Todd & Barbara Photography

Engagement Session with a Twist

2011-03-23T19:30:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago we drove to Concord and met up with Wendy, our niece, and she introduced us to Rob, her Fiance. We had a little photo session which proved to be a bit unusual. You can see for yourself:

First of all Wendy helped Rob get ready:
Then they did the poses...you know, the usual bride-t0-be/fiance poses..lovingly looking at eachother, showing their excitement:

We did a few shots of Rob, just to get to know him better:

(i think the wedding shots in June will be a bit of a challenge, if you get my drift).

He likes to call himself "Dr. Rob", so we humored him. He seemed jolly enough.

All in all, Wendy seems happy to be with him, so that counts for something. But, dear Wendy,
all I can say is, "I hope he is very rich".

These Guys are Good!!!

2010-10-21T10:34:00.000-07:00

Once again, the competitors from Elite Instinct traveled to Santa Cruz for the US Open XV Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournament, October 15-17, 2010. Eleven members of the team competed and brought back SEVEN medals!! Can you imagine? Ultra heavy weight white belts Jordan Taghavi, John Thurston, and Matt Zonfrello dominated their division, and took home 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place. And Laura Bradford also got the gold in her division.
This is an amazing team that works hard, practices almost every day of the week, and is intent on perfecting the intricate skills and moves of BJJ. They have had a great trainer, Brazilian black belt, Mauro Ayres. Owner and trainer, Michael Quigley, a blue belt, is coaching now.
They are right back at work, preparing for the next tournament. Congratulations to all of you!

Annalisa Returns (or, My Garden Elf)

2010-02-24T10:57:00.000-08:00

"Blow me a kiss, Annalisa!"

I had so much fun photographing Annalisa. You might recall my "Annalisa Ballerina" blog last spring. Annalisa is a year old now and she still has the most amazing repertoire of expressions! She is a photographer's delight! Luckily, she lives way up in Portland, so I can't pester her too much. (but i really wish she lived across the street).

Here are some of the many faces of Annalisa:

"What to do with all these weeds!"

The Twins

2010-01-15T18:11:00.001-08:00

As you can see, I haven't blogged for quite a long time! Happy New Year to all!
But I couldn't pass this up...we just got back from photographing and frolicking with two of the cutest little one year olds! I'm so glad we got to meet them and their mommy and daddy today.
We headed out to the arboretum, despite the cold, overcast day, and we found plenty of leaves and trees and benches to use as props. And...we found the ducks! Both kids had fun herding the ducks. The ducks were not afraid of two little toddlers and let them get very close to them.

Name That Bird

2009-12-01T08:14:00.000-08:00

This will be a really different journey for you all. I am going to go
backwards on my reports. So this is the day before Costa Rica. Hope
you can follow me! This is the bird that followed our boat. We were
out to sea all day, no land in sight. The sea was pretty calm, but
still hot and humid. We managed to stay busy all day, mostly eating,
going from the buffet to the aqua deck, then to the restaurant. Todd
spent half the day photographing the bird. So we have quite a few nice
pictures of the bird. The exciting part of the day was being invited as
special guests of the Captain to come up and visit the bridge. No
cameras were allowed because of security. So Todd had withdrawl
symptoms, walking up there without his camera! It was very interesting,
but the thing that kept me entertained, was watching the beautiful birds
drafting off the bridge, just floating along, catching the drafts. They
would glide right next to the windows, so we got very "up close and
personal" with the birds! Also, I was amazed by the steering wheel of
the ship...it is no larger than a dinner plate! No wonder they don't let
many people up there to see! We still don't know why we got special
invitations... no one else in our group of 7 got invited!! There were
about 20 in the tour, so we felt pretty special!
I hope someone out there can name this bird! Even the first Mate didn't
know.

Costa Rica...heading home

2009-11-29T18:59:00.000-08:00

We are now in the Pacific,and we stopped for the day in Costa Rica.
Since we have had zero internet access,
I haven't been able to blog. I'll do the rest when we get home, I guess.
Here is where we went swimming today . The last time we came south on a cruise, I had the time of my life swimming with dolphins. But this time we got the Bargain Excursion to
the nearest beach. There was one problem...well, FIVE big problems!
This is not the best way to lose all that weight we have been packing on
in the dining room this past week.
As you can see, we made it back to post this blog.

The Three Barbaras

2009-11-17T12:45:00.000-08:00

Barbara Louise, Barbara Jean and Barbara Elizabeth (my beautiful niece)

Today my Aunt Barbara passed away suddenly. I will really miss her. I didn't see her very often because she lived in Southern California, but it was always comforting just knowing she was there. I loved calling her and saying, "Hi, Barbara, this is Barbara!". Then she'd laugh and say, "I know that is you". Just a little family tradition we had. The last time I talked with her, a few weeks ago, she was happy and healthy, walking daily and playing Bingo at her retirement home.
She will be in Heaven and meeting up with Al, her husband whom she missed so much after he passed away. I'm glad she believed in God. She was my mom's younger sister and our last close blood relative of that generation. We still have our Aunt Ruth, tho', who was married to my mom's "big brother". I'll be sure to keep in contact with her.

The Races

2009-11-13T21:14:00.000-08:00

Linda, my godsister, treated me to a weekend at the Breeders' Cup races at Santa Anita.
We had a teriffic time! We got to see history made as Zanyatta, a 5 year old filly, beat a field of very famous colts in the Classic. She will retire now, I think, having won 14 out of 14 races!
Very exciting. She was so beautiful and had such personality. She is really a big girl, in fact, bigger than all the boys in the race. She is 17.25 hands tall. She does a little "dance" before her race, which makes people wonder if something is wrong with her. Then she is the last one out of the gate and most of the time runs dead last before she makes her move. I guess that tactic has worked, as she has never lost a race. Her jockey is Mike Smith.

Three of my favorites at the Breeders' Cup.

You can view some other pictures of a couple of the races on my Flickr site.

An Adorable Ballerina

2009-11-13T19:21:00.001-08:00

Here is Kiera. She is a little doll. She is one year old and is as smart as can be. We are almost related to her because we photographed both her parents as Seniors in High School, and then photographed their wedding, so that makes us "almost" family! She was so much fun to chase around the studio. She makes the cutest little squeak when she is excited about something. Bethany and Jason are amazing parents. They are definitely bringing her up the right way.
I think she is going to be an athlete because she is so coordinated already. But right now, she is a perfect little model. It is going to be so much fun to watch her grow.

The Cutest Little Doctor

2009-11-02T13:48:00.000-08:00

This is Hunter's second Halloween...well, it is actually his third! He was a tiny baby for Halloween #1. Then last year he was Superman. So, as you can see, there is a new Doogie Howzer in town!
Just look at him in his little scrubs. He is so adorable. He had a wonderful time celebrating by hosting the UCD golf team for a spaghetti dinner on Halloween night.

Kelly sure makes good spaghetti. No one needed medical treatment, so Hunter tossed his stethoscope away.

Danny and Vibeka

2009-11-01T20:39:00.000-08:00

We visited Danny and Vibeka last week. We took them their Graphi wedding book. I think it really looked beautiful. We had good subjects! We wanted to deliver it to them because I wanted to meet their new puppy, Harley. She is about 6 months old and is a Bull Mastiff. She is a doll... a very BIG doll! Here are some shots Todd took.

The many faces of Harley.

The beautiful Cali

The whole family.

You can see what Harley thinks about family portrait time!

Caitlin and Dan

2009-10-31T12:03:00.000-07:00

What a surprise when we received a call from Caitlin a few months ago. We hadn't seen her since she looked like this:

Here she is now, all grown up and about to get married!

Here is the "family shot" of Caitlin and Dan and the pups.

Here is Dan's favorite picture. Talk about a couple-in-love!!

We can't wait to photograph their wedding. They will be so much fun! And they are such a great looking couple! Now if we can just keep them from choking each other before the big day!

The Santoni Family

2009-10-19T15:30:00.000-07:00

Here are some samples from yesterday.
Brooke, Charley, Kayla and Gianna are a very adorable family, as you can see. We met them at Brooke's parents' beautiful country home in Dixon for the photoshoot. It was a wild and windy evening, with a few rain drops thrown in, but everyone was up for braving the weather to get this family portrait session done! Baby Gianna just had her first birthday, and boy, was she a little doll! and Kayla, who is six, was a perfect little model. It was just so fun being with them all- we felt honored to be their "family photographers".

Baby Gianna gets acquainted with the resident scarecrow.

