BackCountryBelle

PHS Homecoming 2012

noreply@blogger.com (backcountrybelle) — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 23:05:00 PDT

Homecoming night proved to be another great night for the town and all of the kids. The football team kicked some ball and the crowds were roaring with fierce enthusiasm.

This is how it went....

Since their school doesn't go formal with their homecoming dance, I didn't let that stop me from taking the dress outside for a few pictures while waiting for her to get home and get ready for her big night.

She's ready, and I only got a moment with her before her sister picked her up and took her to the game.

For some reason my girls didn't want a "sisters" picture, I couldn't get Hailey out of the car, but I managed to get one of her and her friend while they drove by saying, "oh and mom we need money."

At the football game, the seats were packed and the crowds were excited since Prescott was beating Cactus Shadows.

At half-time Prescott was doing awesome.

The cheerleaders kicked off the start of the royalty.

Last year's royalty and the couple from the 1950's were honored.

Homecoming King and Queen!!

Nominees ~ Riley and Nick

Nominees ~ Adrianna

Even though I was 10 blocks from where I wished I were standing taking pictures, I was so happy to be there and so proud watching my daughter.

The end.

Homecoming Parade 2012

noreply@blogger.com (backcountrybelle) — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 19:39:34 PDT

Our town knows how to do it right when it comes to celebrating important holidays and milestones. Last week was Prescott High School's spirit week, Homecoming Parade, football game and dance. It was quite a busy week for the kids and teachers as well as all of the volunteers who made so many things possible to celebrate our kids.

This is how it went....

In honor of spirit week and homecoming the high school puts together a homecoming parade with floats for each class and all of the nominees and attendants ride along in the parade waving and throwing candy to the little kids watching.

The varsity football team looked really cool sitting on the firetruck - they got off easy not having to build a float!

The cheerleaders walked, jumped and cheered around the town square showing off their spirit and great moves!

Our daughter, Megan, was voted Homecoming Attendant for her class of 2015.

We were so proud and happy for her to have been nominated.

Her sophomore class decorated their float with an alien day theme from spirit week. I never figured out the alien part but it was fun anyway. Megan was also happy to have her best friend, Selena, on the float too.

The kids did really well when it came to thinking up ideas for their class floats. The wild animal float was pretty fun to see.

Dodging the flying Tootsie Rolls, I was able to get a few shots without falling over little kids diving for the loot!

PHS has a lot of clubs and the kids did a lot of walking to show them off.

Homecoming Nominees ~ Nick and Riley

Homecoming Nominees

The awesome police department kept everything safe and under control, a big thanks to them and the town for supporting the kids.

After the parade the kids all went to the original home of PHS, now known as Mile High Middle School, and had a pep-rally-bon-fire celebration to kick off the football game the following night.

Our daughter's friends ~ Nick and Riley who were nominated for King and Queen.

The fire was awesome, it was the center of the rally and gave us the only light to see with which was good for the parents.

That awesome fire would not have been possible without the team of firefighters who maintained and watched the kids to ensure all went off without a hitch. We were so grateful for their support.

This cutie-patootie cheerleader is special to me as I have watched her grow-up with my girls.

Here's two of the most important people in my life, my beautiful daughters, who make me cry nearly everyday with frustration of raising teenagers, but who also bring me more joy than can be explained. We are so proud of both of you!

Incredibly Proud

noreply@blogger.com (backcountrybelle) — Sun, 16 Sep 2012 13:38:45 PDT

Last week was a blur, I took a break from the ranch and went to the mall for some me time, not really, I'm remembering that I went there to meet my oldest who needed some new outfits for her Senior portraits, but the fact was I was out of the house without a three year old attached to my leg and feeling free as a bird.

This is how it went....

As I wondered through Dillards, texting my oldest daughter to meet me in the Juniors Department in ten minutes, I received a call. Normally my phone doesn't get good service in the mall and I don't answer, but I looked down at the number and thought maybe it was a mom that I have been waiting to hear from, so I answered. I listened to the woman on the phone introduce herself, I didn't understand what she said due to her accent, but I did hear the part when she said Assistant Principal from the high school. As I stood there, frozen like a statue in the Housewares Department, my heart nearly fell to floor and back. She went on to tell me that my daughter was involved in an altercation and she wanted to let me know what happened based on the information she had gotten so far. My mind was racing, ALTERCATION, then I experienced split second flashes of ALTERCATION scenarios, [fight - police - accident, caught for something], I settled my brain and let her talk and explain the situation.

