February Harvest - Moments Edition

*We sit in the sand, Katie and I, and talk about life - the struggles, the triumphs, the fears and the dreams.  The breeze blows by and it closes my eyes; I smell the salt, I hear the wind, I feel the breeze when it kisses my cheeks and plays in my hair.  We sit in the sand and I dig my fingers in and swirl them around, making shapes, making patterns, making textures, all the while not thinking about the sand, but of life, as one like me does when they sit in the sand.

We watch the waves, Katie and I, and talk about life. Walls of water crash into each other, one from the left and one from the right, then another from the left and another from the right, creating frothy water and dancing spray and tunnels of water as they overlap. We watch the waves and point at the waves, all the while not really thinking about the waves, but of life, as one like me does when they watch the waves.

We watch the surfers, Katie and I, and talk about life.  We laugh when they fall and cheer when they stand, and I think to myself wouldn't it be nice if I could laugh when I fall and cheer when I stand?  Because that, simplistically, is life.

*I love Miles's hair - always.  Even right now, when it looks frizzy and unruly.  It just bounced with him down the stairs and he absentmindedly pushed it away from his eyes with the back of his hand. He smiled at me when he caught me staring at him, unaware that I was wondering about the future of that hair... hoping that he will love it through his life as I do.

*Green, rolling hills jutted out and away from the freeway like a song, and I wanted to sing it.  The van was moving too fast to roll the windows down, but if the law would have permitted me to slow down on that road and savor my way across the fields of California, I would have, with a lowered window to let in the fresh breeze that carried the scent of green life.  But even without the lowered window, the moment captured me.

*Brian smiled at me from across the dinner table.  His elbows were propped up on the dark wood, and his face rested asymmetrically on his hands.  Something about his upturned sleeves pulled at me and made me smile back.  Relaxed? Handsome? Friendly?  He is all of those things... the upturned sleeves reminded me so.

*I didn't wash these sheets, but they are clean.  I didn't fluff these pillows, but they are plump.  I didn't buy this comforter, but it is soft and warm.  I am sinking into the softness and drifting into sleep with my husband next to me and my children snuggled together in the bed two feet to my right. Sometimes hotel nights can be beautiful.

*The world looks warm and soft now.  I smile as I pull the price tag off my new sunglasses.  It was a necessary purchase as my old ones were so scratched up that I'm afraid it was a hazard to drive in them.  But I like new sunglasses... I always buy them with the brown tinted lenses, so for a little while, before they get scratched up from my misuse again, the world looks crisp and clean, warm and inviting, and soft through the lenses.

*I'm feeling cold while we wait outside for our dinner table to be ready.  I wrap my sweater tighter around my shoulders and step backwards into my husbands arms. But it's the moment just before we touch that grabs me. I feel his warmth in that brief moment, and in that moment, I feel no cold. He is living, and warm. I sink into him and he wraps his arms around me.  And I know I am blessed.

*I know that mom and child sitting on the library floor across the room from the small patch of carpet that holds Timothy and me.  Not well, because six months is not enough time to know someone well when you see them only on occasion.  But I do know them.  I know them well enough to know that I want to know them better, after all.  They are bouncing and clapping to the silly song playing from the CD player to my left.  Timothy and I are, too.  But for just this moment, I'm not thinking about Timothy - though he competes fiercely with his own adorable bouncing and clapping - because I'm watching that mom and her child.  She throws her head back and laughs with her son, and then sweeps him up close to her face for a powerful hug. He squeals with laughter... and so does she.  And I thought, there is a mom who loves being with her children.  Her example painted the whole rest of my day and made me treasure all the moments.   

*Homemade music fills the room.  That boy, there, holds a beautiful, blue guitar and strums the song that you hear. Some people might look at the scene and say that the music is coming from the beautiful guitar.  But they would be wrong.  The music is coming from the boy.

'Carson,' the mother says, 'that sounds really beautiful.'  The boy, never breaking his rhythm, looks up to receive the compliment but as quickly as his eyes meet his mother's, his head drops to hide the smile that breaks on his lips.

He thinks he's done it... hidden his smile.  But the mother knows.  She sees it in the way his head bobs a little more sprightly, she hears it in his slightly faster tempo, but most of all, being his mother, she feels it in the invisible bonds that connect her to her son.

