Beautifully Broken

Today we explored our local run down buildings. I had a blast! Look what we found hiding around town.

This is the inside of an old milling plant. I usually don't care for graffitti, but this was hidden from the street, a kind of neat place for people to express themselves.

Here is more from inside the mill
This is the outside of the old mill. This is what is visible from the street. Kind of neat. I didn't even know this was here.
Here is another old building we found. There were "No Trespassing" signs everywhere but I couldn't help myself. It's absolutely beautiful there. This is just across the street from the mill. I'm not sure what it use to be.
This last place was a couple towns away from where I live. It's just an old abandoned farm in the middle of nowhere. I fell in love with it's unique charm. I'm sure the surrounding neighbors think of it as an eyesore, but there was something about it that I fell in love with.

This place was still full of stuff, mostly junk! There was a cofee pot still in this old bus that didn't look to bad except for the dust and bugs. I wondered where the owners went?

Anyway, we had fun exploring on this first day of 2009! Thanks for stopping by!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and a Fun & Safe New Year's! We sure enjoyed it! Christmas was a bit stressful this year only because I had a stupid idea of taking on a second job and a college class during the most hectic time of the year. Our first day to go Christmas shopping was the Tuesday before Christmas, so we only had two days...for everything. I will not do that again! I'm usually done by the end of November, so this was a whirlwind for me. But...we got it done and Christmas day was fantastic!!! Here are some pictures from our day.

This is Madi and Conner after they opened their gifts. They had so much fun! It was so exciting to watch them together. This was the first year that Conner really understood what was happening.

Madi on her new skateboard with all her gear, next to her ramp that Daddy & Conner built...She's so tough!

Conner was so excited to open every present, no matter what it was. Even clothes...it was so cute!

Here's Rob acting so surprised! He knew he was getting this and even wrapped it himself.

Okay these next three pictures are a tradition of mine from childhood. I'm not sure when it started exactly...sometime when I was a kid I did this and now it's become tradition. We always get underwear in our stockings and put them on our heads. Don't ask...I have no idea why I did it the first time??? Silly traditions are the best though.

This was the first year with my mom's new squeeze Art. Well, not really. We've been celebrating with him for many years, almost my whole life, but this was the first time since the two were a couple. It was really nice. And I love when my momma is this happy. Life couldn't get better!

But it did! My sissy is getting married to an awsome hunk of a man. We call him Brown Sugar Fig, but his real name is Manny! He's a great guy and I'm happy that he'll be joining us for the many years to come! Mindy is also all goo-gooey like my mom and that makes me even happier! A perfect ending to a perfect day!

So, I hope you all had just as great of a time as us. And I hope that your 2009 is a safe and happy one!

Happy 2009!!!

Final Class Today

Today is my final class for the semester. I think I have all my stuff together. If not...O' Well! I'm done. No more 2nd job, no more school...until the end of January. I think I might start Christmas shopping tomorrow night. Finally! Hope everyone is well!

Thanks for stopping by!

My Little Performer

Madison had her first singing performance last night. She sang "Where Are You Christmas" by Celine Dion.

She was a star! My favorite performer of the night!

She had some very special visitors come to watch
Daddy & Auntie Lyndsey

Makayla

Aunt Juanita & Uncle Jon

Grandma

And her little Buddy Boy (AKA, Brother Conner)

It was truely a beautiful night!

Thanks for visiting us today!

Fun with My Self Portraits

Photoshop can make bad pictures look great too! And I'm having fun playing!

Here's what I did tonight.

Well, Thanks for visiting!

My Sixth Picture in My Sixth File!

This is a fun post started by who knows who, but I thought it would be fun. Check out the rules below. Who knows what you might get. I got lucky with an old picture of my little gooney birds. This picture was taken of Conner, my youngest, when he was two months old and his big sister. His big sister looks so little to me in this picture. She's grown up so much in the past three years. Madi has always been a great big sissy to Conner, and she loves him very much. Good thing too, 'cause he adores her and insists on invading her space! They are the best kids EVER!

Now it's your turn to find your sixth picture in your sixth folder!

WHO SHOULD I TAG??? Lyndsey, Mom, Gina, Indigo & Lisa...AKA, Racoon Lover...You're It!

"The rules"…Find the 6th folder in your pictures directory and post the 6th photo in it.

So here are the instructions:* Go to your sixth picture folder then pick your sixth picture.* Pray that you remember the details.* Post it on your blog.* Tag 5 others, leave a comment to let them know they’ve been tagged.I was tagged by my mother-in-law Betty at "Meditations of the Next Phase".

I will tag 5 friends, but please don't feel obligated if you don't have time. I found it only took a few minutes and was a lot of fun!

Cramming In Some School Work Yesterday

Well, it's been a long time since I've been able to post. I've been working way toooooo many hours at the Picture People. Luckily we were slow Sunday and I got the day off. So Rob and the kids and I headed down to San Diego so I could get some stuff done for my photography class. Here's just some odd-ball things I liked.

The People

The Buildings

My Main Squeeze!

My Beautiful Kids!

The scenes after dark

And check out my self-family portrait :)

Anyway, that's about all I have for now. Eventually I'll post pics from our Grand Canyon Trip. I think it's something everyone should do (even if it means taking the mules down). It was georgeous!

Well' thanks for visiting me today!

Just a Look Around Town

I've been so busy lately and still need to get pictures taken for school. I have some great ideas, but very little time to acheive them, so I've decided to just go out when I can and snap pictures along the way. These are a few of what I've taken this week. None are super creative but they'll work for class. I think I'll struggle to finish all of my assignments.

I went to the cemetry where my dad is burried to take some pics. I love this old cemetry. The headstones go back to the late 1800's. These are just two of my favorite shots.

Night photography is always fun too. My mom and I decided to squeeze in a little extra fun after Madison's Singing lesson on Monday. Here's a couple pictures I got.

Well on to another week! In the morning I will be leaving for the Grand Canyon. I hope to get some great shots there. I've already informed my hubby that he'll have to carry a couple of extra things so that I can bring my camera and equipment... :) He must love me!

Anyway, thanks for stopping by.