My daughter was the victim of another student who was overly jealous that her boyfriend talked to my daughter in art class. The jealous student conjured up some thoughts that my daughter liked her boyfriend and apparently she wasn't going to have that. She physically and verbally attacked my daughter in the hallway between classes and to top it off her twin sister joined in on the attack. The scene was like that of something you would have seen on a reality show with two uncontrollable screaming girls two inches from their victim pushing and screaming like animals. My daughter said she was scared but knew the ramifications of fighting back and didn't want to stoop to their level. She was able to not let the fear show and walk away to get to her class and find a friend to tell what had just happened before the class started. Her teacher was out in the hall talking to another teacher when the sister of the jealous girl came bursting in the classroom and stomped over to my daughter once again with her face red and bursting like an explosive volcano and began screaming and warning my daughter to stay away from the boyfriend my daughter could care less about. Once again, my daughter had to pull her strength back, the thoughts raced in her head on how to protect herself, but somehow she restrained her thoughts and conducted herself in a lady-like manner. Her teacher finally heard the commotion and ran over to them pulling the out-of-control sister out of the room and hauling her to the principal's office. My daughter sat down in her chair with her heart pounding and thinking to herself what just happened. She didn't know either of the girls, had never even spoken to either one of them and from a single moment of walking from one class to another an event such as the one that happened changed her day in a flash.

The principal told me she thought she had the situation under control but I needed to talk with my daughter and call her the next morning. She explained that she believed my daughter was the victim of a bullying situation and they would get to the bottom of it. I hung up with her feeling sick inside, the kind of sickness that envelopes your being to the core. I worried and thought and worried some more. As I found the exit to the store I dialed my daughter's number and no answer. I called my oldest to see if she knew what went on at school, no answer. I drove to the school and sat in my car waiting to my daughter's sport practice to end. When she came out, just seeing her face calmed me, her smile made me feel better instantly. The long ride back to the ranch was filled with the story of what happened. I was so proud of her and how she conducted herself with the exception of a few words that came out of her mouth that I would have rather not heard.

The next morning I called the principal to set up a meeting, I didn't hear back for several hours and then I received a call back from her. She told me she had met with the witnesses and confirmed who was in the wrong and explained that in all her years of administration and dealing with conflicts among students she had never met a child who conducted herself in such an exemplary manner. All three girls were talked to separately and then together, there's something to be said about bringing the bully in front of the victim. Things seem to come out that otherwise might not have. Maybe they have a bad home-life, or have had a rough upbringing or maybe it was an incredibly bad day that turned ugly. We will never know. The bottom line was the twins were sorry, especially the sister, and they realized what they did was beyond wrong and vicious and uncalled for. If there is a next time with someone else they may not be so lucky to have the opportunity to shake hands and walk away. The next time, if there is a next time, will result in a jail cell and a problematic future. I said a prayer for them and their future and thanked God for how it turned out.

The silver lining to my daughter's rough week was perfect in my eyes, she was announced Homecoming Attendant for her class. Once again, I was proud of my daughter and her accomplishments.

I love my kids and I'm so thankful for them.

A Walk On The Wild Side

noreply@blogger.com (backcountrybelle) — Sat, 15 Sep 2012 22:00:13 PDT

Today or was it yesterday [I can't remember] Sophia and I decided we were going outside to explore. We had a chicken coop to look at, kittens in the barn to check on, and a new alfalfa field to see.

We started on our journey outside and this is how it went....

We made it to the barn first which was top priority on our busy list of things to check on. Sophia ran ahead of me to check on her very special barn kittens who love the attention they get from her. She knows she has a very important job of checking on the food and water bowls. She also feels it's important to name and rename the kittens nearly everyday. She had all four named within minutes of looking at them starting with 'Princess' who was named 'Strawberry Shortcake' and 'Swirls' who was named 'Grey', and I can't remember the rest of the ever changing names, but I go along with it just to see the happy smile she has with each name she thinks up.

After the name changing was over I watched the kittens one-by-one jump around and play, making my day by listening to the sound of my three year old's laughter.

"Swirls" had fun playing with her cowgirl partner.