*Soft and shiny, her hair brushed against her cheeks when she smiled.  My McKenzie.

*I wave as they approach the car.  McKenzie sees me and breaks into a full-faced smile and a run.  I open the sliding door with the button on my left and roll down the passenger-side window at the same time.  I have a feeling she has something to tell me.  "I got a solo, Mom!" she blurts out before the window is halfway down.  I see excitement tears dancing in her eyes and my heart swells for her.  She has landed the role of Scarecrow in the elementary production of The Wizard of Oz and will sing If I Only Had a Brain.  I squeal appropriately and clap my hands together for her.  I feel warm and happy and full and I notice that her success feels even better to me than my own ever did.

*Popcorn Trees. They live at the library.  In February.  I take note for future years and I am happy.

*My fingertips touch the wall and I begin to curl my legs underneath me.  I feel the current I've created in the water pushing me forward, ever so gently, and it urges me to hurry. In one moment, I tuck and turn and place my feet, legs cocked, against the wall where my fingertips had been.  I still feel the current, and now I can see it, too... tiny air bubbles racing through the water towards my goggled eyes.  Extending my legs in a powerful kick, I soar through the current and feel its added resistance.  This is my favorite part.  The water feels thick for no more than a second, but I look forward to that second and know that it will come again, if I hurry, when my fingertips touch the next wall.

January Harvest - Moments Edition

1) It was the last blackberry.  Plump and ripe, it found itself being pushed around and around the small bowl with a small spoon held in the small hand of a small boy.  He was patient, the small boy; or perhaps I should say that he had been patient since the increasing energy with which he attempted to scoop up the berry seemed to indicate that his patience was not, in fact, endless.  Each time the blackberry felt cornered the small boy would stab and scoop through the oatmeal with all the ungraceful motions of a two-year-old, and the berry would fall... realizing that, in the small, round bowl, there were no corners to be cornered in after all.

It was the last blackberry.  Wearing the deepest purple, it's drupelets began to burst, leaving a bright, rich purple trail like a map behind it.  The small boy's mother sat close, her elbow propped on the table to give support to the hand that cradled her chin, and watched her son with a comfortable, easy smile.  She watched as the last ounce of patience seeped from that small boy, and she bounced with quiet laughter as he dropped his spoon, extended all five of his fingers, and plunged his hand into the remaining oatmeal to grab the berry.  He noticed her laughter as he pulled it from the bowl and turned his head in his mother's direction.  His eyebrows pulled together in confusion as if her laughter had reminded him that there were other things in the world besides him and that blackberry.  She couldn't know what he was thinking, but she watched him force his own smile at her from behind the confusion, and soon he was following her example by forcing a laugh, too.  They sat like that in one beautiful moment.  A small boy holding a small blackberry in his small hand, oblivious to the ill-mannered mess of the dripping oatmeal, staring at his mother, laughing with her at a secret something that only she had found amusing.

2) The mini-van hums quietly along the dark streets. It's just me inside if you are counting humans, but my Les Miserables CD plays loudly through the speakers and keeps me in beautiful company.  The quiet notes of one of my favorite songs starts and I feel my hands, light on the steering wheel, begin to dance with the gentle beat.  My heart swells with the music as the lyrics begin:  God on high, hear my prayer.  In my need, you have always been there.  As the song goes on, I am taken back twenty years to when, as a 13-year-old, my dad was teaching me the beauty and majesty of Les Miserables on a road trip for just the two of us.  I had watched him sing this song as it played in our small car; I had stared at him, really, with all the unashamedness of a 13-year-old.  Today, as my mini-van hums quietly along these dark streets, I can still see him lifting his eyebrows to reach the highest notes, I can still hear his soft and gentle voice, easy and beautiful.  I can still feel his passion and love for the music.  And reliving those beautiful moments brings me new beautiful moments, sitting alone, with Les Miserables in my ears, and my dad in my heart.

