Life is Good...

You know the slogan, you’ve probably seen the brand of clothing and accessories, but it’s a great thing when you can say with conviction that “Life IS Good”.

This blog post isn’t related to our “business” perse, but in a way it is because were it not for my love of photography and my camera around my neck, I wouldn’t have tangible proof that life is good in so many ways!

Yesterday my “life is good” story went something like this...

I am awakened at 5:30 a.m., groggy after only 3 hours sleep (thanks to an afternoon Dutch Brothers freeze) to a FULL and BRIGHT moon shining through my bedroom door.  Despite my inclination to ignore it, it’s brilliance calls my name and I jump to my feet to get my camera.  Indeed, I have a hard time ignoring a photo opportunity.

It wasn't really THIS orange but it went behind that cloud you see at the bottom
before I had a chance to get my settings right!  Moon photography...tricky!

I head out to the Special Olympics East Valley Golf tournament at Tempe Rolling Hills and spend a few hours with some of the happiest golfers in the world.  Every picture I take reminds me that indeed “life is good” in the faces of all the people in our lives who make it that way.  In a world where all news seems like bad news, I don’t have to look far to see that we are surrounded by “goodness” and for that I am so thankful!

Tempe Rolling Hills (scalped for overseeding).  What a pretty view!

Without Mark Special Olympics for Ryan would be near impossible.  He helps to get him to practices, he coaches baseball, he raises money for MASD with his annual M & M Duck and Run Golf Tournament every April, and he is
 his golf partner for Unified Golf.  When he's not doing that, he is one of his biggest cheerleaders!

Greg Leicht of Vistal Golf Club has brought Mesa, and Arizona's Special Olympics golf competition to the level it is today.  Programs around the nation strive to create a program of his caliber! Together with his wife Carol, and the whole team at Vistal they are always striving to take it to the next level....
THEY are incredible!

Mark trying to get out of the sand trap that Ryan was unable
to get Mark out of (haha!) Just another role he plays
(Mark that is) in Special Olympics...getting his team in the sand traps!

their foursome

Ryan struck up a conversation
with a pretty volunteer...he's no fool!

Viri was one of many volunteers from the LDS young women's group.
Every Special Olympics event is an opportunity to thank the
countless volunteers for their time, efforts, and help!

Mark and Ryan medal silver for the day!

He's got a smile on his face....hard to say
what put it there today, but that silver
medal around his neck may have had
something to do with it...or the
pretty girl he spent an hour
conversing with :-)  

With Pete...Just one of "the cousins".
How awesome is it that these busy young men not only
volunteer to golf all season with Special Olympians in need
of a Unified Golf Partner, but they spend the spring season
volunteering as coaches for the Special Olympics
baseball teams? Not only do we love these
amazing guys but we are so grateful for their
unconditional support!  I must not fail to mention
the awesome parents who raised these boys...my sister Karen
and her husband Bryan.  They too, are huge supporters
in this journey!

Not only do I have 3 nephews
who coach and partner, but I have this awesome
son-in-law who does the same. I adore him
for many reasons,  and this is one of them!  Geoff
makes our life a little easier each and every day!
Here he is with his golf partner Ian.  These guys
 are great role models for the athletes!

And this adorable grandson of mine leaves me
speechless  most of the time! 

Geoff and Ian medaled silver.  I was so amazed by the reflection
in the window and how it looked like IT was the background
that  I think I focused on the glass instead of these
handsome guys!

Last night we attended the 19th Annual ADS/MASD Ability Ball, a fundraiser for the wonderful organization that provides the opportunity for Ryan to participate in Special Olympics.  From the old days of it being held in the rec center of an RV park to the Tempe Mission Palms last night, a story unfolds of the dedication of a group of people who had a vision that “no one should sit on the sidelines”. The attendees around me are family, friends, friends of family, friends of friends, participants, staff, volunteers, and colleagues who all support that vision...out of the “goodness” in their hearts. 

Tempe Mission Palms is a beautiful hotel and convention center in the heart of Sun Devil country!

The best part of the night for him was the dancing!

