geese...well explained them all to her. It wasn't long before we were out front looking at the bunnies when she asked if she could hold one. After they got it out for her she was determined that it was hers and we were taking it home. (I was thinking along other lines at first) Then after we ran the rest of our errands Kallie was still talking about her bunny. Not THE bunny HER bunny. So I decided why don't we call Mammo Christie and tell her about the bunny. Pretty soon into the conversation, what does little Miss do? She asks Mammo to buy her that bunny. It got to the point where Christie told her okay, you come and see me and I'll buy you that bunny. SO, to make a long story shorter..We went to Cheyenne Wells for Easter and Kallie has a bunny now. We went through several names before she settled on Polka Dot. So here are some fun pictures of the chicks and Kallie with her bunny.

Tutu??

2009-05-08T08:56:00.004-06:00

This is what happens when I get bored

The Wolf Family

2009-05-06T09:34:00.009-06:00

Nicole, Jerran, Keegan and Baby (Lincoln) let me have the pleasure of doing a family
shoot for them while Nicole was pregnant. I'm still very much learning how to pose/what my style of Family and pregnancy pictures are and the graciously put up with my fumbling around! They were so cute! When I asked what the baby's name would be they kind of looked at each other and said "it's still up in the air." This was like 2 weeks before the baby was born so I thought they were crazy. But now little Lincoln is here and Nicole even let me snag a few pictures of him for all of you to see.

Okay I have more to add, but my Internet is being dumb...so after I nap I'll post the rest!

Alright now back to regularly scheduled programming....

And here are a few pictures of Mr. Lincoln. Isn't he cute!

Looking out side the box

2009-05-04T20:28:00.002-06:00

FINALLY....PT. 2

2009-04-26T17:35:00.006-06:00

I'm sorry for the delay, but as everyone knows life gets in the way.

Kallie loves her new hair cut. It's sooo much easier to manage. She still gets lots of "rats" that are hard to get out, but atleast the no tangle spray works better on the short length. Here is a before shot

Here are some afters....

This is a whole blog post of it's own...

Isn't my backyard beautiful???

Kallie's haircut Pt 1

2009-04-10T00:07:00.004-06:00

I did it. I finally gave up on keeping her hair out of her mouth. I had it cut off like Dora the Explore's hair. She loves it. We'd been talking about cutting her hair for awhile so when I actually got the courage to do it she was so excited. She kept telling me "Don't worry mom, it'll grow back!" The funny part is that the morning after I cut it she work up and ran into our bedroom and said "Look Mom, it grew back! I told you it would!" I just shook my head and laughed. I have no regrets for getting it cut. It may have taken her 3 years to get it this long but atleast it's a little easier to care for!

Snow Snow Go Away?!?

2009-03-27T09:56:00.006-06:00

Yesterday afternoon our foul weather finally hit. We went all winter having only one "real" snow that averaged about two and half inches. Now that it is officially SPRING we are hit with a "blizzard." Most of Southeast Colorado has been hit, we have about a foot and a half. It's still coming down which is great, we really need the moisture for the farmers. But at some point along the way I've decided it'd be nice if there was a song like the one little kids sing when they want the rain to go away. "Rain, Rain, Go Away Come Again Another Day!"

This is what it looked like out our of door last night before I went to work.

Here are some pictures of Kallie enjoying herself...I think she made it to the top of the first step before she decided it was too cold.

This is what it looked like out the same door when I got home from work this morning.

Here are some pictures of Skippy enjoying the snow. Ever since he was a puppy he has loved jumping through snow banks. It cracks me up! He also has a nose for eating snow!

Zurberts

2009-03-26T15:48:00.004-06:00

Kallie has long ago discovered how to give zurberts. You all know what I mean, where they think they are being so silly and blowing slobbery kisses all over your stomach. She is so funny. It makes me remember the exact moment I took these with such a fondness for her laugh and smile. I can't believe my little girl is getting to be so big.

Mo

2009-03-25T21:01:00.006-06:00

This is Mo. She is Elaine's dog. She loves to play with an old cat house shoe. She also can jump as high as our fence in the front yard, why she never jumps over I'll never know. She loves Kallie, despite Kallie's obsession with her. I love this dog most days.

Airele

2009-03-24T15:31:00.008-06:00

Airele is graduating from High School this year and I had the pleasure/honor of shooting her senior pictures. She is so beautiful she really did make my job easy. Congratulations on graduating this year, Airele. I wish you all the happiness and luck you need as you start off to college or wherever life leads you!

Sneak Peaks

2009-03-18T20:10:00.003-06:00

Airele----You are so beautiful! Thanks for making this so fun and easy for me!

Nicole, Jerran, Keegan & Baby--Thank you SO much for putting up with me! I had a blast getting lost and losing my phone! lol

Kallie is getting MARRIED

2009-01-20T22:07:00.003-07:00

Tonight Kallie informed Mat and I that she was getting married. We were watching a commercial with a bride on it and she was going to be just like mommy and daddy and get married when she got older. "She's not staying little she wants to get married and walk down that isle." She is so silly. I'm use to her talking about weddings because she does this non stop after I get home from photographing one. She also gets dressed up in her "weddin' dress" and now her play high heels. Her new obsession is with Lorna's wedding veil that I ended up with from her wedding in July. She makes me smile. So since all she could do tonight was talk about Mommy and Daddy getting married we broke out the video of our wedding. She was so funny about it and kept asking about where she was. She told us that we need to wait for her at her new house because she's getting married when she grows up! (too soon in my opinion) So we broke out the camera again. Forgive my dirty hall way, it's laundry day and Kallie had toys everywhere.

Kallie the Photographer

2009-01-19T10:03:00.002-07:00

My beautiful little girl has never been short of personality. She is so full of energy I just want to take a nap while I watch her. Yesterday I asked her if she wanted to take pictures and she told me "Yes, of YOU!" She went and got her Mickey Mouse camera that makes clicking sounds and said okay it's your turn! So we all got ready and Aunt Laine took us to an alley here in town that I like. We let her pretend to take pictures of us, to keep her "happy." She is so silly, telling us to jump and move over here and "No, Laine only Mom in the picture." Here are some pictures of her in action along with some of my favorites of just Kallie being Kallie.

