We are still freezing here in Texas....

wind chill was 9 this morning...

we got up to a whopping 34 today....

going to be in the 60's this weekend...

can't wait...

I've had fun playing with the photos from Sweet 16 party....

 everyone played their parts well....

 my daughter started her externship today...

she is working for a Family Medicine Dr....

4 weeks of 40 hours....

the office she works for now would not except her

resignation so she will have her job back

when she's done....

She will take her Medical Assistant test

when she's done to receive her certification...

we are so proud of her....

 Stringbean went back to school today...

it was nice having 2 half days and 2 full days

plus the weekend off...

 I'm so proud of my hens...

they have all been laying through all this frigid weather...

 incase you didn't know...

I do not like cold weather...

not even a little bit...

I am a spring/summer girl all the way....

 I love spending time outdoors...

but below 40 is just too much for me...

 the dogs aren't too thrilled about going

outside either....

 so we are all looking forward

to the warmer weather this weekend...

 Sisters in Heart

we've share so much laughter

shared so many tears

We've a spiritual kinship

that grows stronger each year

We're not sisters by birth but

we've known from the start

God put us together to be

Sisters-in-heart.....

I'm so blessed to have Sisters-in-heart....

 No school today....

it warmed up a bit....

so off we went...

 just what we all needed....

before the temperatures drop and possible ice...

 we went down to the Trinity River...

Hubby grew up hanging out down there...

he took our son...

now Stringbean is in on the action....

 boys love climbing on everything....

 and big....heavy..... equipment....

boys of all ages....

 the River has changed a bit....

but Hubby still knows where to go....

 Yep...he had to get in the water...

Yep...it's cold....

Yep....Oma kept her mouth shut and took photos...

Hubby was proud of me....

we picked the perfect time to go...

by the time we got home...

the clouds rolled in....

the temperature started dropping...

we ate lunch...then watched Free Willy....

I haven't seen it since my kids watched it...

Stringbean had seen it before so he kept us informed....

hmmm he sounds like his Pawpaw....

You coming Oma?

Friday afternoon we packed up and headed to the lake....

the freezing cold lake....

it was dark by the time we got there...

Friday was a busy day...

with all this cold weather...

people are actually having to use their heat on a regular basis...

I had to refresh my winter wardrobe...

oh but what a beautiful place it is...

Ginger and Rooster had a blast...

 Rooster did not like the bridges at first...

but he was not going to miss out on going with his Dad...

 Saturday morning we got up early...

took them down to the water...

the windchill was below freezing...

so was the temperature...

after a good work out...

we headed to Hillsboro to Walmart...

Hubby needed a beanie....I wanted some coveralls...

I can't believe they didn't have any at all...

I did find a pair of men's Dickey fleece lined work pants...

got a pair big enough to go over my jeans and layers...

they will come in handy for our adventures with the dogs...

I put them on when we got back...

what a big difference...

 our daughter came around 2:00...

it was so nice to get to spend a little one on one time with her...

She will be 29 next month...

where has the time gone....

Hubby fired up the grill and cooked us homemade burgers...

an excellent meal on a freezing cold day....

we had packed light for our trip...

but when we went to Walmart...

Hubby decided we needed a more substantial meal...

the reason we were at the lake....

Sweet 16 party....

a Roaring 20's theme...

my daughter came to be my helper...

I wasn't sure what to expect...

they had planned on an outdoor dance floor...

and a heated tent...

well Mother nature changed their plans late in the week...

I usually take outdoor photos with natural lighting...

indoor and night time are more of a struggle for me...

I've been reading...watching webinars...

learning more about my camera...

 the guys all started rolling in....

they were ahead of the ladies...

the birthday girl is a little shy...

so getting photos of her was an adventure...

Isn't she a beautiful flapper....

I edited this one to look 20's style...

the pool table was set up and they guys took advantage...

Poker anyone???

they had goody bags with giant money...

to be used for poker or roulette....

at the end of the night prizes were given...

the kids had a blast...

The grownups had as much fun as the kids....

it was a fun evening...

it was midnight before we got to bed....