"did you get a picture of me twirling her mom?"  I didn't
have the heart to tell him my iPhone camera in dim light
just couldn't cut it...it wouldn't have mattered to him
anyway...as long as I saw his moves!

And so my friends, I am here to bear witness that some days are better than others, but indeed...”Life IS Good”.  I sincerely hope you don’t have to look far to be reminded that your life is good too!

          Tina

"Let me win, but if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt"~ Special Olympians Oath

P.S.  I'm thinking it would be a great project (sort of like the 365 projects so common now) if I photographed one person each day who makes my life good.  The biggest challenge would be picking just one, because if I look around I may well find myself surrounded by them.  What do you say?  Sounds fun!  Who wants to join me?

Is it Really Possible?

Is it really possible that five women who fought like cats and dogs growing up, who tattled on each other, who tricked and kicked each other, who shared bedrooms, bathrooms, cars, friends, hot rollers and cars with each other could spend 3 days together and not only get along but have the time of their lives?  I'm here to tell you, YES it's not only possible, but the norm for me and my sisters!  After spending a weekend with all of them (yes all 4 counting me = 5) plus my daughter and Karen's daughter-in-law...it's the honest to goodness truth!  Several decades later there's nothing more fun for me (and I think I speak for all of us) than spending time with each other.  Maureen and Tiffany fit right in with the more "mature"women (yea right!) and we hope to have them along on many more trips in the future.  You have never seen so much laughing going on...with each other, at each other and for each other.  Our mom is HUGELY missed when we are together.  The last sister's weekend she had with us was also spent in Pinetop.

The Last Sister's Weekend with our Mom....oh how we miss her!

During our adult lives, she was the central point of communication to whom we could all turn to get caught up to date on what was going on with each other.  Since her passing nearly two years ago we have all had to work harder to stay in the loop with each other.

BIKES ONLY????

Cindy has always wanted to stop at the junkyard in Rye. We decided as we were approaching it that there was no time like the present, so off we went to explore the junk!  First of many laughs....

Karen and Tiffany in this little ? (what was it that
Cindy called this...a Tick Tick?)

Tiffany trying out some new wheels!

We left on a good laugh after the
"Junkyard
Dog" chased us away for
touching the inventory!

"And this chair fits just right"
said "Little Kim" as she settled into
Hailey's sherpa chair!

Painting our wine and margarita
glasses rendered us as serious
as we got all weekend...

Our creations!

We whiled the weekend hours away on the deck with coffee, painting wine glasses, photographing critters, cocktails, a fire in the fire pit, celebrating Cindy's birthday, and games on the deck.  And we ventured out for photo shoots, antique shopping , an evening in the "Orchard" at Charlie Clark's Steakhouse, dinner at our favorite Mexican food spot, and more photos in "The Thing".  And if we weren't laughing we were talking...non-stop!  Our journeys through life have taken us on different paths but we come together with the commonality of our childhood memories, the moral compass our mother instilled in us, and a book of memories that we are thankful is continuing to grow with each passing year of life.

 

Celebrating Cindy's birthday Saturday!

"Where the Wild Things Are"

             

    

And... "Where the Wild Things Are"

Our pictures prove that in our case you're never too old to act silly in the company of your best friends!

So yes....it's really possible, and true!  I love and cherish these women with all my heart!

By the way...I love and cherish the photos we take with each other too!

                         Hug the ones you love!  ~Tina 

On the front of the shirts Karen had made for us :-)

    

We're on the Road Again!

We're off to the cool country tomorrow and "girl" are we excited.  Years ago we vowed to plan and follow through on a "Sister's Weekend" at least once a year.  A weekend where all five of us could leave jobs, kids, spouses and the ties of our home lives to frolic, laugh, shop, eat, drink, and be merry- uninterrupted.  Forty years ago that would have been the LAST thing we would have wanted to do is spend a weekend with "those sisters" that we shared everything from a bedroom to the hot rollers with! But with much of our lives behind us we have come to cherish our relationships with each other and I think I speak for all of us when I say that our relationships with each other are one of life's greatest blessings.  Our mom used to accompany us on our weekends and her absence has made making time for these get-togethers seem even more critical.  In fact, it's only been 9 months since our last trip and we were all feeling the need for a "sister fix"!   This year we are so happy that two of our "Gen Y" offspring are accompanying us (girls only)!  They are either going to be completely flabbergasted by our antics, totally embarrassed, or sorry they haven't joined us sooner.  I'm guessing it will be the latter.  So...down the road we go!  We hope to have some classic pictures to share.  Don't forget to record life's best moments by freezing them in time with photographic images...they'll be good for some heartwarming smiles later on!

