"And I Think To Myself,...What a Wonderful World!"

2010-02-22T22:53:00.000-08:00

Is there anything more precious than photographing a child? What a fun day we had together, I was there the day she was born, and have been lucky enough to see her grow up these past 3 years, what a character lil Emily is! Anyone that knows her will tell you, she is so funny! I wanted to capture a more serious side of her, a more angelic side. It was funny because when she came over to my house she brought a bag of fishie crackers and her toy motorcycles! So you can see why i wanted to capture her like this : )

She was such a good little girl, she took my instructions so well, thank you little Emily for allowing me to capture so freely what I saw so clearly in my mind, now we have it here for all of us to see. I love you cutie pie

2009-12-26T23:35:00.000-08:00

Emily warming up!!

Getting ready to take the Field in Championship Competition

Some great friends she met along the way,

what a great experience, Band and Guard Kids are so unique, they are just the

"Cream of the Crop."

Emily and Jessica

I have loved watching Jessie grow, I'm so proud of her!

Jessie just is a beam of light all the time, I have come to love her very much.

Emily has been a great influence as Captain, she owes a lot of her incredible leadership to her great friends too. They are very supportive of Emily and look up to her so much.

Emily and Lupe have been in Guard for 4 years!

They went to Middle School together.

Lupe is an outstanding young woman, she is known on the team as the mediator,

always the Peace maker. She dances so beautifully too.

Emily doing her thing, warming up, it was freezing in Fresno, it makes it such fun though.

2009-12-26T23:18:00.000-08:00

It was SO windy in Fresno!

It was hard for the Guard to warm up, the flags were blowing so hard. The girls had a really hard time controlling them, we weren't sure if they would be able to perform. The good thing though was that everyone had the same disadvantage. The bad thing was is that it compromised their show a bit. Once we got into the stadium it seemed to be a bit less windy. Boy, was it a challenge for them all!

Emily had an accident, her flag flew up and the wind caught it forcing it down so hard on her forehead. She got a bruise and bump right away, not much sends her into tears but this really hurt her. I got her some ice which helped, then she got right back into it.
The flags are weighted and can be a real weapon especially when carried by the wind.

She said " I got an instant headache Mom!"

All better now!

2009-12-26T23:05:00.000-08:00

Bobby and a few of his crew!

Its amazing how he gets all those instruments out there on the field for a competition! Talk about stress, every minute counts, if they are late they will get marked down. I think he loves this job so much because he gets to drive the golf cart around!!

We take such good care of our kids!

They eat like Kings and Queens, and as well as they should too, they are all incredible kids. Their talents and efforts that they put into each competition is just remarkable.

After the kids perform, they head back to our place in the parking lot where they find all of their most favorite goodies! All the parents are such great people, each and everyone has a place in the Band and Guard, It's been a great 4 years!
We bring signs for our kids!

Our Theme for this trip
Dont stop Believin

2009-12-26T22:46:00.000-08:00

Performing at Championships~
We made Finals!!!

I think one of my most favorite pictures of Emily Performing!

Hey!...... Watch out for that Tuba!

I love my Dottie, she is always smiling!

Emily is so good with her Rifle!
How ever does she toss that thing, move with the music, lead her guard and keep in perfect timing too? Its such fun to watch these kids!

Watching her perform is the greatest joy!

2009-10-13T14:52:00.000-07:00

We made this one too, Emily has so many favorite pictures from her high school times while in the Color Guard, it was hard to just pick a few

2009-10-10T08:22:00.000-07:00

A Collage of Fun times

This is just a little Collage Emily and I put together to send to the BYU Band Director in hopes of Emily being able to join their Color Guard Team next fall. We know how hard it is getting into BYU, but if you dont try, you will never know right? Because Emily is Emily, she has plan "B" in place already. :O)

She just loves Color Guard so much, being with the Band and making music. Its been her goal and hope to perform in the Cougar stadium. We will see,....

2009-09-07T11:00:00.000-07:00

"She's a Senior Now!"

I took Emily out for a little photo shoot last Saturday, I couldnt resist

taking the opportunity capturing her in her Letterman's jacket.

She has been in Band and Color Guard for 4 years now, her jacket is all decorated with patches and pins that mean the most to her!

