Sweet Freckles....

I can't forget my little Sam. He is so big now, but still so little. And he can be so angelic at times.

I love the kid to pieces.

Look, he's recently developed a very light sprinkling of freckles....

How sweet are they?!...

I told him that freckles are angel kisses. His response is "Well, those angels sure have been lovin' on me!"

Sam and Owen taking a break while riding scooters...

Owen's Birthday

Yes, I know his birthday was weeks ago, but, hey-I've been busy with Easter and all sorts of other stuff. (Like cleaning off my hard drive after I tried to download images off my CF card and my computer told me "NO". Yikes! That's been a big project and I'm still not done because I have to make sure everything is backed up and burned to CD before I remove it from my computer.) So anyways.....you get the idea.

So here's a random schmandom smorgasboard of birthday week festivities....

The yearly "hold-out-how-many-fingers-old-you-are" shot.

I had about two seconds to get this 'cause he wanted to be off riding his new scooter.

*Click on images to see them bigger*


He likes to do little "stunts" on his new scooter. Like putting his toes up on the front bar. Pretty smooth...

The super-fun birthday party at Pump It Up....

http://http//www.pumpitupparty.com/

The obstacle course is really fun to try to race your kids on. :) Even when you get owned. Not that I would know anything about that...haha

They had this AWESOME hallway.

Owen got to sit in a little throne.

"Hey Owen, look at Mommy real quick, so I can get a birthday picture!".....

"Owen, up here, honey! Look up here!"

"Hey now..."

Me: "Owen, pleeease? Look up here for just a second..."
Him:"Cheeessse..." (with a mouthful of pizza.)

Me: "Okay, I guess that will have to do."

Owen's best friend Ian wanted to sit with him. :) How sweet.

FYI: This Nerf dart tag set is SO FUN. We've spent many hours as a family having dart wars since his birthday. The kids like to set up ambushes and attack us parents. Good times, good times.

ANOTHER FYI: The set comes with safety glasses for a reason. Wear 'em. (SORRY MJ! Hope your eye is okay! I really was aiming for your stomach.)

Hey! There's the birthday boy! He's actually looking AT me! And smiling! And he doesn't have a mouthful of food! YES!

Oh, serious moment over....

Oh, wait a second....Could it be???

Photo magic....Isn't he a handsome little guy?

And now he's 5. And getting ready to go off to kindergarden. *Sniff* How can he be 5 already??!

Why I love Photoshop....

Photoshop is the most amazing program. Really. I'm not kidding. The people who created it are geniuses.

Look what it can do with a simple photo! This is from a senior session I did last week. Bakersfield alleyway. Pretty bricks and wildflowers, but also ugly garbage (and who knows what else) on the ground.

But with Photoshop....poof! Voila! The trash is magically gone and, oh!, where did those pretty leaves come from?! (They came from the ground in the before picture. I just cloned them and then added some color. Cool, huh?)

*click on the image to see it bigger*

The cloning isn't my greatest, but still, what an improvement! And look at all that beautiful rich color I was able to coax out! Scrumptious!

Anyway...THAT is why I *heart* photoshop. :)

Oh, and I still intend to post recent photos of the boys real soon....just have some business sessions I have to process first...
Good things come to those who wait. Where I am involved, good things come to those who wait....and wait.... ;)

Owen the Dancing Machine.....

This is somewhat of a flashback post....I took these in December, but with all the excitement of Christmas, I totally forgot about them until I came across them while organizing my photo files this week....

Owen is a maniac. A sweet, sweet dancing maniac. He LOVES dancing. And he has a style that's all his own.

It's TOTALLY fun to watch him (especially since he needs no partner or audience). It's even more fun to watch him when he's dancing in front of lots of people. Like, say.....at his preschool Christmas program....where he's the only one dancing....and having a blast!

Here's Owen....He's the one in the white shirt and striped tie..(in case you couldn't see the clear marking indicating which kid is mine, haha).

All seems pretty normal.... The kids are singing some sweet little Christmas song...

Oh, but wait....

The music is starting to groove with Owen...and he with the music.... See his foot tapping?

Ooh, that's some good music...he feels like doing a spin move...

How can you guys not be dancing? This is GREAT music!

Yeah, get down! Put your hands in the air like you just don't care!

Oh, but wait.....

Wait for it......

Wait for it......

Trust me, it's worth waiting for.....

The move to top all moves....

WooHoo!!!!!!

I think that move deserves a closer look!

You've got mad dancing skills, little buddy...

Oh, but he's not done yet...

His class gets to sing another song.

Starting to feel it again....that dancing mojo....

Ah, why not just give and dance?!

Oh yeah, rock it little guy!

Okay kids, lets all sit down for this last one....

Heh heh heh....he wants to dance again.... (See the glint in his eye as he rubs his hands together?)

Oh! He's breaking loose!

Add in a little kick for good measure....!