Gennie and Eric get Married

2009-10-02T18:31:00.000-07:00

Todd and I had a unique way of celebrating our wedding anniversary this year. We got to photograph Gennie and Eric's wedding. So we spent the day in an atmosphere of love and celebration that kept us so aware of our own love for eachother. Gennie and Eric were a beautiful couple and their wedding was a perfect reflection of their love. They were made for eachother. And their friends were amazing and so fun to be around! The reception was really great and the fun thing was, there were 3 of our brides and a future bride present at the same time! That was fun. Maryann and Giovanni have been married 21 years!!! And they are still in love. I can't believe we have been photographing weddings that long!

Here is a collage of the day-you can click on it to view in a larger size:

Here's a link to a little slideshow!

Baby Rhyan

2009-09-29T14:16:00.001-07:00

Now here is a cute baby girl! Her name is Rhyan and we just adored her! She was so amazing, she seemed to love the camera! She just smiled and laughed through all her wardrobe changes and placements on various surfaces. Justine and Adam are great parents and really have fun with her.
I loved the sparkle in her eyes. What a doll! It will be fun to watch her grow!

Gennie and Eric

2009-09-23T14:30:00.000-07:00

I can't wait for Saturday! It is not only Todd's and my anniversary, but it is Gennie and Eric's wedding day! Here are some engagement photos we took a few weeks ago out at Gennie's parents' ranch. We had a lot of fun getting to know them - and Gennie's dad, Henry, who had already picked out some spots for the shoot before we arrived. He has quite a beautiful garden around the house and some prize-winning flowers that he took to the Woodland Fair. Gennie grew up out here on the ranch, so it was nice getting some pictures around her home.

They are a gorgeous couple!

Debbie and Rick

2009-09-23T14:20:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we had the pleasure of photographing Debbie and Rick's wedding in Brentwood..that is, the northern California Brentwood. What a happy event that was!

There is a Look of Love!

The wedding took place at the beautiful home of their good friends, Ken and Linda. There were over 100 very special friends and family members present. I've never seen a group that was so supportive of a couple getting married. Debbie and Rick have 4 grown children between them and they now make a beautiful, complete family. You could just see the love and acceptance between the kids and their parents. It was a "beautiful thing to behold".

The wedding cake was made by 2 cousins and the top was a bride, a groom and...a motorcycle!

In fact, an exact replica of Rick's Harley! And I must say, the cake was delicious! I'm all for chocolate wedding cakes! Hmm...maybe Todd can make me a chocolate cake like that for our anniversary...with a chocolate ganache frosting and then chocolate ganache mixed with whipped cream for the filling...oh whoops..I digress...I'm supposed to be writing about the wedding!

Here is a collage of the wedding.

Davis Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu team strikes again

2009-09-23T13:59:00.000-07:00

Our famous Davis Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu team of seven traveled down to Los Angeles to compete in the American National Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Tournament. And once again Mia Matalon won a Gold medal and then a Silver in the Open Division. Michael Quigley, the owner of Elite Instinct Studios, won Gold in his division. Mauro Ayres, the instructor, won a Bronze in his Black Belt division. You can read all about it by clicking on Michael's name, above. The rest of the team did very well and they are now back in training to prepare for their next competition.
To have a team of seven come home with 4 medals in a National competition is quite a feat! We are all very proud of them.

Sunday in Kauai- August 9

2009-08-10T01:18:00.000-07:00

Today we drove back to Tunnels after brunch. Jan and Joy fixed a delicious brunch of fresh fruit salad, scrambled eggs, bacon (that Todd barbequed), and blueberry pancakes.

We all had a great time snorkeling at Tunnels. Todd's underwater camera was not working, so we knew we'd see great fishes. We saw the most beautiful school of large fish ever (of course). It would have made a beautiful picture. There were at least 50 fish in the school, right in front of us. They were beautiful. They were "grazing" on algae on the coral. They looked like beautiful leaves blowing in the breeze as the current swept over them. This is one time when a picture would have said it all.

We drove back to Kapa'a, showered and dressed in time to drive to the airport to pick up Art, my other brother. Joy was very excited to see her hubby, since they had been apart for a month. Art had been on an expedition to Banks Island, then on a lecturing tour. So for tomorrow, we will all be together. Hopefully, Davy will be able to spend time with us too, tomorow.

Jan, Tom, Art and Joy at the airport.

We had dinner (again) at Hamura's, then drove home to sleep.

Joy, Jan, Art, and Tom eating their Saimin Bowls.

Saturday in Kauai

2009-08-08T13:05:00.000-07:00

Finally! I have caught up on my blogs and it actually IS Saturday!
Keith called and we are set for a trip up to his reserve at 2:00pm. He will be with the movie directors, scouting the location for a new movie. And we all will be tagging along. We will be met at the gate by the Sheriff, a friend of Keith's, who is a real character. So that will be fun.

Davy is going to meet up with Sean and Isa, down at Hanalei. He is disappointed he won't be able to go with Keith, but the timing just isn't working out. He and Sean might do a little surfing at Hanalei bay.

Correction: We drove Davy and the 2 surfboards to the Retreat House where the wedding people are staying. Davy decided to just remain at the retreat, so we left the surfboards with him there, since he is staying there for the next 2 days.
What a good choice that was! When Todd and I got to Hanalei bay, there were absolutely NO waves!! It was calm like a pond! So I called Davy and told him the news, so we made the right decision.

This is Hanalei Bay through my sunglasses. Not a wave in sight!

We met up with Joy, Jan and Tom in Hanalei and traveled on to Keith's reserve in one car.
There we met Keke and Logan, who are scouting for the new movie "Predators", and we packed into two trucks to drive up the mountain, with Keith as our guide. I got to sit in the nice, air conditioned Tundra truck with Carl, the Sheriff. everyone else had to sit in the back of the truck.
Needless to say, my trip was very luxurious, with a good supply of gum, peanuts and popcorn, and no mosquitos. In fact, I stayed in the truck the whole trip! everyone else jumped out at every stop to go with Keith and the 2 scouts to see more detail. Carl and I sat and talked about everything under the sun, especially the Bible! He used to be a pastor and he knows so much about the Bible, I learned alot!

This is the rear view of a feral pig. This is what the hunters come here for.

We are waiting for Keith to come to open his gate.

Logan, Keith and Joy looking around for details.

This is Keith's valley.

You can see that the road is not traveled very often.

We left at sunset. What a great day!

Friday in Kauai

2009-08-08T11:01:00.000-07:00

Today Joy and Jan left at 4:00 am to go on a boat trip to the Napali coast and snorkeling off Niihau
island. The rest of us slept in 'til at least 7:00 and then went for a swim in the pool, then had breakfast. We watched from our balcony as a man cooked bacon on the barbeque. We called down to him to ask him how to do it, then as soon as he was finished, Todd took our bacon down and we ended up with perfectly cooked, crispy bacon to have with our grilled pineapple and eggs.

We met Joy and Jan at 3:00 in the afternoon at the Kauai Coffee Company. They had had a wonderful trip at sea, saw schools of dolphins, and beautiful fish.

Look! Jan and Tom discovered a leaf just for them! It says "Tom loves Jan '09". What a surprise (don't let them know that we had been there days earlier)

We drove up to Waimea Canyon for the beatiful views and then on up to Koke'e State Park to the Kalalau Valley Lookout to watch the sunset. It was cold and raining, so some of us sat in our cars to warm up while Todd and Davy kept watching and photographing. When the sun started to set, we could see the sky clear up so we all dashed back up to see the sunset. It was still cold, about 60 degrees (we, of course were dressed for 80 degrees), but worth the wait.

The Kalalau Valley on the Napali coast. This is the view from the lookout.

and then the beautiful sunset.

It was dark when we drove down into Waimea (of course), and we still hadn't had our picnic dinner (which Tom and I had fixed in the morning), so we finally found a spot with a picnic table and lights...at the Waimea High School! There was a football practice going on, so we had some entertainment while we ate!

Right down the street was the Waimea Foreign Church. Keith had taken us there last trip, so we knew all about it. It used to be called the Foreign Church in the 1850's because the services were held in English. It was very beautiful in the moonlight, so Todd and Davy took some shots. You can click on the link to learn more.
The Waimea Foreign Church in the moonlight.

Thursday in Kauai

2009-08-07T12:16:00.000-07:00

Today we drove up to Princeville to visit Noreen and Steve. We had met Noreen back in January and we really had a fun visit with her then. So we were looking forward to meeting her husband, Steve, this trip. He is great fun, too! They took us to the best snorkeling place- Tunnels- and we all had a great time there. There were 2 turtles to follow, and many beautiful fish. Todd took some wonderful pictures. We all got sunburned because we were having too much fun out there in the clear water. Then Steve treated us all to Subway sandwiches which we took back to their place to enjoy. Noreen loaned us 2 surfboards so Davy and Tom can do a little surfing later.

