Nicole

I remember when Nicole was born. The baby monitor in her bedroom was on the same frequency as Lauren's so I would hear Nicole and Lauren crying at the same time. The days have passed so quickly and now Nicole's a high school senior at Central High. This weekend, I shot pictures of her before she left with her friend, John, for Central's Winter Formal.

Nicole, you've always had a beautiful face.

I like the small details.  Nice earrings.

Sparkly necklace.

The sequins and flower pattern on the shawl.

Shiny patent leather heels.

The front of the dress.  Oo la la!

The awkward and embarrassing moment of placing the corsage.

Nicole & John

A shot with the proud mamas.

I see the baby next door is gone.  Nicole, you've blossomed into a beautiful young woman. 

Click here for all the pictures.

Downtown Fresno

Elizabeth and I went downtown to find some places to shoot pictures. I couldn't find any spots that matched the pictures I've seen, but we had fun anyway. We met at Central Fish to look around and have lunch. Then found the Fresno Arch, a loading dock, and a quiet place by the railroad with a final stop at Starbucks.

Parking lot sign

Vibrant colors on the mural

Beautiful painting of a fish

I liked this blowfish (aka pufferfish). That's exactly how I looked after Thanksgiving!

More underwater scenes

This is the second floor of a two-story building behind the Central Fish parking lot

We sat at a lunch table facing the now-closed Komoto's Department Store (part of the old Kamikawa Brothers/Asia Hotel building at the corner of G and Kern Streets). When I moved to Fresno, I bought a small rice cooker there from Kaori Komoto (now deceased).

This cute little boy was so friendly. He would smile at us in-between bites of his lunch. 

He played with his hashi (chopsticks) and polished off his ramen.

Elizabeth and I split this single order of fish and chips. Yummm.

This is an iconic gateway - the Fresno Archway on Van Ness Avenue.

Close-up of the Fresno Archway

I took a self-portrait of myself (took a few tries to get myself AND the archway in the shot.  I think I need longer arms!)

Behind the Fresno Archway is a graffiti-covered building. I shot Elizabeth taking pictures of these flowers.

I took pictures of Elizabeth making self-portraits.

I found a loading dock and asked Elizabeth to model

This was my favorite picture of Elizabeth on the loading dock (just having fun and kicking up her legs).

This was a quiet section of the railroad track.

Last stop before heading home. First, it's time for fancy holiday-flavored coffee break at the downtown Starbucks (next to the Convention Center).

To view all the pictures, click here

Rental Car

Our friend, Scott, gifted us with a rental (and the gas) for our girls' three-day basketball tournament in Chico last weekend. Cool, huh? He had a rental for himself, then picked this one up one for us.

Way cool. Sure made a nice drive of that 4-hour one-way trip.

Hood ornament of the rental
We spend a lot of time doing this...

Scott -- thanks for the classy ride!

Beach Friends

"Mama, can I see the pictures you took at the beach?"

I doubt she meant HERE, but here's are a few shots. A couple weekends ago, the girls' basketball team played at a tourney in SoCal. They had some downtime and the team went to Newport Beach for the afternoon. Yes, when you live the hot valley, going to the beach is a very special treat.

Lauren with Kristi & Kelsey

Ahhh, yes. Summer, waves and friendship.

Shooting at the Railroad Tracks

We went to downtown Fresno so my friend could photograph her son in his rented suit (for 6th grade promotion). Shot these while hanging out around the graffiti-laden decommissioned railroad cars.

Lauren, my soon-to-be high school senior

Shooting my friend (shooting her kids)

Against another railroad car

Lauren and her friend explore the tracks (those Target shopping carts sure are a long way from home)

She climbed up this decommissioned

railway car and found a seat

Jacob (looking dapper in his black suit and blue sneakers)

My favorite shot of the day

Lauren and Jacob wait at the car.

Back to teenage-ness. She's texting for showtimes at the movies.

Happy 25th Anniversary, Mike & Julie!

Our good friends, Mike & Julie, celebrated their wedding anniversary with a party at Pardini's Restaurant today. We had such a fun time with everyone. 25 years of marriage is a milestone and we were happy to celebrate with them. We pray God blesses them with 50 more years together. Now THAT will be a fun celebration in 25 years!

They have a wonderful family and are blessed with two beautiful daughters. We all shot a cardful of pictures in the banquet room, but I dragged them into the lobby to shoot these.

Mike & Julie

Sisters Alyssa & Stefani

Paper Girls' Lunch

Kristi: What IS that?

Me: Japanese oil-blotting paper

We (Kristi, Christy & me) finally made our much-delayed lunch date at P.F. Changs on Friday, 3.6.09 I sat down and blotted my forehead at the table because it was such a warm day! I know, poor table etiquette, but I HAD to get the shine off.

Kristi holding up the paper packet

I love these oil-blotting sheets! I don't know what the outside of this packet says, but this little packet holds 300 thinner-than-paper translucent sheets in a top-bound, notepad-style, tear-off pad. They are double-sided and powder-free so it doesn't interfere with or remove makeup . You press it against your forehead, cheeks or wherever you have facial-shine ... and whammo, presto! Matte skin! No shine! No oil!

A pad of oil-blotting sheets

I prefer the Japanese sheets (aka film or papers) and I have lots of different brands/colors/sizes. I don't know what ANY of them say, I just know what they look like. They work. They're my favorites. I also have the refillable Bobbi Brown version (Macy's or Nordstroms) with a leather case and a mirror which costs 10x more (so--not my favorite).

Forget manners! All 3 of us blotting our greasy faces!

The sheets absorb oil or moisture then gets translucent/clear when its done the job.

Kristi & Christy getting oil-free.

Saw Kristi's blog and lifted the next two pictures for comparison.
Kristi on top left picture ... daughter Samantha on bottom left.

Christy is on top right ... daughter Jessica is on the bottom left.

The mothers on top, the daughters on bottom! Cool.

Also, those cheerleaders are 1st Place National Champions!

Samantha & Jessica at Cheer Competition in Disneyland

Here they are again.
Christy & Jessica on the left (above & below)
Kristi & Samantha on the right (above & below)

We had a such a fun lunch. We chatted a mile-a-minute and didn't finish. Cameras. Blotting papers. Cheer. Daughters. School. It was a three-hour lunch! Kirk thought something happened to me because I never heard my cellphone ring.

We're planning another lunch ... this time to my favorite Mediterranean place downtown. Sheri, wish you were with us. Remember when we used to have lunch and go to the Clinique counter? I got to hang with your little Sissy. And, exactly HOW many Franklin Covey binders did you find when you moved?