Summer Memories

The World is at their feet...

                                                    
                            

This has to be one of my favorite pictures that I have of my children.  I took this one last summer at the beach in Oceanside, California.  We were visiting my sister and we decided to head to beach to let the kids dip their feet in the water, run in the sand and breathe in the ocean air. Visiting the beach in California had been on their top ten list since we had left on our vacation. Even though it was a little bit cloudy that day, they were not disappointed. It was a warm day and the sand and the water were lovely. I love that they were able to take some time to feel the sand between their toes, the foam of the ocean waves as the the water lapped at their feet and ultimately, experience the calming rhythm of the ocean. When I look at the pictures from this day, I am always reminded of the lovely, quiet, non rushed time that I was able to spend with my children. Sometimes these moments feel too few and far between.

I was reminded today by a friend, who has recently become a new mommy, what a struggle it can be sometimes to let your children go out and be in the world. We all have some anxieties as well as big hopes for our kids when they are gaining new experiences and spreading their wings. Personally,  I know that I have shed a few tears when we have dropped our children off for their first day of school or when they turn yet another year older. It seems that children grow and change much too fast. Time marches on quickly when you are a busy parent! It always amazes me how much your heart can break, sing with pride and love your child all at the same time. I just have to remember that Kendall and I here to help them along in their journey to becoming wonderful and caring adults. As hard as it is sometimes, you have to let them spread their wings and learn to fly. It certainly is wonderful though to have some of the quiet moments like these frozen forever in time. I think pictures can help to preserve those moments so you don't forget those special moments. These three "little" people have been the biggest blessing in my life and I will always be eternally grateful that I was lucky enough to be their Mom.

Baby Charlie

Pregnancy is a journey full of hopes and dreams for your unborn child. You are anxious that everything will be okay and that the baby will be healthy. You can hardly wait to see his little face and see what he looks like.  But nothing can prepare you for THAT moment when you first lay eyes on your precious little baby. It is amazing how fully, deeply and unconditionally you love him from the very first second you see him. Everything about him is perfection...his long eye lashes, rose bud lips and soft skin. You honestly didn't know that you could ever love someone so much. You would lay your life down for him in a heart beat.  Finally seeing him makes all those months of morning sickness, worry, lack of sleep, being uncomfortable and the pain of birth all so worth it! Hold on to these early days, they go by so quickly. That strong love that you felt for him from that very first second will never diminish. In some sense, he will always be your baby no matter how old he gets.

On November 3, 2010 at 3:15 p.m. I had the privilege and the honor to be in the presence of my sister, Marni and her husband, Ira as they welcomed their beautiful baby boy into the world! Little Charlie Rigger weighed 8 pounds 13 ounces and was 20 inches long! He is completely perfect and oh, so handsome! We are so excited to have a little nephew and new cousin!

I am not even sure how to start writing about what an extraordinary, moving and miraculous experience it was to witness this beautiful little child being born into the world. I barely have the words to describe it honestly. To see the love that his parents have for him and for each other is beautiful and inspiring.  My brother in law is an amazing man and my sister is a strong and beautiful woman. I feel truly honored that they wanted me there to be a co coach.  It will be an experience that I will always hold close to my heart and cherish forever!

I am so proud of Marni and how strong she was throughout her whole pregnancy. She did an spectactular job throughout her labor and was a real trooper during the delivery.  Marni and Ira are awesome parents and they are doing a tremendous job with little Charlie...he is a truly loved and adored baby boy! I look forward to walking with them as they journey through parenthood together.  It will be an amazing journey and I know they are going to do a great job!

Many Moods of Wallowa

Mountain Reflection

I was inspired this morning to post some pictures from one of my favorite places in the ENTIRE world. As a photographer, I have always wanted to capture the world as I see it. My own little take on the world so to speak. My biggest hope is that my images can touch someone's soul, maybe draw them in for just a little while, possibly even let them experience something they have never seen before. For others, maybe my images will spark some wonderful memories of a place or a person. When this happens and I hear about it, wow! It is so wonderful and makes me feel like I have accomplished what I set out to do.

Wallowa Lake is located in northeastern Oregon and it has always been a magical and sacred place for me. When I was child I would spend part of summers with my grandparents, aunt, uncle and cousins in the town of Wallowa. We would always visit the lake, we would picnic, take hikes, pick berries and be free to experience the natural beauty that surrounded us. Some of my very best childhood memories come from this place. It is the place that I think of when asked to think of some "place" that is special to you. It is a place that when I go back there now as an adult, it transports me immediately to those special memories of childhood. Right now, if I close my eyes I can smell the aroma of the trees, I can hear the rambling river off in the distance, the crunch of the ground beneath my feet as I wander, in my mind's eye, through the beauty that is Wallowa Lake. The lake itself has so many shades of blue and seems to have a unique beauty that almost seems to instantly calm my soul. I truly hope that everyone has a place like this they can escape to, even if it is only in their mind's eye.