We are so proud of our girl.
love you Emily!

2009-09-07T10:33:00.000-07:00

Balboa Beach, bay side

My dad rented a great little beach cottage this summer at Newports back bay.

Its such a beautiful place, seeing the boats go by is so relaxing too.

My Mom and Dad rented beach houses for us kids when we were in high school and would let us take a friend, it was heaven being on the beach for 7 days back then. Its neat how he continued this same tradition years later, My sister Terra and her husband Mike brought their two boys for the week, It was a great time shared by family.

Thanks Dad for inviting us!

2009-09-01T21:52:00.001-07:00

We welcome with Love .......

Austin Lee Miller

My Beautiful Sister in Law,....... Anna.

Both my brother and sister in law are Doctors in the Navy. Its just been this past year that they have been close by to family. Its so good to have them here. My brother served in Iraq and had to be away from his family for 6 months. As soon as he got back, they received the good news that Anna would have a new addition to their family. Austin was born!

He is the 2nd son born to them, Zachary is 7 years old.

I was so fortunate to be able to photograph this beautiful time in their lives.

And now to embarrass my Brother!
I just love the look on his face, the smile of joy he has for his son.
Brandon honestly is just the best dad ever!!!
Im so proud of him for the way he treats his wife and is such a great dad to his sons.

Little Cutie Ba Tootie!

We welcome you to our family Austin <3>

2009-08-29T23:37:00.000-07:00

My Dottie !

I had a photo shoot today, and when I was done, I couldnt resist photographing my Dottie! Emily has been my assistant since she was 7 years old. She would come to the Temple with me when I photographed weddings, that was when I used film. She would organize everything for me, keeping all the roles together, and then being sure I had the film ready when I ran out. I cant believe that was 10 years ago, and she is still my right hand girl.I love her so much.Thanks Emily for always being there to help me!

2009-08-20T21:25:00.000-07:00

Celebrating ...

Band Camp Officially Over!!!!

I love this picture of Emily! So candid but showing her loving her life as Color Guard Captain and celebrating her last day of Band Camp! This has been a great program for our girl and we are so thankful for the things she has learned while being a leader for the girls. She is quiet and soft spoken as a Captain but she says she is like that because "once you raise your voice, you have lost your audience."

(We are so proud of the choices she has made and continues to make)

gosh being a mom is the best!!
The 1st Offical Team Picture of the 2009-2010 Color Guard!
(We are missing one girl, sorry Lupe!) This years show is titled "Heartbreak" I hope all our near by friends and family will come to see their show if possible, its Emily's last year.

Girls celebrating their opener on Friday,......right before the SENIORS got to eat First!

2009-08-20T21:19:00.000-07:00

The Pre-Show

&
Band BBQ

The Band and Color Guard got to perform their Opener for us parents last Friday evening, followed by a great BBQ put on by the Booster parents. Here is our new band director, 3rd one for Emily in 4 years. Needless to say its been an experience with all that has gone on with our Band Directors. Mr. Ames comes with a lot of experience, we welcomed him whole heartedly.

While at the 1st performance, Emily recognized one of her guard girls as most outstanding Gardo-O of Band Camp. She got up in front of all the parents and her peers and gave the sweetest emotional compliments to a new freshman girl named Celia. She gave her a Happy Faced Balloon and a candy bar (1,000 Grand) and said her smile and attitude is worth a thousand grand. Celia's dad started crying, it was so touching.

The pre show for the parents. Although they worked all summer long, not taking a break at all, here at band camp they begin to learn their show, and their work.

Yeah for Band Camp!

2009-08-20T21:11:00.000-07:00

A New Begining!

Emily's new band director Mr. Ames. Celebrating the final day of Band Camp!

You can see how they need to "Clean" their work as Emily says. She is really good at timming, I think playing the piano has helped her with this, Its a challenge to get 15 girls to be at the same place at the same time, especially when spinning a rifle or sabre.This is the pre show only, still in the 1st stages of thier Field Show for 2009

Here are just a "Few" kids in Band and Guard eating after they showed their parents some of their new Field Show. I must say, we do spoil our kids in Band and Guard! The parents really do a great job in feeding our kids. They love the Dessert Table! (so does Bobby!)

