Snow Shoing, Skiing- Colorado

Last week we went to Colorado to visit my brother, who is working as a ski instructor at Copper Mountain.

On Sunday we went snow shoeing. Boy, was that an adventure. If you have never done it, I recommend it. Don't let the instant failure keep you from trying. Once you get the hang of it, and learn how to balance your weight on the shoe, it can be great fun. We found a great place to snow shoe. It was actually on a golf course, but you would never know, considering the feet of snow covering the ground.
I ended up loving it, although I wasn't so sure at first. It did get a bit frustrating when you would walk a few steps and find that you had sunk in snow up to your hips. Eventually though, we got it down and ended up walking quite a distance. :)

The next day,as  if our legs weren't already sore enough, we went skiing on the mountain where my brother works. I L.O.V.E skiing. I am not fantastic at it, but I sure do enjoy it! My brother is a great teacher and gave me a bunch of tips to help me improve. That pictures (above) was taken from the top of mountain (almost the top). After a full day of skiing, we were exhausted. Except my brother who is used to skiing 6 days a week.

All in all it was a GREAT trip! We weren't there for nearly long enough, but I'm glad I got to see my brother! It is so gorgeous out there. It takes my breath away every time I visit.

*film pictures will be posted, once developed. I promise :)
            -Maddy K.

Guess What!!

Hello, All!!
Right now I am in Colorado! I'm so excited to catch up with friends and family, go skiing, snow shoeing a.n.d see my brother! I haven't seen my brother in quite sometime and anytime the family is all together great memories are made :)
Can't wait to share pics with you when I get back! I brought my film camera, so I'm looking forward to gazing at the mountains through my lens!

Until then,
Maddy K.

It's Just Great

My mom and I drove down to Sarasota on Friday to join my aunts and Grandma to celebrate my Grammy's 81st birthday...

Going to the beach in February adds a whole different aspect to Florida. It's different, but in a lot of ways the same. You wake up to find the waves continually rolling in like they always have, the sun welcoming the day, the wind making the trees dance... it's all the same. The only difference is waking up and not knowing if you will wear a bathing suit or a sweatshirt down to the beach.
Now, this Georgia girl that has been stuck under a heap of clouds the past few weeks has been desperate for a peek at the sun. I lay there, basking in the sun, smothered in sunscreen, dreaming the day away, and enjoyed every second of the quiet. It's just great.

*pictures to come :)

AWAKE '11

I

This is a picture of me and the rest of my cabin from a church youth retreat I went on last weekend. We went to the mountains in Tennessee... can I just say. B.E.A.U.T.I.F.U.L!
It was so fun :) We had the beast cabin! The speaker and music directors were awesome,
and the Lord spoke, AWAKEning our souls. He is continually teaching me to trust him and his plans/direction for my life. It was a great weekend!

Holiday Events

We went ice-skating for my cousin's bday on Wednesday. I LOVE ice skating. Who doesn't? (Oh I know... e-liz. sorry. love you!) Anyway... we had a lot of fun. And might I add that I did not fall :) I almost did (several times), but I kept my balance!

This is one of my 3 cousins on my dad's side, Brooke (the birthday girl). They came to visit all the way from Ohio! She is too sweet:) And that little munchkin in the background, is Brandi, She's a nut.. haha. I love them, and their brother, Tanner.

We had a great Christmas. It was great to spend time with family, singing songs around the campfire, chasing chickens, launching things with a bean-bag and a wooden board... yeah we have fun together:) 

It was a great week of Celebrating Jesus Birthday!

I hope you all had a great Christmas as well!

That time of year

Christmas lights, stockings, trees, nutcrackers, candles, shopping, cookies, ornaments, candy canes, ginger bread houses, caroling, bells, sweaters, Santa hats, fuzzy socks... 

yup it's that time of year. Let the count down begin.

Loving Life!

