Vacation!

!Hola! Greetings! We have returned home from our wonderful, but short vacation. Sometimes I wish we could stay on vacation for...well, I'm not sure how long exactly, but they are always shorter than they should be. Anyways, my husband and I celebrated our 5 year Anniversary on Friday the 5th. But enough about that, let's get on with the vacation. Every year we try and go somewhere we've never been (always a good plan...lol). This year we decided to stay in Texas and head to Houston and Galveston. We took the scenic route down 35W to San Marcos for a little shopping first. After that we explored Wonder World and also went on the glass bottom boats. It was educational and fun, BUT very humid and hot. Our guide told us that where the boats were that they used to have underwater shows that people could watch in a submarine. How cool would that have been! Unfortunately, it's all gone now because it was too much to maintain and too hard for them to keep up with Sea World in San Antonio. That part of the park was shut down in 1994 or 1996 ( I can't remember). Now, the University owns the land and allows them to stay open for education and research. Next stop...Galveston. Althought hurricane Ike did a number last September in this area, for the amount of time that has passed, it looked in decent shape. I'm sure there are many areas that still are not up to par, but I think all in all it's done well in rebuilding in the short amount of time. We went to the Moody Gardens, which had just recently reopened, and spent a day and a half there. There's so much to see and do. I was a little disappointed in the Rainforest Pyramid as there were not any butterflies and only a few tropical species of birds. Most of the animals had been transferred out to different areas around the state, etc., so the gardens had not had time to replace them or gotten them back. It was still an awesome place to visit, though. Our last stop took us to the Space Center in Houston. Although I went as a child, I don't remember it. It was EXTREMELY crowded when we arrived, but to spend the day there was awesome! There was a tram ride that took you over some parts of the campus at Johnson Space Center. We also got to see a special exhibit with some of George Lucas' works. Darth Vadar and some Storm Troopers were walking around inside the center. Our drive home was uneventful until we were about 20 miles outside of Dallas about 12:30am on Thursday morning. Nature was putting on quite a lightning show and the storm clouds were beautiful but had me a little worried. The rain came loud and fast and it was all we could do to see with the wipers on full blast. This is where some people, and a few were, would pull over until it lightened up a little. We just pushed through. CAREFULLY, I might add. All we could do was think about how nice it would feel to sink into our pillows at home. AAAAAHHHHH.....zzzzzzzzzz Oh, sorry! :) Here's some pics of our vacation! Enjoy! :)

In Memorium

Late last week one of my Grandmothers passed away. She was in her 70's and had a wonderful life. She is survived by many, but loved by all. Her and my Grandpa live out of state in the country. As a child, my brother and I were really blessed because we had 2 and a half sets of grandparents ( 3 grandmas and 2 grandpas). About 10 years ago, we lost one of our grandfathers. Now, we're down to 2 grandmothers and 1 grandfather. Anyways, Grandpa seems to be doing as best as to be expected. He says he's "putting one foot in front of the other."

What I remember most about my Grandma is how long she always kept her hair. During the day, she always either wore it in a long braid or up in a bun, depending on what she was doing that day. I remember being in wonder at how long and beautiful her hair was when she brushed it out at the end of the day. (My other two grandmas keep their hair short). I remember Grandma's smile and how when she laughed she had this sparkle in her eyes. When we were kids, and even on the occasions later on when we visited my grandparents, she always made my grandpa breakfast (usually sausage in an iron skillet with toast and coffee) every morning. Sometimes it was only coffee, but she made sure he had everything he needed before she took care of herself or went off to work. When my brother was younger, he would go and visit my grandparents every summer for two weeks. He liked to help my grandpa in the chicken houses. I wasn't old enough to help and ususally didn't get to go that often in the summer because the two weeks my brother would go and visit, I usually had Girl Scout camp. I remember as a kid, her and my grandpa owned restaurants, too many to remember---they loved to cook and serve. They had this one restaurant (Mexican food was their favorite) where they had a game room in the back. All of us grandkids would get together and play in the gameroom before dinner and afterwards when all of the adults were talking. Every time we went to visit, there was always a new adventure waiting on us.

