End of school...and Start of Summer

I have officially finished with school, and we are officially started with summer! :-) Now that is something to rejoice about. :-) I've finished my photography class. And I've learned so much from it. Now I just need to put it all to good use. :-) My final assignment was to make a slideshow of at least 20 pictures. I figured the perfect thing to do it about was S-U-M-M-E-R! :-) And what better to portray summer than to capture the simplicity and essence of summer...kids during summer. :-) I shot these the weekend before Memorial Day weekend and the weekend of Memorial Day weekend. Of course they include my nieces and nephew...because they ARE the cutest kids alive. :-) At least in my opinion they are. :-) I used these in my final project slideshow, and they were a huge hit.

Enjoy, I hope they take you back to summer when you were a kid. The summers where the only worry you had was getting as much playtime in the pool as possible, before you mom came out and told you to come in the house. Or when you were a 20 month old, discovering ice cream for the first time and running every time you see mom because you fear that she will take it away before it is fully covering your face. :-) When these were the only worries in the world. Oh...to be a kid again. :-)

I couldn't leave Grandpa Desert out of the mix :-)....

Until next time,

-Me :-)

Sneak Peek to Easter 2009! :-)

Just a little sneak peek of what's coming. Easter 2009! :-)




Will be blogging it soon! :-)





Until next time,
-Me :-)

Tatiana: A day with the ducks

A few weeks ago I had the chance to the spend the day with my mom and my niece. It's always fun to spend some time with the "girls". I know that my mom enjoys it so much because she gets to spend time with her two girls. :-)

My dad and mom had taken Tati to feed the ducks a while ago and had told me what a riot it was to watch her feed the ducks, so we thought it would be a perfect day to do just that. We started off a the park and then headed to feed the ducks. There is nothing better than the smile that comes to my face from seeing the innocence of a child. She doesn't have a care in the world except for what is going on at that very moment. At that moment it was throwing crackers at those ducks and yelling, "Quack Quack!" at them to get them to come closer to her. Oh what I would do to go back to being that innocent and not having a care in the world. :-) It was a great day with "the girls". :-) Enjoy! :-)

Until next time!

-Me :-)

Wes Poland: Music Shoot

My second assignment in class is labeled, "Portrait of a Rock Star". The assignment is exactly what the title says...make a portrait of a rock star. The picture should talk to my audience and give the feel of an iconic musician.

Of course only one person came to mind when the professor handed this assignment out. Wes Poland. I've met Wes the night that David and I became....well David and I. :-) From the first moment I met Wes I knew he was an important part of David's life. Wes is an up and coming musician well on the road to stardom. He has some songs in the making and I have no doubt that he will go places in his career! And I want to be there when he does! :-)

Wes was totally into helping me with this project from the moment I asked him. We drove all over town with a car full of props and trunk full of clothes to get the perfect shot. We had so much fun trying different stuff out and talking non sense the whole time. :-)

Wes - thank you soooo much for doing this shoot for me! You were such a trooper through the whole thing! Thank you for being so patient with me and being my little dress up doll and model for the day! Remember the little people when you are on that Grammy stage! :-)

Until next time,

-Me :-)

Ethan Murphy: Baseball Adventures

One of the cool things about getting married is that you instantly aquire a whole extra family! :-) And with that family comes some really cool and special new relationships. When David and I got married I aquired a mother-in-law, father-in-law, brother-in-law, another sister-in-law and very precious and adorable nephew and niece. :-) I love these kids to pieces! They each have such a unique personality, and they never fail to amaze me at the things they do.

My new nephew is Ethan. Some of you may know him already and some of you may not...either way, the next time he sees any of you, I can guarantee that the first words out of his cute little mouth will be: "Do you want to go play baseball with me???" :-) The little boy is sooo in love with baseball. He eats, sleeps, breathes, talks and dreams baseball. And he not only likes it, but he is GOOD at it! :-)

A couple of weekends ago I had the chance to go to one of his Little League games and I was able to catch some pictures of him. He plays for the Dodgers...which happens to be his favorite team. :-)

Ethan - I love you to pieces kid. Remember your Aunt Drea when you grow up to be a pro baseball player. :-)

Ethan Murphy. My nephew. The next Manny Ramirez.

1st Baseman

Big Murphy. Little Murphy. Coach and Player. Father and Son.

