Mother Nature...If Momma aint happy, nobody's happy!

Well, I'm back after losing power for almost 2 days. Shades of 2004 when we were one of the neighborhoods that lost power for 5 days! Not fun! My freezer and frig are nice and empty right now so off to the store I go today. I almost cried when I had to throw out an UNOPENED box of chocolate ice cream...that's just not right...sigh.

Oh well, at least my computer didn't get fried. We had a huge bolt of lightening hit and it sounded like it was right in the back yard. Hope all is well with everyone and hope we are done with this weather!

Since we didn't know when the power would be back on, and Friday was so stinking beautiful outside, we decided to grab Gigi and head to the zoo. She had had a stomach bug a few days before so decided to cling to Grandma and not walk and was quite happy to be pushed around the zoo. Pops and I are feeling it today...this is why God doesn't let old people have kids...love to have them for visits and then we need to recoup a lot afterwards! The Fort Worth Zoo is one of the best ever! I've been to the San Diego zoo and while its great, I think FW's is just as good. We hadn't been in about 12 years (practically lived there when my son was growing up!). I couldn't believe all the changes they've made. They have a new Penguin exhibit coming that looks like its going to be really cool...think it where the old aquarium was located. Gigi's favorite animal was the elephant and she would raise her arm up and make an elephant sound...too cute! And I bought a bag of popcorn to munch on while we were there, gave her a few pieces to see how they sat on her stomach and she loved the popcorn and kept saying "more" and making the sign language sign for more when she did it! I think her daycare taught her that...how smart is she? She's point out the animals to us and say "dog!"...they were all dogs to her or maybe dog is just the same as "animal."

Okay, Grandma brag time over...I have to say I made a big sacrifice for the zoo yesterday. I decided to leave the camera at home and "be in the moment" instead of trying to "capture the moment"...its so important to do that but when I saw all the mom's and dad's with their cameras out there it was hard! I think we just need to buy a zoo membership so we can go back a lot throughout the year! See I don't even have one picture to post with this blog....

Can You Hear Me Now?

My husband used to work for Verizon so of course when I saw this little guy strike this pose, that's what went through my mind. I thought it was too funny...the toddlers just love the cell phones! We got some "real" shots, this was a cute grab, not trying to be serious here at all. I had a busy weekend...5 little boys from all the different sessions. Boys are just too cute! This little one had to have a "hold" break every now and then (that's when he needed Mommy to come give him a quick hug and would ask for it by putting his arms out and saying "hold").

Such sparkly eyes!

Meet Z Man! He's 4.5 and has the most sparkly eyes....they just photograph like a dream! I can't decide if his eyes are green or brown or a combo...but beautiful! He started off a tad shy but quickly warmed up to the session. It helped that the location was fun and they even had a race exhibit set up with stuff for the kids to do. That was a nice thing to be rewarded by at the end! Mom and Dad come in 5 hours away for their photo session - wow, that's a nice compliment! Ok, it helped just a little that they came in to see Thomas the Train and stay at the Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine...I have to go check that place out, sounds like a blast!

Yummilicious Brothers

Meet the "K" Brothers! I asked Mom how she managed to space them out so perfectly...5.5, 3.5 and 1.5! They were so cute, and the little one I have my eyes on for my grandbaby's first boyfriend....maybe give it 10 years! They were really an easygoing bunch, the baby was active as all toddlers are...his oldest brother was such a big help with him, he really looked out for his little brother (though I think he wore him out...toddlers are busy!). "R", the middle brother was just a little charmer, cute, cute smiles and he's such a happy guy! I love this shot, can't remember what they were looking at but it really had their attention!

I'm a weiner...Uhm, I mean winner!

Our city has been having a photo contest for the last 20 years and I started entering back in 2000. It's open to amateurs and pros alike. I think I may not have entered a couple of years but try not to miss it. It's a lot of fun and you can watch the judging on the local cable station. The judging is always interesting to see why they liked certain photos and the technical stuff they point out.

Anyway, I just got the call that I won 1st Place in three categories: People and Their Activities, On the Road and Pets. Cool! So here they are (drumroll please)...the big winners! And the photo subjects for everything but On the Road will receive an 8x10 print of their photo. I figured the steers could care less and where would they hang their print...in the pasture???

Mr. Happy

Okay, this is just one of the happiest babies ever! He has such a sweet, good natured personality which makes my job so easy! Smiles about 75% of the time, and when he's not smiling he's just got a serious expression, checking out the world. He's yummy! Making me want a grandson now.....hint, hint! I love 9 month old babies because at this stage they are able to stand up and that delights them, sitting up really well by now and crawling but not too fast...and not walking yet usually so they are easy to keep in one place. Mom, you sure make cute babies!

Little Miss Sassy

This little girl just melts my heart...she's the baby of one of my earliest families, I've been capturing them since 2001! This is their last baby (I think!) and her strawberry blonde curls are so sweet and she's at the really cute age where their little personalities start to show through. She cracked me up today by doing all the hand gestures to the song "Wheels on the bus go round and round" - I sang it a lot today...well we all did, Mom and sister too! Now I can't get that song out of my head! Her session today was an absolute dream...a little cold but after a few minutes she just explored the Botanic Gardens and gave me so many good captures it was really hard to edit them out! Definitely adding many of her images to my website - which is overdue for some newer work anyway!