The Dreaded Spring Set-Up

This is what the next three months of my life will look like! It's the time of year that school photographers dread: Spring Pictures! Spring pictures are a lot more complicated than the generic "sit on the stool and smile" Fall yearbook picture. I have to deal with props and strange lighting set-ups. I went to a training yesterday and brought one of these flyers home. Starting on Tuesday I'll be taking 250+ pictures just like these on the days I work. Actually, my goal when I work is to take a picture good enough to put on the official flyer. A lot of that has to do with the cuteness of the kid! The adorable kids in this flyer are all siblings whose dad is in charge of Bell Photographers in Idaho. Our Spring set-ups were used in Idaho last Spring and will make their way to Las Vegas for Spring 2010. My boss is still working out the kinks of lighting etc., so I'm not feeling especially prepared for the Tuesday onslaught, but we'll figure it out. Bring on the little beasties!

From A Distance

We went to the Draper Temple open house last night. What a beautiful temple! It has amazing murals with local mountain scenes, and I loved the sego lily theme that was used in the carpet, windows and molding. Of course, the church had an efficient people-moving system with shuttles and buses. So efficient that I didn't get a chance to take some great nighttime temple pictures. This one was taken as I was getting back on the bus. Oh well, I'll just have to go back another day!

Oh, Butler...

These pages are all about the trip we took to St. Lucia last May. There are not enough superlatives to describe how beautiful St. Lucia is, and the people were so nice. We went to a Sandals all-inclusive resort, and were lucky enough to stay in their butler level rooms. This meant that all day long, if we wanted anything, we'd call our butler on our special butler cell phone. Need a lounge chair with a special cover reserved for you by the pool? Call the butler. Need a reservation for 10 at a resort restaurant or a treatment scheduled at the spa? Call the butler. Need your clothes ironed? A bubble bath? A late night snack? You get the idea. For someone who likes to do for herself, it's a little disconcerting. But I think I could get used to it...

A Project Well Finished

If you are like me, you have all the supplies for lots of really cute projects just waiting to be done. Waiting and waiting and waiting. When I actually complete one of these projects, it feels so good!! These photo blocks will be a Valentine's present for OD and SIL. It's a very easy project: 3 1/2 inch blocks of wood, painted black. 18 different black and white pictures and sayings, cut to 3 1/4 inches. Round the corners and embellish with rub-ons. Mod Podge (I love that name so much!!) pictures to wood, let dry, then Mod Podge over all surfaces. I really like how they turned out!

Fill 'Er Up!

I'll admit, I've become a bit obsessed with gas prices. It's been so nice having them So Low! I feel so satisfied when I can fill up my whole tank for around $30.00. The lowest price I paid was $1.33! Who thought we'd ever see that price again? But- I just know it won't last. So, every time I'm down to 3/4's of a tank, I run the Sam's Club and buy gas. Because tomorrow I KNOW it's going to cost more...

Winter Wonderland

I love the light on my back porch. After dark, when it snows, I can turn off the lights in my house and watch the snow fall. Last night a big storm blew through and left this behind:

A Quote for Today:

In honor of last week's holiday:
"We must accept finite disappointments, but we must never lose infinite hope."
- Martin Luther King

What Makes Me Tick- Part Last!

I have always loved horses. I took riding lessons when I was a little girl living in California. When OD was about 10 years old and wanted to try riding, we found Kari Swainston and Saltaire Farm, and we've been there ever since. OD has become a very talented rider, winning year-end championships and lots of awards. We've had 3 different horses over time, Griffin- the steady old man, Sophie- the pampered princess, and now we have Rocko- the young former race horse. We've learned so much from all three! I started riding again about 4 years ago, as a surprise for OD. I'd been wanting to, and besides, I'm not getting any younger! I love spending time with the horses and my skills are slowly improving (another of those: If I Only Had More Time things...) I'm also the unofficial barn photographer, which has help my photo skills!:)

Rocko getting luv'd on:














OD and Rocko, dressed as Flash Gordon, at our annual barn charity show:













As you can see, I deal with different kinds of "rides" in my life. Disneyland rides, horseback rides, rides in the Bell van to work, and the sometimes crazy ride that is called Life! Remember to Enjoy the Ride!