Tasha & Drew

2009-01-12T12:41:00.006-07:00

I had the pleasure of second shooting for Jeanne of Absolut Images again at the beginning of the year. Tasha's and Drew's took place in Peyton, CO with the reception in Calahan, CO. I had such a nice time and they had such a beautiful ceremony. The cutest part was that their dog, Abu, was the Ring Bearer. They had an out fit made for him and everything, they were even brave enough to let him actually carry their wedding rings!!! Here are a few of my favorites.

New Business Card

2009-01-10T21:17:00.003-07:00

I've tried fixing the color, and there is no doing it. If you have any tips PLEASE SHARE!

What do you think?

Kallie in Doll form

2008-12-29T16:14:00.003-07:00

She may not look exactly like Kallie girl, but she is pretty cute in Raggedy form! This is the gift we gave my Mother-In-Law, Christie, for Christmas. She loves Raggedy Anne and when one of my regular customers gave me her business card, (twice I might add, I washed the first one!) I informed Mat that this was going to be his mother's present. Char at The Rusty Knob has some of the most adorable dolls. I was able to make it to one of her last craft shows for 2008 and that is when I placed my order for "Kallie." What I loved was that I could choose how my doll would look. I got to pick how the eyes looked, the nose shape and the hair color and I could have picked out her colors too but I gave that task to Char. When we picked up the doll she had made two! One in Christmas clothes and one in regular clothes for us to pick out which we prefered!

Char, Thank you so much for you hard work and getting "Kallie" done so fast! I appreciate it more than you know. Christie loved it and thank you so much for going above and beyond what you needed too for us! :o)

Christmas 2008

2008-12-24T21:18:00.003-07:00

Hope you all in enjoy Kallie in her new Christmas outfit and piano! :o)

Broncos Vs Bills

2008-12-23T10:53:00.009-07:00

This past weekend Mat and I had the pleasure of taking in a Broncos Game. It was so fun, but SOOOOO cold. Cory and Lorna had friends with Season Tickets that weren't able to go to the game so we were able to get a group of people together and made a weekend out of it! I'll put pictures up from Elaine's camera after I find the card reader! lol But for now you get to enjoy my seats as much as I did. We were six rows from the field in the North endzone corner! I really just can't say how much I am in love with the lens that Cory and Lorna bought me! I kept telling them both I was going to kiss them! HA!

These were the sideline photographers. I was in LOVE with their equipment too!

Here are some of my game time favorites. I got some great action photos, that is of course just my opinion! :o)

Kallie is 3!

2008-12-10T10:45:00.009-07:00

How many of you can believe that my little turkey is THREE? If you can, well you're doing better than I am. Kallie was such a beautiful little baby. She was 6lbs 10oz and 19 1/2 inches long! After eight hours of labor she finally graced us with her presence.

I've had the honor of being a stay at home mom for the first 2 1/2 years of Kallie's life. I've been able to document our wonder of a child as did the oddest little things. Never once have we not know that she was full of personality. She never fails to make me smile and laugh on a daily basis. Mat and I have grown closer as a family as we have watched her grow!

We adopted!

2008-12-09T17:01:00.004-07:00

Last month we added a new member to our family. She is so tiny and has the most beautiful blue eyes! Kallie picked her out and hasn't put her down since bringing her home from the adoption agency. When I was pregnant with Kallie I found this place in the Chapel Hills Mall, in Colorado Springs. The store is called mollycoddles, and it's a little girls heaven. There are so many different dolls and what is even more fun is it's set up like a hospital. The window display is like looking into a nursery at a hospital, all the babies are swaddled in their blankets just waiting for their new mommies and daddies.

(Picture borrowed from the mollycoddles website)

When you go into the store they have the nursery on one side and on the other side is where the adoption takes place. After you pick out your baby, you get to give your baby it's first bath. Then they make out the adoption certificate with the name that the baby gets, and then mom and baby get hospital bracelets. Then Mommy gets to help the nurse give the baby a check up! Kallie was so cute during this whole process I wish I had a camera! She was so excited about giving Kadence a bath. Yep that's right, her baby is named after one of her favorite friends, Kadence!

There are so many good things about mollycoddles I just don't know where to start. One thing that makes me very supportive of Stephanie (the store owner/Creator) is because she is using part of the adoption fees, that we pay for our baby dolls to help real families adopt children in Haiti, by partnering with For His Glory Outreach. So if you have some time please visit both websites.

Here are pictures of Kallie with her new baby, Kadence.

Kallie's Halloween and Friends

2008-11-13T12:45:00.007-07:00

Where has the time gone? Can you believe we are almost half way through November already? I can't believe it's taken me so long to put these pictures up! Kallie was a lion for Halloween. We were able to get her face painted again, after waiting in line for an hour! By the time we got it done it was time for her to go back to "school" so we didn't get any pictures with her Costume on. That afternoon they were having a Halloween Party so I came back a half hour later, and she had cried off most of her face paint off! So the first picture is the before and the rest are the afters. I tell everyone that I think her cried off version looks like a "Who" off of the "Grinch Who Stole Christmas."

Last week Jeff, Miranda, Kadence and Brayden stopped in on their way to Lamar to visit family. We had a good time getting to just sit and talk for awhile. I was able to show them our new house and of course the kids played. Kadence and Kallie never get to spend enough time together! While I was getting ready for work I let Miranda play with my camera. She has a blooming interest in Digital SLR's. She has borrowed a few of her other friends camera's so I knew she would love getting to use my Canon 70-200mm 2.8 Here are a few of the pictures that she captured while she was playing around.

(The above photos are copy right of Miranda Matteson)

Jeff got this one of Miranda and I.

Here are a few that I got of everyone!

Today, I was an American

2008-11-05T00:18:00.004-07:00

Although I am not particularily happy with the results. Today I got out and did my civic duty as an American. Elaine and I were voting buddies. We both voted at the same time and I am so proud of her. More than ever our young voters need to get out and state their opinions with how the country should be run. Thank you to everyone that voted!

Lion

2008-10-22T19:56:00.004-06:00

Today we had a run through of Kallie's face painting for Halloween. The Halloween store here in La Junta offered for me to bring her in to see if she would handle it since she had never had her face painted before. It litterally took about five minutes for her to paint Kallie's face. She did so good and it looks sooo pretty. We got a picture before she started touching it and messed it up on Elaine's cell phone. Then we went and visited Mat at work and she roared at people! Then I able to get here home for some more pictures. She's such a cutie-pa-tootie!

