Babies First Birthday
Sweetness
A few weeks ago I took pictures of my cousin’s twin babies to celebrate their first birthday. I think I got a lot more outtakes then portraits- one year old baby twins move fast! But I learned some and I had a great time trying. 
Isn’t Elizabeth perfection?
Dolphin Smile
Technically?
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, originally uploaded by phae.
It’s probably crap. But it’s still one of my favorite photos ever. My son with a butterfly on his hand, and Grandma in the background. Joy.
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, originally uploaded by phae.
Yesterday the hubs, the kids and I joined my husband’s extended family (some visiting all the way from Mississippi) on a spontaneous day trip to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom. Discovery Kingdom is all about exotic animals, crazy roller coasters, fun stuff for kids to do and buy. We had a blast despite the incredible expense. Which we can thank Grandma for taking care of, mostly. (What a great Grandma, right?! We’re so lucky to be spoiled so.)
Anyhoo- I took a bunch of pictures. Can you believe it?! 
I took along my old Canon EOS 20D, which unfortunately has some dust on it’s sensor and can create spotty photos, instead of the 40D. (Of course a little sensor dust isn’t anything a moment in photoshop can’t cure.) And I was glad I did too- when I got drenched, and when I had to leave my bag so I could ride roller coasters. My 20D didn’t do too bad, I think. I really missed my telephoto lenses though.
Our group of 13; including 7 children, kept me from shooting some of the stuff like I’d like to. There were huge crowds and the littlest ones had no fear. They darted in and out of view, climbed things and generally made me nervous. So I feared enough for everyone. 
One day I’d love to have a photog buddy to go on phototrips SANS kids.
Oh, but the children had so much fun. And so did I. I even rode a wicked roller coaster. Twice. And giggled madly the whole time. Nothing more precious than the memories you make together, surely. I’m sore today. Oh well.
Life is like…
a rollercoaster ride, isn’t it?
Things here are cah-razy! We’re having trouble getting our house deal to close- the bank-owned property we are buying appraised for a lot lower than the asking/offer price we signed a contract for. The bank refused to come down in price. We have arranged for another appraisal- and the preliminary report is that the house is again going to appraise for much lower than the bank wants to take for it. So we are hiring more appraisers. We figure either:
1- We’ll have three low appraisals. The bank will come down in price and we’ll buy it.
2- We’ll have three low appraisals. The bank will refuse to sell it for less and we’ll have to walk away.
3- We’ll have two low appraisals and one high appraisal. We can go with the highest appraisal and either the bank will come down to that price or it will match our agreed price (which we find fair and reasonable) and we can buy it.
At this point my parents have to move by July 6th or they will be removed from the property. A few weeks ago they found out that the owners of their home (they rent) had lost the house in foreclosure and provided them no notice. My dad works full time and my mom is severely disabled, which is one of the biggest reasons we are neighbors now. We need to be together. So, we bought a property with two houses on it for a really good reason. This property really is the most perfect for our situation we’ve found so far and we’ve been looking like crazy. It seems meant for us. So it will really be a shame to have to find something else. Add in the time crunch, and this is a volatile and stressful situation.
I’m not good for much right now. I’m trying to clean, organize and pack my house- figure out a contingency plan in case we don’t get this deal done.. for both my parents and ourselves. I have a few jobs I’m picking away at that I can’t concentrate on. The kids are finishing up school so they need a bunch of time, money and things. My head is spinning. I can’t wait to get off this rollercoaster ride, I just hope that I get off at the end- with some keys in my hands.
We want to buy the property. For what it’s worth. We can afford it. You’d think this wouldn’t be so complicated.
*weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee*
*barf*
Beautiful Day
Nom noms
Cupcake has been in an extra fiesty mood today- she must be teething because she’s been chewing up everything in sight! We’re doing what we can to keep her entertained so we don’t lose any furniture or appendages… thus the gigantic bone offering of today. Which she promptly tried to bury. It was actually quite comical when she tried to bury the bone in the middle of the grass with her nose- it just wasn’t working out like she planned. After she realized I didn’t want her to bury the bone (like the last one, which we haven’t seen since) she flopped down and chewed it to non-existence.
I took a bunch of photos of Cupcake and our other dog Lady and put them on flickr if you are interested! Lady looks so funny- we took her to Pet*smart to get her hair did and they did a very sloppy job of it. Luckily Lady doesn’t care- she’s just happy to be nice and cool again.
Anxiously Awaiting Drew
Today I did a photo shoot with a lovely couple who are expecting their first baby in a few short weeks! I love maternity sessions; meeting the expectant parents and seeing them so anxious to meet their beloved.. getting to court clients who hopefully will allow me to grow with their children. (Since I’m all done having babies I have to live vicariously through others.) Getting to take pretty pictures of baby booties! And celebrate a woman’s natural beauty. All-in-one bliss.
The couple I worked with today were champs. It was mid-day in the California summer heat and they never complained a lick that I was dragging them all over, having them get up and get down- lean here and there.
What was most unique about today’s session is that my husband came along to lend a hand. It was cool- he carried my stuff and is tall enough to hold my light diffuser and reflector above other tall people! I think he had fun, he loves meeting new people and he got to watch me do what I love. If only I could convince him to be a photographer so we could be a team- that would rule. Not counting my chickens just yet…
I’ll be posting more from this session on my respective websites and flickr stream later. I hope you like them!
Meet Cupcake
Today I adopted this Boxer mix from the local animal shelter. She’s a sweetie- and so smart! We are so happy to welcome her to our family!!
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What I'm Reading
Recently:
The Miracle at Speedy Motors (No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency)
Grave Sight (Harper Connelly Mysteries, Book 1)
From Dead to Worse (Southern Vampire Mysteries, No. 8)
The Good Husband of Zebra Drive (No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency)
Blue Shoes and Happiness (No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, Book 7)
The Kalahari Typing School for Men (No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, Book 4)
Morality for Beautiful Girls (No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, Book 3)
Tears of the Giraffe (No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, Book 2)
Beyond All Reason: My Life With Susan Smith
All Together Dead (Southern Vampire Mysteries, Book 7)
Definitely Dead (Southern Vampire Mysteries, Book 6)
Dead as a Doornail (Southern Vampire Mysteries, Book 5)
Dead to the World (Southern Vampire Mysteries, Book 4)
Club Dead (Southern Vampire Mysteries, Book 3)
Living Dead in Dallas (Southern Vampire Mysteries, Book 2)
Dead Until Dark (Southern Vampire Mysteries, No. 1)
Running with Scissors: A Memoir
The Year of Fog (Bantam Discovery)
The Bachman Books -
What I Want
