Rodeo beauty

So I think I said this before, I take a LOT of pictures. And I love taking pictures outdoors. With a beautiful day, it is not hard to do either. This past weekend, the rodeo I volunteer for had their Elizabeth Stampede Royalty competition to crown the Queen and Attendant for the 2015 Elizabeth Stampede. This year, it was held at the Casey Jones arena on a beautiful Saturday morning and afternoon. Which was a blessing since the next day we had a Blizzard! In May!! It's springtime in Colorado so anything is possible. The morning started with the young ladies showing up with their horses, tack, clothes, hats, and tons of hair spray. Throughout the morning, they were competing in the horsemanship portion. They needed to know parts of the horse, how to keep the horse healthy, what type of saddle they used, safety, etc. Once this portion of the competition was completed, we moved indoors to finish the day off with modeling, interview, essay, and lunch. Once everything was completed, the scores were tallied and results were made. Two young ladies have been picked to represent our rodeo for the coming season. It was a wonderful time had by all.

Networking fun times

So I always thought that networking groups would be boring and stuffy, not to mention everyone would be friends with each other and not talk to me. Boy was I wrong!! The Elizabeth Networking Group is an amazing group of individuals who live in my small town that will open their arms and hearts for anyone to come on in and have fun, make friends, and network. I have not only met some wonderful friends in this group, but I have learned so much about different types of businesses in our town and county. For the past two meetings, I have been asked to take pictures of this amazing group of people. This last meeting I not only took pictures of the group, but also did some head shots of two women in our group. Not the easiest thing to do to take head shots with hail falling outside. Hmm....puts my motto out that door! So I did some tests and changes to their head shots with light/flash and ISO settings. I also gave them the opportunity that if they didn't like the pictures, we can get together again at their places of businesses to do retakes. With all this going on, I still had to get the group shots of the meets and greets. No problem! I can run stairs a few times. Whew! Was sweating from running up and down the stairs, but had a blast!!

Walk for the babies - March of Dimes, Colorado

My neighbor is a strong woman. Stronger than anyone could ever be. Our daughters were supposed to be born the same week in June, almost 10 years ago. Her daughter was born in May and not June, so tiny that her husband's wedding ring fit on her daughter's arm. Her daughter was in the NICU for a few weeks to gain weight and to get better, while my baby girl was born three weeks early with healthy lungs and scores. My neighbor's labor did a number on her and she had to be in the hospital for a few days. When our daughters were old enough, we had play dates together and the difference in sizes between the girls was shocking. Her daughter is a very strong little girl too, just like her mom. A few years later, my neighbor became pregnant again with her little boy. This pregnancy was a lot harder for her than the first one. Her little one was also born premature and in worse shape. Why is this important? Because both children are health and strong today from the help of the March of Dimes. My neighbor does so much work for them raising money to help other children in need. A few weeks ago, she posted on FB to see if any photographers would donate their time to take pictures for the Walk for the Babies. I agreed right away and was very excited to be able to take pictures of these families running and walking for these little miracle children. I was able to meet so many families and hear stories, read stories, and share stories with others. In the process, I took their pictures, their moments, their smiles that will last for a lifetime. What affected me the most was a special flowerbox that had butterfly notes. This was a memorial box for those families who lost a child. Right then and there I wanted to go home and hug my children. I felt so honored to be there and to share in these special moments.