Up Around the Bend

Picnic anyone?

Early Morning Mood

Calm Morning

Reflection Time

Utah Lizard

One thing that I loved about Utah was the astounding beauty of the canyons and mesas that surrounded us. I never knew that many shades of orange existed. The desert truly holds a magical quality that is hard to express without seeing it with your own eyes. I love how this little lizard above, you may have to look closely to find him, blended into his surroundings.

Grafton, UT ~ Ghost Town

I haven't blogged at all about our big vacation that we took this summer. Kaitlyn plays on a club volleyball team that qualified to go to the National Volleyball Festival this past July which was held in Phoenix, AZ. We decided as a family to drive down to Phoenix from the Tri Cities so that we could see a part of the country that none of had ever seen before. Boy, were we in for a treat!

It was a long drive and the kids did a fantastic job of getting along and not whining about when we were going to finally get there. We decided to plan some stops along the way to see some of the sites we had read about. The first stop I wanted to write about is a ghost town called Grafton, which is located in southern Utah just south of the Zion National Park boundary. It was an amazing place to visit. The town itself is nestled in a valley surrounded by the breath taking beauty of the mountains, mesas and canyons of Zion.

As you drive the scenic nine mile drive from the town of Rockville out to the town of Grafton you cross over a single track iron bridge that takes you over the Virgin River. You follow the pavement to a dirt road which winds and climbs its way into the hills. You know that you are getting close to the town when you arrive at Grafton Cemetery. This lonely cemetery has a few dozen graves with burials ranging from the period of 1860-1910. When we walked through the cemetery it made you realize how harsh life could be for these folks. Some inscriptions were for young children all under the age of 9; some from the same family. Others were victims of Indian attacks. This cemetery has been preserved with loving care and respect.

From the cemetery you drive down a dusty road to enter the town. Grafton was established in 1859 along the Virgin River as a settlement to grow cotton. By 1864 there were 28 families that called Grafton home. There were several log houses, a post office, church and a school/community center. While they were successful with growing cotton the nearby river proved to be unpredictable and would severely flood the area. In addition to flooding the residents had problems with attacks from the local Indian tribes which forced the town to be evacuated in 1866 during the Black Hawk War. The residents returned to the area permanently in 1868.

In 1886, the residents built a school house/church. This was also used as a community center and it still stands today. It has been wonderfully preserved for future generations to see. The last class was taught here during the 1918-19 school year.

Another wonderfully preserved building that stands near the school house is the Alonzo Russell home. It was built in 1861. Members of the Russell family continued to live in the home until 1944. They were the last residents to pick up stakes and leave the town of Grafton.

It was amazing to walk back in time and visit this town and imagine what it must have been like for these pioneers to live here. There are a couple more houses that are still standing along with a barn and granary that are surrounded by a split rail fence. I think it was great for our family to visit this ghost town. It put into perspective for us how hard those who have come before us worked to build the West and make a life for themselves and their families.

Sweet babe

This is Amber and she is such a sweet little filly. She was with our 4H group at the fair this year. This is how we all felt by the end of the week. We were all completely tuckered out!

We all had such a great time at the Benton Franklin County Fair! My kids learned so much and gained so much more confidence in their riding abilities. I have to give it to them. They were up at the crack of dawn every day for a week and we practically lived at the fair grounds. We stayed up late and knew that the alarm clock was going to be ringing very early the next morning. There was very little complaining and they were always willing to give a helping hand no matter how tired they were. Their efforts paid off and our 4H club got first place in Herdsmanship out of all the small clubs.

I thought I would share a few of my favorites shots from the week.

Thomas and Tipper bonded quite a bit in the weeks leading up the fair. By the end of the fair they were stuck at the hip! So fun to watch! Maggie was a great helper and she worked her tail off even though she wasn't able to show our horse yet. Kaitlyn was willing to work with the younger two and teach them what she knew. I love my kids!

Waiting....