Crazy Family

2008-10-22T09:00:00.010-06:00

I think everyone knows that there are crazy members of their family. Fortunately I am considered one of those members! I love my family and my extended so much! They let me be my wacky self and wait to talk about it until I'm gone! LOL As I've posted before I was able to take pictures at my cousin, Perry's wedding. While I was there I got to see family member's that I haven't seen in forever. It was such a good time! I love getting to take pictures of them because I never know what I'll end up with! Here are a few of my favorite silly ones from the wedding!

P.S.
Dear Family Members,
If you are mad or upset about these photos. I do apologize. I think they are fun. Now if you feel the need for revenge and have some fun and embarrassing pictures of me, send them and I'll add them to the post!

Perry being "smart"

Uncle Dave and his bunny ears....I have several of these!

This is when I gave some instructions...Kiss her neck and Jennifer think it's funny....Well it looks like he's eating her neck! Then I guess he must of slobbered!

Again with the bunny ears... what you don't see is right after I clicked she poked him in the belly!

Uncle Randy really likes cake.

This one really cracks me up...Jordan, the best man and his grandmother were really putting on a show! Can you tell Gayle was impressed?

Kiki

2008-10-20T16:14:00.010-06:00

While I was in Greeley I had the pleasure of taking Mat's Cousin, Nikki aka Kiki, before I came home. Nikki has always been a lot of fun to be around, her and I like to laugh so that always make for an interesting time! When I started getting into photography she asked me to do her Senior pictures, now that she's a senior and I actually was able to take them it just seems weird! She shouldn't be Graduating!

I had a blast Nikki, we did good. You didn't fall into the pond, and we didn't get hit by a train or arrested for tresspassing! Woo hoo!

Just for you Nikki!

Perry & Jennifer Are Married!

2008-10-19T21:28:00.022-06:00

After six years of dating, it's done. The knot has been tied, the I Do's said, and the marriage certificate has been signed. It's official Perry and Jennifer are married.

Perry and Jennifer,
Thank you so much for including me in your day. Thank you for choosing me, not just because I was your cousin. Thank you for letting me have a great time and be much more than a guest at your wedding. Thank you for letting me be creative. I know you two have a fun and bright future ahead of you. Good luck in everything you do!

Sincerely,
ME!

Perry bought Jennifer the most beautiful earrings (Good job Perry!!!)!

These picture cracked me up. I don't remember what the bestman said, but all the guys started cracking up! Then of course we had to get Perry's mug shot!

Some fun details (yes, those are Jennifer's toes, she painted them orange).

Some fun pictures of Jennifer, she made such a beautiful bride.

The Bride and Groom (thanks for letting me try out my ideas!).

A Few More Pictures

2008-10-16T15:16:00.008-06:00

Alright, I finally gave in and am posting pictures of the inside/outside of our house. I've had too many people tell me that they don't believe me that I will! lol

This is the outside, Front, side and back.

This is the view from the living room into the kitchen/dining room (before I painted).

The view from the side door into the kitchen/dining room (also before).

This is the view from the hall way.

This is the bathroom (lol)

The laundry room

These are the bedrooms before any changes.

Kallie's room Before:

Kallie's room after (I still have a lot of decorating to do):

These are my sources of inspiration for my kitchen's new color scheme. I'll post pictures of how it looks later.

Yes it's messy...Yes I tried cleaning.......I gave up!

Airplanes

2008-10-15T09:29:00.005-06:00

The other day Kallie surprised Mat and I while she playing with her toys. She has some building blocks that she loves to scatter across the living room, kitchen, bedroom, well lets just say they are every where. I am constantly amazed about how she is creative and is learning so much and above all growing! On a daily basis I am in awe of her! On Sunday she brought me a thing of blocks she had put together and said "Look Mom, an airplane!!!" She had put it together to look like an airplane and was flying it around the house. It was so fun I had to take pictures.

Earlier that day Kallie and I had gone to one of the many farmer's markets here in the area and picked out some pumpkins (a mommy pumkin, a daddy one and of course a baby one) . I was really surprised to see that they still had some green tomatoes so I had to buy some. It's been a really long time since I've had fried green tomatoes, so when Kallie and I got home we called my Dad and invited him up for lunch the next day because he loves them too! I didn't take any pictures of what they look like fried...I was too busy enjoying them! When we came home Skippy wanted the tomatoes so bad that I had to get a picture of him. He is such a good dog. I can't believe he is almost seven years old!

GO Savages!

2008-10-12T20:48:00.007-06:00

On Thursday or Friday (I'm not sure which all my days are running together) my cousin, Kayla, gave us a call asking us to come see her play volleyball here in La Junta. At first I was hesitant to go because I had to work and I'm still working graveyards so any sleep is much needed. BUT I will never get the chance to see her play volleyball against the La Junta, Tigers, her sophomore year of high school again, so how could I refuse? The first thing my Aunt said when she saw me was "See Johnny I told you Gena would bring her camera!" I tried my hardest to get some good pictures, but sports photography is new to me and man do I have a lot of respect for those people who make a living with is particular type of photography. Kayla played both for the C team and the JV so I was able to see her play four times and I stayed to watch the first of the Varsity games. Both the Varsity and Junior Varsity teams came away with wins, but unfortunately the C team did lose both their games.

Kayla thanks for calling and waking me up! I had such a good time seeing you play and if you decide to play basketball I give you permission to call me more than 45 minutes before the game so we can make sure I'm awake! Ha! :o)

I miss summer

2008-10-08T11:43:00.002-06:00

I miss summer already. I miss the Dahlias that I planted in the front yard of the old house. Here are some of the pictures I took of them before we moved. And of course I have to throw one in of Kallie...she's my little purse holder!

My New Toy

2008-10-04T16:02:00.009-06:00

After so many conversations on snapshotforum with Kyle, I made the plunge and bid on a camera on Ebay. Mat didn't know I was being this brave. I bid on a Yashica Mat camera which is a 120 film camera. I'm learning so much about using film and having no meter built into it, has been interesting. The only film I've ever shot was in High school, it was on a 35mm camera but it had a built in meter. Not only is it so different than my Canon Rebel XT just because it's film, but it's a waist level view finder too! I'm so in love with it already and I can't wait till I am able to finish and develop my first roll of film!

If you want to see the endless possibilities of using film check out these sites. This one is Kyle's flickr (CLICK HERE). Kyle can do amazing things with a camera and film. I admire him and his abilities so much. This is my favorite picture of his (so far)

Above picture belongs to Kyle Smith.

