Our State Fair is a great state fair, don't miss it don't even be late!

Look out for that Bear!

Lots of art work there.

Itty Bitty goats.

That like the taste of camera wrist strap.

The culprit.

Petting the itty bitty goats.

Scratching.

Hungry goats....

Smiling goats!

Here's how you power wash a cow.

Pretty Jersey cow.

Cowkid boots.

These cows are no taller than my waist.

Ku Klux Sheep.

Kissy, kissy.

Snuggle, snuggle.

Blue ribbon for the cutest pig at the fair.

Hello.

This guy was huge!

So, so cute!

The alligator show...this guy almost died....

Some hungry piglets below...

Practice

Don't know if you can see it, but Ryu has hives all over his body. We don't know what he got into but he woke up with these...nothing a little Benadryl couldn't fix.

And here are some photos I took while practicing my "photo eye".

I guess it's that time again...

Here we are again...letting life keep us busy...but perhaps an update.

Kiersten and I are starting a photography business....just one day at a time so I thought I'd post some of Val & Phil's engagement pics that I just love. If you know of anyone that would love to be practice subjects...let me know.

Other news....Levi and I have officially started the adoption process... Most of you already know this but just in case I missed someone...
Lots of changes ahead of us I think...but good ones.

We just celebrated 7 years together. Didn't know if we'd make it but we've weathered the storms and are ready to weather more together. I'm so grateful for my husband and his kind heart. I used to think the lack of playful fighting between us meant he just wasn't that into me...until I realized that he has no desire in any part of his being to hurt me in any way, even if it was playful fighting. Levi has the sweetest heart of anyone I know. I love him so much!

Levi started taking a math class. He needs a full year of college calculus to be able to teach high school math which is what he wants to do. I'm so proud of him for making it happen and glad to see the joy he takes in heading down his career path. A little late starting but who cares as long as you get there, right?!

Well, that's all for now. Ta Ta!

I Heart Virginia

Nikki & Bobo

Say Cheese

Nikki & her favorite Auntie

Beautiful eyes

The beautiful Louie

Well we know where the good looks started.

Brett Brat

Little Bear and Duke

Catching tadpoles is a messy business

Benjamin, Bobo, & Ereck all getting up there.

Beautiful Urfy & Bobo

Our favorite Thibodeau's, Brian, Oliver, & Ashley.

Riding Bikes.

The old bridge you drive through at Watson's Mill.

You slide down the rocks...a built in slip in slide. The boys working their way back up.

Tre & Zachary

Little Levi

Doesn't get more "white" than that!

Bison Huntin'

We went a bison huntin' and found a very tall piece of grass....possibly world's tallest.

We found a large metal ball. Not a buffalo...looked like it from a distance.

See...doesn't that look like a bison?

Ryu found that getting loose and running in the water is fun!

Stephen found that the tall piece of grass makes a really good whip. Should be good to use on the bison.

Found a good photo opp.

Discovered that eating worms with your eyes closed tastes better. ( I don't know why I closed my eyes)

We learned that surprised looks look better on film than practiced smiles!

Found that it's easy to forget to change the color filter on the camera. And Levi looks really cool in blue.

We found an ewok..."jub, jub"

Beautiful wild flowers.

Both humans and dogs like to look out the window.

Found an antelope trying to hide....but no bison yet.

And after lots and lots of driving and searching we found them...miles away and ready for the picking. Not quite as exciting as we had hoped.

However, all that patience paid off and leaving the island we found one lone bison soaking up the sun. He even got up for us so we could get some better pics.


Pretty fun bison huntin'!

Racing

All done!
(These are all backwards)

Gotta get that energy back up.

There were over 18,000 participants! Awesome!

Getting warmed up in the sun.

Creative people stick together

So I would have to say that most of my friends are creative...and much more creative than me. So many of them have shops and sell things. I am just really good at recreating someone else's good idea. That's why I do Mary Kay or draw pictures of other pictures, or steal design ideas from magazines. Anywhoo....I just wanted to put a shout out for my friend Sarah, the most entrepreneurial woman I've ever known. Growing up she was always coming up with new great ideas and inventions. She's always been artistic, drawing horses on everything she owned and even came up with a way to earn enough money to buy her own horse...and she did. Now, she's got this great dinnerware set for people with great taste or that are looking to loose weight. I've added her link to my blog so you can go check it out! The designs are adorable and stylish. I'm thinking I'm gonna have to get some myself. Check it out and help an independent business owner! Thanks guys!