When we were done at the barn we moved on down the road until we made it to Sophia's Enchanted Castle. Her castle is a beautiful weeping willow tree which sets amongst a large wall of boulders she climbs on. All four kittens and all three dogs followed right along as if it were their castle too. Before we knew it we had all of the kittens in the tree jumping from branch to branch and all the three dogs on the ground looking up just waiting for one of the kittens to drop.

Boy was Lucy the dog happy to have one of her fury little friends down at her level. They can play for hours.

Somehow we never made it to see the chickens or the new alfalfa field, before we knew it, it was lunchtime!

Double Take

noreply@blogger.com (backcountrybelle) — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 21:50:16 PDT

This evening cowboy Vic took Sophie and I out for a Ranger ride to check on things.

What type of things do we check?

There's a lot of important things....

Someday's it's the chickens.

Someday's it's the alfalfa fields.

Today it was the cows.

This is what we found.

Just a double take!

Kinda cute watching them in double.

Just another slow day at the ranch!

Roller Coaster

noreply@blogger.com (backcountrybelle) — Sat, 11 Aug 2012 09:49:28 PDT

Being a parent and watching your children grow is such a wonderful thing but it can also rip out your heart at the same time.

My week was filled with a roller coaster of emotions.

This is how it went....

Our kids, all three of them, started school this week. That sounds ordinary enough, but knowing our first is in her last year of high school, our middle is only two years away from her last year, and our three year old is starting preschool is just too much for a mom to handle. It's feels like being on a roller coaster with the highest most thrilling part of the track being the excitement of our littlest finally going to school and the exhilarating loop-de-loop being the excitement and fear of our oldest growing up and heading in new directions and ultimately ready leave the park!

Off to school they went for yet another year of fun with their friends. After they drove off, I sat at the kitchen table and reflected on what great kids they are and how much I love them and then I cried....for just a moment, remembering each of their first days to kindergarten and thinking, wasn't that just yesterday?

Only two short days later, we got back on the roller coaster and took our youngest to her first day of preschool.

We went out into the yard to do the traditional pictures that all of us do, and I became overwhelmed with those darn emotions again. I wanted to take pictures of every inch of her to somehow hold onto how beautiful those little hands are, and how cute she looked in her kitty-cat shirt she picked out for her first day, and those little toes that I so want to remember forever.

I captured her, a resembling mixture of her two sisters, and her sweet smile that can bring her daddy to his knees.

I captured her curls that she was so proud of, as she couldn't wait to show her new friends her hair. So sweet what their little minds think.

I captured her and her excitement about the simplest, her Hello Kitty Thermos. She was so amazed by the button and the flip-up straw. That's what I want to remember is her excitement.

We made it to the entrance.

I took a deep breath in, crossed my fingers that everything would go well, and smiled at that little munchkin face she makes when she's excited.

I stayed behind to watch, she led the way telling her daddy and I where her classroom 'probably' was. She remembered from the tour we took days before where her cubby was and where to hang her backpack.

We were proud.

She went right in without fear, no tears, and sat right down where her teacher told her a puzzle was waiting for just for her.

How do some have such bravery and others want to cling to us. I have had both, all I can figure out is that she is ready to leave mom and move on to the next adventure in life.

I'm sad, but I'm happy too.

Pet Faces Photo Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (backcountrybelle) — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 16:56:58 PDT

It's "Pet Faces" Photo Contest over at I Heart Faces.

I thought it would be fun to post "Kitty loves Froggy" in the photo contest and see what happens!

Backyard friends.

Go check out other Pet Faces entries at I Heart Faces they are all so cute.

A Ballerina Princess Day

noreply@blogger.com (backcountrybelle) — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 20:45:04 PDT

Taking pictures trying to capture the essence and emotion of the person in front of the lens is one of the greatest challenges for a photographer.

Taking pictures of kids is sometimes a challenge in itself.

Taking pictures of my own kids, well that's beyond a challenge, when they see the camera come out of the bag, they run, then scream, "not again!"

Then they hide from me!

It's not fair.

Somehow, I was able to talk Soph into yet another shoot.

{ I'm sure it wasn't the bribe of a new ballerina dress to wear. }

This is how it went...

My heart melts more every time I look at her.

Love.

Capturing Special Moments

noreply@blogger.com (backcountrybelle) — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 17:54:56 PDT

I don't usually take pictures of people I don't know.