3) I opened the junk drawer.  I try not to do that very often because it kind of stresses me out... but sometimes it just has to be done.  In sifting through the mess of trinkets and papers, I stumbled upon an envelope that I hadn't seen before.  In the shaky writing of an older hand, the words 'Dr. Alder' were printed.  So, naturally, I opened it.  And my heart filled with happiness as I read sincere words of gratitude from a complete stranger who had regained her sight at Brian's hand.  I know he's doing good in the world, but something about that thank you card helped me see it, too.  And as I closed the card with my full heart, I noticed that she had taken the time to put eyeglass stickers on the front, and it made me laugh.  I found myself wondering about this lady.  Is she someone that has drawers and drawers full of stickers for every occasion, or did she go out and buy eyeglass stickers just for this occasion?  Either way, I'm grateful to her for taking the time to say Thank You to the man I love. 

4 -The fresh air hits my face as I walk to my car from Starbucks.  The roads are slightly damp, and there is moisture in the air.  My skin soaks it up and I breathe it in. 
5 - TK brings me a book. "Wee? Wee? Wee?" he asks.  "Yes," I answer with a smile,  "I'll read to you."  He gasps in excitement and follows me into his room. It's that part - the following me - that snags me.  Beautiful little foot patters.  Trusting.  Expecting.  Excited. 
6 - I watch TK's eyes open in excitement as he hears the garage door open.  And then comes my favorite part: "Da-dee?!" he asks.  I love the slight hesitation between those syllables... the way his lips pull wide in a smile and exaggerate all movements around the vowel sounds. 
7 - I finally took down the kids' Christmas tree.  Packed all the decorations and ribbons and branches into their boxes and carried them down the stairs.  Vacuumed the stray, artificial pine needles and sat, in a beautiful moment, in the clean corner... vacuum lines leading away from me (or is it towards me?) and felt the peace of cleanliness and order. 
8 - Finished my morning chores with time to spare this morning.  So I grabbed a handful of cashews, sat at the breakfast table, and stared out the back doors over the sun sparkled golf course.  The palm trees swayed in the wind and I grabbed the beautiful moment. 
9 - I smell it before I taste it - the chocolate.  The salted macadamia nuts are hiding beneath that lumpy brown coat, and I know the caramel is there, too... just waiting to fill my mouth with deliciousness.  The bite is my favorite part.  I love the way macadamia nuts seem to explode in the pressure between my teeth.  Oh, chocolate macadamia nut cluster. I thank Costco for you.

10 - After being sick with a fever for two days, Miles looked at me with clear, happy eyes.  "Oh, you look like you're feeling better!" I exclaimed with a giant hug.  His grin widened off of his face and he exclaimed, "Happy Birthday!"  I love looking into those clear eyes. 
11 - I wheeled the garbage can back into the garage - totally not my job, but it made me happy to do something for my wonderful husband. 
12 - The weight of TK sitting in my lap, covered in a soft blanket, resting against my chest.  Carson sitting next to me on the hard benches of the school.  We watch as McKenzie receives honor awards for being so awesome.  My kids fill me. 
13 - A swarm of black birds soaring down from an electrical wire into the trees.  A graceful dive. 
14 - The warm sun pulls me outside today.  My handsome husband pulls two chairs onto the grass turf, and we sit in the sunshine in the middle of January. 
15 - Driving with the sun roof open. 
16 - TK emptied a whole Costco-sized container full of fabric softener into the corners and crevices of the laundry room.  After pulling out the washer and dryer to sop up the liquid from underneath them, we threw the towels we'd used into the wash.  Today, weeks later, I walk into the bathroom and notice I still smell the fresh scent coming from those towels folded on my shelves.  We will not be using those towels any time soon unless it's to sop up more fabric softener.  Delicious smell.