This is another photographer I admire (CLICK HERE). Jonathan Canlas shoots completely with film and has some amazing personal work as well as his weddings. I found some very inspiring images on his blog and they helped me with Ryan's and Angelo's wedding.

Above picture belongs to Jonathan Canlas.

This is the picture I came a way with as a result of loving the one by Jonathan.
It's all about seeing a picture you like and putting your style to it.

Ryan and Angelo

2008-09-28T21:46:00.006-06:00

Yesterday I had the pleasure of second shooting another wedding with Jeanne of Absolut Images. It was in Pueblo and we had a lot of fun. Both Ryan and Angelo were so fun and willing to do just about anything we asked! It was a very long and tiring day of pictures! We started at 8:30am and ended around 12am. Here are some of my favorite pictures so far. I still have a lot to go through!

We have our HOUSE!

2008-09-15T21:24:00.004-06:00

This post is a long time coming (Sorry Kelsey) and I'm sorry that I've not updated before hand. As usual life has just been crazy. Mat and I have been working lots of hours, while Kallie is enjoying making friends at Daycare. Now she is at least not screaming bloody murder as often when we drop her off at daycare. This past week has been a very exciting week for us. We bought a house! Now that Mat has a permanent position here in La Junta we were decided to take the plunge yet again and invest in a home for our family. This time feels so different. It's exciting but at the same time I've been there and done that before. So I think what has really made this so fun, is Kallie. All she has done for the last few weeks is talk about the "New House." As our closing date got closer, I began getting paint samples because I hated the way that the kitchen was painted. With that Kallie started looking at paint samples too. When we'd ask her what color she wanted she pointed at an orange color and said "ORANGE, I Paint my room orange at the new house." After some very long, and when I say long I mean LONG, talks between Mat and I, we decided that we would in fact paint her room orange. So on Friday we picked out Kallie's paint and got busy all day Saturday. I don't have a picture of the final product yet, but as soon as I do I'll get it up too! Here is the process of her bedroom transformation and a picture of our house.

Colbie Caillat & The Colorado State Fair

2008-09-01T12:03:00.005-06:00

On Friday night Elaine, Kayla, and I were able to meet up with my friend Lorna in Pueblo for a girls night out. The three of us went shopping while we waited for Lorna to finish up one of her classes in the Springs, then we met up with her at the Olive Garden (I think I've mentioned the fact that I love that place before). After a fantastic dinner and some girl talk we all headed over to the Colbie Caillat concert that we all had tickets to see. I was impressed that Colbie aka "Coco" sounded just like her CD and really didn't put on a bad show at all! Our seats were pretty high up but I was able to sneak down and take some pictures down by the stage.

I thought this picture I tried taking of Lorna in front of the stage was SO stinking funny. Between the low light and fighting for a spot with other concert people this was the best I got! lol

Then after we got our "groove on" we walked through the State Fair grounds. It was too late to see a lot of the boothes so we checked out some of the animals, then headed over to the rides. We actally only rode one ride but we did hit up a few of the game boothes. Here is Lorna playing one of her favorite carny games and then the two of us while we waited for her funnel cake!

Letting go

2008-08-27T12:08:00.004-06:00

Today is a hard day of sorts for me. Kallie started her first day of child care. It's not really pre-school but it's not just going over to Aunt Elaine's or Kristen's house either. She wasn't too excited, she asked if she could stay home with mommy which kind of tore my heart out. Mat is the lucky winner of the drop her off for the first time lotto. I really didn't think I could handle it. Since it was such a big day I (of course) had the camera out to document her big day. Her is Kallie sporting the backpack that Auntie Jen helped her pick out when she came down in July.

This is also the sunset we had the pleasure of watching last night. We went to Pueblo for Mat's eye appointment. We also had tickets to the Rodeo at the State Fair, but Kallie was not in a very good mood yesterday so we ended up not going because she wouldn't stop throwing fits. After we got back to La Junta this is what we saw.

Kallie and Doors!

2008-08-25T20:36:00.005-06:00

We had another Snapshotforum challenge involving doors today, I decided to keep fresh and went out looking for cool doors here in La Junta. Of course since Kallie was with me I couldn't help but involving her in it too (well actually she was posing for me). Any who, this is what I came up with.

Absolut Images

2008-08-24T13:56:00.009-06:00

Last weekend I had the honor of second shooting for Jeanne at Absolut Images. I had such a blast the couple's wedding was so fun to be apart of and I really just couldn't believe how relaxed they were the entire day! Luis and Ethel were adorable, not only we're they completely in love but they had the best first dance I have ever seen! It was a mix of several types of dance styles, including the YMCA, Chicken Dance, The Hussle. (Those are just a few) They will be forever in grained in my mind because of their dance! There are just so many fun things that I could list about their wedding but I think you all get the picture that I fell completely in love with this couple! Hope you enjoy their pictures.

Digital Art Part 2

2008-08-22T22:49:00.007-06:00

Here you go Miranda, this is what I started with and my process of getting there.

I started with Photo Shop CS3.

I opened and new picture sized at 2.5 x 3.5. Then I opened up my heart design and copied and pasted it over onto the new document 4 times. After finishing this I turned each heart into a new color.

After I did that I used the smudge tool to blur the heart on all around.

Next I opened an image of a daisy that I had taken in the past. Then I went up into possible filters, selected the artistic option and pallet knife (the first is the original)

After doing this I again copied and pasted it onto my document and sized it to where I wanted it. Then I smudged the edges to look like the colors. After I did that I changed the opacity (how much you could see) on all the layers.

Then I went back up into my filters and selected Stylize, find edges. Then I also tried another filter called glowing edges on the second image. That's how I got my final product!!

Digital Art

2008-08-19T13:15:00.003-06:00

Wow, so much has just been going on in my life right now! We are in the process of trying to buy a house and get things packed up. I am still working full time at night while Mat works days. Now that Elaine has started college and our other part time babysitter is starting school we are looking for a daycare for Kallie. Then on top of all that, I have started second shooting with another local photographer! (I'll post more on that later) There is just so much going on I can't figure out if I am coming or going!

Now here is the story about my picture I made today! If you are interested in Photography at all check out www.snapshotforum.com. I have been active on this site for a little over 2 years and I love the community. I learn a lot and they are so encouraging of everyone. We have started having Daily Challenges and today's was about Artist Trading Cards. So I attempted to make my own! Hope you like it!

Happy 5-0 Dad!

