Larry got a job offer!

We are so thrilled that Larry will soon be working for an international company. The offer was great and it's an upgrade in pay. Larry is still jumping up and down right now (literally) and the phone call came about 20 minutes ago. It's a 45 minute commute so we don't have to move. For those who sent prayers and positive thoughts our way, thank you so much, we appreciate it!

Sweet sweet babies

I had a lot of fun with these twins! They were sleepy and perfect, I was able to do whatever I wanted with them. We dressed them up and dressed them down, I put an itchy tutu on the the little girl and put the little boy on a football. They were good sports! I always tell people to bring their newborns in within the first week or two of delivery because they are so easy to work with.

Here are a few of my favorites....

My pretty neice

Kylee turned 8 recently, she and Jared are about 6 weeks apart in age. We went to her birthday party and I got a cute picture of her. The next two pictures are for your viewing pleasure....... or displeasure. WARNING: Make sure you've already eaten, haha.








Well you can't say I didn't warn you.

I can share these now....

I took some photos within the last couple of weeks that I've been dying to share. However, I entered them into a local contest and I don't really know who knows about my blog, it's out there so I had to be careful. It's suppose to be anonymous until the contest has ended and all of the votes are in.

This one took 2nd place for the "Reflections" contest....


These others I considered entering, but didn't (only one entry allowed per contest)





I have more photos for the black and white contest, but the contest hasn't ended officially so I'll have to wait. Here are the photos I didn't enter.....

Something old, something new

I did a wedding with a friend yesterday and she brought a really cool toy. This Kodak Duaflex has a large view finder.


I pointed this antique camera at my subject and then used my digital camera to take a picture of the view finder. What I got was this really neat vintage effect.....







I'm going to be on the prowl for a camera like this to add to my collection because I really enjoyed what I ended up with.

I also got to meet up with my super awesome friends, we had lunch and enjoyed our time together. I miss hanging out with friends, I really need to do that more often.

Idaho Pole Dancer - hilarious!

This made me laugh today.

For Tara

My sister wanted an update and I haven't blogged in awhile so here is the latest. Larry went to a job fair in town and there were more than 1000 people that went in before noon yesterday. It was crazy! I saw the line on the news and it reminded me of pictures I've seen of the Great Depression and the men who would line up for work each day. Larry was waiting in line just to get into the building for about two hours and it was cold outside. He was afraid his resume would get lost in a sea of resumes, but he was able to talk with a person who was in a position to hire for about an hour. He spent time with other people who were also in a position to help him and they were all impressed with his resume. That was precious time considering there were hundreds of people swarming around this convention room. He was very grateful and he felt good about the day.

Even though we didn't do anything special for spring break, the boys enjoyed having more time at home with their dad. Today I thought it was time to update our family portraits so I pulled out the camera to play.

It is evident in his face that Jared really loves being alive. We love his energy and spirit!




David was not in the mood for pictures, but I managed to pull a little smile out of him. Even without a smile, he is so expressive!





Larry was mostly just messing around with poses, but I did something funny and got a real smile out of him.



And of course, there's me. Larry took this photo. I am never really comfortable on this side of the camera, I feel much better as a photographer than the model.



Last week, Larry and I went on a night shoot with the local photo club which I am a member of. It was raining and only a handful of people showed up. Everyone else decided to scrap the evening, but I didn't drive all that way to go home empty handed so I went shooting anyway. The nearby bridge normally has lights that come on and they didn't for some reason. However, I found a boat dock nearby and took a few shots there. Larry held the umbrella over my camera while I had my fun (what a sweetheart!). We both enjoyed the evening out.

Video of Niagara Falls

I froze my little fingers off to get this footage, but I wanted to show you what I saw while I was there. The whole area was ice and snow, it was gorgeous! I wish I had a better video camera to do it justice.

Just two more

I came across a gorgeous brick house. I don't know what it is about old brick houses, but I love them! Originally, there was a thick telephone line running across the upper half of the picture so I spent about 20 minutes carefully removing it. I love photoshop!





I feel I must be honest about this last one, anyone who does a little research knows that Niagara Falls doesn't do fireworks in the winter months. I realized when I got home that I only had one perfect image of the New York falls and I left too much black sky in the picture. I could always add a moon, but where would be the fun in that?

You can click on any of my latest images to view them in a larger size.

Back East

I was given the chance to take an expense-paid trip to Ontario. Here are some photos I took while traveling. This first one is of a chemical plant in Hamilton. It was cold and windy when I took this shot.



If you stood on Yonge Street in downtown Toronto, then this is what you would see (if you were color blind).



I've figured out that a lovely thing happens when the sun is either rising or setting at Niagara Falls, we get a beautiful rainbow in just the right place over the falls.



If you're thinking that I was lucky to get the moon just right in this shot, then I'd have to admit that it's fake. I thought the moon would add a nice touch over the white falls.