Ashley...

I picked out my favorite pics that I took of Ashley at our sleep-over at Addies. We went to the elementary school, and had lots of fun. The kids played while Addie and I took pictures. My kind of day! LOL!! I think my kids are finally used to stopping every 5 minutes to pose. I'll have to post some of the funny ones of Dylan from a few weekends ago. That kid's poses are a riot!! I only photo-shopped 1 of Ash's pics this time. Sometimes you just want regular ole pics of the kids! She's cute enough on her own! :P Oh, I'm also throwing in a flower pic that I forgot to include last time. It was kind of a neat one. Check out the white pic of Ashley. That isn't photo-shopped...that effect I got by over-exposing the shot. I think it turned out really cool. :)

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Spring Time!!

I just love Spring time!! It has always been my favorite time of year. Picture taking is so much more fun with all the new life out!! I don't think I could ever get tired of taking pics of flowers. LOL!! Now I just need to find some baby animals!! Anyone got a farm I can come hang out at?? :P I went and stayed the night at Addie's house on Friday, and we went on a photo field trip! LOL!! I got some cute pics of Ash, but for now I'm just posting my flower ones. I had sooo much fun in post processing, if you can't tell! Hey! That's how I roll! :D See if you can spot the bees in 2 of my cherry blossom pics. :)

**fixed broken link to 3rd pic

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Nails & Links!

I had my nails done yesterday, and Bentlee came with me. Her mom owns the shop, so she knows her way around. LOL! She loves to get her nails painted too! Yesterday after I was done, she got hers painted. She said she wanted to be just like Billie, and surprise me. The following picture is what we ended up with!! How cute is that?! That kid is a doll!!



When I entered the photo contest, I needed a Flickr account for my entry. Since I have one now, I decided to really use it!! I will be posting pics in there whenever I can. The pics in there now have mostly been on the blog, with a few exceptions. I will put the majority of my photos in there, saving the blog for photos with stories. :) Oh!! Ted made a Flickr account too!! He was bitten by the photography bug along with his wife! :P His pics are really great, because he doesn't edit them. That's our big difference. He's into the 'natural' photo thing.....not me!! LOL!! I don't edit them too harshly.....just boost colors, or take color away...or add grunge...I don't photoshop a shark in the background or anything! LOL!! :P Any-wahoo, here are our links! :D

My Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/billieland/
Ted's Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tedx23/

One more thing....my niece Caryssa started a blog! She is 15, and a doll! She inherited the photo bug from Ted & I (her real parents!! LOL!). She just started, but will be updating soon. Take a look, and leave her a comment!! :)

Caryssa's Blog: http://caryssalynn11.blogspot.com/

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Easter pics!

I hope everyone had a good Easter! We spent the day with family, and had a great time. We started out at church with my dad, and ended up at Grandma's house. It wouldn't be a holiday without hanging out at Grams! My kids love hanging out with all the cousins. I have to admit, I love it too. LOL! We ended up having a mini egg hunt in the living room, it was raining too hard to go outside. :( All the kids still had fun though. The oldest cousin Alyssa is having a baby, so that was fun to finally see her tummy. :) I took a super cute pic, posted below. I didn't get tons of pictures, but was happy with what I did get. I got a chance to use my new lens! It's different than my other two, so it was good practice for me. I put it on, and refused to switch to my others. I figure that's the only way to learn. Sink or swim!! LOL!!

----people pics, followed by my artsy ones (shush, I love those kind!! LOL!!)

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OMG! OMG!!

I entered a contest over at Pioneer Woman's photography blog. HERE She sets a photography assignment that people can enter for 4 days. Each day she picks like 20 pics to be that days semi-finalists. On day 5 she picks the finalists from those 4 days worth of winners. Day six she announces the winner. She gives out great prizes!! The competition is pretty fierce. I don't know how she goes through all those entries!! Well, guess what?!? MY PICTURE WAS ONE PICKED FOR DAY 3!!! OMG!! OMG!! I am so excited, and honored!! My bff Addie sent me an IM this morning saying I had been picked. I thought she was playing an April Fools joke on me!! LOL!! Well, the jokes on me....she was telling the truth! I swear I had chest pains for 2 hours! Taking photographs is my love, and to have someone like what I do means so much to me. I don't think I'll come down from this high for some time!! :)

Here is my pic....the photography assignment was 'Green':

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Latest Photo Fun!

I have been trying to take pictures every chance I get. I have really gotten some fun ones lately. Spring is the best time to find animals to snap a shot of! You know me, I could take animal pics all day!! LOL!! The ones I am about to post are just a hodge-podge of things. Most of them have been edited, that's where the fun comes in!! I have just as much fun turning my pics into art as I do taking them! Such a goob, I know!! LOL!! :P I hope you enjoy.

--as always, click on the pics for a larger view :)

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Basketball...

Hello! I'm back!! I missed ya! :D Now, finally those bball pics!!

This year was the first year that Dylan played basketball. Going in, he was super duper nervous! He was the only 6th grader that had never played before, so he was worried about looking like an idiot. That turned out to not be the case!! My baby did amazing!! Every week he improved leaps & bounds!! There was such a huge difference from the first week, until the last! It was like an entirely different kid! I can't wait for next season! Dylan plans on playing from here on out. He really loves it! Ted and I are so very proud of him. He really had to fight some tough nerves to sign up, and he did it!! He had such an amazing time, and now he signed up for baseball....another sport he has never played!! I love it!! My baby's growing up, and maturing!! It makes a mommy's heart swell! :D

--don't mind the quality of some of these pics, the one gym had horrible lighting!
--Bad lighting + movement = pixels, pixels, pixels!!! Yuck!!

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Mi Familia...

I thought I would post some updated pics of my family. It seems like my kids are just growing way too darn fast, and Ted & I are getting *cough* old *cough*!!

Dylan is half way through 6th grade. I can't believe it! Junior High in 6 months!! Ahhhh!!!! He's a good boy though! I have no worries! :D We just got his mid-term progress reports, and he has all A's with 2 B's....not too shabby!! He is just finishing up his first year of basketball. It has been amazing!! He loves it so much! I wish it could go on for another 6 months!! I really hope he decides to play next year, but I'm sure he will! ;) He really plays very well for never having done it before. I can't wait to see what his future holds.


My little Ashley is in 2nd grade, with 3rd grade math & reading. She does really well in the higher classes. The only hard part is missing out on things with her own classmates. I guess it's just a sacrifice for advancement. I just feel bad for her sometimes. Next year she will be able to play county rec sports, which will be exciting. She is planning on doing volleyball and basketball, I can't wait!!


Ted and I have been married for almost 14 years....wow!! Time really does fly! I love him more than ever, so I guess it's going well! :) He still works for the same place he's been at for 12 years, and it's going great. God has really blessed us!


Anyway, that's my little 'catch up' post! LOL!! Look for pics in the next few days of Dylan's basketball season!! TTFN!! :)

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Project Bentlee...

I took this picture of Bentlee, and I LOVED it!! It was just screaming to be edited and played with!! LOL!! Nothing is funner to me than editing photos. I know, I know....nerd city!! LOL!! Anyway, here is my little Project Bentlee! :D


--original pic, followed by 6 alterations

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Love this face..

I had a fun little photo snapping spree with Ashley. I love when I can catch her many faces. She's one of those kids that just brings a smile to your face. I played around a little in the editing, and was really pleased with the results. I get bored with regular looking portraits...I want the fun stuff! LOL!! Enjoy!

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