I have been at a loss for words since the sudden passing of our sweet little husky, Sierra. My heart still aches when I think of her, which is a daily. I miss her sweet little face and how she adored our children. Her beautiful spirit was always so happy and eager to please her "people". My children keep telling me how unfair it was to lose her so soon. She was only 5 years old and I have to agree - it was totally unfair. We lost her to salmon poisoning which apparently is a very rare event. It only seems to happen in the Pacific Northwest. Dogs can get this from ingesting any part of a wild fish that is infected with a parasite called Nanophyetus Salmoncola. Usually this parasite itself is harmless but the danger occurs when the parasite itself is infected with a rickettsail organism called Neorickettsia helintheocalt. This microorganism is what causes the salmon poisoning. Dogs appear to be the only species that is susceptible to getting the salmon poisoning (i.e. cats, raccoons and bears don't get it even though they eat raw fish). Often times the treatment of administering an antibiotic and a de wormer can save a dog's life but sadly in our case it wasn't enough. We tried everything possible to save her. We lost her within a week of taking her to a lake in northern Idaho.

Our family has had a really hard time dealing with the loss of such a wonderful dog. But I do know that we will always carry her in our hearts. She blessed our lives with so much affection and the joy of her spirit. I find myself listening for her. Our house seems so quiet and empty with out her.

A fascinating thing has been happening in the days since we lost her. We have seen a multitude of dragonflies where ever we go. They will come and fly up to our windows and hover there. They jet around the back yard while we sit out on the deck. The other day my son told me that one was following me as we walked outside. I have been doing some research on dragonflies and what some cultures think they symbolize. In essence they represent the brevity of life and how we must live life to the fullest - making each moment special. The dragonfly lives a very short life but it knows how to life life to the fullest with the time it has been given. I believe that our little Sierra lived her short life to the fullest!

The picture above is one that I took of Sierra a few years ago. It is a familiar scene at our house. She ALWAYS waited for the kids to get off the bus every afternoon. Like clockwork she would go over to the window and sit and wait. She knew that her "kids" were going to be home soon. Sierra would greet them with so much love as they walked through the door. I had titled this image "Waiting..." It has always been one of my favorite photos in my collection It truly represents her essence. I will cherish it always. I know in my heart that Sierra is waiting for us until we see her again. We love and miss you little girl ... until we see you again someday.

Precious Moments

I usually don't have pictures of myself here on my blog but my husband was kind enough to take a picture of our daughter with me after we had spent an afternoon picking out flowers at the local gardening store. The above picture was the was result that had been inspired by a friend and coworker of mine who had given me this awesome wrought iron planter. Maggie was so excited and she had a bunch of ideas about what kind of flowers she wanted to plant. She had spent an afternoon looking through a gardening book that we had sitting in our bookshelf gathering dust, literally. It was so fun to watch her meander through the aisles at the store and decide what she thought would "go together". She was seriously inspired by what she had seen in the gardening book. So cute!

While we were at the store she encouraged me to buy a lavender plant of my very own. Whenever I see a lavender plant I always have to stop and smell it, touch the leaves and go on and on about how good it smells especially when it is in full bloom. So I think she thought I should have my very own lavender plant goodness right here at home! I followed her advice and we now have a lavender plant! Honestly, I hope I don't kill it (she would be so disappointed).

She could barely contain her excitement as we drove home. Maggie was chattering on and on about how she thought the flowers would look when we were done planting them. This day will be added to memory bank of precious times spent with my children. I highly recommend spending some quality one on one time with your kids doing something that brings them such joy and satisfaction. Their joy can be contagious!

Maggie dutifully waters the plants every day and I have taught her about "deadheading" and for those of you who don't know what that is, no, it has nothing to do with the Grateful Dead! She gave me the strangest look when I told her what we were going to do. I taught her how to identify the blooms that needed to picked off in order to help the plant convert more of its energy in to growing new blooms. She looks forward to "deadheading" now!

We had a fantastic afternoon spent together gardening. I hope it is something that we can continue to do together; that is until she is a teenager and thinks of something better to do. Ha! I will enjoy these precious moments together while I can!

Tiptoe Through the Tulips

Inspiration is an amazing thing. For a few months now I haven't been very inspired to take any pictures. As I have mentioned before I have been in a bit of a rut artistically. I have tried to be patient with myself and just wait for the motivation and the inspiration to occur. Earlier this week I decided to just grab my camera and go outside in the yard and take a look around. To my surprise my backyard is in full bloom! There are tulips, daffodils, hyacinth and there are even little tiny buds on my rose bushes. Isn't spring an amazing time? I am hoping if I just keep pushing myself to make the time to take a walk with my camera I will get my groove back. I am getting tired of waiting to have it happen spontaneously. Maybe that in and of itself is the answer. It is not waiting on the sidelines hoping something will happen but seizing the opportunities as they happen and even going out there and making the opportunities happen! The image above is a tulip that was happily growing by my front door. How many times had I walked right on by this?

One Friendship At A Time...