Grandma was someone you could always count on and loved you no matter what. She never passed judgement, but was always there to lend a hand. Her family was most important to her.

On our long drive to the graveside service, I wondered what she would say and think about all of the fuss for her. Standing there at her memorial, underneath the beautiful, shady trees with a slight breeze on a sunny and mildly warm day, I could see her, feel her, and hear her saying how much she loved each of us. Grandma loved the country and the fresh air. One of her favorite places was her backporch where she could sit for hours and enjoy the outdoors. She is at peace now.

Enjoy your NEW backporch, Grandma. And remember, Grandma, we love you! You will be missed...

Keep in Touch...

Well, that's all for this week and next week is the beginning of a new month, so until next time, keep in touch, don't be a stranger, etc. Don't forget to visit our Boudoir Blog at: www.artistryoflight.buttonsandbowsboudoir.blogspot.com for updates as well! See you soon! :)

"Syria"

About 3 weeks ago, I photographed a good friend of mine, Yukari, to help her update her modeling portfolio (her modeling name is Syria, in case you're wondering and you can find her on http://www.modelmayhem.com/kaoriangel). We decided to do a sort of fashion shoot in old, rusty, character-driven places for a different look (she's on our Boudoir blog as well). Before I forget, I have to give a shout out to a few people who helped us along the way. First, to Patty with the local Chamber of Commerce for all of her wonderful suggestions of places to photograph. Second to the owner of the Old Peanut Mill in Aubrey. Thank you for letting us borrow this wonderful old landmark (I'm sorry I forgot your name and I lost my paper that it was on..nice, huh? ;) ). Third, to Wes and his wonderful antiques store/art gallery and Dolly and her Cafe' who helped to put us in touch with Maggy. To Maggie and Roland for letting us use your wonderful old house. What a beautiful place to photograph at! To the guys at the Aubrey Fire Station for letting us use your building and firetruck as a "prop". And last, but not least, to Kiki, Yukari's friend from Hawaii for her input and assistance in the photo shoot. I'm sure I've probably forgotten someone, so if I have, I'm sorry, but Thank You as well. Man, I feel like I just won something and am giving a speech...lol. Anyways, here are some of our favorites from the shoot.

First Communion

This year I also got to photograph my first First Communion at St. Ann's in Coppell. Although we didn't actually photograph the ceremony, we did photograph the First Communicates and their families, siblings, or best friends. I have to give a shout out to Gayla because she was an angel throughout the process. Thank You! Gayla, you're photographs are in the mail,(and so are everyone else's) so hopefully this doesn't spoil the surprise for you!

No Boys Allowed

About 3 weeks ago, I went and photographed a 98th Birthday Tea Party for a family. It was a wonderful experience because we got to enjoy celebrating a woman whose lived life to the fullest (so it seemed) and she's still spunky! I love that about Mimi! :) When we arrived, we also found out that there were two other girls who were celebrating birthdays around the same day as Mimi's birthday. One young lady was celebrating her 14th birthday, while the other was celebrating her 1st birthday. What a wonderful idea using a Tea Party to celebrate the range of ages. It will be a lasting memory for all those who attended, even the one year old as she'll have photographs to look at.... Thank you, Marilyn, Marilee, Mimi, and the whole gang for allowing us the awesome opportunity to capture this precious time.

Cari's Maternity

My friend Terry's daughter, Cari, and Cari's fiance' are expecting their first child in just a couple of weeks or less. It's a BOY! So, CONGRATULATIONS!!! A couple of months ago I photographed Cari and James at the Stockyards for Cari's Maternity session. I've been working on their shower gift (the shower was in April---perfection takes time you know...) for a couple of months. Hopefully, Cari won't see this update until later next week or so because these pages are from her Maternity album that we made for their Baby gift. Cari, if you do see this, oh well...you just have to wait to see the rest...lol. We had so much fun, even though it was a bit hotter than expected. Near the end, we got a breeze...that's the way it goes, of course...oh well, what can you do? Laugh it off, Sunshine. Laugh it off!