17 - Opening the blinds in my room - sunshine!
18 - Eating a fresh-out-of-the-oven doughnut from Krispy Kreme.  No one does a doughnut like Krispy Kreme does a doughnut. 
19 - Enjoying the sunshine again today.
20 - I love the moments when the tennis ball connects with my racket.  I love the sound, the feel, the power...
21 - Sinking, sinking, sinking into the soft blankets for story time with Miles. 
22 - Pollen falling from the trees.  Each tree seems to be planted in a pool of yellow.
23 - I stood and admired the magnificent pillars and fun stucco on the side of my house today.  I do love them.
24 - Chatted with a new friend about real things tonight.  It made my heart happy.
25 - One of the young women started playing a song on the piano tonight in between volleyball games.  She played it beautifully, and the girls who stood around her singing the lyrics were beautiful, too.  I love the youth in this ward.
26 - TK folding into my shoulder while not feeling well.  He is such a sweet boy.  I love the way he curls right in.
27 - Napping on the couch (a beautiful moment in and of itself) when Miles came to snuggle.  His curly red hair tickled my face and made me smile.
28 - McKenzie worked so hard on her state project and finished it tonight. I feel so proud of the work she has put into it.
29 - Diaper change turned tickle fight.
30 - Helping TK blow his nose, he was whining and unhappy until he saw himself in the mirror.  His whines turned into an excited smile and he greeted his long lost friend with a wave and a, "Hi tee-tee!"
31 - The small hands, dimpled at the knuckles, reaching up to me from the crib.  The sleepy smell as I pull him out.
32 - His strums are perfect; his fingers are sure; his face is stoic up on the stage in front of the school.  Carson works that guitar while accompanying the third graders in their school assembly, and I feel Happy Mommy Tears catch in my throat.

December Harvest

1 - Oh the joy!  On the way to the mailbox with my favorite little friend to deposit Christmas Cards.  It made me happy to have someone else share deeply in my excitement.  And I didn't feel bad at all that it was a five year old - because they're the best at sharing excitement.  

2 -My children will be the first to tell you that I'm not big on screen-time.  But the way that screen lit up Miles's face in that dim room?  Beautiful!
3 - Candy canes are not only delicious, they really are beautiful if you stop and look at them.  And they taste even more beautiful when you dunk them in steaming, homemade hot cocoa.
4 - Sparkle!
5 - Christmas Eve.  I'm not ashamed to admit that I walked around on my knees upstairs late on Christmas Eve to get a feel for what my kids might feel and see the next morning.  This was my favorite view and made me want to run into the room they were sleeping in and yell "Santa came!  Santa came!  Getupgetupgetup!" even though it was only midnight.
6 - My beautiful boy.
7 - I stood in the same spot for 12 minutes while crowds of people swarmed around me so I could get a picture of the train going through the tunnel.
8 - It's true that I'm having a hard time finding beautiful things here in Vegas... but the energy of downtown is pretty fun.
9 - Bellagio gardens.  That tree is real, folks.  I don't even know how they got it in or out of there, but I'm glad I wasn't on the vacuuming committee.

10 - Hiking in the red rocks.  Isn't the light coming through that crevice gorgeous?!  And the way it lights up the rocks and the sand...?  Beautiful.

11 - Layers.

12 - Ever since I was a kid I've loved blown glass.  The foyer in the Bellagio has its entire ceiling covered in it - impressive and stunning.
13 - Kids getting along under the Christmas tree - happy beauty.
14 - I'm just realizing that this picture doesn't actually belong in December... because technically it was taken very first thing in January.  The start of a new year feels beautiful to me.
15 - Hot chocolate bar.  One of the most beautiful things of all.  Milk, thick and creamy, pumpkin spice, and peppermint white hot chocolate kept us warm and happy on New Years Eve.
16 - Happy New Year!
17 - Okay, back to real December.  Cactus lights... there is something beautiful and unique to the desert!
18 - Carson got a new guitar for Christmas this year.  Hearing him play and sing... there aren't even words. B.E.A.U.T.I.F.U.L.
19 - My love.
20 - Gorgeous colors.

21 - It's a good thing he is so darn beautiful... because he's also testing boundaries and exploring his curiosity with a determination that none of my other children have had.  At the end of my days, I'll collapse on the couch and think, "What in the world happened to me to make me so exhausted today?"  And then I remember, "Timothy.  Timothy happened to me."