Its finally her turn!

One of the Band and Guard's traditions is, the SENIORS get to eat first!!!!

and all the underclass has to wait! too funny how they get so excited to be the 1st ones in line!

Emily spent the entire summer with her Guard Team,

the last 2 weeks of summer was their "Official BAND CAMP!"

I gotta tell you, its rigorous!!!10 Long hours a day for 2 weeks!

The last day is spent in Team Building fun!

Here she is with her best friend Antone with the Balloon Toss.

2009-08-20T21:06:00.000-07:00

BAND CAMP 2009 !

Traditional Dunking the Band Director

You can Run,...........But you can not hide!

The New Band Director kinda knew the traditional water thing was coming....Us Booster Parents warned him : )

2009-08-20T20:56:00.000-07:00

Evan is wonderful with animals. Over the 4th of July weekend we went to my sisters house down in Carlsbad. She has her own Dog walking/pet care service. We went to one of her houses where she was taking care of this cute corgy! He just jumped into Evan's arms and gave him some love, it was so cute. He has always been very sensitive to animals which to me says a lot about a person. Ever since he was a little boy, he always worried about the animals, if they got enough to eat, or if they had shelter when it was cold or hot. I admire that so much in him.
He taught me a lot. Animals depend on us so much for their comfort and all their needs. When he was little, he wouldnt eat dinner until our dogs had food in their bowls. If they would cry at night when they slept in the laundry room, he would get up to comfort them.
Evan is so special, I call him my Lil Evan from Heaven.
He is the cream of the crop!

2009-08-09T17:42:00.000-07:00

Tiffany was Emily's Color Guard Captain when Emily started in her Freshman year. They quickly became best friends, like sisters. Being the only "Mormon" on the team seemed to always spark interest in the girls. Emily would share her Testimony as much and as often she needed and wanted too. A few of the girls were very receptive, Tiffany being one of them.

Emily and Tiffany had so many talks about the Gospel.

After Tiffany graduated she went to Boot Camp and joined the Air Force.

Little did we know that all those talks they were having was impacting Tiffany's life so much.

Tiffany was soon baptized and her Testimony continues to grow and blossom. When she was out here in July, the one thing she wanted most was to go to the San Diego Temple, so we did. It was such an incredible, loving feeling being there on the Temple Grounds with such beautiful young women. I am so proud of them, for their strong testimonies, and for their high standards. They both wanted to wear white to the temple, i was so touched. Xo xo Xo

2009-08-09T17:39:00.000-07:00

The Beautiful San Diego Temple!

2009-06-22T14:09:00.000-07:00

A Mother's Joy~ Thank you Karen for allowing me to capture the very essense of Motherhood.

2009-06-21T21:38:00.000-07:00

Mothers and Children are bound together within the beating of ones heart.
There is no greater calling in the world more important than the calling of being a Mother and working hand in hand in partnership with our Heavenly Father.
Thank you Karen for allowing me to be apart of your and Ava's special Mother Daughter bonding. It was a beautiful day.

2009-06-19T23:18:00.000-07:00

Is there really anything else better than photographing a newborn? Today I had the wonderful opportunity to capture the Ogden's precious little girl, and oh how she is loved!
She has 2 big brothers at home, Luke and Will to love, protect and teach her.
Introducing ..............Little Miss Ava Jane Ogden!

2009-05-25T13:31:00.000-07:00

Saturday was Prom Night! Emily and her best friend Antone went as friends to celebrate their Junior Senior Prom. They met up with Joe and Diana, both friends part of the Band and Color Guard. We were lucky enough to be able to drive them, but first we went out to dinner with them at Don Jose, our favorite family place. Its not often a daughter and her date would invite their parents out to dinner to celebrate prom, so we were very happy to do so. We had a great time with the kids. Then we drove down to Long Beach where they danced and visited with all the other Band and Guard friends. We are so proud of Emily, for so many reasons but tonight we were so happy with her choice of such great supporting friends.

We love you Dottie!, you look Beautiful to us.