I woke up at 6:30...

I had to download the photos to take a peak...

I took over 1000....

we spent some time with our daughter...

then we packed up and headed home...

her boyfriend plays hockey and had a game Saturday night...

that's why he didn't get to come along...

he hurt his ankle playing hockey.....

thank goodness its a sprain not a break...

he has a splint and has to prop up...

hoping for a speedy recovery....

My critters were happy to see me...

well not the two Roosters...

Dawg and Garfield both let me know they were not happy with me...

my son checked in on them on Saturday...

by the time I feed them and praised all the eggs they laid...

the boys were back to normal...

the girls were all happy to see me...

Rabbits were happy to get their carrots...

Stringbean has Monday and Tuesday off from school....

let the adventures begin...

hoping the sleet and freezing doesn't show up....

 we had a little warm up...

out came the birds....

the Cedar Wax Wings love berries...

 we took advantage of the warm up...

took the dogs for a 2 1/2 mile walk...

 we all enjoyed the outing...the exercise...

it was a busy weekend...

getting caught up on chores...

seems like it is never ending...

 I've been seeing this female cardinal for days now...

couldn't believe I actually got a few shots of her...

 the squirrels were loving the beautiful day also....

running...chasing...eating...

 today was the first quilting class...

my Mom did a great job....

the girls will start cutting their squares...

one sweet friend is using her Mom's house dresses to make hers...

she is giving herself a year to make lap throws for her sisters...

it brought back great memories...I remember her Mom wearing some of them...

when her Mom passed she packed up her clothes...

she couldn't bare to get rid of them...

now they will be special memories...

 We also celebrated my sweet friends Birthday....

cupcakes...gifts...a toast...

I'm so blessed to have such wonderful women in my life

This afternoon when everyone left it started to rain....

light rain then heavy...

even loud thunder...

It's been a wonderful weekend...

time to rest before a busy week...

 while Mother Nature and Jack Frost are rearing their ugly heads...

I count down to spring...

I love looking back at all the beauty...on ugly weather days it

cheers me up.... 

 I plant as many flowers as I can that attract butterflies and bees...

Pawpaw taught Stringbean how to catch bees in jar without getting

stung..Stringbean is a great butterfly catcher...

One day he caught and released nearly 30 butterflies...

he has also become a lizard...grass snake and frog catcher....

today as I looked out my office window...

I saw a male cardinal...a female cardinal...

a blue jay...of course when I took my camera outside...

they all vanished...

they made me smile...

the squirrels were running around like crazy today...

I think they were enjoying the warmer temperatures...

it got 48 today....so much better than the 20's...

hopefully this cold snap killed of some mosquitos and flies...

this week has gone by fast....

I've had to look at my calendar to see what day it is....

it's hard to get back to normal after the holidays....

Happy Thursday...

 Wow...we warmed up to the 40's today...

and the Sun was shining....

what a big difference....

 took advantage of it this afternoon....

all the critters and peeps were enjoying it...

 I've been watching a few webinars to try to improve  my photography...

and to really get more out of my camera...

I'm doing photos for a sweet 16 party this month....

she is having a Great Gatsby party...

they are the family that owns the resort we love to go to at Lake Whitney...

the party will be indoors and outdoors in the evening...

so of course lighting is always an issue...

my daughter is coming to help me...

Hubby gets to fish all weekend...

so it's a Win Win for both of us...

 I'm also trying to learn more on posing people...

to get the best of each person...

cause as we all know...

we are very critical of ourselves...

and notice things that other people don't even see...

 Stringbean spends more time climbing the basketball goal...

than he does playing basketball...

he did inform me today he has been working on his dribbling skills...

at school in PE....

I asked if he wanted to play basketball...

he said no just work on dribbling...

Ginger likes to play ball...

but she has a different version than Rooster...

she also likes to steal Roosters ball during the middle of his game...

he's really a good sport about it...

he usually goes and finds another ball...

she used to steal a ball now and then...

my son would find them in his truck when they got home....

Happy Wednesday....