happy new year!

ours was pretty uneventful. the kids went to bed early and i worked on the computer. michael watched some documentary about a boxer. yes. i'm serious. so, the ball dropped. dick clark (and ryan seacrest) said happy new year and that's all she wrote. i'm definitely getting old.

today, michael and i took the kids to the new park down by the old navy base. it was really pretty--there was a walk right on the water. and then, a few different memorials and monuments. some abstract art by, i assume, local artists. the only bad thing was that it was in full sun, so no really good areas for pictures. maybe on an overcast day.

we did find an old swing attached to a very tall branch. so, the kids had fun swinging, and swinging high. i think i took my new favorite picture ever. i think sometimes i get so wrapped up in perfect composition that i sometimes miss things. and at heart, i'm a storyteller, so i have to get myself back to that. i try to do it for clients, but i sometimes neglect telling my own story. and i really need to get back to that in 2008. i started good in 2007, but then let it slip away. i'm really going to work on that for this new year.

but, before i yadda on, here's my new favorite picture:



i tell ya, every photographer should have an addie. i've said before that she is my muse. she is the reason i really decided to learn how to use my camera. i'd always been interested in photography, but could not get the results i wanted. she is the reason i decided to change that, and to become friends with my camera. and man, is she ever worth it. today, it was cool and windy, and she was such a trooper. oh yes, i had a bribe for her (the webkinz love frog), but she would've done it anyway. she's just like that. i wanted to get some new pictures to celebrate her turning six. and she obliged.





lookie here! will wonders never cease? even ian got in on the act. but his bribe was ice cream. hey. whatever works. seriously, he is such a total love and my sugar. through and through, he is sweetness. okay, yes he has an ornery, stubborn streak. but even when he is being ornery or stubborn, he's so darned cute that it's hard not to giggle. but anyway, here is what cold stone creamery cotton candy ice cream (with rainbow sprinkles) bought me:








i got a bargain for sure!

oh, and her froggy is named smooches.