2008-08-18T10:37:00.005-06:00

Today is my Dad, Russell's 50th birthday! He hit the big half century mark which is a huge milestone in some one's life! I'm only 25 and I think the world has changed so much since I was a kid, I couldn't even fathom what my Dad has seen! Unfortunately we aren't spending today with him because he has to work, but we did go and spend some time with him yesterday! My Aunt Gayle and her husband Dave, along with my Grandma Van spent most of the weekend with Dad and they brought some fun signs that they hung all over the house.

I don't have to tell you where they stuck this one!! (Hee hee)

For his birthday Kallie bought him a new wallet, she even put some new updated pictures of herself in it! (She even picked out the bow and card she gave him)
Gayle also bought him so "gag gifts," they were pretty cute.

This is Kallie beating Grandpa with the cane that Gayle bought him!

Happy Birthday Dad! I'm sorry you had to work today and hope you still had a wonderful day! We love you!

Janice is a College Grad!!!

2008-08-14T09:59:00.003-06:00

Janice is an official COLLEGE GRADUATE!!!! I'm a little behind in blogging it just because well I'm still a little upset that I didn't get to go! How ever my Mom, Elaine, and Kallie did make the oh so lovely and long trip to Nebraska to see her graduate from Clarkson College. She has been going to school year round for two years in order to become a physical therapy assistant. It has been a lot of work, late nights and I know that it was pricey, but she is done and I am so proud of her! As a part of graduating she was pinned and my Mom had the honor of being the one to pin her at the ceremony. Then the next day was graduation. Again since I didn't get to go, the pictures are courtesy of Elaine! Thanks!!

Good bye...you will be missed.

2008-08-11T18:45:00.006-06:00

It all started back in 2000. Mat needed a new car, so we were able to snag a nice little deal on a 1991 Buick, Skylark. When we got her, she had this oh, so fashionable dashboard cover with Edna sewed onto it. Well it's didn't take long for us to lovingly refer to our car as Edna. She was a good car, minus the speedometer, which made trips a little hairy every once in awhile. She got Mat and I home after driving through a blizzard and other hazardous road conditions. When we were able to afford a nicer car, Janice took Edna off our hands which then meant that Elaine took Edna after Janice was through with her. Edna and Elaine always made me laugh because Edna was 2 years younger than Elaine. I don't know why but that always made me laugh.

While my sister, Elaine, Mom and Kallie were in Iowa last week, I was able to borrow Edna while my car was being fixed. It was nice to drive her again, even though I was terrified I would get pulled over because of the speedometer issue it never happened. I had to make an unexpected trip the Cheyenne Wells and Mat was out of town with work so he had the good car with him. So I braved the very hot weather and driving a 17 year old car on a very deserted highway. I was 4 miles out side of Haswell on Highway 96 when it happened. I was putting along at about 55 mph when the car just stopped accelerating. I started pushing the break pedal and saw smoke coming out of the muffler. Then a few seconds after that there was smoke coming out of the hood. I was able to get it completely pulled over before it stopped running and sat there for a few seconds. That was about the time I noticed the smoke getting thicker so I grabbed my stuff that I needed and popped open the hood to see FLAMES. That right, FLAMES. Luckily I had gotten a fountain drink when I filled up with gas and was able to pour that on the engine to put the fire out. I was able to finally get 911 on the phone tell them where I was and what happened and was rescued by a Sheriff deputy. So after awhile Edna was towed to Eads where she now rests in peace.

Pictures of Edna are courtesy of Elaine!! Thanks!

Aanna & Spencer are Married!

2008-08-09T09:36:00.007-06:00

Yesterday I had the pleasure and the honor of being the florist for Aanna's wedding. She had colors of apple green and chocolate brown and the reception was decorated so fun! I wish I had taken more pictures of all of her details but I was going on lack of sleep. As part of my condition for doing Aanna's flowers I told her she had to pose for atleast one picture for me. So here are my pictures. Thanks Aanna I appreciate it.

Cory and Lorna are Married!

2008-07-30T13:37:00.004-06:00

Here are just a few pictures from this weekend with Cory and Lorna. Mat and I had such a full weekend with him being part of the bridal party and I being the photographer. Not only did we fit in a rehearsal and dinner, bachelor and bachelorette parties we fit in a funeral. Then back up to the Springs for the now Mr. and Mrs. May's wedding! I had such a blast! Cory and Lorna are so perfect for each other. The balance that they give one another is beautiful. Here is just a taste of some pictures. I was in a black and white mood, so please, do enjoy!

Details

2008-07-21T12:22:00.003-06:00

I love all the details that go in to weddings. Here are a few pictures from my wedding on Saturday. It was quite the event since both the bride and groom had 3 kids each. By the end of the night everone was calling them the Brady Bunch!!

Happy Birthday TO ME!

2008-07-18T13:10:00.003-06:00

Yup you read it right. It is MY birthday, I'm the big 2-5! TWENTY FIVE FREAKING YEARS OLD. I'm handling it pretty well, I haven't completely lost it yet. I just thought I'd share some pictures of me when I was a baby though. The first pictures is of me being held by my mom. It is one of my favorite pictures of me growing up, I also love the one of my dad holding me right after I was born, but I don't have a copy of it and he's in Lamar so hint hint DAD I want a copy! The second picture is of me with my name sakes Uncle Ray and Aunt Reba. My name is Gena Rae and my Mom's name is Reba Rae, after Reba and Ray. So to keep the tradition alive Mom asked Aunt Reba her middle name and it was Genavev, shorten it up and you get Gena! The third picture is the front of the flower shop my grandparents owned at the time. They announced me to the whole town!

Also please note that these are pictures of pictures!

Good Times

2008-07-15T09:44:00.003-06:00

I love photographing weddings. Not only do you get to preserve the memories of two peoples lives coming together as one, but you get to see people you haven't seen in years. That was the case at Danielle and Mike's wedding. Not only had I known Danielle forever, but Season and Lea, two of her bridesmaids were friends of mine in High School. It was so nice to be able to catch up with them and see how well life as treated them. Both girls were kind enough to let me sneak some pictures with their two significant others. Here are my favorites of the four of them.

Lea & Doug

Season & Jake

As requested by Danielle, I also was able to pull her Mom, Linda, and Dad, John, off to the side and get their Pictures taken also. Thank you both so much for making Danielle's and Mike's wedding so enjoyable for me! I appreciate it more than you will ever know!