I was down at the beach last night taking pictures of my kids and other family when I saw this older woman sitting on the beach watching her husband fish in the ocean. Something about her and the way she sat there watching him, intently, and smiling every so often was very compelling to me.

I tried to walk away and stop watching her watch him, but I couldn't.

I took a picture of her.

Then I had to get a picture of him.

Eventually, she got up and joined him, my heart skipped a beat, and I took another picture. For me, it's wonderful to be able to capture a beautiful moment in time, watching the love between husband and wife is unmatched by anything in this world.

A Little Fun

noreply@blogger.com (backcountrybelle) — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 16:43:24 PDT

Some days on the ranch are interesting...

Some days are hard work...

Some days are relaxing...

Some days are funny...

We received a visit from a new critter who was obviously lost, he belongs down at the creek, but ended up in our back yard.

The dogs didn't pay much attention to him.

Kitty found Froggy...love and friendship at first sight!

Banana Graham Pudding Treats

noreply@blogger.com (backcountrybelle) — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 08:59:44 PDT

Fourth of July is one of my favorite holidays. Celebrating in Prescott is one of the best ways to enjoy hometown holiday festivities. We get together on the grassy baseball fields where our town sets up entertainment for all ages. All of our friends get together with food, drinks and desserts fit for kings.

This year I made Banana Graham Pudding cups for the kids.

Simple and Quick

This is how it went....

Crush graham cracker and layer the bottom of the small 3oz Solo cups, fill with banana pudding and top it off with a graham cracker.

The kids loved these little treats. The best part is you can make these ahead and have them in the refrigerator ready to go!

Enjoy!

Ranch Work

noreply@blogger.com (backcountrybelle) — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 11:11:08 PDT

Things have been busy around the ranch, so busy that I haven't been finding time to post like I usually do. I like to keep you up to date, so I think I will post a picture everyday until I can do the full post later.

The other exciting thing going on in my little corner of the Web-World is....I'm working on a new website and Blog to follow!

Woo Hoo!

I'm really excited I found a great website builder, I will be sure to post about that later too! So the next two weeks will be busy for me as I get everything ready for the big build.

Until tomorrow....

Have a great day!

On The Golden Pond

noreply@blogger.com (backcountrybelle) — Thu, 31 May 2012 09:31:17 PDT

I love fun photo shoots especially when the location turns out amazing. I recently took Senior pictures for a great girl who is strikingly beautiful inside and out.

This is how it went....

We started out the shoot at her house in the front and back yards where her and her little brother used to play when they were young. Selecting personal and memory filled locations makes any portrait session even more special.

An outfit and location change proved to be the perfect recipe to our time together. We had planned on shooting near this tree cropping where the tall grasses were the perfect color and height for the shots, but along the way we stopped at an open meadow where the afternoon sunlight was magical. I'm so glad we did because many of the shots were my favorites.

Awe, I love this one, I think I could look at it all day.

We moved on from the meadow and down to the pond where her and her brother used to catch tadpoles and scout for fish. The scene was truly one of those that made my heart skip a beat. The beauty of the grasses in the sunlight and the rich textures made me nearly fall over from excitement. She looked stunning and I could hardly contain myself!

Speaking about my self containment...the next set of shots nearly made me faint! We decided that it would be really fun to get her in the water and take some shots. When I saw the scene before me I was filled with such excitement that I felt like bursting out screaming to the world..."do you see this beauty before me!" but no one was around to listen to my ranting except the two of us, so I bottled up my emotions, threw them on the shore, and got into the water with her.

The water was cold but we didn't notice too much, we were a little more concerned about falling in too far or what was lurking around our feet. We were laughing and having so much fun that nothing really mattered except getting the perfect shots.

The perfect ending to a perfect shoot!

Birthday On The Lake

noreply@blogger.com (backcountrybelle) — Tue, 22 May 2012 08:02:56 PDT

Our nephew had a birthday.

It was at a lake in our neck-of-the-woods.

I was happy.

This is how it went....

My cutie-pa-tootie nephew, Ty, has this really great mom who plans really cool birthday parties, and this was one was no exception.

The theme of the party was fishing, his mom had the table decked out in all things fishing and set for a fun day in the cool pines hanging out with family.

When the family finished fishing, [that's a lot of fff's], everyone headed down to the lake, this is when the guys decided to check out who could skip rocks the farthest.