We met Isa and Sean, the bride and groom, who are getting married on Monday. Davy is here to photograph part of their wedding (and he is a guest- Sean is a good friend). It was amazing that, with all the people at the beach at Tunnels, Davy could actually find them. On the way home we stopped by the beautiful "retreat" where the wedding party is staying. It is a perfect spot for their reception.

We had a delicious barbequed chicken dinner and played "Apples to Apples". It is a really neat game.

Steve and the turtle.

Wednesday in Kauai

2009-08-06T10:44:00.000-07:00

Today David arrives! I can't wait to see him!

We drove to Ka'a beach and snorkeled all afternoon. The water was perfect. We saw plenty of fish, and Jan followed a sea turtle for quite a ways.

I'll put pictures up later. Just wanted you to know what we are doing.

David arrived at 4:30. We greeted him with a beautiful lei made by Angie at Kahhili. Joy is so thoughtful that way, ordering leis for us all for our arrivals! I greeted him with a hug and 3 spam sushi rolls. He was very hungry, so I'm glad I got them for him. Keith introduced us to the spam sushi a couple of years ago. They are my favorite food here. You get them at the Liquor store in Hanalei. Yummy!!!

Joy and I took David shopping for some clothes to wear to the wedding on Monday (there goes my "I'm never going to shop again" vow. We spent some time at Hilo Hatties (not Walmart!). Then we went to the Coconut Plantation and David got some nice Croc Flip-flops.

Jan and Tom fixed a great "Costco" dinner, and then off to bed. We were all pretty tired from the snorkeling.

Snorkeling at Ke'e Beach.

Joy and I await Davy's arrival with a beautiful ginger lei and a little bag of Spam sushi.

Davy devours 3 spam sushi rolls in the car. He is wearing the gorgeous lei that Angie made for Joy to give him. (by the way, I just got a call from the head desk, and when Joy went to the front desk to pick up the 2 leis a friend had made for her, the guy handed her the wrong leis!! this ginger lei had been delivered for someone named "Blake"!! whoops- and it isn't from Angie, it's from the local florist and is probably very expensive!- and why did it take them 3 days to call us?). So some poor couple is out 2 vey expensive ginger leis. I wonder where ours are!

a nice wave shot out at the jetty near the airport.

Back at the condo, Barbara teaches Jan a little hula dance. She is wearing her Private Quarters shawl as a sarong.

Tuesday in Kauai

2009-08-04T17:03:00.000-07:00

This is the day my brother, Tom, and his wife Jan arrive. It will be fun to see them tonight.

We started the day with a morning swim in the pool and did some hot-tubbing in the cold spa.
So it wasn't hot-tubbing at all. It had just been filled with fresh water. The maintenance man said it wouldn't be warm until 9:00. It was 8:00 when we went in, so I knew I would not be in it for an hour. The cold jets were probably better for my back, anyway. Todd has finally figured out how to keep his mask from fogging up (yea, Google), so he tried that out in the pool. Joy and I have been washing our hair at the pool and beach showers, so we don't have to take another shower when we get home. That's a great way to save time.

Most of today has been spent catching up on my blog! Our computer is so slow, it has become quite
time-consuming. But I must be faithful to our fans and friends!
Besides...it's fun to show off our pictures!
Joy is out walking and doing a little shopping. We are entertaining the maintenance man while he fixes our plugs. He is cutting off the power now, so I have to stop.

Monday, Day 5

2009-08-04T16:46:00.000-07:00

We swam and snorkeled at Poipu Beach. The water was kind of murkey from the rains, but still was nice to swim in. There were 3 sea turtles riding the little waves right near the beach, so everyone got a close look at them.
After the swim, we headed to Walmart to look for a couple of items. It was a disaster, depending on what point of view you have...Todd's or ours (Joy's and mine). Joy and I started shopping in the clothes department, so Todd went out to the car to wait...and wait...and wait. I think I tried on everything there was in the store. I ended up with a couple pairs of shorts and a top. It was dusk when Todd showed up in the store again... his battery on his iphone had run out! I was wondering why he hadn't been looking for us earlier. Then we went to Kmart to shop some more. We showed Todd where a plug was and a wheel chair, so he sat in a corner on the wheelchair and plugged in his phone to recharge, and was happy again. Kmart was not such a great place, but I found a pair of pants marked $21.00 on sale for $3.00.

Shopping is not a good sport for me. It kills my back and my Sciatica really flared up. I was in great pain and had to get home and put an ice pack on my back while Joy fixed a nice dinner.

Breakfast in Kauai

2009-08-02T18:51:00.001-07:00

This is what we ate for breakfast yesterday. Now I know how a monkey feels.

Kauai Day 4 maybe

2009-08-02T17:35:00.001-07:00

Today, Saturday, is the day of the International Tahitian Dance Competition. We really wanted to go to that, now that we "know" two of the competitors!

First thing that happened in the morning, my camera would not work. We had left the windows and balcony doors open all night and that made the room so humid, my camera batteries would not work! Then Todd was trying to fold up the hide-a-bed and not catch the sheet in the mechanism, when he found out later, much to his horror, he had caught the computer cable in the bed and had snapped the cord! It was a near-tragedy! I had a Private Quarters sale to enter and the computer battery was running low quickly. So I called Keith and he gave me a name and number of a reliable camera man. So I called Joe Olivas
and told him about our two dilemmas. He said he could probably fix the cable, so I asked him where his shop was, and it turns out, he is right across the alley from us! Wow! Not only in the same town, but on the same block! Such good fortune!
We had a fun chat with him about our mutual profession (photography) and then we left the computer cable with him. He had it fixed in a couple of hours. Luckily, he had been an electronics engineer before he became a photographer!
My camera seemed to have dried out enough to work again, so off we went to the dance competition.
The dance competiton was a lot of fun.

There he is again, Mr. Mayor of Kauai! and yes, he is a big guy! He sat on a "throne" with elders around him on the ground for the Awa ceremony. Two beautiful virgins served them all a bit of Kava as part of the ceremony...just a sip or two. It was part of the Tahitian custom.

Then came the Keikis! They were adorable...ages 4-6. The little tiny girls could shake their hips as well as the adults. The little boy was great!

This is Mia, concentrating like any athlete before her turn. She was in the 10-12 year old group.

Isn't she lovely! She was really good! Beautiful form and talent.

One of the excellent young men. They are a little more wild then the girls...great athletes also.

And here is Maria, Mia's mother, who was amazing. She and her daughter are so talented! It was really fun "knowing" some of the competitors! I hope we get to see them dance again when they are back in northern California.

You can see more pictures on our Flickr account in our 2009 Kauai set. We'll be adding photos to it regularly (or not regularly...just check it once in a while.)

Kauai Day 3?

2009-08-02T12:54:00.000-07:00

I've already lost track of time...the Islands do that to you.

We drove to Kahili to pick up Joy at her little cabin. We spent Thursday night there. It rains here every night, so it was neat hearing the showers on the rooftop.

We took a walk around Kahili and saw the pretty flowers and plants.

On the way out to the road, we saw this Palomino standing in a strange way. On closer look, we could see that she was standing over a faucet and had the handle of the faucet right in the perfect spot to scratch her itch! She just ignored us and leaned back and forth, scraching a little tiny spot on her tummy.

We stopped at the Kauai Coffee Plantation for a tour and sampled all the coffees. I think we each drank the equavalent of 6 cups of coffee that morning!

In case you don't know, this is what coffee beans look like.

From there we drove to Salt Pond and swam in the ocean for about an hour. Not such good snorkeling, but perfect for swimming.

Todd's hair is now on Hawaii time as well.

Friday evening we had a real treat. I could hear some soft ukulele music outside, so I stepped out on the balcony and there, across the grass, by the sea, was a most beautiful, romantic scene.
I could see a handsome man playing his ukulele and singing as his wahine danced the hula before him. I loved how he sang to her and never took his eyes off her as she danced so gracefully.
It was after sunset, so the light was low and the waves seemed more gentle than usual. In fact, the music of the waves seemed to join in with the music.

It was fun to see the two daughters come up from the beach and join in the last dance.
Such a beautiful family! We called down to them as they came by and thanked them for the "show". It turns out they are from Hayward! and they are 2 doors down from us in the condo.
They are here for the international Tahitian dance competition on Saturday, in the park just a couple of blocks away! They invited us to come and see them if possible!

The Missile Launch

2009-08-02T11:10:00.000-07:00

This is still the first day (thursday):
you would have loved to have been with us the first day in Kauai!