Danielle & Mike are Married

2008-07-14T14:25:00.008-06:00

In June I was able to watch one of my oldest friends get married. Not only did I have the pleasure of watching, but I had the honor of capturing it for Mike and Danielle to remember for their life. I did so good for this ceremony because I actually was able to keep the tears of joy held back until I was looking through the photos. They had an adorable Jewish ceremony held at Chautauqua in Boulder, Colorado.

Blossoming and Blooming

2008-07-12T08:30:00.005-06:00

The past few days I have been sooo excited because several of the plants and seeds that we had planted way back in the spring are starting sprout and bloom (See this link for Kallie's Planting pictures). Last night when I went to work there was a bud, and this morning when I got home, it had bloomed! I was so excited I just had to take pictures. Here is what I came home to!

Have a great weekend!

Over a year ago....

2008-07-09T21:37:00.013-06:00

I can't believe it was over a year ago that my closest friend, Jen graced Colorado with her presence. We are the type of friends that don't have to see each other to know exactly what is going on in one another's lives. We talk on the phone at least every other day or more! Now even though we have so much fun keeping in touch via our cell phones, we do get to enjoy or short visits together. Monday afternoon and all day yesterday Kallie, Jen and I got to spend time together. She is visiting all of Northern Colorado in three weeks or at least that's what it seems like. I missed her bachelorette party and bridal shower the weekend before last so I was beyond super stoked to get to put some time aside for ourselves. Mat was so nice as to give Jen and I monday night to ourselves we enjoyed dinner at Olive Garden and then walked around Chapel Hills Mall. We stopped in at Burlington Coat Factory and found some really cute socks because we were going to go bowling. It ended up being closed so we went out for drinks at Old Chicago with Mat, Cory, Lorna and Bill (Lorna's brother).
On Tuesday we decided to go to Cheyenne Mountain Zoo for the morning it was so nice. I think Jen enjoyed spending time with Kallie, they were so fun to watch together. I think their time on the carousel was the highlight of our morning. I hope you enjoy the pictures, as usual there are a few of Kallie freaking out because of the animals.

In the afternoon Mr. Biggs was actually open so Mat, Kallie, Jen and I went bowling and we got to wear our socks after all. We had bought a pair for Lorna but since we didn't go the night before and Lorna was on her way to Denver we didn't get a picture of the three of our socks...Jen has one but I forgot my camera on Monday night.

I brought Jen's bridal bouquet for her to see. She'd been asking about it and I'd told her I wouldn't put pictures up until it was done, and while I haven't finished it completely, like putting the ribbon on it, the actual flower part is done. So I was very excited to show her an almost final product.

Here we are! Kallie couldn't miss the photo opt either. (Thanks Mat for taking them for me)

This was Kallie's goodbye to Auntie Jen, she gave her some eskimo kisses and then sealed it with a "kitty cat" kiss.

Jen it was so good to see you and I'm glad to have made it up to the Springs to meet you! I hope you had as much fun I as I did and I can't wait till November! I miss you already!!!!!

Happy FREEDOM Day!

2008-07-04T08:47:00.007-06:00

I need to start off with an apology for not keeping my blog up to date. Life has had a funny way of getting in the way of my motivation to blog. As I put in the past I am working nights so when morning rolls around I'm ready for bed, then the evening rolls around and I get to get up and spend some much valued time with Kallie and Mat when he's home. Hopefully here soon my body will get adjusted to my new sleeping habits.

Last night Elaine had off, so the four of us (Mat, Kallie, Elaine and I) celebrated the 4th of July a night early. Mat stopped by the fireworks stand on his way home from work and bought some fun sparklers and fountains. Then when it was finally dark enough we all went outside mosquito's and all (ask Elaine she has the bites to prove it) and set them all off. Well, actually, Mat set them off while we watched and I took pictures. Kallie enjoyed the sparklers and even tried light painting for me. We had a blast and then it was time for me to go to work. I had a pretty good night, no one stole any beer. So that was nice.

Any way, I hope you all have a happy and safe Independence Day!

This is my favorite of the fireworks.

The Simple Things In Life

2008-06-13T17:19:00.003-06:00

You don't realize just how much free time you have until you start working again. I miss my family and time with my daughter. Just hanging out like we did only a week ago. It really is the simple things that I miss....

Peonies

2008-06-11T02:29:00.004-06:00

I love these flowers. I think after a hydrangea they are my next favorite. While I was up in Northern Colorado, I stayed with my Aunt Gayle and her husband Dave. They had these huge peonie bushes that were so pretty I couldn't help but get my camera out!

On a side note, I started my new job this week. The past two days have been pretty good. I am working at Loaf N' Jug, for those of you that are un-familiar with it, it is a convient store. I'm going to be picking up some the job to get extra money for camera toys!! My first day at work I just happened to be hit by the people that go around to make sure that you are asking for ID's and thankfully I passed! Then today, I accidently tripped the silent alarm and had the store swarmed by the police, so it's been a nice couple of days, exciting to say the least. Right now I'm getting ready to start my graveyard shifts, so I'm trying to figure out whether I really want to stay up past 3 a.m. or if I want to hit the sack. I have to go in at 11 p.m. tomorrow until 8 a.m. Wish me luck!!!

Mike & Danielle are getting MARRIED!

2008-06-08T20:18:00.007-06:00

As I have said before on my blog, one of my good friends, Danielle has contracted me to do her wedding. Her and I have been friends since fourth grade so it's such an honor to not only be present at one of the biggest moments in her life but to be capturing such memories for her to have forever! Both Mike and Danielle are so fun to be around. I haven't known Mike long but he is such a good fit for Dani! They were constantly making me laugh and I had such a wonderful time taking pictures of them for their wedding. We decided on an early session so that they would have their pictures done and we wouldn't have to rush as much on the day of the wedding. So here are just a few of my favorites, I am having such a hard time choosing, there are so many good ones!

I am really looking forward to the wedding you two! Call me!

Marah & Bo are MARRIED pt 2!

2008-06-04T18:43:00.014-06:00

There are so many pictures that I have fallen in love with from Marah's and Bo's wedding. They were so cute together and I have to admit after listening to them say their vows that they both had written, I wasn't sure I'd make it through. They both said such heart felt words and the ceremony was made even more special because it was performed by both Marah's father and grandfather.

