50 beautiful wishes

there is nothing like a surprise party to make friends come together, laugh and celebrate. my friend kim celebrated her 50th this past weekend, with our bammie sisters during a 24 hour friend-fest only achievable thanks to her fantastic husband and kidlets, now in their last year of high school. the years slip away but frienships like this only get better over time. i love these ladies! the imagery won't win any awards, but i'm thankful for the ease and simplicity of the ipad camera. party hats by the uncompromising gina gabriell of Tangerine. 

isn't she cute?? that right there is my favorite librarian. ever.

king's route

we have arrived above 5,000 feet again, but this time in our own beautiful state of california, in king's canyon sequoia / national park with our andriese cousins. big trees, geocaching, boyden cave, river play, helping stranded retired folks, picnics, swimming into the night, good times. once again they hosted us for a brief vacation in their beautiful home. such a memorable time. love my family! thank you j & b! grateful for you.

 

thank you for these 2, sam!

(no, i did not use any postprocessing for this blur shot. in fact, none of the images in this series ever went into photoshop.)

:)

comfort of old friendships, at 5,000 feet

the unusually high colorado summer temperatures were not tamed by familiar northern california coastal fog, but denver proved to be colorful and intriguing, despite the warmth. many years have lapsed since seeing our dear friends the maz**tellis, but catching up and slipping back into the comfort of old friendships came simply and naturally. that's the definition of good friends, isn't it? picking up where you left off, filling in the missing spaces without hesitation or concern of losing ground in your friendship, safe in the knowing that the relationship has not suffered, that love and acceptance remain. i can't wait to see where these girls (all 3-the editor, the artist, the foodie) take themselves into the next part of life and the great unknown.  there is so much i did not make images of, but the memories are embedded in my heart.

 above: the view from donna's neighborhood, and the local wildlife. 

below: soldering keepsakes