Ty has a great throw, he's learned from the best...his dad.

This is my brother, my twin, the skipping king.

He taught his technique to his daughter, Natalie.

She followed along...

Finally, she tries it on her own and skips it three times.

Then it was time to teach his oldest daughter, Audrey. She rocked her skipping training too.

Once the kid-training was over it was time for him to test his skills.

Six or seven skips across the lake proved his skills are worthy of the title we bestowed to him...Pro-Skipper.

This is my other brother, Shawn, and his family.

He's a skipping king too.

We had a fun day celebrating Ty's birthday and hanging out together.

The End.

Happily Ever After

noreply@blogger.com (backcountrybelle) — Wed, 02 May 2012 12:23:59 PDT

Prom finally came after all of the planning, preparing and buying. Then it went like a fleeting moment.

This is how it went....

The theme for the night was....

Happily Ever After

Both of my daughters were asked to Prom this year. It was a bit of a challenge with planning for two. Since it was Hailey's, the oldest, Junior year Prom, we focused on getting her dress first, along with the shoes, jewelry, appointments, etc. Megan is a Freshman, technically Prom is only for Juniors and Seniors, except when a Junior asks an underclassman.

Searching high and low for the perfect dress, we finally found one that had "princess" written all over it. Hailey loves bright colors and "we-the-parents" were happy it nicely covered everything, unlike 60 percent of the dresses!

[I wore the same style to my Junior Prom, but I didn't tell her that or she would have found a reason not to like it, for fear of looking like her mother!] {smile}

Hailey is an imerging self-taught make-up artist and was asked by her friends to do their Prom make-up. In between getting ready herself, she applied makeup to her friends, which I have to say was exceptionally great!

When her date, aka, Prince Charming, arrived he sat on the couch waiting for his princess and watching all of the moms in our house run around stressed, taking snapshots and helping the girls with their dresses. We had 6 girls altogether getting ready. The dads were as cool as cucumbers out back on the patio having a BBQ and a cold beverage!

Just before she came out of the room, "okay Mom, how do I look?" I, with a knot in my throat, said, "absolutely breathtaking."

Now lets get out of the bedroom and get some pictures of you two!

The prince got up from the couch and smiled with a blown-away-look on his face mixed with a bit of excitement, and gave her a hug. Then he reached for the flowers and began tying the flowers to her wrist.

Beautiful.

The princess had a bit of trouble here as she didn't know how to properly pin his flower. She figured it out and laughed about it.

Stunning Taylar.

While the kids talked and laughed I had a few of the girls come out for a picture. I wasn't able to get a good one of my youngest princess as she had to leave in a hurry like Cinderella at midnight! [Momma was not happy about that but she had to go to her date's parents home for pictures.]

This is Gunner, another prince-charming and date of Taylar.

Beautiful Brette.

Waiting for her date to arrive.

Out the door and off to the Charlotte Hall Museum where the entire school of Prom kids and parents meet to take pictures of the kids.

We finally found our younger princess, gave her a hug and she was off and running taking pictures with all of her friends and her date.

Sisters, our two beautiful princesses.

Catching a moment with their dates.

Some of the other princesses!

Oh the dresses!

They were all so beautiful.

I think I was in dress heaven!

Friends...

Childhood friends and princesses.

Then there was the shoes!

There was sparkly, gem encrusted, pinks, silvers, and golds.

I think it was shoe heaven too!

Megan and her friend Selena.

Two beauty's.

One more picture before they all left for dinner and dancing.

It was a beautiful night, a long one for us as parents, since we stayed up, well...with one eye open and one eye shut, until they got home. Knowing they were home safe allowed me to finally drift off into dreamland.

Love-Birds

noreply@blogger.com (backcountrybelle) — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 08:27:12 PDT

J + K = Love

Then comes marriage.

This has to be the cutest couple ever!

Great personalities, sweet, kind, and considerate all blended together gives you two outstanding people who asked me to capture who they are as a couple with an engagement photo session.

I was honored.

This is how it went....

Our session started out beautifully, but with a bit of wind that whipped around the bride-to-be's hair, causing us to take cover under the protection of the old barn.

This is a great image showing the two love-birds. They are smitten with each other, always smiling, it's so refreshing to see young love.

Hooray ~ We're tying the knot!