What Makes Me Tick- Part 4

Disneyland!! My favorite place! Even though it would take me 11 hours to drive there, I would drop everything and go right now if I could! Lucky for me, DH works for a travel company that deals for the most part in Disneyland vacations, (www.getawaytodayvacations.com), so I manage to make it down there several times a year. Why do I never get tired of it? It's an escape, a wonderful break from the reality of life, where everything is fun and magical! My favorite ride: California Screamin', in the front seats, after dark. I also love Soarin' Over California, Space Mountain and Peter Pan. Shopping is one of my favorite pastimes when I'm at Disneyland, and I know every store by heart. We always have to get a Marshmallow Yummy from the candy stores, and I could eat every meal at Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen. Just thinking about it makes me want to go right now!! (I was just there 2 weeks ago!:))

What Makes Me Tick: Part 3

I play the organ at my church. What??!! I play the piano, NOT the organ. Well, I've learned that even I can get by with a few magic buttons. I have a hard enough time playing the keyboard, let alone playing with my FEET. (Who ever thought that was a good idea?) But there is a button on my organ that adds the bass notes for me. It's awesome and I love that button! I still stress the whole thing, so I go to the church to practice several times a week to get ready for Sunday.

What Makes Me Tick- Part Deux

I like to scrapbook! I'd like to spend more time scrapbooking! It seems I scrap in spirts, with long periods of time in between. I keep my pages in dated notebooks, so I have a nice chronological history of my family, which appeals to my obsessive/compulsive side. These notebooks are in my family room:







This is where I scrap: It's in my den, right by the front door. Messy, huh? Too bad, because I need to be by my computer to print out journaling when I scrap. At least I clean up after myself when I'm done. I'm about a year behind in my scrapping, but that's ok. I'll have another rush of scrapping soon and get all caught up!:)






Here are a few of my latest pages:

What Makes Me Tick- Part 1

My time is filled in many ways. Like everyone else, I just wish I had more time to do the fun things! Besides taking care of my family, (washing clothes, cooking delicious food, washing dirty underwear, cleaning teenage boys' bathrooms- you get the picture.), I work part time, and I have a few hobbies that scratch that creative itch. Today I'll tell you about my job. I'm a photographer, and I take elementary school pictures. Sounds like fun, right? Yes and no. It's fun to work with the kids, and I like my boss and the people I work with. But it's exhausting work. And some of the kids are...not so respectful. And some of the teachers are...not so respectful. Some day I will post "A Day In The Life Of A School Photographer". You'd be surprised. Here's a picture of the studio and the van I drive on the days I work. Sweet ride, isn't it? I was driving that van when it decided to die in the middle of the Nevada desert. But that's a story for another day. Tomorrow: Part 2

My Blogging Birthday!

Happy 1st blogging day to me! Why pick "Enjoy the Ride" for my blog title? My life is a crazy ride sometimes! I love my family- this is us:
We consist of: My DH and me:



We've been married for almost 26 years- that's hard to believe! He's a hard working, type A attorney, who has a hard time relaxing. He's the Bishop of our ward, and his favorite thing to do is drive his tractor, ride his bike, and stay busy! He just always wants to be having fun and/or accomplish something. Right now he works for Get Away Today Vacations as their CFO and in-house legal council. That's fun for me, because we get to go on lots of fun vacations, and we can call it "work"! Oh- he also has a 1/2 acre of grape vines in the backyard that he juices every Fall.

This is our Oldest Son (OS) and his fiance, Future Daughter-In-Law (FDIL):

They both go to school at Utah State University. OS is graduating this semester with a double major: International Studies and Spanish. He is waiting to hear back from the law schools he has applied to, and FDIL wants to be a PE teacher. As far as I can tell, she can win any game or competition that my DH can dream up! They are getting married in the Bountiful Temple on July 16, 2009. We are excited!!




Next, we have Only Daughter (OD) and her husband, SIL (son-in-law!)

They are both students at Weber State University. OD is also graduation this semester with a double major: Psychology and History. SIL wants to be an Event Coordinator, so they will be moving to Salt Lake this Fall so that he can attend the University of Utah. OD has been riding horses since she was 12, and now we ride together. You'll be hearing a lot about our riding. SIL loves to golf! They live around the corner from us in a basement apartment, which puts them in our ward!

Last, but certainly not least is our youngest son, (YS):


YS is a senior at Bonneville High, where he is a social phenom. He is taking mostly college level class, and will graduate with almost 30 credit hours under his belt. He has worked at the local nursery for the last 2 summers, and wants to go to USU to be a Landscape Achitect. He will go on his mission this next Fall or Winter and it's very hard to think that all of my kiddos will be gone:(! YS loves to ski, climb, hang out with his friends, text and watch the Sci-Fi channel.






Also part of our family are Xena, the cat, and Rocko, our horse:

All this learning to blog is making my head hurt, so I'm done for today. Tomorrow I will tell you a little more about myself!