I had such a great time at this wedding. I did have a lot on my plate for this wedding. Not only was I the photographer but I also was the florist. I did not get through the wedding by myself. If I hadn't had the help of my sister, Elaine, Jadelle, and a few other people I don't think I would have been able to finish the flowers with my mind still intact! Also a friend of mine, Caitlin, helped out as a second shooter. She has some killer shots that everyone is going to love!

Sorry it was such a long post, but I had so many favorites!! I hope you two had a wonderful honey moon!

Six years and counting

2008-06-01T13:41:00.004-06:00

Today Mat and I are celebrating our sixth wedding anniversary! My sister, Elaine is going to watch little Miss Kallie for us tonight so Mat and I can have a night to ourselves. It's been a busy week and we haven't seen much of each other with his work schedule and my wedding weekend. So I'm setting aside wedding pictures for a day but I will post some of the roses I picked out with Mat for our dinner tonight. Hope you all are enjoying June!!!

Marah & Bo are MARRIED!

2008-05-31T20:21:00.003-06:00

Wow, what an exhausting few days I've had! I have only been home for a short time and I'm still sorting through all my pictures, but I had to post this image! It just conveys what a beautiful day it was for Marah and Bo. Have a great Honey Moon you two!

There is just something about this image that I love. Can't you see the pride in Ian's face?

My Sensor is CLEAN!

2008-05-29T21:18:00.004-06:00

So for the past three or four days I have been flipping out! I haven't wanted to use my camera because I had a huge spot on my sensor that was showing up in pictures. I was so upset about it I really didn't know what to do with myself because I didn't have enough time to send my camera in to be cleaned by Canon.
So after much searching I found a website that had a kit for cleaning sensor's at home. I really didn't have too much of a choice so I gave Copper Hill Images a call and they were very helpful and got me my Sensor swabs in record time! Not only that but they have great tutorial on their site with do's and dont's, as well as step by step instructions on cleaning your sensor. Here's a picture of what my sensor looked like before. I would have put up an after but it was dark, so I'll try to take one tomorrow and post it! The red arrows point to the bigger of LOTS of specs on the sensor. Just for those that don't know, a sensor on a digital camera is like film in a camera, it's what produces your images.

I'm a blog Stalker!

2008-05-27T09:17:00.005-06:00

Wen I say that I am a "Blog Stalker" I don't mean that I am stalking this person around the towns they live and following their every move. I do however check back several times a day to read their past blogs, see if they've update or even responded to comments that I've left. There are very few blogs that I actually follow on a daily basis but Eric McCarty has earned "Blog Stalker" status with me! He is doing something called Photojournalism Tips on his blog and has a wealth of information to share with everyone. Not only does he make it easy to understand but he gives great examples with his work and shares his thinking on why he composed his shoots the way he did and his camera settings. He is doing beginners like me a huge favor.

He posted this on his blog today and I instantly fell in love with it. It makes me laugh and I learned from it!

Thank Eric, for always keeping it light hearted and your willingness to help people learn from your gift and your experience and knowledge.

Some Time With Friends

2008-05-24T10:59:00.007-06:00

On Thursday Mat had a tooth pulled in Pueblo, because the dentist that he went to only knocked people out he called in a favor with some friends. Jeff and Miranda live in Fountain so they drove down to pick Mat up and drive him back to their house for the night. I felt so bad that they might have to take care of Mat that we worked it out so that Kallie and I could drive up there and spend yesterday with Miranda and the kids. Miranda and I have been trying to find a time to get together to do pictures of Kadence and Brayden for their birthdays. We tried getting together in April, but Miss Kadence had a broken blood vessel in her eye so we are a little while late on her three year old pictures! Now for Mr. Brayden we are a little early. The little man doesn't turn one until June but we were getting a jump on it since I have a busy schedule coming up!

Of course Kallie and Kadence had a great time together. They are both working on potty training so it was really cute when they were wearing the same type of panties and both in the bathroom at the same time! Then they decided they needed to take a bath so they were able to play in the swimming pool/shower together! It's been really fun since they've gotten older and actually can play together with little fighting! Here are some pictures we got of them outside, they loved the suckers. It was the smile pretty bribe we used! hee heee

Thanks for helping with Mat, you guys, we appreciate it! We had a great time and we hope you enjoy your new computer! Here is a picture of us girls and Brayden playing with the photo booth option on their Mac!

Feel Better Mat

2008-05-22T12:08:00.004-06:00

My hubby has a toothache today. One of his fillings has broke loose causing a lot of pain. So far our search for a denist around La Junta and Trinidad has failed, but at the last phone call I've recieved from him he was able to get one in Pueblo to take him this afternoon. So if I understoond correctly our good friends, Jeff and Miranda, are driving down today to take Mat to the dentist and wait for him to get knocked out and his tooth either pulled or filled again and drive him up to their house for the night. So here are some flowers for my husband. I love you hun!

Miss Homemaker

2008-05-21T15:41:00.002-06:00

Mat has had the past few days off work, so we haven't doing too much around the house. Mostly we've just been lazy and tried to recoup after this weekend's festivities. So today when I was picking up the living room, trying to make a path through Kallie's toys, she decided she was going to "clean." She helped me plug in the vacuum cleaner and used it. Of course if you can imagine with her being so short and trying to hold the vacuum like we do, the actual part that does the cleaning was picked up off the floor! So of course I couldn't resist getting some pictures of her in action. These are of her trying to run me over! I thought for sure my lens was gone one time! It's a good thing I have fast reflexes!

Jon is 14 and Elaine Graduated!!!!!

2008-05-19T18:45:00.013-06:00

This was such a long, wonderfully exhausting weekend! We've done so much stuff between getting my car fixed, traveling to Lamar for a birthday party, and having Elaine's graduation parties and graduation! It went by so fast, it was almost hard to take it all in! So many family members made the trip to help celebrate with us that we threw in my cousin Jon's birthday. He is turning 14 this next weekend so of course we had to have a wild birthday bash for him! Okay, so maybe getting together with all of his GIRL cousin's isn't his idea of a wild party, but we all had fun! We celebrated with a home cooked meal made by my Aunt Sandy of chicken and rice (Jon's favorite). Of course it was absolutely Delicious! We then hit the Lamar Lanes Bowling Alley. After bowling we went back to my Aunt's house for cake and ice cream, and presents!

Aunt Sandy helped Kallie bowl, it was actually very comedic as usual because she would tell Sandy, "STAY" she could do it on her own!

In this picture we are attacking Jon after we finished bowling!