We got to go onto the Navy base-- we had on our car a sign that said, "Guest of the Commanding Officer". I think Bruce must have called ahead or something. We don't know how we got in. We were ushered to a classified room with dignitaries, and watch the launch of the ICBM for a test. it was amazing. we were in the room in our swimsuits with coverups on, with about 50 dignitaries and guests.
The Admiral's wife was there and the mayor of Kauai, Senator Inouye's Rep, and Riki Ellison (49er super bowl in the 90's) -he said he had been inspired years ago by Ronald Regan and his "star wars" in 1983 and has ever since been a spokesman for the military and missile defense- he is the chairman and founder of the "Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance" (for a great shot from sea, see: http://missiledefenseadvocacy.org/)

We had it all explained to us first by one of the R&D engineers who had developed the missile, then we all ran out to watch the launch of the ARAV ballistic missile target in person, then ran back in to see the video of the target missile actually being hit (3 minutes after launch) and demolished by the interceptor missile 100 miles up in space~! it was amazing. This missile hits the target on its ascent, which is different. As we waited for the launch, they had to push back the launch time by 10 minutes because the space station was flying by up there!

When the missile was intercepted perfectly, everyone clapped...just like in Houston!!
They said this launch would be on CNN and the North Koreans would see it, and Hawaii is now a safer place.
This launch was a part of Regan's dream coming to fruition.

We were waiting to photograph the second test launch outside when one of the officers came up and told us to put away our cameras and to erase anything we had already shot. So we left the base and drove out on the highway to get shots of the launch.

Joy called out "Oh Mister Mayor, Mister Mayor, can we have a picture with you?" (he's a big guy! and very friendly) That's Keiko, out hostess walking behind us.

I don't know if you can see this clearly (all my picts will probably be straight out of camera)
This is the second test missile. If you click on the picture you can see it full-sized.

This is the neat spiral trail the missile makes as it twirls toward its target.
The little trail to the left is a part of the original missile that has separated.
The ship fiiring the intercept missile is about 125 miles out at sea.

Kauai: Day 2

2009-07-30T13:27:00.000-07:00

Since we mostly were in the air yesterday, this is our "actual" first day.
Keith called last night to tell us there is going to be a firing of 2 test missiles tonight up on the west side of the island at the missile range. So tonight we will go there and then take a picnic up to Palihale beach for sunset. Wow.. a missile firing...I just love doing out-of-the-ordinary things when we are here. The concierge at the condo didn't even know about this one! I'll post some pictures later.

This morning we went to the Orientation meeting-free coffee and donuts-uh-oh, the donut was not raw! Oh dear. I won the drawing for a free surfing lesson. That will be interesting!

We are waiting for Joy to get here so we can go snorkeling. She is about 10 miles away from us at Kahili in a cabin- inland.

We are off to Poipu for some snorkeling.

Kauai: First Stop

2009-07-30T13:18:00.000-07:00

Well, here we are, back in our favorite spot, Kauai! I am going to try to do a daily blog, but, no promises! Of course, our first adventure is in our other favorite spot, Costco! We have to browse the store and see all the neat, weird fish-items that we don't have in Woodland. I didn't get the seaweed salad this time. But there is a nice tub of cut-up papaya and the Kauai coffee to buy.
The weather is warm and overcast, with rain off-and-on during the day.
Joy, our sister-in-law, met us at the airport with beautiful leis. She has been here for 5 days by herself. She is practically a native!
Joy and I are going to try to eat just raw food...we'll see how long I last.

Emmett

2009-06-23T17:32:00.000-07:00

Todd and I are very sad today because we had to take Emmett to the vets for one last trip.
He was a perfect dog! He never had an accident in the house, even as a puppy. He never chewed any furniture. He was always friendly to guests and children and babies. He was a perfect "gentleman" dog. People really loved him and would stop us on the street because they had never seen a dog like him. We called them the "Little Big Dog". We will really miss him. We will miss seeing him run and get a stuffed toy for us whenever we came in the front door. He has been with us for 15 1/2 years. For a Shar-pei, that is almost twice the lifespan! Luckily, he had a little lab blood in him to give him that hybrid vigor. I think Spot will miss him too. He was her best pal and they had lived their whole lives together.

A Beautiful Baby Ballerina

2009-06-04T15:56:00.000-07:00

Annalisa is the cutest baby girl in the world! ( I know, I have probably said that before, but wait until you see her!). She belongs to Shannon and David. Shannon lived across the street from us and she was the prettiest girl in my son Michael's class in High School. So it would make sense that she would give birth to the most beautiful baby girl. Annalisa is also the baby with the chubbiest arms and legs. I mean, did you know that baby arms come in 5 segments? So these pictures are the result of Annalisa's first photoshoot by Todd & Barbara. She has had plenty of pictures taken of her in her short 7 months of life. Her Grandpa Reed and Gramma Marcia take great photos and put them on Flickr for us all to see. She lives up in Portland, so we don't get to see her in person as often as we'd like. But we take what we can get when Shannon comes to visit.

"Just watch what I can do to this pink peony!"

"See? That's what those big flowers are for!"

"They are just a nuisance here!"

"See? I don't need no stinkin' flowers. I AM the flower!"

Just look at these arms. Don't you just want to eat them? Look at all the segments! They are so precious!

And the wrists!! wow . Shannon promises she didn't put rubber bands on her wrists. And look at the little dimples on her hands. Don't you just love them?

And the same goes for the legs and feet! More little sausages and rubber band ankles! Wow!
soooo soft and squeezable. What a little doll!

An Adorable Baby Boy

2009-05-15T15:00:00.000-07:00

Oh Boy! One of our favorite couples (we photographed their wedding), Durin and Angela have a new baby boy. He is sooo cute and such a good baby! The session was filled with wardrobe changes, diaper changes, and studio changes and little Aden was not fazed! He just smiled and blew little bubbles that were so cute! Angela and Durin are wonderful parents. You can just tell by how relaxed they are and how they take turns holding and bouncing baby Aden when he needs to be bounced. Angela and Durin just seem to "have it all together" and you know they will be an ideal family throughout the years to come. Aden is 12 weeks old at this session. Good luck picking your pictures, mom and dad, because there are so many great ones!

Oh look! Is this a doll or a real baby?!

It's Aden! and his loving parents, Angela and Durin.

There are those precious little bubbles!

My How Time Flies!

2009-05-15T14:35:00.000-07:00

I know that is not original, but here is an example of time flying: It seems like only a year ago we photographed Larissa in the different stages of her pregnancy. (it was 3 years ago, to be exact). We had so much fun doing that and we got to really love Larissa and her husband, Jarron. Then when Ellie was born, we felt like "godparents", since we had been watching her "grow" for several months. Now we have Ellie, almost 3, and her new baby brother, still in the womb, for a photo session! We can't believe how Ellie is now a little girl, not a wee baby any more! She is very excited about having a new baby brother. She loves to "hold" the baby and kiss mommy's tummy.
What a privilege to be a part of this miracle.

Lucy the Goat goes to the Fair

2009-05-15T14:06:00.000-07:00

5987_lucy the goat_090506_S5Pro_Dixon on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Here is Lucy, a hand-raised little goat. She is a 4-H project of our friend, Olivia's.
Lucy's life was saved by a lot of tender loving care. She suffered from Acidosis, a fairly common affliction in goats. She is smaller than the other kids (baby goats) and cannot see very well, but she is very beautiful. I'll tell you more about her later. If you click on the link above, you can see more pictures from the Dixon Fair 4-H show on our Flickr page.

Mia Ballerina

2009-05-03T20:04:00.000-07:00

I now think my favorite age to photograph is 3 years old! Mia was so much fun- so lively and happy and ready to pose in her new blue tutu. She had so many expressions to offer us, we just kept shooting away and captured them all. Her poor mom is going to have a time picking out her favorites. Here are a couple of my favorites.

Her mom had warned us she was a lively one, so I was braced for a challenge....

Uh oh...looks like trouble....

Who, me??? As you can see, Mia turned out to be the perfect model!

Tara and Chelsea

2009-04-22T22:30:00.000-07:00

We had a great time photographing two pals from High School- Tara and Chelsea. It was just over a week ago and I can't believe that it was a cold, rainy day. Today it was in the 90's - and so hot!
Of course, the girls wore summery clothes so they had to just pretend it was a warm sunny day!
Here is a little slideshow of the morning. I'll post a few pictures of each girl later.

Vibeka and Danny

2009-04-19T21:50:00.001-07:00

We can't wait for Vibeka and Danny's wedding! They are getting married out in the country, at a beautiful home right next to this lovely almond orchard. Their wedding is in May. It might get a little hot then, but it is an evening wedding, so it will cool off eventually.

Vibeka and Danny are an adorable couple. They just seem to be a perfect match! They are fun-loving and kind and definitely a "couple in love". It will be really fun to spend the day with them in May. I can't wait to see the Ice Sculpture they are going to put in the pool!

Danny is jumping for joy!

a kiss under the trees

Aren't they adorable?!!