22 - Sweet compassion.  If I'm thirsty, TK thinks, then the dog might be thirsty, too.
23 - My favorite new ornament this year.  A (glass, of course) beautiful alligator to remind us of the Everglades.
24 - This, perhaps, should have been in the first collage... decorating for Christmas.  Somehow the lights dangling down from over the fireplace hit me and made me smile.
25 - More Bellagio gardens. Those ornaments were as big as me (though, hopefully they were a little rounder than I am).
26 - Only Timothy could make getting into Daddy's shaving cream beautiful.  At least he had the perspective to strip down to his diaper before the fun.  Too bad he forgot to shut the shower door so the bathmats wouldn't get creamed.  And how he did all of it in the three minutes I left him alone?  Magic.
27 - Pretty ornaments.
28 - New garland for my mantle this year.
29 - TK helping grandma set the table for our Christmas Eve dinner.  It's beautiful watching grandparents love my kids.
30 - More cactus lights.

31 - Beautiful chunks of my heart right there in front of you.

November Harvest

1 - What on earth does this ugly bird have to do with a beauty harvest, you might wonder.  Well, first of all, he's really not that ugly if you take a minute to stare at him.  Actually, he's quite remarkable and I do find his feathers (and his face) rather beautiful.  Second of all, this is a roadrunner, and he - in my backyard - represents a beautiful part of November for me.  Of course, you'll need a short explanation in order to understand why.

We'll be real for just a minute and admit that November was not really a month of happys for me.  With November came the realization that--- I moved.  And that this place is very different than the other places I've known and loved.  Of course, there is a lot of hope that I will come to love this place too.  But I guess with November came the fear that I might not. 

You might have noticed that I fell quite far behind on my Harvest posts and that this is the third one in a row to complete the catch-up.  The reason for this is kind of coded in the words above.  This place is very different, and the beauty here is hard for me to find.  I have kept my eyes peeled and my camera close, but at the end of every month I have been scared to sift through and count the number of pictures I'd taken of Beauty because, what if I didn't have enough to fill a whole post?  Of course, the post is not really the important thing here.  But the symbol of the post... the proof that I can live here and love it here because 'here' is beautiful, too... 

Anyway, we're almost to the roadrunner, I promise.

I was feeling quite down one mid-November day, mulling through all of these thoughts in my head while cleaning the kitchen, and sent a silent prayer to the heavens that went something like, "Okay, Heavenly Father... I need some beauty.  I don't know if I just can't see it here very well, or if it's really not here, but please help me figure out how to fix this problem."  An hour later...

Enter Mr. Roadrunner.

He came into our backyard and ran around in circles while those of us who were home stared, laughing, with our noses pressed against the glass.  Have you ever seen a roadrunner run in circles?  You would laugh, too.  Brian dropped some bread outside to encourage him to stay, and despite TK chasing him out of the fence a few times, he did.  I'd never seen him before and I (sadly) haven't seen him since, but he sure picked the perfect day to come.  So he was an answer to my prayer, you see.   That's why he's beautiful to me.

Also, this funny (true) story:
The alarm clock rang at 6:00am this morning.  I hit the snooze button without opening my eyes and, as always, wished the night would have been longer.
"know what you should do?" I heard Brian slur through his sleepy cobwebs.
"hmmm?" I responded without moving my mouth
"you should post one of those pictures of the roadrunner on Facebook and see if anyone knows what it is."
"...?..."  I processed his sentence for ten seconds before mustering up enough energy to say, "that was your first thought this morning?"
We laughed, and it started our morning off beautifully.

2 - My sister's bouquet at her wedding.  So many ways beautiful.
3 - The boutonniere (geez!  had to look up the spelling on that one and check it five thousand times before I was sure it was correct!).
4 - Who knew Cold Stone could make their goods beautiful enough for a wedding reception?
5 - Sun kissed clouds
6 - Love this guy
7 - One cool thing about this city is that we are quite close to the airport, and that the skies are generally clear, so we get cool designs drawn in the sky.
8 - Patterns and textures
9 - Light.  Such beautiful light.
10 - Really beautiful if you think about it.

11 - This girl.  So beautiful from the inside on out.

12 - Just melt my little heart
13 - And then do it again.
14 - I loved the way the sun came through these puffy flowery things
15 - Okay... this may be one of my favorite pictures of this place so far.  I love the color of the sky, the hiding sun, the lines, the palm trees, the mountains in the distance... dreamy.
16 - You funny little flower, you.
17 - Oh Mr. Roadrunner. 
18 - My handsome men.  Beautiful that my husband carried around my scarf for me and largely forgot it was around his neck.
19 - Sweet feet.
20 - Pies! Pies! Pies!