We moved on to "The Yellow Chair" that everyone loves to take pictures in. Our family loves this chair because it was Vic's grandparents. Nana and Bumpa, as we called them, were the role models of a successful marriage and countless other things. The chair is sentimental to us, but I like to think it brings good will to those who sit in it.

"Trust Me"

This one reminds me of the cover of a romance novel. I wish I could have shown you all 500+ images that I took that day because it was truly magical.

J+K are magical together, I hope these pictures remind you of how wonderful love and marriage is or can be. Life is so short, live each day as if it were your last.

She Said Yes...

noreply@blogger.com (backcountrybelle) — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 20:22:49 PDT

Who said yes?

Yes to what?

She said yes...to Prom that is.

This is how it went....

The night before Prince Charming, I mean the boy, Reese, was planning on coming out to the ranch to ask our daughter, Hailey, to prom, he called first and asked her dad if it was ok to ask her to prom.

[Her dad said yes.]

We as parents were impressed. What a relief to know there are still some parents out there teaching their boys to do things right!

This Prince had a some help from a little bird named Taylar who just happened to know Hailey very well. It took some time, skill, and hours of planning to pull off his idea of a treasure hunt where she would find clues leading to his question...

Will you go to prom?

He started the hunt by placing a note on her truck after school that said, "Hurry Home Sweetness."

He, his friends, and the little bird, hopped in his car and they headed out to the ranch. When they arrived at our house he had her favorite "sweetness," Dove caramel filled chocolates, and laid the chocolates down the hall and into her room where he left the second clue.

The note said, "I'll be the KING but only if you're my Queen!"

The "King" was the next clue. Our dog's name is King and he held the next clue.

There he was sitting just like a King, he was the one who held the key to the next clue.

While the "Queen" was reading the next clue, the Prince and his friends hid from the her sight.

King ran to her delivering the next clue which read...

The word HAY (written in straw with a picture of a barn) next to the word and just below was a very important question...

What are you doing on April 28th around 8:00pm?

She laughed and smiled and then ran to the ranger to find the next clue in the Hay barn. Little sis ran to keep up with the big kids.

Just after they were out of sight from the Prince and his friends, they came out of their hiding spot to prepare for the conclusion of the clues.

The Prince prepared the finale of the hunt with a flag asking her to Prom, which he proudly raised with the Queen's father.

The handmade flag said "Prom?"

He waited patiently as the Queen found the next clue in the Hay barn which read..."I'm sure your anxiousness is GROWING, but you are almost there!"

That clue led her to the Greenhouse where she found a single American flag, leading her to the final destination...the flag pole, where her Prince stood waiting.

She was excited to see him as she pulled up, she jumped out of the ranger and threw her arms around him thanking him. She blurted out, YES!!!! I will go to prom with you!

They laughed and talked about the clues and how fun it was...and then they all came inside the house asking for food!

Teenagers!

Great job Prince!

Head Gear

noreply@blogger.com (backcountrybelle) — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 12:06:09 PDT

Gearing up for a day of roping.

This gal is ready for her day, she is so sweet.

Over and Out.

Happy Easter!

noreply@blogger.com (backcountrybelle) — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 07:21:07 PDT

Oh the joys of Easter...

Egg Coloring.

Buying Easter basket goodies.

Going to church with family.

Followed up with a family Easter party.

This is how it went...

Our three little chick-ees in a basket.

Sophia colored eggs with her big sister, the one who didn't want her picture taken, so in 5 years when we look back, we will say awww Sophia was all by herself.

Big sister did allow a hand to get photographed, so I went crazy with it and took several. She was teasing Lucy with the scent of a freshly colored Easter egg. It really wasn't fair to allow a dog to smell such deliciousness and then say, "No," but it was so cute watching her smell and then try to nibble the egg. It was a good laugh.

Just before church, Sophia noticed three Easter baskets filled with goodies, asking with a squeel, "is this for me....and my sisters?" Excitement oozed from her!

After a lot of great food and seeing family we decided to gather around for a family picture, what a great looking family!

Hope your Easter was filled with celebration, good food, family and friends!

Now That's A Snow Day! Part II

noreply@blogger.com (backcountrybelle) — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 22:18:44 PDT

Half way through our day in the snow, the "big kids" woke up and joined our fun.

Papa Ron brought Mike, our nephew, and his girlfriend, Katie, over to play in the snow. This was Katie's first time in the snow, so the day was extra special.