Secrets to Success

2009-04-10T11:16:00.000-07:00

I came across this in my Reader and it is really great. It is a great motivator. Just take a look:
TED Talks: Secrets of Success in 8 words, 3 minutes. Todd and I really enjoy watching the TED talks.

The cutest fish funeral

2009-04-08T12:49:00.000-07:00

You will have a good laugh, even tho it is a funeral for Lucky the fish!
Be sure to watch this.

More on Martial Arts

2009-04-07T16:48:00.000-07:00

This is Ty Elliot, the Muay Thai trainer. He keeps a close eye on all his students.

I love the Martial Arts. Ever since Karate Kid, I have been interested in all the different styles and skills involved. So when Sue and I actually got to learn Kickboxing at Elite Training Studios, that was like a dream come true! (I think if I ever really got hit it would be a nightmare, tho'!).
Michael, our brilliant trainer, asked me to come take some pictures of Ty Elliot training a group of men for Muay Thai. It was really fun-but there was a lot of sweat (no blood or tears!). I read someplace that kickboxing burns 1000 calories/hour! These guys probably burned twice that. They must all go home and go right to bed. At least that's what I would be doing. Here are some of the shots from Wednesday night.
here is a little slide show of the training session:

Amy and Justin's Wedding in Sedona

2009-03-27T16:15:00.000-07:00

These are samples from the album I designed for my niece, Amy and her wonderful husband, Justin. They had a beautiful destination wedding in Sedona, Arizona. We had the most perfect weather and beautiful day possible for a most beautiful wedding. It was so fun, and so fun being with my family, especially Michael and David! Amy and Justin are living in San Diego, so we will have plenty of chances to drive down and visit them. I hope you know how to cook, Amy!

This page is the family shot. My big brother, Tom, his wife, Jan, and their three beautiful blonde daughters. Wendy, Amy, and Kimmy.

Update on the Kick Boxing

2009-03-27T16:03:00.000-07:00

Yes, Sue and I are still working on our kickboxing skills. We are fortunate to have a trainer with seemingly unlimited patience! That is why we are still there on Saturday mornings, kicking and boxing as best we can. I have included here a link to a little slideshow of Sue, Michael our trainer, Kristy, and Cara. These are shots I had taken over the past few months:

http://toddandbarbara.com/slideshows/kickboxing/

2009-03-27T15:58:00.000-07:00

This is Marcie, our friend from church. This is the first year she has had daffodils in her garden and she was so thrilled about them, she called us and asked us to come take pictures of them. they were truly beautiful! Marcie now has decided she is going to start gardening more. I think she already has a couple of rose bushes to tend. It will be a great hobby for her.

Christmas Card???!!!!!

2009-03-26T18:00:00.000-07:00

OHMYGOODNESS! I just realized I haven't posted a blog since before Christmas! Wow!
Well, I'll start fresh. Maybe I'll go backwards.. Let's see...we photographed the most darling little girls, Naomi and Sienna, in their mommy's wedding dress. Some of my favorite portraits have come from that photoshoot. I'll show you a few..

a Christmas card from the Campbells

2008-12-04T13:01:00.001-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

blogdom

2008-10-30T11:26:00.000-07:00

We have been busy! yea! I have to catch up on the blogging here. We have Bekah's and Jessica's senior portraits, a big family portrait, and our niece, Amy's beautiful wedding to tell you about.
So I will be posting some pictures one of these days...sorry about the delays! ( you can just watch the little slideshow on the right).

Wedding Check List

2008-10-16T13:11:00.000-07:00

To our brides and anyone else thinking about wedding plans, here is a neat link to a Wedding Checklist, starting one year before the date: http://www.costofwedding.com/index.cfm?action=search.checklist&view=print
I hope that helps!
Our next wedding is going to be in Sedona, October 27! Our beautiful niece, Amy Chadwick is getting married there. We are getting very excited about the trip to Arizona. And also very exciting is Both our boys will be there too. I can't wait to see them!

Hope's Senior Portait

2008-10-14T15:57:00.000-07:00

What a beautiful girl Hope is. We had a great time photographing her at the arboretum last week.
She is the kind of girl who will be able to accomplish any goal she might pursue. She is smart, kind,
thoughtful, as well as "pretty as a picture". We are blessed to be able to photograph such unique and lovely Seniors!

Our Trip to the Dump (or, what to do when Todd is out of town)

2008-10-05T15:55:00.000-07:00

What a great day we had yesterday! Davy, our son, came to visit and I had a nice line-up of fun scheduled. First we headed to the Elite Training Studios, where Michael, the trainer, put Davy and Sue through an hour of kickboxing (I am injured, so I just did core exercises). Then we headed back home and I fixed us all Migas, a great scrambled egg dish that i learned from the Pioneer Woman blog. Then it was off to the Dump! Hooray!

We headed out with Davy as our driver.

We were delivering two huge, old couches to their new home, compliments of the church youth group. They were so big and heavy, we had to borrow Judi's big diesel truck. That was fun. It was a beautiful day to be outside...even if it was outside at the city dump. The clouds were so pretty and the air seemed so clean, even the dump air was not so bad.

Sue was pretty excited about going to the dump. (see her excited face back there in the back of the truck?) I don't think she gets to go there very often. I haven't been very often either, especially since they stopped allowing people to take things OUT of the dump! (just kiddin').

Poor Davy, here he was with these two delicate women and two huge heavy couches. He was so good, he didn't even panic. He was ready to unload them all by himself. As he started pushing and pulling, out of the blue (brown?) came a big guy with on offer.."Do you need any help?". Whoo hoo!
I asked him, "Are you an angel?" then I said "I know, you are the Dump Angel!". I think he was insulted. That was not the right thing to say. Anyway, we got the job done.

After we got home, we left Davy to shower and change and Sue and I headed for the Roseville Galleria. I mean, if you can't shop at the dump, you have to shop SOMEWHERE! My last shot is of the beautiful cloud we saw at the Galleria.

Hunter's First Birthday!

2008-09-20T19:12:00.000-07:00

"Aw! that's where I want to be."

Terry and Dillon arrive to celebrate.

September 12: Hunter is now one year old. It's hard to believe he is about to enter Toddler-hood. But now he is crawling and life is changing for both him and Kelly and Cy! I had told Kelly to enjoy every minute of his non-ambulatory life because she is entering a whole new realm of motherhood. Her new cry will be "Where's Hunter?"

Anyway, Hunter had a really cool party. Wonderful friends and family were there and even a little pal of Hunter's showed up...Dillon. Dillon watched all the activity and his father told him, "Don't worry, Dillon, you will have all this fun pretty soon". (Dillon is a few months younger than Hunter.)

Kelly's Mom and Sister made great snacks. There was even Champagne! Not many first birthdays were that fancy! Hunter wasn't too impressed with all the activity, but he did enjoy his Birthday Balloons and a few of his presents. And as for the cake...well, Hunter preferred his cheerios.

A Play on Words

2008-09-13T20:54:00.001-07:00

Here is a fun site to play with: http://wordle.net/
These are words from my recent blogs: click on the picture to see them in larger format.

Babysitting Hunter

2008-09-07T17:36:00.000-07:00

We had a great adventure this week. Little Hunter was entrusted to us for about 3 hours- ie. the length of the Batman movie. This was a big event because Hunter had not stayed with us for that amount of time before. So this is how our day progressed: After Mommy left, Hunter, with a tear in his eye, quickly started storytime.

Next came weightlifting practice. And lots of photos.

Hunter says, "Enough with the cameras and pictures!"

So it was back to the books.

Now it is time for a walk to the park! Never mind that it is over 100 degrees by now. We just have to go to the park. Don't forget the hat.

Whee! First a great swing with Barbara pushing, Todd photographing.

Oh boy, Wood chips. Mommy never let me sit in this stuff. I'll dig holes here with my feet.
(Mommy was quite surprised when she changed my diapers later...lots of wood chips)

After the walk to the park, Hunter was a little dirty, and sporting his first sunburn. So the best thing for that is a little dip in the kitchen sink. Note the rosey cheeks and legs.

And now it's time to relax, watch some Wiggles on TV and snack on Graham Crackers with Uncle Todd.

As you can see, Hunter just wore himself out. He was ready for a nap and ready for Mom. Luckily, she returned soon after this picture! Boy, was he happy to see her!

