A summer off of blogging led into the fall, which brought our family into a new home and move and somehow here it is a new year. I enjoy sharing new photos and am back for the new year. Wishing you and your family the happiest of times and shining moments.

My 2013 goal:  Capture, edit and print our own family moments and keep our life simple!

“We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop.”

–Mother Teresa

What a fun couple of weeks joining in on Kindermusik classes and capturing those fun moments with mom (grandma, grandpa etc.) and child. I often wish I had some pictures during those times.  A quick sneak peek with more to come!  Thank you Miss Sherry for the fun time.

Without music, life is a journey through a desert.

-Pat Conroy (author)

A mini-session for this cool little guy needing head shots to make it big.   He has the talent and looks!

Summer is here, so we headed up to the mountains to enjoy some cool weather and fresh air. There are so many reasons to love camping: bright stars, no distractions from family and nature, long walks to nowhere, discovering bird’s nests, watching the bugs, collecting rocks, devouring marshmallows and hanging out with good friends.  But, at three in the morning, I could have easily come up with a few reasons not to camp!

In wilderness I sense the miracle of life,

and behind it our scientific accomplishments fade to trivia.

~Charles A. Lindbergh

Adopt the pace of nature:  her secret is patience.

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul.

~John Muir

What a beautiful sight this time of year in the Arizona desert, a time of color and beauty to soak in before the heat destroys my yearly attempt to have a flower garden in the desert.

The prickly pear cactus showing off it’s delicate flower.  I love the contrast of a beautiful flower on a rough and prickly plant.

I just could not choose between the color and the black and white. Hmmm. Color is a rarity in the desert, but on the other hand black and white always attracts me especially to demonstrate the desert landscape.  What do you think?

Ocotillo

The majestic saguaro stands alone and is completely amazing to me and I have lived among them my whole life!  The Cactus Hotel, a children’s book, is a must read for all children!

Are you moved by words? I love them when used so lovely.

Yeats creates this image and I went back to these photographs of the two fairy princesses playing in the backyard.  This is how intense children play and I wish for that passion in my everyday life, like a flame upon the mountain!  So, try to spread your wings a little more each day, who knows where you will go!
“Faeries, come take me out of this dull world,
For I would ride with you upon the wind,
Run on the top of the dishevelled tide,
And dance upon the mountains like a flame.”
~William Butler Yeats, “The Land of Heart’s Desire,” 1894

My dear friends wanted to capture the beauty of our surroundings in the desert with the sweetness of their special family bond.

Always enjoy my time outside with friends and a camera.

Walking off into the sunset!

Isn’t this sweet!  I hope you have someone to think about to create your very own garden.

If I had a single flower for every time I think about you, I could walk forever in my garden.

~Attributed to Claudia Ghandi

A few shots in grandma and grandpa’s back yard. No boys allowed (for now) in this group of beautiful cousins!