At the "Shady Del"~November 2011

Until next time~ 

Tina

"Our roots say we're sisters, our hearts say we're friends."  

 ~Author Unknown

About Perfect Timing

This sentiment just seems to go naturally with the last post about the {D} family.  There's more to the story about the timing of all of it, but suffice it to say...

Blessings to you and yours,

Karen and Tina



 In Memory of Baby {B}

January 13, 2012-June 11, 2012

A couple of weeks ago I received a call from a stranger who introduced herself as an older sister to a new mommy of a terminally ill baby boy who was just 4 months old.  On behalf of her sister she was desperately seeking someone to take professional photos of him before he passed away.  For a couple of weeks she had been frantically trying to contact photographers who have volunteered their services for just this purpose with no luck.  She told me she had contacted 10 photographers and not one had called her back.  

We normally photograph happy occasions and milestones so this blindsided us.  Additionally we were swamped with other jobs and timelines and not sure how we could commit to this endeavor since the window of time was potentially very small.  But a little voice in my head told me this challenge was placed in our path for a reason and God would help us find a way.  And He did.

We knew going into this that it may be a difficult session but we were prepared to provide a service that was very important to them. What we didn’t think about was how it would change us.  They opened their hearts and shared the story of their beautiful baby with us, and we instantly felt a connection with this adorable family of five.  Often we as humans find ourselves asking how or why things like this happen but I sensed after spending time with them that their baby touched the lives of not only those that loved him, but those they had never even met until this time in their lives. Photographing this family in the face of a tragedy allowed us to witness first hand how God has given them strength, courage, grace, humility and love to deal with His plan for Baby {B}.

We have been in contact with them since then getting some things ready for the time when they will want to share his beautiful images with their loved ones at his funeral services.  We were just a sprinkle in his timeline on earth, but he and his family have left their footprints on our hearts forever.  

Yesterday we received the call that Baby {B} had passed from this life and is now resting in peace in the arms of God. With heavy hearts we are thinking of his beautiful family in their time of sorrow and wish to extend our deepest sympathy to them. 

Go in Peace,

Tina

 

"Have courage for the great sorrows of life, and patience for the small ones.  And when you have laboriously accomplished your daily tasks, go to sleep in Peace.  God is awake."  ~Victor Hugo

{A} is for A…dorable, Amiable, Athletic and All Around AWESOME!!!

Last week we had the distinct pleasure of taking senior photos of the beautiful and photogenic Miss {A}.   Let me just say, we’ve had some beautiful seniors before and we are not comparing but this whole session rocked!!! 

We shot in downtown Chandler and we got there a little early just to get set up and be ready.  Uh-oh…there’s a jazz festival going on right where we want to shoot…AND a wedding!  I was immediately worried about how Amy would feel having crowds around her as she posed for her photos.  Not to worry though.  She was a pro from the word “go” and we found lots of great spots to showcase some urban photos of this beautiful senior.

Usually we shoot a lot of photos because we will have a lot to delete.  I can honestly say the only ones we had to delete were our fault…blurry, cut off hand, etc.  We had so many to choose from that it was nearly impossible to narrow them down!  What a fun session to edit, spending time looking at her beautiful blue eyes, perfect skin, white teeth and amazing smile!  She definitely has a sparkle that our camera likes!

We hope you’ll like this little sampling as much as we do.  And…the good news is that {A} is having another session with us in a different setting, different clothes and different hairstyle.  We are over the moon happy about that!

Do you know someone who needs senior photos taken?  We’re here and waiting.  We would absolutely LOVE to specialize in seniors.  They are SO much fun!!!

Blessings to you and yours,

Karen

“A smile is the light in your window that tells others that there is a caring, sharing person inside.”  ~Denis Waitley