I actually had a Starbucks the other day. I find out there was one in the Nelson Safeway and I just happened to be going by for a wedding job in Kaslo. Kaslo is amazing (whole other entry!!)


















THANKS MOM & DAD FOR THE B.DAY GIFT - HERE'S MY NEWEST TOY: a new lens with a "sweet spot" of focus. I'm gonna have a lot of fun with this one!

people are actually reading this? cat let me know she's checking up on us via this site. i have to say, we have much more of a life than i relay here...really, we do. i'm so bad with the updates, so here it is in point form:

. we've moved all moved into our new bedrooms and feel royally spoiled! "after" pictures to come as soon as i can get the curtains up.
. anais did her first swimming lesson today and put her face in the water (made momma proud!) we're getting ready for the beach at winthrop (beginning of july). she's still extremely "spirited" and also enjoys riding her 2-wheel/no pedal bike at the park with her dad.
. ryder is proving to be at a "difficult" stage complete with tantrums and other disagreeable behavior. good thing they're so cute..otherwise...
. jim's business SILVERTIP VENTURES is up and running. the projects he has on the go include framing, large-scale renos, and new construction. he's had to pull the reigns a bit because there's more work than he can possibly accept and it all seems to find him without pursuit. i guess it's a good problem to have.
. we all adore our new little hometown. the weather, the people, the lifestyle, the nature, the peace. thanks for the support of our amazing friends and family. you have been invaluable and we still miss you dearly!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY TO OUR DAD, OUR GRANDPA'S AND OUR UNCLES OUT THERE!

backyard bears

neighbors captured these cubs wrestling in our back yards. perhaps the ones anais & i saw crossing the street directly in front of us last night! a bit of an adrenaline rush - for me - i'm afraid the bears are quite used to us rosslanders!

caity & anais

merry month of may

. where to start?

i made it to colleen's very surprised 40th party. it was touching to see colin put so much effort into this affair and pull it off with such remarkable success. i mean there was catering, a housefull of friends, a limo, a midnight trip to mexico. and i think my sis-in-law, not unlike myself, is probably a hard one to surprise! most memorable moments have got to be colin's prayer, thanking god for giving him colleen. and, in turn, colleen's choked-up "thank you speech". you could just feeel the love!

. i also kicked off wedding season on the coast, photographing a spectacular wedding on whonnock lake. see feature: www.freshphoto.smugmug.com i could go on and on about this elegant affair! i look forward to my next bridal shoot on an old ship in kaslo.

. a great visit with my nephews and neice while cory & jen "honeymooned" in cuba. i called jim to tell him how i was having a wonderful time, 7 kids and me, because they had a fence, a trampoline and a sandbox. i also got to drive the "institutional van" (as jen calls it), singing shrek tunes all the way across maple ridge. do you think jen's still singing along to shrek, after all these years? little did i know i would return to my rossland house to find a fence, a trampoline and yes, a sandbox! it's now my little piece of paradise (and no shrek tunes here-just that mcdonalds burping ogre toy).

. was a bit sour to spend the may long weekend in the cold. (although it was nice to just loaf around with the fam for a change!) when the weather finally turns in rossyland, i don't think i'll be fleeing it. jim has been wearing shorts since april when we began to get: maybe slight snowfall in morning but 20 by mid-afternoon. (it's now early june and it hit 40 just down the mtn) the recent climate has helped me proclaim my love for my new hometown. besides the sunshine, we're making good friends, we've got new old friends (in trent & jacq who just joined us here) and with the assurance that we're where we're supposed to be.

. i'm feeling ultra-blessed with my work and personal life, still. on assignment, i spent yesterday with slocan valley artists, painting historical outbuildings in the area. there's definately an encouragement one gets from being around fellow creative-types. it was a bit dangerous perhaps, for even before the wine, i felt like i could go skinny-dipping in the river with these new stranger-friends. no mom, i didn't!

. stay tuned for a photo pictorial on my blog at my site address and a potential story on this "mom's mini-roadtrip from red mountain to new denver".

. and have i mentioned jim has more work offers than he can possibly accept?