On Sunday everyone traveled to La Junta for Elaine! In the morning we had a part at El Rincon's with my Mom's family. El Rincon has the cutest patio area to eat on and we were blessed with such a beautiful morning that it made for a fun party! Elaine wanted umbrellas in every one's drinks so we made virgin margarita's for everyone to drink. We had enchiladas and tacos for lunch and a variety of cheese cakes for dessert. Then it was off to Graduation to find seats!

My cousin Kayla watched Kallie for us so that we wouldn't have to worry about her getting bored while we were at the ceremony (Thank you Kayla, I appreciate it). It was a long ceremony, but it went pretty fast at the same time. All morning Elaine had complained that she was going to be the second to last to walk in at Graduation because of her last name. She said "It's so weird, everyone, including my class is just sitting there watching! And I have to walk to the beat and it's boring!" So we all giggled a little bit as she walked in with a little skip in to her step as she got down to the graduation march!

These pictures crack me up! They are of Kayla and Elaine. I told them you two better check and make sure you have your diplomas before you leave so they did! Elaine frowned and I said what did you not get yours! ;o)

After Graduation we had a small party with with my Dad's family at the park. We had pizza and cake (yes LOTS of food yesterday). It was nice to get to see my Grandma Van Galder and Aunt Gayle. We don't get up to the Greeley area enough to see them, but I'll have some weddings up in that area this year so we'll get to see them more often!

We ended with some fast familyp pictures with my Mom's family before Elaine ran off to some of her friend's graduation parties.

I got a real dose of reality and how fast time flies when Kallie wanted to wear Aunt Elaine's cap and gown. I am so excited to see her grow and graduate but I know how precious the time is while she's young and how we need to cherish it!

Elaine, I hope you enjoy college and have a world of success in the years to come. You are growing up so fast and I'm excited to watch your future unfold! Love you!

A taste of Sunday...

2008-05-15T21:32:00.006-06:00

Today my Mom, Kallie, and I attended the La Junta High School's Orange and Black Ceremony. This is the Award Ceremony that is given for the school and is used as a dress rehearsal for the graduating Seniors. This of course meant that the Seniors were clothed in their caps and gowns and as the processional started the band played Pomp and Circumstance, I just sat and remembered what it was like to be a Senior and wonder what my life had in store for me! As my LITTLE sister Elaine reaches this milestone in her life and I watch her question what she wants out of life, I just hopes she knows how much she means to me and how much I love her! Here are some pictures from this morning of Elaine and her friend Kayla. They are so funny to watch interact together.

Kallie was a handful today at the ceremony too, she was so excited to see Aunt Elaine and Kayla that just sitting up there and watching them wasn't enough. She and my Mom took pictures of Elaine with her cell phone and Kallie kept saying "Laine...Pictures!! Say CHEEEEEEESE!" It was so funny. Moments like this are precious to me, and I hope Elaine understands that Kallie thinks the world of her! She can do no wrong in this little girls eyes!

Elaine received a few awards, I can't remember what one was for I think it was for math and the other was for "A" honor roll.

Rain Rain Rain!

2008-05-14T22:28:00.004-06:00

Tonight we had a nice steady/heavy rain! Much needed for all the farmer's in Southeast Colorado. Kallie was so excited she kept running to the doors and windows saying Rain, Rain (actually is sounded like Nain nain)! So I got out the umbrella we have and remembered that her Auntie Jen had sent her a rain coat that she's never had the chance to wear. From there we just went outside and let her run around! These pictures really aren't the greatest because of a mix of things, I was shooting with my new lens and didn't pay attention to the fact that my shutter speed was way to slow for my focal length, Kallie was running around and would not stay still, and I was laughing!!! She was so cute, it was like she'd never seen rain before! So please don't be too harsh, I was just wanting something to remember Kallie in the rain and of course I had to post pictures for Aunt Jen!

Shout out to Paul!!

2008-05-14T18:24:00.004-06:00

Since I am still in the fledgling part of my photography I don't have the equipment that I sometimes wish I did. After a lot of research on the The-Digital-Picture.com I was led to a website for renting photography equipment of different brands and of course an amazing selection!!! I've been using Lens Pro To Go for almost a full year now. I really haven't rented everything that they have to offer but I hope to be changing that here soon! Paul has such great customer service skills and his knowledge about the equipment he offers is immense!

Thanks Paul you are making my life a lot easier!

I'm in LOVE with Mat's best FRIEND!

2008-05-13T19:31:00.004-06:00

How can I explain the title of this post.....I'll try to do it with one picture!

Cory & Lorna are close friends of ours and I am photographing their wedding in July. As a present, they helped me buy the Canon 70-200mm 2.8L, so that I would have it to use on all of my weddings this year. I can't even express the gratitude that I feel towards both of them as this is a large investment that I have been saving to make. With their help I was able to do it so much sooner than I thought I would be able too and I am just so thankful to have friends like them.

Thank you Cory and Lorna! I appreciate it more than you'll ever know!

Here are few pictures that I snapped with the lens yesterday of Kallie and my Mom.

Simplicity

2008-05-13T09:16:00.004-06:00

There are times when I feel like our life is going to spin out of control and I'm never going to be able to catch up with what is happening around me! That is exactly what is happening right now!! This week is cleaning house week because next weekend my little sister Elaine GRADUATES!! I can't beleive she is a senior in High School and preparing to go to College. It just doesn't seem like reality. So this weekend most of my family will be in La Junta, yes there is a fair share that will not be attending but there is definetly going to be enough that I have to scrub the house (ya know your faimly doesn't care, but you still fill like you have too).

Now so much has happened since I last posted! Not so much on a grand scale but we did a lot of traveling. Kallie and I went to spend a few days with her Grandma and Grandpa McMillan in Cheyenne Wells, CO. We also made it up to Pueblo for a few days to go shopping, then left Kallie with her grandparents so Mat and I could celebrate an early anniversary! We stayed in Downtown Denver at the Warwick Hotel. We were able to do so much and just have time to ourselves it was nice! We spent some time at Sing Sing and Lucky Strike. We just had a nice weekend.

One of the highlights of my weekend was when were shopping and I was able to buy a new "wedding" ring. Many people know that in a round about way I lost my wedding ring. I have been without one for about a year, so as apart of my Mother's Day gift and our Anniversary present. I love it, it's not the traditional wedding ring like what I had before but it's still beautiful! Thank you honey!!