Birthday girl.....

This morning Oni was up, dressed and teeth brushed and waiting patiently at the kitchen counter this morning totally ready (well except for her hair....it was going everywhere)what could it be???? Oh.... yeah.... birthday presents waiting downstairs..... hmmmm......she loved the softy comfy sweats and super cute new t-shirt to go with.... but wait- what's wrapped up in the t-shirt?????? Only the thing she's been asking for- for months and months and months now....... she finally got an mp3 player! :)

And after a quick breakfast of pancakes- we finished getting her ready to roll and dropped her off at school with treats in hand to share. It's going to be a good day indeed. :)

I can't believe how fast the time goes..... Ron and I were sitting together last night after the kids went to bed- looking at her scrap books- and seeing how she's changed and reminiscing about her- and trying to wrap our heads around the fact that she's 9 today....... crazy stuff.... she's half way to graduating and becoming an adult...... :( not so sure how I feel about that.

lite lunch

MMMMMmmmmmm.... don't you wish you had smell-o-vision??????


My sweet baby made this for our lunch today- and it was fabulous- I won't lie to you..... It's called Futentta with Proschuitto.... grilled bread, rubbed with fresh raw garlic, topped with herbs and tomatos, smoked mozz, parm and proschuitto ham..... and melted for just a minute under the broiler or on the grilll...... and I made a small plate of EVOO and Balsamic to dip the bread in on the bottom side..... oh, my goodness!!! Heaven!


And it paird beautifully with the 'o6 Malbec from Napeequa......

It was a thing of beauty on a cold winter's day- that was spitting snow at us.....

She shoots! She scores!!!!!

Wow, wow, wow, wow, WOW!!!!! What a day the Miles girls had playing ball today!

Here Oni is checking in right before the game starts... Warming up- working the ball....

And they were off- Oni started as center again- and was paired with number 20 here- who was on her like Velcro.....

Only today- she didn't get nervous- she found her spine- and WOW- did she have a great defensive day.... I could see a little of myself in her expressions when she was dealing with this girl...

"Sister- you better get off me, or I WILL run you over....."

Same girl- trying to strip the ball from Oni- and Oni having nothing to do with that noise- "give me back that ball!"... and look at Oni's teammate .... the look on her face says "ooooooohhhhhh girllllllll you need to let go of that ball!"

Oni racing the ball back up the court...

taking a well deserved water break in the 3rd....

She shoots- and she scores!!!!!!! I'm sure that people outside on the street could hear Ronnie and me screaming when she hit that jumper! It was the last goal scored for that game!

Our team doing the happy dance!

Coach Mike was beside himself with pride! He sees so much potential in Oni- and it seems like the light finally came on for her this game!

And on three..... "Go Red Hot Fire Monkeys!!!! Whooooo!"

Sadly- the scoreboard says the other team won today- putting their record at 0-4....BUT- our girls won hands down on defense- and they had the other team running- and sort of confused for a good part of the game.... And seriously- are these the faces of a team who felt like they lost???? Really?????

A few hours later- in a gymnasium far, far a way..... Gabbi's game was getting ready to get under way. Here Gabbi is listening to coach Scott before they warm up....and get ready to play some D

And play they did!!! Check out the octopus arms on Gabbi's teammate S here- holy cow!!! These are 6 year olds!!!!! This girl gave Gabbi hell the entire game... she was good- and she was all over Gabbi girl!!!

Here daddy tries to offer Gabbi some counsel on how to handle that girl....And she grabbed the ball and shot and made HER first game goal! Again more screaming and yelling from the Miles....

My goodness we are so proud of how far the kids have come in such a short time- and that they played hard and stayed far more focused than in the games past. Good stuff!

Sunny Sunday,,,,

Finally- a sunny day- We've certainly had our run of extreme weather here lately..... but today was gently sunny and mild. It pulled the neighborhood outdoors. Folks were outside working on their cars and their yards and watching their kids playing- and getting some fresh air. I cracked a bottle of Pinot Noir from the wine rack- musht have been a gift-- neither Ron or myselft remember purchasing... it was a nice afternoon sip. :) It was shared and sipped between a few of us ladies who came outside to brave the chilly air to tend to kids, cars and yards.

It had nice "legs"- it was a mildly sweet and a bit fruity- and this mild weather was the perfect weather to enjoy it. Not of my favorite winery- but a good sip none the less. :)

And the afternoon colors were exceptional today- a very nice compliment to my beverage. Hugs and smiles were plenty today- as we had all missed spending time together- but the weather and post holiday hoo-ha's and kids with winter birthdays have kept us all occupied.

Hope you all enjoyed nature's light show this evening- and that you found something to smile about today. xoxo D

Garage Studios is back open!

Well I'm sure most of you will thrilled to see something--anything really new- besides just my family again! The Natural Approach Garage studio was bustling yesterday- I'm finally taking clients again after the holiday hiatus.

This family stopped in yesterday to do a quick make-up shot. We shot T's senior pix in the fall- but could never manage to have all three of them in the same place at the same time....So better late than never-right? Now they did admit to me that this is the first family portrait they've had done in 15 years..... yes- you heard me correctly- 15 years..... folks- please don't wait that long- there's a whole lotta lost years in photos in that amount of time...... And these are good looking folks- no reason to shy away from the camera!

Make the time- don't wait- life is short- call and make an appointment- whether it's with me- or someone else- get your photos done- you'll be glad you did. :)

Sweet pea...

Welcome baby Alina...... My neighbors had their baby girl two weeks ago- and I finally got my hands on her today for photos!!!!

I know- it's probably an involuntary smile- but I'll take it!

She's just so precious- I can hardly stand it!

Oh- and how freakin' cute is this tu-tu???? This is the one I was telling you all about around Xmas time.....

Gotta catch thos power naps where you can- this super-model life is very, very hard you see....

Now I was planning on the fact that a two week old baby sleeps around the clock... except this one.... so she was awake for her entire shoot- totally, wide awake- and alert- looking all over the place!

Nothing like being naked with feathers......

Like she was delvivered by angels....

And I loves me some old time Hollywood glam- so we're starting her young....

This daddy is so crazy for his girls......

It's been a tough workout these photos......

And now- I'm totally done with you Tia Di!

Pretty momma....

All done- I have my pretty momma- and I'm going home!