School's Out for Summer!

What a busy week! Celebrations galore.

Sunday: Mags was awarded her gold award from Girl Scouts. Monday was their final Girl Scout get together. I think 11 out of the 14 received their gold award. They all were in the honors programs and were 3.6 or higher and for many of them, 4.0 and above. All of them college bound and a very impressive list of schools. I'm especially proud of them as I was able to be the girl scout leader for some back when they were daisies - in Kindergarten.

Thursday were the graduations: My youngest graduated middle school at 2pm and my oldest from high school at 4pm. It was a whirlwind day. A quick version: Deliver large wooden compasses, (painted this week - see below), clean house, drop mom, park car, run 6 blocks in heals, find saved seats, realize missed my kid being announced, my watch had stopped.... oops.

Find kid, race to car, drop mom & kid, park car, walk to stadium, hunt for hub & son, call cell--no answer 4 times, find hub, grad starts, wave of emotion as I see my baby walking in graduation cap all smiles.

Wow did eighteen years go by fast.

So did the day. Next? - Grad Night. Back to school 8pm.

PLAY BALL!

Photo shoot at Blair Field for a Long Beach State baseball game. Dirtbags vs Matadors. I love Long Beach. Born and raised there. Love the people - love the community. I can remember years ago driving into the OC for work and having to change my thought process. Now that I live there, I'm used to it. ((to some degree)) What is the difference? I would say that people are guarded within the stereotypical OC. I remember a woman in Newport referring to lower levels of society as "grocery store people". That made me disgusted. From then on I referred to myself as a grocery store person. I like grocery store people. Now don't get me wrong, there are plenty of wonderful people that live in the OC. Plenty. It's just the few ugly ones that bring it down. And obviously you know I mean ugly as in ugly on the inside. Beauty is as beauty does. It always floors me when I walk into an upscale shop and the sales clerk looks down to me. Really? Let's take away the reality that I don't have the money anyhow to purchase anything, who is working and who is "potentially" buying?

Oh don't get me started... Let's Play Ball!

Wilson High School has some great graffiti. Would love to shoot this from up above and have subjects laying all over it.

Natural Beauty

Natural Beauty in the OC is in!

This location is just up the street and lends to some lovely backgrounds.

There is so much beauty in this world- - just have to take your lens cap off.

Got Pipes?

There is something intriguing about all the pipes that makes me keep going back to this location. I am one of those that likes junk, I guess. These two are sisters. They are kind and gentle souls. Both very bright, articulate, and have the world at their fingertips.

"Sisters is probably the most competitive relationship within the family, but once the sisters are grown, it becomes the strongest relationship."

- Margaret Mead

In my family, there are three sisters. I would say that we are very competitive with each other. I never knew I was, but now, it has really become a game. I know I will never be better than my sisters, but I love the challenge. (And it keeps them on their toes!)