Sisters

I'm the dorky one on the right.

Big Boy Toys

Why is it that men love to play games?

I'm not talking about head games, although that is debateable.

I'm talking about Wii games.

They can just entertain themselves for hours.

This is my brother and my husband on Christmas Eve.

They love the Tiger Woods Golf game.

FMTSO: Angels

This week's theme for the Friday My Town Shoot Out is Angels, chosen by Kim at Life Is Now.

I searched and searched for Christmas trees and houses decorated with angels and through all my searching, I only found one angel displayed.

This little angel, which you can barely see watches over a yard in my parents neighborhood.

I love the movie, It's a Wonderful Life.

My favorite line in the movie is this:

Every time a bell rings an angel gets its wings.

So, in honour of my favorite line here is a photo of a couple of bells.

Maybe a few angels got their wings last night.

Here is my little angel, asleep in her bed.

Isn't she sweet?

I hope you all enjoyed your Christmas.

If you don't celebrate Christmas,

I hope you had a nice day off.

If you'd like to see other town shoot outs visit my town mr. linky for participants

and if you are interested in learning more about the Friday My Town Shoot Outs

please visit the main page here.

Thank you all and MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Shoot out at Bonnie Springs

Yesterday, Gayla and I spent the entire day shooting photos.

After all, practice makes perfect, right?

She was a good model when I needed one.

I took over 700 photos.

Yes, I got a little carried away, as I always do when I'm snapping pictures.

My husband has nicknamed me Trigger Happy.

Here is a sample of my photo shoot from yesterday.

If you click on the photos you can see the expression on the faces.

And below......

I become the model

After the shoot out at Bonnie Springs

We headed to the other side of town to Lake Las Vegas

Ah, it was a good day ending with a perfect margarita.

Christmas Tradition

Every year for Christmas,

we go to my parents house and open our presents on Christmas Eve.

Before my Mamaw passed away in 2001,

everyone used to go there.

It was the best. 

My Mamaw always cooked a nice turkey dinner with all the fixings,

and after dinner we would open our presents.

One year, back in 1997 I introduced a new Christmas tradition to my whole family.

I've always loved to write, and even more than that,

I love re-reading what I wrote years ago to see how much I've evolved.

I thought it would be a great idea to create a Christmas journal

for the whole family to write down their thoughts each year.

At first, I got a lot of bah hum bugs and naysayers

but I did get everyone to write something down that first year.

Now, it's tradition and everyone always asks if I brought the book.

One year, my brother-in-law, Rod, purposely forgot to sign the book

so the very next Christmas I wrapped it up like a present and when he opened it up,

everyone was rolling on the floor with laughter.

It has become quite a staple in my family.

If anyone else joins us for the holidays,

they aren't allowed to leave the house until they at least sign their name.

Yes, this is the original book and it still has pages to be filled.

The most precious page in this book was written by my Mamaw the year before she died.

Here is the page.  She had such a good Christmas that year. 

My eyes fill with tears every time I read it because I know what she went through the year before.

She was never much for writing, but that year she wrote  quite a paragraph.

I read it every year and I cherish her handwriting with all my heart.

Her words, her self expression, this is the best gift I have ever received.

Friday My Town Shoot Out` "Dressed For Christmas"

Here are some Christmas photos from my town of Las Vegas, Nevada.  I hope you're prepared because this is a long one.  I love, love, love Christmas and wouldn't you know, my first field trip with my camera club was to the Cactus Garden Christmas Lights at Ethel M. Chocolate factory, so I got just a teeny tiny bit carried away.  I took 194 photos during my field trip and it was hard narrowing it down to fit into the town shoot out because I wanted to share them all.  (it's the first time I've ever had any night time photos turn out, so I'm excited to be showcasing these)  Anyhow, I managed to put my favorites on here so I hope you can endure the tour.  Buckle up!

My first two shots come from inside Arizona Charlie's Casino in the banquet room where my camera club annual award dinner was held.  This was three nights before the field trip.  Remember, if you want to see detail just click on the photo and it will enlarge.

Three angels caroling

Two angels caroling by the Christmas Tree.

Here's a couple of photos taken in my neighborhood.

After looking at Rebecca's blog I grabbed my tripod,

hopped into the car and drove around the block.

These were taken at 11:00 p.m.

I was nervous too.  You know how touchy some people can get.

This is across the street from my house.

Around the corner and down the block.

Same house as above

(Click on phot to see more detail)

Another house around the corner.

Next up I'll take you on a tour of the Ethel M. Chocolate Factory Garden of Lights.

It's quite a tour.  I hope you're in for the long haul.

And remember to click on the photos for more detail.

That's my friend Gayla in the picture. 

Click on the photo to see the weird effect of the lights on her body. 

She looks like she's a ghost walking right through them.

The photo above is my very favorite.  I just love the colors and how the light reflects onto the rocks.

And inside the building,

Pretty brown boxes topped with bows.

Well, that's the end of the road folks.

It was a long drive.

Thanks for not asking, "Are We There Yet?"

Please click here to see more towns dressed for Christmas.

Thanks for seeing through my eyes.

A Puppy And A Friend For Christmas

This is my friend Tina's puppy.

I took this photo on our way home from Oregon

when we stopped in Yuba City to see her.

We hadn't seen each other in twenty years

and yet,

we picked up right where we left off.

We were childhood best friends from 2nd grade until 6th grade.

My family moved us out of town during my 6th year in school

and I didn't see Tina for another twelve years.

She actually found me in my hometown of Bakersfield

and she came and stayed about a week or two with me.

We went out dancing every single night

and we had the best kind of fun.

Then when it was time for her to go back home

I rode with her and stayed about a week with her in Rio Linda.

I got to meet all of her friends and we went out a few times.

We didn't see each other again until just two weeks ago.

It was amazing.

We have a really strong bond and I am still mystified by how much we are connected.

I think she is my soul sister.

Isn't her puppy cute?

Light Tricks