XO Xo xo

2009-05-19T23:20:00.000-07:00

It has been such a fun season! We are so proud of you Emily, not just because you and the team took the Gold Medal but because of the beautiful young woman you have become. Dad and I have loved every single minute we have spent with you while you have performed with the Band and Color Guard. We can hardly wait for your next year, and...........ALL it holds.
All our Love,....Ma and Pops

2009-05-10T23:18:00.000-07:00

Thank you to my Beautiful children who made my Mother's Day Beautifully Special!

2009-05-06T20:40:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to my 1st born, Grant Becket.
I feel so blessed to be able to call him my son,

I feel so blessed to be his Mom. There is no greater

calling in the world, than to know you work in partnership
with your Heavenly Father in bringing up your children in
the light of the Gospel. Happy Birthday Grant,..your 25 now.
The age I was when I brought you into the world.
I love you so~ Ma
.

2009-04-27T21:53:00.000-07:00

What fun it was to photograph this beautiful couple! Colleen and David were married on 6 April 2009 after dating for 15 years! They have such a beautiful blended family and the love that was there was truly felt. I am so greatful that I had an assistant, Sheila did an incredible job!

She is wanting to break into the field of photography and is well on her way!

Here they are coming down the glass stair case . I did the art work on this image, I think it turned out really pretty with the lighting and flowers.

Thanks for helping me Sheila, you were a life savor!

2009-04-26T23:35:00.000-07:00

It is pretty amazing when your really great friends (Sam & Debbie's) daughter (Sheila) has 2 daughters of her own and you get to be apart of all the joy in their family!I had the opportunity of photographing lil Miss Emily. She is just a sweetie pie!I am so proud of the her wonderful parents. Its just so touching to have seen Sheila grow up, (she is the same age as my 1st born Grant,) and now watching her raising her beautiful little daughters with the help of her sweet and way cool husband Ray is just the best!Thank you so much for letting me be apart of your family!

2009-04-26T23:32:00.000-07:00

And introducing lil Miss Aaliyah, Emily's big sister. This little precious girl absolutely loves animals, both real ones and stuffed ones! I could barely hold her still long enough to take her picture because she kept running down to the lake to see the ducks! But its okay, I love this image of her because its just so "Aaliyah" and I love her!

2009-04-24T09:21:00.000-07:00

Its been such an incredible year at El Mo, so much has happened. This team put their shoulder to the wheel and it really paid off. I am so happy and proud that with everything that has gone on, Emily got to experience a wonderful Winter Guard Season!

2009-04-24T09:13:00.000-07:00

2009-04-23T12:15:00.000-07:00

In a hot, packed gym on the campus of Capistrano Valley High, rang these words ..." ... in the Regional AA Blue Division, in first place with a score of 87.4, gold medal and 2009 WGASC Champions ... El Modena High School!!!" With the confidence of a true champion team, they clinically, calmly and flawlessly, put on their best performance of the entire season on that tarp!!! They had countered a strong performance from Ontario and Gladstone High Schools and beat them by almost 2 full points, a unusual margin in scores in the high 80's. This gold medal comes on the heels of winning the Silver last season.
Way to go, Guard! ... we are all very proud of you winning that gold!
"One-Thousand Paper Cranes" was an incredible,.... beautifully written and technically difficult show ~ but a beautiful program. Way to go, Guard! ... we are all very proud of you winning the gold!

Easter Sunday

2009-04-19T13:48:00.000-07:00

We traveled down to beautiful Fallbrook to celebrate Easter with the Miller Family.

Not everyone could make it but it was still incredible to be with family.

I am so happy I got this picture taken with all of us because Dad went to the hospital again the following day with trouble again with his diabetes. Its been really hard on him for the past few months, we are all hoping that Dad gets better and feels like his old self again.

He's the best dad ever.

I hope everyone had a beautiful Easter Sunday!

My 1st Blog Entry

2009-04-11T10:12:00.000-07:00

Well, I finally made it with Emily's help. We are now true Bloggers. :-)

I wish we had this technology back when my little ones were little.

With how much I love photography I would have gone nuts!

But better late than never.
So, this is the start of our blog journey.

We will be posting some treasured things from our past and also posting from our daily life now!

I hope to have you all be apart of it, thank you for all you add to our lives!