21 - See, we are making friends.

22 - Another line in the sky.  And two beautiful kids to make the picture great.
23 - Oh Miles.  Please don't grow another second.  You are perfect.
24 - Yummmmm... Chocolate and pumpkin spice.
25 - So many places to explore.
26 - More puffy bushes!
27 - Love the light coming through these leaves.
28 - Some color.  I love the green wherever I can find it.
29 - I made the pie, one of my best friends made the gorgeous lattice top... beautiful.
30 - Bellagio fountains.  I really don't think I will ever get tired of watching them. 

31 - One more little tree trying to represent fall.  You are loved and noticed, beautiful little tree.

October Harvest

1 - I do love decorating for Christmas, but decorating for fall is my favorite.  I love the colors and the smells, the warmth and the coziness...beautiful.

2 - Full moon through the palm trees
3 - Beautiful lighting this night as we walked into the temple.
4 - You know what I'd like to know?  Who had the patience to place all of those rocks just so?  The kids ran around and around the spiral -- first in towards the middle, and then back out again.
5 - Oh grass.  I do love you.
6 - Oh rain.  I do love you.
7 - I think these are my favorite flowers ever.  Aren't they just so delicate and colorful?
8 - But roses might be my favorite, too.
9 - The pride that went into decorating this cookie from a certain five-year-old.  Beautiful.
10 - Love this guy.

11 - The sunsets are really remarkable here when the clouds come out.

12 - I smile every time I see these two plants nestled together in my backyard.
13 - Sun-rays from my parent's backyard
14 - Plane in the bright pink sky.
15 - Another Vegas sunset.  I swear I didn't touch the color in this photo in post-processing.  It really was that vibrant.
16 - This kid.  Melts me.
17 - I was lucky to be able to go to Utah for a weekend to go to my sister's bridal shower.  It was the perfect time to go because the leaves were changing and falling.
18 - Halloween festivities.  Next year, I want one of those lights that puts sparkles on my house!
19 - More fallen leaves in my parents yard.  I may have to find a yard here with one autumn tree to love.
20 - My sister's hand with her beautiful ring.

21 - Did I mention that this is my favorite flower?  I seriously need to get back to it with my big girl camera someday.

22 - Happy red flower
23 - This was a mess.  A beautiful mess.  I stared at that big green glob hanging from that knife and felt all warm and fuzzy inside because it was one of those moments when I realized that I'm living exactly the kind of life I've always wanted.
24 - First of all, hello bird.  Second of all, gorgeous orange flowers!
25 - Only my mom could make a Costco cake look beautiful on a table.
26 - Beautiful rose
27 - My parents beautiful entryway.
28 - Fall colors!  This little tree was trying its hardest to represent the fall season.  Thank you, tree.  Thank you.
29 - More of my mom's decorating skills
30 - I loved the way the light came through the bottom of this vase.  Beautiful.

31 - Deep blue sky... flower depths... beautiful.

September Harvest

1 - You know what's beautiful?  Seeing a whole group of teenage girls (most of whom know next to nothing about basketball) come together and play their hearts out on the court.  They were mostly excited at the dress code they came up with: tie-died shirts and knee-high crazy socks.  We won some games, we lost some games, but at the end of every single one, there were tons of smiles, lots of laughter and high fives all around. 

2 - Handrail at the Hoover Dam. 
3 - All through the month of September, whenever I thought about Michelle and Jake getting married I would get all choked up with happy feelings.  Engagements and marriages are beautiful.
4 - This really shouldn't be 'beautiful'... but it strangely is for a couple of reasons.  1) he truly was having so much fun, and isn't it always beautiful when your child is having that great of a time? and 2) I reacted with laughter instead of horror - and that made the whole situation much more beautiful. (It would have been even more beautiful if I had cleaned the toilet recently... but you can't have everything, right?)
5 - Funny cactus on my morning walk
6 - Sigh. Just him.
7 - Love the bark on this guy.
8 - My beautiful parents
9 - Green!  Like, real, alive green instead of dry, desert green.
10 - Cactus and clouds... love that combination

11 -The view from over my back fence.  Lucky us getting to live on a golf course.  (Plus, my kids get to keep all of the golf balls they find in the backyard, so win-win.)

