. ninth .

Today is our 9th wedding anniversary! Nine years! It simply doesn't seem that long ago that we stood at that alter in front of all our loved ones and before God committed our lives to one another forever. 

Much has happened since then and yet much is still the same. 

he still makes me laugh....

he still balances out the serious side of me....

he is still fun-loving.....

he is now a great daddy... 

a wiser, more courageous person...

and a great husband!

We are off to spend the weekend together in Kansas City!

I'm looking forward to it since we have not gotten away for our anniversary in a couple of years.

It is going to be fun!

* tag you're it *

my great friend Sarah tagged me so here goes.....

. 4 things I was doing 10 years ago .

I was 1 year into running my own painting business

was painting an entire mansion near the Kansas City Plaza

was finally okay with my life as a single woman

had just met Greg, my future husband!

. 4 things on my to-do list for today .

go to Iowa City, complete a whole list of errands

pick peaches at my father in-laws farm

work the peaches up

play with my daughter during all of the above

. 4 things i love about my husband .

he makes me laugh

he is mellow and fun-loving...the opposite of me, which makes for a wonderful balance

he is an inventor and a visionary

he treats me with respect and is a gentleman

. 4 jobs i have had .

Wal-mart photo lab technician

worked for a construction company as their painter 

worked at a camera and photo shop in downtown Iowa City

currently own an interior painting business, which I participate in on a part-time basis

. 4 movies i have watched more than once .

Anne of Green Gables

White Christmas

Facing the Giants

Janette Oke Love Comes Softly movie series

(i had a hard time coming up with four as i hardly ever watch movies)

. 4 places i have lived .

St. Joseph, Missouri

Twin Peaks, CA

Marrietta Hot Springs, CA

Hills, Iowa

. 4 places i have been .

West coast states.....CA, OR, WA

Charleston,  SC

Bird-in-hand, PA

Washington DC

(this was a hard one for me because i have been to 28 of the 50 states and like most every place i have been in them)

. 4 places i want to visit .

Northern Ireland

Hawaii

Canada

Germany

. 4 tv shows i watch.

um, i don't watch tv shows....we don't get any tv channels

but  have watched via DVD

the Gilmore Girls 

Dukes of Hazzard, we have 4 or more seasons

I Love Lucy

. 4 things you may not know about me .

i prefer vegetables over meat

i dream of being a free-lance photographer

i love to colour in colouring books

i take my family to a chiropractor instead of a general practitioner

. 4 people i've tagged .

emily @ e all of the above

laura @ marrs website

cynthia 

siobhan @ on the border

. berries .

Tis the season.....for berries

last year Greg and I planted blackberries, yellow raspberries and bluberries.

the blueberries never made it....very diappointing to us as we looovvvee blueberries.

but the raspberries and blackberries are florishing! 

yum! yum!

it is so great to be able to walk into my back yard and pick all of these wonderful tasting fruits.

just look at this juicy little thing!.

each little round thing is filled with sweet, luscious juice!

pop one of these into your mouth, squish between your tongue and the roof of your mouth and mmmmmmmmmmmmm

it doesn't get much better than this when it comes to garden produce!

.. salsa ..

I love it when tomato season comes along because that means it is time for fresh salsa. Salsa doesn't get any better than when it is made fresh from garden fresh tomatoes!

Around here we eat it A LOT! Especially this time of year....we almost make a meal out of it. Not only does it have the tomatoes which are a wonderful food for your health, it also has garlic and onions which are beneficial to your health too. Add a little hot peppers to open the sinuses and you have an all around great health food!

So far this summer I have put up about 25 qt. Not nearly enough or what I desired to. But my tomatoes did not produce very well this summer so I am fearing that this might be the last batch I freeze.....unless someone has an excess of tomatoes and is willing to share......

I usually put jalapenos in mine but this year I planted salsa peppers and WOW are they hot! It only takes one long, skinny pepper to a large batch of salsa, any more and I had better watch out or it will be so hot we can hardly stand it! Anyway, I have an abundance of salsa peppers, so if anyone is needing any hot peppers let me know!

mmm, mmm, good!!

** miniature golf **

Alannah and I were in Missouri last week visiting my parents. 

One of our favorite summer activities to do when we visit is to go into town and play mini golf at this beautiful mini golf park. 

There are 4 courses and it is always hard to pick which one to golf on this time. Isn't it beautiful!?

Alannah always gets instruction and help from Papa J.

* Fudgsicle Face *

Alannah had been eating a fudgsicle and I walked into the kitchen to see it all over her face.

It made me laugh so I grabbed my camera and started shooting.

This one below was towards the end of the shoot....can you tell we are getting tired of hamming it up? I wanted this photo to be at the end of my post but I loaded them in the wrong order and I am not about to delete and reload as I was fortunate enough to get these loaded. And with my new IMac I can't seem to figure out how to move these photos around once I get them loaded....not like I was able to do with my Windows PC.

Anyway, I couldn't choose just a couple photos....I had to put half of them on!

Check out these faces!!

Simple pleasures and childhood treasures

I love the innocence of it all

.. car show ..

. my fun-loving husband LOVES vintage cars .

. in fact he has a project of his own that he works on when he gets a free moment and some extra cash . 

. someday soon i will take some photos of it and share with you .

. anyway, last friday evening he and i went to the car show at sycamore mall in ic . 

. now, in the past he has usually gone to these by himself....i don't mind them except for the fact that once i have looked at all of the vintage vehicles, i am ready to leave . 

. well, that is not enough for him! . 

. he wants to stand around looking at every inch and detail and then talk with the owner and discuss where they bought that part and how they did this and on and on and on! . 

. i get BORED to pure insanity!! .

. BUT, this year some of that has changed . 

. since i decided to pursue photography on a more full-time basis i have found that i can combine my love of photography with his love of vintage cars .

. so, we have this deal....i go with him to some of these and have the freedom to meander around at my leisure, with my camera attached to my face and he does what he usually does .

. THEN, when i have taken photos of everything i possibly can and am starting to get bored, i leave and he stays! . 

. it has worked out wonderfully! .

. in fact, we are spending out anniversary weekend in august at the good guys rod & custom show in kansas city .

. lucky for me i booked us a hotel room, complete with a kitchen, across the street from the show!.

. so when i get bored, i am heading to our room to have some personal reading and pampering time, while he stays out in the blazing hot sun and looks at car after car after car! .

. and, in the end, he really enjoys looking at all my photos! .

. here's a little sampling....enjoy! .

. the owners of this little "bug" are close friends of ours .

. they restored it about 2 or 3 years ago for their father .

. it's a cute little thing . 

. i think this is a 1949 Mercury woody . 

. greg would know if he were here to consult, but he's not .

. the owners of this were from colorado and were traveling in it. they had the back full of camping gear, food staples and coolers .

.  this has been on road trips all across the US .