This is how it went....

Katie wasn't sporting her cute snow bunny outfit but Papa Ron found some warm cowboy Carhartt clothes, topping the outfit off with Mike's gloves to give her the complete sporty-cowgirl-look; she was ready for the snow!

Mike was ready for the sled.

He moved up in rank, booting the teenagers off of the quad, he took over as driver.

Ready for the pull.

Lucy's kept an eye on things.

Katie's turn to show her quading skills.

Jack and Lucy wanted to get pulled around too.

Mike attempted to snowboard on a sled but things didn't go as planned.

Mike pulled out Vic's snowboard, dusted off the cobwebs, and cinched his Nike's into the bindings. Megan yelled back to him, "ready," then took off whipping him up and down the front yard!

I'd say he was pretty successful at snowboarding in the snow and on the grass with our make-shift ski equipment.

Katie and Soph played catch-the-snowball until they decided making a snowman would be more fun.

Mike kicked off the new Frosty by starting the first ball and rolling until it was life-size!

Sophie was so excited to have found Frosty's arms!

Katie topped him off with a button nose!

So much fun in the snow with family and friends.

Now That's A Snow Day!

noreply@blogger.com (backcountrybelle) — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 21:22:40 PDT

While Mother Nature and Mr. Winter battled through the night over whether or not it's Spring or Winter, we clearly noticed that Mr. Winter won the war. He left in a hurry, but not without a gift for the sleepy heads in our home. One-by-one the kids came running down the hall saying "No school, it's a snow day," while Vic and I responded with, "we know," and then look back out the window toward the thick white beauty that was displayed before us.

Our day was clearly going to be fun.

This is how it went....

It may not look like a lot of snow to those who live in the snow country, but here in Arizona, snow is super cool, since we don't get that much.

Before we could get little Sophia dressed in her snow gear, she pulled on her boots over her horse pajamas and ran out the door to explore.

Ballerina twirls were first on the list of playing in the fresh snow.

After we all got properly dressed [some of us] for the cold and snow, the kids were antsy to get on the quad for some sledding.

Our friends, Craig and Cari, who were "snowed in" with us, joined in the fun. Craig hooked up the kids with a mighty fine tow rope complete with a tree branch handle.

Off they went cruising in the front yard!

Codi had it down, she was a quad-pulling-sled-riding-pro by the end of the day.

Lucy and Jack loved the snow too!

After all of the big kids had their fun, it was time for Sophia to have a turn.

Snow bunnies, Codi and Cari, lookin good on the slopes of the front yard!

Spring, Sprang, Sprung

noreply@blogger.com (backcountrybelle) — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 21:59:32 PDT

A couple of days ago we were all noticing that Spring had sprung. The trees had begun blooming and the grasses were bright green again. Just when Mother Nature had tempted us with beautiful 70 degree weather, an angry Mr. Winter came back to throw his white blanket on all of our fun!

This is how it went....

The angry Mr. Winter came in the night running through the land sprinkling his frosty white flakes all about. When we woke up after the long night of howling wind and whistling trees, we thought he had done his deed for good, but he came back over and over again giving us more than we could stand!

The little ol' rock house has seen many a storm and stood strong through the fury.

The creek didn't seem to mind the snow as it kept up with its steady flow.

Sheba and Suzi, welcomed Mr. Winter's fierce whipping wind as they watched the gate latch slowly shake back and forth until it finally released, freeing the iron door from it's restraint. Sensing the freedom outside, they left the safety and warmth of their corral and endured the fury of the storm to see what was waiting for them outside. Oh what freedom they surely enjoyed, frolicking and playing in the snow until their noses caught the scent of something wonderful. The sweet scent wafted through the air, drawing them from their fun as their noses took control and began searching until they found the treasure hiding from them. Coming through the back of the barn and into a small room in the corner, they found the hidden treasure, a sweet of a bale of hay where they happily stood and ate until their heart's content.

What was once a nice rectangular shape of hay, somehow turned into a mess, Sheba and Suzi didn't care to hide their secret night of eating!

Early in the morning, when the snow stopped falling, we went to check on the animals, and to our surprise, Sheba and Suzi were out of their corral! Vic and Craig began to coax them with the sweet taste of hay but they seemed to be uninterested after a quick sniff from Suzi.