12 - The sunlight playing in his hair!
13 - My handsome date for a fun formal night
14 - Storm clouds rolled in one night and, I kid you not, everyone was outside taking pictures of the sky.
15 - My kids call these rocks the chicken-pox-rocks. 
16 - Fire. Pretty.
17 - Desertscape
18 - A storm.  A storm!  It rained!
19 - Reflector on the side of the road.  The colors and patterns...
20 - Cute little thing.

21 - Carson is taking guitar this year.  One night, after tucking all the kids into their beds, I came down and saw this cute scene. I'm sure the guitars were put up on top of the couch to get them away from Timothy Hands, but something about that little guitar snuggling up to the big guitar (and all that that could symbolize) was beautiful to me.   

22 - This guy belongs in a Dr. Seuss book for sure.
23 - View from the giant windows in the library.
24 - Sweet little guy.  Love seeing him having so much fun.
25 - Sunlight through the clouds. Let's pretend that the little reflecting patch in the bottom of the picture is a gorgeous lake, okay?  Because the reality that it's just the dashboard of the car is sorely disappointing.
26 - I love this fun, yellow color.
27 - Water. Water is beautiful.  Even if it's just coming out of a sprinkler.
28 (and 29 and 30) - Impressiveness of the Hoover Dam.  Plus, water. :)

31 - Cactus bush.

August Harvest

The beach is gone.

That makes these harvests quite a bit harder, you know. 

But, look!  Turns out there is beauty in the desert after all. 

1 - I am falling more and more in love with my camera phone every day.  For such a tiny, multipurpose thing, it sure did a good job with all the levels of light at the Bellagio, didn't it?  And isn't the color of that sky dreamy?  (Not captured, Andrea Bocelli's voice coming through the loudspeakers.  Also dreamy.)

2 - Cute little things.  The picture doesn't do a good job of showing you what this tiny bush actually looks like (though, I love the picture the way it is), but this is the tip of one in front of my house.  We have several of them lining our walkway and they were the first things that made me feel that maybe we could do this whole desert thing.  Foxtails, they're called. 
3 - I think these flowers look like happy eyelashes.
4 - Silhouettes.  I don't know why they're so hard for me to get right, but I just love a good one.
5 - Dancing sunlight
6 - Does this even need a caption?  He was on cloud nine after that spare - and those curls bouncing on his head just kill me.
7 - Cactus.
8 - Another plant in our yard.  I think it kind of looks like someone needs to take a hairbrush through all those tangles... but light can make most anything beautiful.
9 - Do you know we're back in the land of Not Making Our Own Fry Sauce?
10 - The. Best. Burger. I. Have. Ever. Ever. Ever. Ever. Eaten.  I will be back to this place.

11 - Everyone needs a role model.

12 - Sunny Grass
13 - I'm finding I'm developing an affinity for the color orange.
14 - Red Rock
15 - Beautiful.  Beautiful boys.
16 - So symmetrical.
17 - Uninviting in such a beautiful way.
18 - My parents live in an amazing place.
19 - You guys.  It rained.  And I loved it.
20 - My McKenzie.  She's beautiful.  So is that sky.

21 - It was dark, and I didn't have a tripod but, lightning, so I had to try!  It's grainy and fuzzy, but also beautiful.

22 - Tiny little spider-webby fibers.  And notice the new growth on the cladode in the bottom right corner. (Don't I sound smart? (Google helped.))
23 - First day of school bacon.  Sometimes it's nice to put Brian in charge of breakfast.
24 - Sigh.  My beautiful boy.  He's growing up, you know.  Turned 8.
25 - Tiny corndogs.
26 - Fuzzy leaves
27 - Isn't the way the light is playing off of this pillar pretty?
28 - My second dessert plate at the Wicked Spoon.  Trust me, it was a beautiful thing.  Also, I just realized that this is the third picture of food in this one collage... hm.
29 - First day of school.  You know how many kids I had shopping with me that day?  ONE!  One.  Just one.
30 - Such a funny, cloudless sunset!

31 - Isn't that baby precious?  Even more beautiful is the fun and love he'll share with Poppy all through his life.