Until next time,

-Me :-)

Tatiana Mia Rosso: A Day At The Park

Tatiana Mia Rosso. My brother's daughter. The first baby on his side of the family and the first baby on my sister-in-law's side of the family. With that said, you can just begin to imagine how spoiled the little stinker is. She is my niece but she is also my Goddaughter. My first and only Godchild, but I take the job very seriously. :-) She is 19 1/2 months old and she has more of a personality than some 30 year olds that I know! :-) She never fails to melt my heart with that little smile and laugh of hers. A couple of weekends ago David and I went to spend the day at the park with my brother, sister-in-law and Tati.

Tati - I love you with all my heart. I'm so proud to call you my Goddaughter and I look forward to many many years of pictures and smiles with you. I hope that one day when you are old enough to read this you aren't totally sick of me taking millions of pictures of you. :-)

Tatiana Mia Rosso. My Niece. The Diva.


Goddaughter and Godmother


Sliding her worries away.


Precious Angel.

Pucker up

Mother and Daughter

The love of a mother

Tio and Tia Murphy :-) (Taken by my brother Ariel on my camera)

Until the next time,

-Me :-)

BFFE

Christie Grummons. This girl (well now woman) came into my life in the 8th grade. I was sitting with my friends in the gym at LAB and in walks this cute blonde girl and sits behind us on the bleachers. We started talking. The rest is history. We became inseperable. If we weren't together, we were talking on the phone with one another. Our parents came to know the route from Northridge to Westchester very well. :-) Because we always wanted to go over to each other's houses. We were best friends. Who knew though that 16 years later this same girl would be my "go-to girl"?!?

This isn't a post about how we are such good friends and where I proceed to tell you all about our fun moments and so forth. This is post to tell you how much I admire this woman and who she has becomes. She is an amazing wife, daughter, sister, and mother! :-)

Seeing her grow throughout these 16 years has inspired me to become a better person. This is the girl that at the age of 16 got told that she had to transplant her whole entire life from sunny California to Spokane, Washington! And after a few tears, a quick trip from me up there to visit 5 days after she moved, she picked herself up and made the best of it. And from those years in Spokane, she gained best friends and her future husband. :-) This is the woman that finished college in 3 years while working 5 jobs!!....yes 5 jobs!!! And without one complaint. This is the girl that no matter what life puts in front of her, good or bad, she has kept her faith in God so strong and visible to the world. This is the woman that while pregnant with her son, was working 16 hour days! This is the girl that has gone through raising her son in the first year of his life with no family in the same state as her! This is the girl that NO MATTER what is going on in her life or at that moment will drop everything for me for anything I need.

We've been through A LOT in those 16 years. I couldnt' begin to tell you some of the things that this girl and I have conquered throughout these years. But we've made it. I've made it. And I've made it because she is the girl that has hopped on a plane for me because she knew that just seeing her face when she steps off that plane makes me feel so much better. We don't have to say one word to each other...she just knows exactly what I'm thinking and feeling. This is the girl that has opened her home to me countless times. A girl who has opened her home to me from one day to another, when I call her and tell her I need to fly out to Portland the next day because I need to get away. This is the girl that has stayed up with me for hours with pizza and ice cream...talking, or not talking, or crying, or laughing, or laughing so hard we are crying...did that until I felt better. This is the girl that if we don't talk for a while, the next phone call will seem like we just talked 5 minutes ago. This is a girl gave so much up for my wedding. She sacrificed time with her husband and son to be here for me that day and the 9 months before it. This is the girl that made the most heartfelt beautiful matron of honor speech ever. Of course she was my matron of honor...who else would be. :-)

I don't know what I would do if she wasn't brought into my life. I have a feeling the life would be so much different. All I know is that I thank God for the day that he brought us together. Thanks to that day.....BFFE....was born. BFFE: Best Friends For Ever. Yes internet, we know that forever is one word and not two. But we wanted to be different and unique :-) And to this day whether its in an email, text, or even on the phone...the first words out of our mouths are: Hi BFFE@!!!!

I admire this girl more than anyone. She is a beautiful person inside and out. And I can only hope to one day be the mother that she is.

BFFE - Thank you for so many ridiculously great, amazing, unforgettable memories for the past 16 years. I can't wait to have more memories. Especially memories of our family vacations together. :-) And our kids' marriage(s)....of course!! :-) LOL!!!

I hope everyone has their own "BFFE" out there. They come in handy. :-)

Until next time,

-Me