They just weren't hungry, hummm, we all wondered why!

Only Sheba and Suzi knew what Mr. Winter had done to bring excitement and delight to their night!

Goodbye for now girls, until we check on you a little later!

Getting On Track

noreply@blogger.com (backcountrybelle) — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 10:40:49 PDT

Trying to get back on a routine is hard, so many things seem to interfere.

Today we started back up on our daily walk to get out of the house and enjoy the warm sun, blossoming trees, and the animals.

This is how it went....

A walk by the creek is a welcome sight to me. Not only do we enjoy it, but the dogs love running through it, the ducks swim in it every chance they can and the cows drink from it everyday. "It's a beautiful thing"....as Martha Stewart always says.

Sophie takes time to play with her dogs, then I get choked up realizing that she is growing up way too fast.

Just when she thought it was safe to lay down in the grass and look up at the trees...Lucy came nosing around for a lick!

We had a fun day outside enjoying our time with the dogs. We are off to go brush the ponies and feed them a treat!

Have a great day!

Picture Perfect

noreply@blogger.com (backcountrybelle) — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 07:48:41 PST

Soph and I went out in search of a great place to take volleyball team pictures, after 5 locations, we found the perfect place...the lake. The dry grasses and rich color near the water were the perfect compliment to the team's blue uniforms.

Soph was tired from all of the walking, while her mom was searching for the right lighting and backgrounds, she entertained herself exploring. After a few moments of shooting, I turned around and found her sitting and playing with the dried flowers and her balloon, such a beautiful and innocent moment.

We had a fun time together, although she learned that touching her balloon on dried flowers caused her balloon to pop. We left the lake, I was happy I found the perfect location for a shoot and Soph had tears from her balloon popping. A quick trip to the ice cream store fixed that.

IN SICKNESS AND HEALTH

noreply@blogger.com (backcountrybelle) — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 20:57:25 PST

It's been a while since I have been able to blog. My life has been crazy the last few weeks, going in a thousand different directions.

This is how it went....

{This is my life the last few weeks.}

Actually it's a photograph I took to teach myself how to paint with light. It looks rather kindergarten-ish but it was only my third photo using this technique. I will blog about it later.

To start off the craziness I have been through lately, my computer was down for some time before it was able to be fixed so blogging was out of the question

...and

I have also been crazy busy with photo shoots, I have had to dedicate any extra time outside of my normal family duties for editing and printing to keep up with the shoots

....and

I've been sick. The kind of sickness that produces a stuffed head where you cant breath out of you nose, your ears are plugged and you are wishing some part of your face would pop so that you could get some relief! But it never happened and the misery continued until the Robitussin kicked in.

Just when I thought I was getting better the nagging cough started, just enough to completely and utterly drive myself and all those around me crazy from listening to 4000 coughs per minute of pure hacking noise. Yuck!

I tried to go to the doctor, once, but when I finally called, it was Saturday and they were closed. There's always next week, I thought to myself.

Funny how we sometimes forego our own care for others first. I took my kids to the pediatrician as soon as they got the bug, but somehow I thought 'I' could beat it. I took my Emergen-C Raspberry Flavored Fizzy Drink Mix everyday and tried to 'will' myself to full health. After 5 weeks and 3 days I lost the battle and called my doctor, first to see if the nurse would call in an antibiotic, but she said by the sound of my cough, no chance, I had to make an appointment. Darn.

When I got to the doctor's office I immediately felt worse, probably because everyone around me was sniffing, coughing and droopy eyed. At least I fit in. When I heard my name called I jumped up and followed the nurse down the long hall where we made a pit-stop at the scale. [Dread] The good news was I lost a few pounds, an unexpected surprise for the day. We proceeded down the down the hall and into the room where I hopped up on the paper-covered table so the nurse could really get a good look at me. She took my vitals, they were perfect, I'm fine I said to myself. The she took my temperature. She said, "did you know you have a fever?" My mouth dropped, "I HAVE A FEVER!" [Whaa] That's why I felt so bad.

Needless to say, my doctor was not happy with me for not coming in sooner. He said the next stage with this bug could have been pneumonia. [Yikes] So I did learn from my self-neglect, that's all I will say. Don't feel sorry for me, I don't deserve it.

I will be better faster than you can shake a stick. [That's a saying my Grandpa used to say] Who shakes sticks anyways?

Good Night!