This blog post is going to be a bit different this time around. I am posting a link to a video that my husband Kendall made for COJ of some footage that he captured while on a mission trip to Honduras a few weeks ago. Those who are close to me know that I was lamenting that my husband was gone to Honduras for 10 days leaving me home to hold down the fort and tend to the kids...ALONE. I kept a running count down on facebook of how many days until he came home to us. Well, after viewing the raw footage that he captured while he was there I realized that it was well worth my being on my own for a few days.

Before he left I knew about the bare bones of this trip. I knew that he was going on this mission trip for work and that he was supposed to be capturing footage of the house they were building in La Masica and that they were going to be visiting a nursing home. Beyond that I wasn't exactly sure what he was going to be doing. I had heard several times at church about previous work that had been done during mission trips that our church has gone on. Deep down I could sense that this was going to be life changing experience for him. Little did I know how much it would end up touching me personally.

When he got home he had to log all of the footage that he captured. There were several times when I was watching the raw footage that I caught myself tearing up. I was deeply touched by the people and the faces that I was seeing. I wanted to know about them and who they were. I was captivated by the beautiful children and I was touched by the look of thanks in the eyes of the adults. Even now, even though I wasn't the one who went on the trip I find myself thinking of them on a daily basis.

When I watch the video it brings tears to my eyes and makes me want to be a better person. I want to look for ways that I can help others. It also makes me think about why I went into Anthropology in college. I finally decided on Anthropology because I found myself drawn to those types of classes. I loved learning about other cultures, their traditions and belief systems. Another interesting tidbit is that photography was something that was encouraged as a minor for Anthropology!

I want to thank my husband for sharing his experience with me. It has opened my eyes, my heart and my mind. I find myself thinking about how and where I can make difference whether it is in helping those people in Honduras or those here in our own community. My hope is that it will give you pause to stop and think about how fortunate we are to live where we do. How fortunate we are to have a roof over our heads, clean drinking water and an over abundance of food on a daily basis. Treating others with kindness can go a long way. I think we can help others...one friendship at a time!

Artistic Slump...

I am sure that every artist goes through times when they suffer from artistic melancholy. I would have to admit, that has been the case for me for past several months. For me personally, photography started out as way to express myself during a dark time in my life. I was dealing with the deaths of several of my close family members, my mother's diagnosis of cancer and all of the feelings of helplessness and sorrow that accompany times such as these. Photography became my outlet; a way to see the goodness and beauty that surrounds us on a daily basis. It became something that consumed my thoughts, in a good way. Looking back now, maybe it was an escape of sorts.

I was learning how to operate my camera, I was learning about the basic rules of photography, I was learning how to tell a story through an image! I guess it took my mind off of all the hard things I was dealing with in my personal life. It was a great distraction in a lot of ways. I have always tried to be a person that focuses on the positives; photography helped me to do just that. It gave me direction and passion.

Somehow in the past several months it seems that I have lost that passion. I see glimmers of it every now and again. But just as quickly as it came, it seems to fade away. When I put myself out there and shoot something I tend to focus on the flaws of the images I have captured.

I miss that passion that I used to have. I am not quite sure how to get that back. I read somewhere once that when an photographer captures an image he shows a little bit of himself. Well, if I could sum up how I feel right now, I think the image that would represent me is a tree, stark and barren in the winter months. Hopefully, this is just a time of hibernation for me. I am hoping that my Spring will come, my leaves will come back and I will burst forth with new passion and dedication to expressing my little view of the world.

Happy New Year!

Again, it has been far too long since my last post! The holidays were a whirlwind of activity in our household. It was a wonderful season spent with friends and family. One of my favorite parts of the holiday season is getting the holiday cards from those who are near and far. It is such a wonderful time of reconnecting and getting a glimpse into the lives of those we care about. It can make it seem like we don't live so far apart from each other after all. We are blessed to have friends who live all over the country and even have some who live overseas.

Now that the holidays are over and as we start a new year it is hard not to feel a little bit of let down after all of the hubbub of Thanksgiving and Christmas. January can tend to feel like a drab and dreary month after all of the color and festivities of the holidays ~ all the decorations have been put away and the anticipation is over. My understanding is the month of January can typically be a bit dreary and drab here in the Tri Cities weatherwise. As I recall, the month of January last year did fit that description but it was our first year here so I wasn't sure what to expect. Well, so far January is starting out in the typical fashion. I find myself longing for Spring already! I long for the bright lights and color that Spring will bring!

The picture above was taken in Wallowa, Oregon on a beautiful April morning in 2009. When I look at it, I see the promise of Spring. The sun will shine and the grass will be a vibrant green once again. I am already dreaming about the day that the first daffodil will make its appearance in our yard.

Although, if it decided to snow a couple of more times this winter I have some children who would be quite happy with that!