This kid's ON FIRE! WOOHOO!!!

I guess some parents would be embarassed, but not me. I am so happy that he had fun. And that I got to watch it. My little dancing machine.

Oh and once more, just for fun....



More recent photos to come real soon....... :)

I'm a finalist in a photo contest!!! AWESOME!

Hi all! A few weeks ago one of my favorite photographers announced a photo contest and asked for photos that represent "what the word L-O-V-E means to you". So I entered with the photo of my grandparents hands (scroll down, it's in my last post.) It's a very special photo to me and one that I am so thankful to have. Anyway, I shared a little bit of the story about my grandparents and how they've been married for over 70 years and this last year my G.G. had to be put in a care home for alzheimers patients. Though he still visits her often, she rarely remembers who anyone is and it's heartbreaking for him (for all of us, really). Well, on the day the photo was taken, we were there visiting Pop at his apartment and my mom brought G.G. over for us all to be together. She had no clue who I was, but aside from that, she was having a "good" day and remembered Pop. She agreed to hold hands with him and that's when I took this picture. It was so nice to see Pop happy for a little while. I know he misses her desperately and my heart hurts for him when I think about it.

Anyway, I love this photo. His big strong hands and her frail hands. And how he's gently cradling them.

Well, I was chosen from all the entries as a finalist. And you, yes, YOU, can help me win by going here: http://www.merakohblog.com/2008/02/15/l-o-v-e-photo-contest-finalists-time-to-vote-for-the-winner/#comments

and voting for me. But don't feel pressured to vote for me if you like another photo better. There are some really touching ones. But if you do like my photo...if it touches your heart....then please vote for me by leaving a comment in favor of photo #4. I'd be thrilled to win the Adobe Lightroom that is the grand prize.

Anyway....thanks for reading and voting!

xoxo, Cyndi

I'm so far behind, I'm not even going to try to catch up...

So instead I'll just post a few of my favorite recent (and not so recent) photos from the last few months.... =)

Yesterday I was stuck in the car for a while on the road, so I took advantage of it and played with my camera. Soooo.....here's me!

(Yeah, I know it's a bit too close, but I had my 50mm lens on and you can only hold it so far from yourself. Haha.)

Did you notice my awesome new scarf? It's one of my new favorite things! My friend Mihaela made it for me. And I LOVE it! And I love her for being so sweet and thoughtful. And I'm going to wear it everyday for the rest of winter. And I like starting sentences with "and." Here's a close-up of the yummy scarf texture and colors...

Check out my new hair! It's actually not really that red. The warm sunset light just makes it look that way.

And here is my other new most favorite thing. Or things.
I am smitten with this pair of shoes. Fifteen bucks at Payless and your feet couldn't be cuter!


And just for fun....no shoes. Notice my "finger toes". They're funny looking, but they're mine and I love them.

(I did say I was bored in the car, didn't I?)


And these are from this summer. I got them all ready to blog and them never got around to it.

This is my G.G. and Pop. They've been married a bazilion years. (Over 70 years, which is pretty close to a bazillion in marriage years.) G.G. has alzheimers and her memory is pretty much gone. But on this day, she remembered Pop and held his hand.

She is living in a private care home now. He misses her. =(


Everyone knows I have a love for feet. I like the story told by them. Most people don't realize that I feel the same way about hands. They speak volumes.

G.G and Pop's hands....

If I could tell you the things these hands have done...
G.G used to deal cards in Casinos and play boogie music on the piano with these hands...
Pop has rescued people from drowning and raced motorcycles with these hands...

I'll always treasure this picture.


Here is my Pop. He is a real-life hero and the hardest working man I have ever known. It's in his blood. (Both the heroism and the work.) As long as I've been alive, Pop has always been up before the sun and outside working in the yard or on some carpentry project or fixing something. I love this man deeply. I wish I could have every story he's ever told me on recording. He would let me tag along with him on his fishing trips even though I'm sure I just scared the fish away. He taught me how to drive stick using his own car. (Though I have since forgotten.) He loves freely and doesn't hold back his opinions and I just adore the man.


I love every wrinkle on his face and every bushy hair in his eyebrows and mustache. And the soft smile in his eyes. He's a big burly guy. The strongest man I know, but he's really a big softie, too.

And here's my G.G. It was nice to see a bit of her old self for a few minutes. She has always been so funny and lively. She's one of those spunky mischevious-type grandmas. She's always been the one who lights up a room or livens a party. I miss her...

I'm sure she had no clue who it was that was taking her picture. But she was still being friendly to me. And she remembered Pop for a few minutes which meant the world to him. And so my day was happy because of that.

I probably should have posted these in a seperate blog post, but I didn't want to put it off and chance overlooking them again.

Little Bandolero

He ain't mine, but he sure is cute!!!

Xander.... I can't get enough of him.

Cutest. Baby. Ever.