Adam and Justine

2008-08-18T18:43:00.001-07:00

This past Saturday we had the privelege of photographing Justine and Adam's most beautiful wedding. It took place at RH Phillips Winery in Esparto, California.
Justine, as you can see is a living doll of a bride. She had so much fun and was so expressive, we really had fun with her.
Both Adam and Justine were such good sports it made our day a pleasure. It started out pretty hot, but as the evening progressed a nice cool breeze came up and it was perfect! The neatest thing was watching the festivities under a full, beautiful moon. It was so pretty and really neat when we all sang "That's Amore" with an actual moon shining down on us.
There was great music for dancing and party-ing by Sierra Sound.
Liz Steiner, manager of the Tasting Room did a great job keeping everything organized and presenting a beautiful buffet dinner. We think the winery is a beautiful place for weddings, if any of you are looking...
The whole wedding was very gorgeous with beautiful flowers prepared by Adam's most talented Grandmother!
It was fun having a couple of our past brides present too. It is always fun seeing them. We have the most beautiful brides (and handsome grooms, too!) in the state, I think.

Here are some of the details from the wedding.

Here is one happy couple!!

This is a "must Watch video"

2008-08-06T21:58:00.000-07:00

If any of you haven't smiled yet today, please go to this site and sit and watch!

http://www.wherethehellismatt.com/?fbid=0FA_N

It will change your day!

Our New Digital Frame

2008-08-06T17:37:00.000-07:00

Our February Photo of the Month from Steve's Digicam- Baby Christian G.

I don't think I told you all that we ended up winning a Digital Frame from the Steve's Digicam photo of the day contest.

I highly recommend these frames for you and your loved ones. They make excellent gifts. I recommend having a family photo shoot and for Christmas, send your parents or grandparents a Digital Frame with the pictures from the shoot! They will love it!
Imagine a nice slide show of your wedding or your baby's latest antics. It is the next-best thing to their being with you.

The 5x7 Digital Frame is perfect for a desk at work, or on a side table in the living room.

San Francisco Day

2008-08-02T14:47:00.000-07:00

Time to head home... a new way of travelling around the city.

A picture for my pal, Abigail...for old time's sake.

Sleepy California Sea Lions.

Shrimp at Bubba Gumps. Yum!

A sneak preview of some of the glass. Now you have to go to see the rest. It is spectacular!

Todd posed by the Hammond paper exhibit at the de Young.

Barbara and Sue showing how "life imitates art".

Here we are, Barbara, Sue, Aimee, Todd and Noelle. We are all happy and ready to spend the day in San Francisco.

Instead of more babies or weddings, today I'll tell you about our most perfect mini vacation last Wednesday.

Sue, Todd, Aimee, Noelle and I all piled into Sue's nice roomy car and off we went about 9:30am.
Our first stop was a little tour of Krispy Kreme donuts. Thanks to Pastor Exter's sermon last
Sunday, Barbara knew the exact exit for Krispy Kreme's-Apian Way!

So after such a happy start, we drove into San Francisco and found a parking spot right near the de Young Museum. It was just a short walk to the museum. We spent a couple of hours at the beautiful Chihuly blown-glass art exhibit. It was amazing.

Then we drove over to Fisherman's Wharf, parked in the public parking lot and strolled over to Pier 39 for lunch at Bubba Gump's. We all had delicious shrimp lunches. After that, we walked out on the pier and watched the California Sea Lions basking in the sun.

We walked off our lunches by touring Fisherman's Wharf and walking to Ghirardelli Square.
It was quite crowded so we managed to leave without buying any chocolate!

The weather was perfect (for me). A nice cool day with foggy sea air felt very refreshing before we headed back to 90 degree weather at home.

If you are interested, we will post the rest of the pictures on flickr soon.

Another Baby!

2008-07-21T20:47:00.000-07:00

I started to name him "Harry", but now I think I'll call him "Cotton". He is sooo soft!
And no, it's not a kangaroo!

Lorrie with the baby. The baby only weighs a few pounds. He feels like a feather!

This is the Mama Llama...up close.

Judi has never been kissed by a Llama.

You can see, a lot has been going on since my last post in June. Here is a new baby. Do you know what it is? At first look, you might think it is a little kangaroo, but, of course it isn't. He is a brand new baby Llama! He was a surprise. Lorrie didn't know her llama was pregnant. It seems Diel, the male llama, got into the pasture with the 2 girl llamas about 11 months ago. So there you go. Nature happens.

Scott and Lindsey

2008-07-21T19:54:00.000-07:00

Something old, Something new, Something borrowed, Something blue!

This beautiful brooch is getting pinned on the front of the dress.

And look! A little secret "something blue" inside Lindsey's dress.

The scene is set, ready for the bride to appear.

This is one of my favorite shots. I just love the scene and the idea that the bride and groom are unaware of the camera, just getting ready for their formal portraits.

And I love this shot, too.

Todd coached Lindsey on how to make a heart with the sparklers. Neat!

Scott and Lindsey were married July 5th at the Yolo Fliers Club in Woodland. It was a really pretty evening ceremony. They were married in a "circle", and for each part of the ceremony, they would turn a bit so everyone got a chance to see their faces. That was neat. The sunset was beautiful and after the reception, there were plenty of sparklers to play with. That was a fun touch. The two of them make a very gorgeous couple. Scott was especially pleased to get to eat the Colossal Shrimps that he loved so much. The couple had escaped to the Lounge so they could have some time to themselves. But that didn't last long. The two moms hunted them down and invaded the room and shared their meal as they gave them motherly advice...like who was going where for each holiday! What a riot they were!

Baby Hunter goes to the Beach....sort of...

2008-07-21T19:02:00.000-07:00

Look at this little doll. He just melts my heart.

And oh, his little feet and hands are yummy!

Hunter is amazed by his first bubbles.

Oh! let's have some more of those gorgeous little feet and hands...and legs!

Here is Hunter, again, the cutest baby boy in the world! He is wearing his aloha outfit that Todd and I got for him when we were in Hawaii. Isn't he cute? We really love the little guy. I found some of my beach collections and we tried to make a little beach scene, but without the sand, it is lacking. But that's ok. Hunter steals the show all by himself. Of course, his beautiful Mommy helps make the scenery even prettier!

Jason and Bethany

2008-07-18T13:15:00.000-07:00

Here is another beautiful wedding, a week after Cheryl and Thomas'. Jason and Bethany are a young couple in love, living in Woodland. They were High School sweethearts and now have committed to being sweethearts forever! They were married in the Woodland Christian Church, which is a very beautiful church. They are committed Christians and the ceremony was very special and very blessed by the presence of many friends and family members. Bethany just happens to be the niece of Cheryl! So it was fun seeing the same family together again. Jason's parents had the most beautiful and delicious Czech wedding cakes baked by Little Prague...yes, there were six cakes!! The couple was sent off with a flurry of bubbles. Have a beautiful life together.

Here is a collage of some of the details of the wedding...lavender!

Bethany was such a beautiful bride!

Bethany and Jason- so in love.

Sophia- an enchanting flower girl!

Look! It is Cheryl and Thomas--back from their Honeymoon! Guess where they went!

I can't forget one of my favorite couples, Dennis and Nancy! Cheryl is their daughter and they are the grandparents of Bethany! So it was a busy 2 weeks for them!

Thomas and Cheryl

2008-07-18T13:02:00.000-07:00

Thomas and Cheryl were married in June at the beautiful Biblical Gardens in Grass Valley. It was a sweet, intimate ceremony with family and friends. Cheryl was so beautiful with her wreath of wild flowers in her hair...very fitting for this little forest hideaway. Later in the evening, they had a reception in Winters which was a lot of fun. It had promised to be a hot summer day, but a nice breeze came up and everyone was very comfortable. It was a good start to their lifetime of happiness.

Puppies and Babies part 2

2008-06-24T17:33:00.000-07:00

Do you remember Caleb and Polaris?
Well here they are again...
Don't worry, Caleb, one day you'll be the big one!

click here to see the first post:

More Babies

2008-06-06T19:02:00.000-07:00

This week we took care of little Mia for a couple of hours. She is a little doll. Todd fixed her a bowl of crushed ice to play with. Mia and Spot, the dog, had fun sharing the ice chips. Later, Mia got a little fussy, so I sat on the couch with her cuddled in my arms and I sang "lullaby" to her. It was really neat to see her just close her eyes slowly and then go fast to sleep! She slept in my arms for almost an hour. That was fun.

Meet Quinnten!

2008-06-02T16:15:00.000-07:00

Shea and Jonny look over their book and their Calendar while Quinnten looks over Todd & Barbara.

Daddy's little boy.

This past Saturday (May 31st, 2008), we had very special visitors! Two of our favorites, Shea and Jonny, drove over from San Mateo to pick up their Wedding Book. They brought along their new addition, little Quinnten, who is 4 months old. What a beautiful, big baby boy! We feel like aunt and uncle to our Brides and Grooms' babies! It was such a thrill to get to know this darling little boy. He was so sweet and so happy. I had fun playing with him and introducing him to Bubbles! We are so blessed to have such great clients....no, I would call them friends! Never mind that Shea and Jonny's wedding was in 2006! A new house and a new baby are pretty good reasons for delaying the picture-choices for their album! It is worth all the effort when your bride loves the book and all the pictures sooooo much.

