Then and Now

May 4, 2010
OBSERVATIONS: Our family of four out for a walk in our new neighborhood.  I find it funny that I'm wearing a long-sleeved shirt, vest, and jeans--while Brian is wearing a t-shirt and shorts.  (It's still that way--generally, I'm cold and he's hot.)  Photo taken with my Nikon D90.  

April 14, 2013
OBSERVATIONS: Nearly three years later.  Our family of five (Noah is 15 months old) out for a stroll before dinner.  Noah loves "driving" his blue car, honking the horn, and dropping the steering wheel out of the car.  This time, Brian, Noah and I were all on the same page, wearing short-sleeved shirts and blue jeans.  Photo taken with my Nikon D700.   

I'm looking forward to snapping more family photos--in this same place, at the same time of year--in the years to come. 

Table Mountain

On Friday, Brian, Noah and I jumped in the car and headed out on a photography field trip.

We drove to Table Mountain, a beautiful reserve located seven miles outside of Oroville, that is known for its spectacular wildflowers.  

Turns out, that the unusual timing of the rainfall this year caused fewer wildflowers to appear, mainly because they were crowded out by the grass.   

Nevertheless, I took lots of photos; 130 to be exact. 

While I photographed a handful of flowers, the majority of my time was spent capturing the brilliant blue sky, white puffy clouds and endless green expanse.  (My polarizing filter came in handy!)

Here are some of my favorite shots:

I made sure to take a few photos of Brian and Noah, too.  Some from far away like the one below (I think they were trying to ditch me!), but mostly close-ups of smiley Noah hanging out in the baby carrier.

Lucky for us, Noah really enjoys being outdoors, whether we're watering the plants in the garden, throwing the ball for the dogs, or hiking on a trail.

Here's to many more family outdoor adventures! 
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Looking for other local wildflower spots?  Check out this article in The Sacramento Bee.

World Card Day

In honor of World Card Day, I whipped up this happy spring card for our niece, McKayla.


I'm slowly easing my way back into card making after a long hiatus. Right now, I'm only interested in creating fast, easy cards. But I may be spending more time crafting cards in the coming weeks as the deadline for the California State Fair draws nearer.

For this card, I pulled out a sheet of butterfly stickers (which has been sitting in one of my drawers for more than a year), a package of pearl embellishments, and a pre-cut/pre-scored card.

I thought I owned a "happy spring" rubber stamp, but after searching high and low and not finding one, I opted instead to type up the sentiment on my computer and print it out on white card stock. I adhered the sentiment with Stampin' Up! pop dots.

I know the calendar says that it's officially spring tomorrow, but it sure doesn't look like spring around here.


We received several inches of snow yesterday. Here I am standing on our deck in my new rain boots--perfect for all kinds of precipitation. :-)


Well, it's time for me to go, but before I publish this post, I want to say "Happy Birthday" to my father-in-law, Mike.

J