Wendy and Alex get married

2008-06-02T14:33:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday we photographed a very "different", fun wedding. It was outdoors in Village Homes Commons in Davis. During the ceremony, there was a "moment of silence", Quaker-style. That was one of the unusual parts of the day. Wendy wore a pretty blue sundress instead of the traditional gown. The flowers were beautiful, all very natural. One of the neatest parts was, after the ceremony and reception, the crowd dispersed onto the Commons to play Volleyball, Boce Ball,
Frisbee toss, Croquet, Badminton, and softball. All of the young people played and many of the older folks just sat in the shade and watched the activities. It was very fun.

Oh yes, the fact that Alex and many of his friends are members of the National Ultimate Frisbee Team (Champions) might have something to do with all that energy and competition going on after the wedding.

Justine and Adam

2008-05-23T16:30:00.000-07:00

Wow! We are really looking forward to Justine and Adam's August wedding! We met at R.H. Phillips Winery, where they will be married, and took some fun "engagement" shots. It was a rather blustery day, and we were afraid we would have to cancel, but, luckily, everyone was waiting for us when we arrived. We had the whole area to ourselves (no one else would have ventured out in the gale-force winds!) But look at the great photos we got! This is just a sampling! It was a lot of fun. While we were photographing out in the vineyards, all the parents were sitting at the picnic tables enjoying a bottle of wine and probably talking about their two great kids!
(don't you think that was what they were talking about?)

CIF Championship

2008-05-22T18:43:00.001-07:00

CIF Championship
Originally uploaded by Todd & Barbara

Here is what I do during the off-season. Sort of. Actually, Cy does most of the recruiting and I just visit some of the local events and meet with the players when they come to Davis on visits. In this photo we are at Richmond CC following a few players and wondering why it is so cold! The day before it was over 100 in Davis and then 55 degrees in Richmond - 50 miles away. There are a few more photos from this event on flickr.

Mother's Day

2008-05-15T15:17:00.001-07:00

(Todd took this shot with Davy's new Blackberry phone.)

I had such a fun Mother's day! Davy drove home from the bay area. He joined Todd and me for church in the morning, then later took us out for Mother's Day lunch at the restaurant of my choice. Not to be too normal, I chose Murder Burger (now named "Redrum" burger because the real name offended someone). We all had great big burgers and fries, and best of all, real milkshakes! That was fun. Then I watched a few episodes of Battlestar Gallactica while Todd and Davy went to Whole Earth Day on campus. When they returned, Davy made his famous Oatmeal chocolate-chip cookies. It was fun baking together, as we have done for so many years.
Then, in the evening, Michael called me from Boston to wish me a Happy Mother's day and to tell me all about his first night at his new job, Bar-tending! He had a very successful evening and mixed all the drinks just right...except for one little mistake, which no one seemed to notice. So all in all, it was a wonderful Mother's Day. Thanks, Boys!!! I love you!

The pups are 9 weeks old, 25 pounds!

2008-05-15T15:10:00.001-07:00

Just try to catch these three boys holding still!

Oh dear! I am getting behind on my pup blogs! Here they are at 9 weeks--and that was last week! I can't imagine how big they are this week! The little girl pup has gone to a very good home. She was such a sweet little puppy. The three boys are also very dear. I can't wait to see them again.

Cpl. Chester Nez, 1st Original 29, 1942-1945

2008-05-10T13:42:00.000-07:00

Albert Smith, Navajo Code Consultant for "Wind Talker"

2008-05-10T13:40:00.001-07:00

Samuel Smith, 4th Marine Division

2008-05-10T13:38:00.001-07:00

These men were doing the book-signing to earn money for education for their grandchildren and the other children of the Navajo Nation.

A thrill of a lifetime

2008-05-10T13:10:00.000-07:00

While in New Mexico attending the PowWow, Connie and I took a break and drove down to Old Town, Albuquerque to go to dinner. We pulled into the only parking spot left on the street and right beside us was a table under a canopy with 14 of the Original Navajo Code Talkers! They were doing a book signing for the latest book out about their lives. We were so excited because they have always been heros to both Connie and me! We were enthralled with these beautiful Navajo men, who so graciously and patiently signed Connie's 40 books and my 3! We knelt down beside them and they told us their individual stories about WWII. Samuel Tsu told us about being the first one on Iwo Jima! He and his group of Marines were doing recon and were sent ahead of the troops..3 days ahead to scout the beaches for obstacles. They found no obstacles, but started getting fire from the Japanese. They dove into the ocean to try to get back to the submarine, but the current was too strong. The sub sent out a patrol boat, but it got shot down. A second boat was sent, but it had to turn back. Finally, they sent a speedboat with innertubes tied to ropes behind the boat. The Marines grabbed ahold of the innertubes and the boat sped back to the sub.
They even explained how they made the code. It was an awesome experience!!

to see more photos of the Code Talkers, go to: our Flickr page

The Gathering of Nations

2008-05-07T15:50:00.000-07:00

Be sure to click on the pictures to get the full view!
One Little
Two Little
Three Little Indians

Once I landed in New Mexico, I was very happy to see my best friend from college, Connie.
We headed out Saturday morning to the University of New Mexico's "The Pit", the sports stadium, where we spent most of the day watching the dance competitions and shopping for beautiful jewelry and native crafts. It was very hard taking the kind of photos I had planned on taking because it was incredibly crowded wherever we walked. The stadium was packed and there was standing room only! It was the most colorful gathering I had ever seen! There were thousands of American Indians from all over the states. Competitions were going on all day. From the tiny tot's to the elders, there was dancing, drumming and singing and later in the evening the competition for the Miss American Indian title. We stayed as long as we could, but after 11:30 p.m., we decided that was all we could handle for the day. I don't think the Indians had even gotten to the Hoop Dancers yet! But, like Connie said, "we are on Indian time", so they probably kept performing all night long.
It was frustrating trying to photograph a single dancer because it was sooo crowded! If I had a chance at a good shot, someone would walk right in front of me. This happened over and over, so i finally just went up into the stands and watched from far away.

Do you want to see more pictures? click here to go to our Flickr page

Nate

2008-05-02T14:11:00.001-07:00

My New Best Friends

2008-05-02T12:27:00.000-07:00

On April 25, I, Barbara, headed off on a trip to visit my friend, Connie, in New Mexico. The flight involved having to take off and land twice to get to Abuquerque. Most of my friends know how terrified I am of flying, so here I go all by myself (I didn't have Todd's arm to squeeze on take-offs and landings). Well, God is good, and I ended up with the best seat-mates ever. Marcel and Jason.
We had so much fun talking and laughing, that I almost forgot I was on a plane! Well, Marcel and Jason, this blog is for you, because you two made me promise to sit by the window on my next flight. I didn't quite work up the courage on the next leg of the journey, so , to be honest, I sat back on the aisle. But you will see, I brought back proof of my "Baby Steps". And you will see the pictures here!
But, guys, I DID IT! From El Paso, to L.A. is where you see my picture I call "baby steps", and I sat in the middle seat. (both flights I had the row to myself!) I sat by the window from L.A. to Sacramento. I have to admit, after looking out the window and shooting lots of pictures of the clouds, etc, towards the end (landing in Sacramento), I looked straight down, and got so scared, I had to lean towards the middle seat and close my eyes and pretend I was on the aisle!

Brynn

2008-04-22T16:04:00.000-07:00

Here is a cute picture of my friend Marie's little granddaughter, Brynn. She has the most wonderful weekends when she visits her "Gammy".

Kalyn's Senior Portrait

2008-04-19T09:21:00.000-07:00

On Thursday, we had the privilege of photographing a most beautiful senior, Kalyn! We had so much fun, we took way too many pictures! Kalyn is a Cheerleader, and a great sport, so we had to take some of her leaping off the wall at the Arboretum. That was fun and she was able to do a few cartwheels after that! She was still able to do some beautiful, elegant poses in-between the capers.
We sure are blessed to be photographers!

Puppies at 5 weeks

2008-04-19T09:15:00.001-07:00

Oh dear. Another week has gone by and this is my first post! Judi and I met Lorrie at the nursery and we spent about an hour playing with the puppies. They sure can change in a week. They run and jump and attack now....don't worry, Lorrie, I mean they attack with puppy-kisses!

Puppies and Babies

2008-04-17T09:09:00.000-07:00

This past week, we had the opportunity to photograph babies...both human and canine.
Baby Caleb, 7 weeks old, 6 pounds.
Baby Dane, 4 weeks old, 8 pounds.
We'll see how they progress.
They are both adorable!

The Cowboy Classic - Day 1

2008-04-07T22:39:00.001-07:00

Gregg Button blasts from desert on the 7th hole during the 2nd round of the Cowboy Classic at Talking Stick Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona. Gregg had a great day shooting 69-70 (1 under). We are in 2nd place trailing Grand Canyon by 4 strokes with a little more than 18 holes to play. Austin has a 15 foot putt on his last hole for a 5 under 65 (we couldn't finish as it was too dark). Lets see if the Aggies can defend their title!!

Aggies in the Sun!

2008-04-07T22:27:00.001-07:00

The Aggies are in sunny Arizona this week for the Cowboy Classic hosted by the University of Wyoming. We are the defending champions at this tournament, played at Talking Stick GC. The real fun starts tomorrow with a 24 team field teeing it up for a 36 hole marathon day. See you tomorrow!

Barbara's Palm Springs vacation

2008-04-06T18:42:00.000-07:00

Here is how i spent my vacation this past week. I had a stomach flu and it lasted most of the week.
Nevertheless, the desert was beautiful, with nice breezes every day and highs of about 84 degrees.
I got to play one round of golf and get together with 15 old schoolmates from grammar school before the flu attacked. Lynda, my friend who shared my condo, also got sick. Our other two friends, Sharon and Cynthia, who roomed together next door stayed healthy. It is nice to be home and I'm ready to get back to work now.

Pacific Dunes #11 - Our Last Hole

2008-03-29T09:18:00.001-07:00

Thursday was a perfect day for golf in Oregon. I didn't use my umbrella once, and actually gave my jacket to John Grothe as a gift for letting us play this magnificent course (and he really wanted a UC Davis windbreaker!) Also, I birdied this hole... (and so did Williams)

A wild day at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort

2008-03-27T08:34:00.001-07:00

UC Davis Golf- Oregon Retreat
Originally uploaded by Todd & Barbara

The 2008 Oregon Retreat at Bandon Dunes golf resort. Between the 1st green and the 2nd tee, the hail started pelting us. It didn't let up until the middle of the 3rd hole, by which time the course was covered in hail. We talked about just going in on the 3rd tee, but decided to wait just a little longer under a tiny tree. Luckily, it stopped hailing and we finished our round.. but there was more weather to come! This is the 3rd green at Bandon Dunes.

Rough Day in Oregon

2008-03-26T09:26:00.001-07:00

UC Davis Golf- Oregon Duck
Originally uploaded by Todd & Barbara

We started out an hour late because of fog, and then it didn't get much better. The next two tournaments are going to be very important for the Aggies.

Springtime in Oregon - The Aggies are in 4th

2008-03-24T22:47:00.001-07:00

Nate Pistacchio hits a shot during the afternoon round at Emerald Valley GC in Creswell, Oregon. The Aggies are in 4th place heading into the final round, but all the teams are very close, so we are looking forward to a great day.

We carried our rain-gear all day, but Oregon weather is unpredictable, and today it was very nice and sunny.

Connie's visit

2008-03-24T16:28:00.000-07:00

My best friend from College, Connie, flew out to visit for Easter. We had a great time. One of the highlights was a surprise trip to drop in on her friend, Paul Moller, whom she dated way back in those days. We had a great visit and Paul took us on a tour of his company where he designs flying cars and alternate-energy engines, among other things. We brought home a nice collection of Moller items, like coffee mugs, models of his M400 flying car, and some delicious almond butter that he and his daughter, Jennifer are producing and marketing. That sure was fun.

Pups starting their third week

2008-03-24T16:09:00.000-07:00

We had a visit to the nursery and the pups have just about doubled in size now! Their eyes are starting to open and they are looking more like puppies now. They sure are cute. Lorrie is having a great time even tho' she is pretty isolated out there in the nursery most of the day.

UC Davis Golf at the Oregon Duck - Men and Women

2008-03-23T20:47:00.000-07:00

After a long week of finals, the Aggie golf teams are back in action at the Oregon Duck Invitational. Both the men's and women's teams are playing, but on separate courses. The women get to play the beautiful, Eugene CC, while the men tee it up at Emerald Valley GC in Creswell. This will probably be the only photo I get of the women's team, and I was lucky to get it.... they were just leaving the dinner when we were arriving. Of course, the weather is Ducky, so look for lots of rain-gear photos.... T

Davis...The People's Republic of.....?

2008-03-18T17:38:00.000-07:00

Well, our fair city has finally done it. We have labled ourselves "The City of Bikes", "The Tree City" , the "Nuclear Free City", and finally, "The City of All Things Right and Relevant", but now you can see we have gone a little too far.

Great News!!!

2008-03-15T16:38:00.000-07:00

This is so exciting. You might remember when we were so happy when we won Photo of the Day at Steve's Digicams. Well, now we have found out that our little "Baby and the Bubble" picture has won First Place for Photo of the Month! Wow. That was so fun to find out. We don't know what we have won yet. It might be a digital picture frame or a camera!
You can see the picture at

http://www.steves-digicams.com/dpotd_feb2008_winners.html

New Babies in town!

2008-03-15T16:12:00.000-07:00

Sterling, the beautiful Harlequin Great Dane, has given birth to 4 little pups. Three males and one female. Here they are at 4 days old. Aren't they cute? Oh boy, lots of photography ops ahead for us! The last litter was 13 pups, so that was quite a job keeping up with them. So I'm thinking 4 will be more manageable for us. They are all doing fine and Lorrie, the "mom" (not the dog) is spending all her waking (and sleeping) hours at the Nursery making sure that Sterling doesn't lie on a puppy. Luckily, the Nursery is a nice cozy place with a little TV and a soft bed for Lorrie.

Troy Young's Ordination

2008-02-26T17:06:00.001-08:00

Troy Young's Ordination
Originally uploaded by Todd & Barbara

Sunday, February 24th was the day that all of us at Pole Line Road Baptist Church came to the realization that, yes, Troy Young, definitely is moving on to his next calling. Troy was ordained as Youth Pastor at the Vacaville Trinity Baptist Church in a beautiful, meaningful ceremony. His beautiful family, wife Tracy, children Ashley, Josh, Abigail and Jacob were all a part of the ceremony.
Exter and Jeff, our pastors, participated as well as Yemi and our Deacons.
We will all miss the Youngs...(that leaves an entire pew empty!) But mostly, we'll miss Troy's inspiration and the beautiful example of his Christian family. Fortunately, they are not far away and so I know we will be seeing them often. Todd & I also will have fun checking out Troy's photography!

Total Eclipse of the Moon

2008-02-21T16:13:00.000-08:00

We packed up the dogs and headed to the country to watch the moon disappear last night.
It was really fun. If you watch it with binoculars it is spectacular! So beautiful! It looks like a translucent ball just hanging in the dark sky. You can see the other stars around the moon, too.
It would have been fun to be in a plane and view it.

Todd & Barbara Win the Picture of the Day!!!

2008-02-14T09:57:00.000-08:00

This was an exciting morning. When checking our email, we discovered that the picture I had turned in last week made Steve's Digicam Picture of the Day! This is a picture of the adorable baby Christian G. It was so amazing that Christian actually caught a bubble!

His mom, Rikke, had said to me a couple of times "You should enter this picture in a contest". So that was what inspired me to do it. I'm sure glad I did! You can see it in the archives for Feb. 14. Valentines Day. I hope you all have a LOVE-ly day!

here is the link: http://www.steves-digicams.com/daily_dpotd.html

if you look at this after valentines day then use this link

Picture of the day

if you don't see this picture, scroll down to the archives and look under Feb. 14th.

February 5th, Noelle's Birthday!

2008-02-10T14:00:00.001-08:00

Hooray! Noelle turned 15 on Tuesday, Feb 5th. We had a great little party for her at the Dairy Queen. Sue, Megan, Pastor Exter, Otavio, Barbara and Noelle all celebrated. Try putting 15 burning candles on a dish of ice cream! that was a challenge. Exter had the Dairy Queen decorated with Birthday balloons, a banner, and 2 beautiful bouquets of pink flowers. Even the owners and family got involved. They had fun watching noelle try to blow out the trick candle that Barbara sneaked into the "cake". We were just missing Aimee, Noelle's mother, who was in the hospital trying to get well from a blood infection.

Kelly's Birthday

2008-02-09T13:51:00.000-08:00

Kelly had a big birthday January 26th. We got to be a part of the celebration. We had dinner at Mortons! Yum! I had Lobster! It was a really fun evening. Kelly's sister, Whitney and her husband Dave were there and Cy's best friend, Eric was also there. Great people!
Kelly's parents, Sally and Pete, bless their hearts, stayed home with baby Hunter, thereby making this whole evening possible.