Finally, the weather is in the beginning stages of cooling off. It is still hot, but it's a little cooler... you have to start somewhere... Yesterday we had a ton of fun with some friends out at the Cabin. (can you believe I forgot my camera??! Me either!) Today I am hanging out with a friend. I have a packed week this week... packed with fun that is. Everyday, something fun, new and out of the ordinary! I love life :)
I look forward to the youth slip'n slide on Monday, a field trip on Tuesday, my last art class on Wednesday... along with church afterward, Tennis on Thursday, and Piano lessons on Friday... I'll have to let you know how that goes, so far... I am not a prodigy child ;)
I also have some pictures to edit for a friend... I'm working on it Mary Helen...I promise I'll get them done for you. :)
Have a great week!!

EDGE

This week I am headed to covenant College in Tennessee with my church for a youth camp until Friday, June 25th. I am looking forward to all the awesome/crazy things that we will get to do. One day we go to white water!! I am excited to see lots of my friends and get to know them better. Most of all I can't wait to see the amazing ways God works in the lives of all of us going. It will be an incredible week to remember! I will take lots of pictures to share.
Until then, Maddy

Siesta Key - Sarasota, FL

One of the best feelings :) sand between your toes!

Palm trees are the best!

Look what God painted.

This was right next to one of the restaurants we ate at.

We can't leave out the seagulls!

Last week I went to Siesta Key Beach in Sarasota, FL. My grandma owns a condo off the coast of the Gulf. Last Monday my mom and I as well as some friends took a 6 hour road trip to the beach! There is nothing like surfing waves and building a sand castle with close friends on a hot Summer day! We had a blast. It was a great opportunity for me to practice taking pictures. The sunset was breath-taking. It was definitely a week to remember!

Coming up!

• Pictures from my week at the beach coming up later this weekend!
  

Summer Begins!

Summer is here at last! It has been a while since I have blogged and i apologies.There are several pictures from various events that i need to post. I will get on that! Hold me to my word!
Here are some things that have gone on the past week and will go on soon.

• My great Grandma's funeral in Iowa. Even though it was sad, it was good to see family I haven't seen in quite sometime and meet my new baby cousin:)
• Read, read, read- Christy Miller
• Swim with friends! Also I have been helping my mom teach swim lessons during the late afternoons.
• This weekend much of the same things will be going on. In spare summer time I paint, read, take pictures, ride my bike...I just love summer! :)
• Oh, also I am watching a pet hamster for the summer.
  
• Starting on Monday we head to the beach until Saturday. I will post pictures of Iowa before I leave and then when I come home I will post pictures of my time at the beach

I hope you have a marvelous summer yourselves making memories and hanging out with friends and family :) Love, Maddy

SURPRISE!

She was so surprised!

Such a beautiful bird

Mom and Riley

Riley and the bird

Mack didn't like it to much

For my mom's birthday this year we went to Discovery Cove in Orlando Florida to swim with the dolphins. This has been her life long dream.
My dad planned everything, and we helped keep it a surprise. When she found out her birthday surprise which she was last expecting they were on a walk. Me and my sister met my brother up at the school. We set everything up, and not only was she thrilled to swim with the dolphins, but her son was home. We packed up and left that day. The whole family.
Before we swam with the dolphin (next post) we got the chance to go into the Aviary. There were so many neat birds of all kinds. Peacocks, turkeys, toucans, and other beautiful birds. We each got cups of food and the birds flew right up and ate out of our hands. One bird even sat on my head. It was so fun! It was so nice to have the whole family together!

Coming up!

Get Excited because I have at least 3 posts worth of pictures from my sister's prom and my mom's birthday surprise. Unfortunately school got the best of me this week with tests, so when I have time I will load, edit and post the memories.
Until then,
Maddy

Danielle's Prom

My sister's friend, Danielle Vogal asked me to take pictures of her and her date for her Senior Prom. I was thrilled with the privileged to take pictures at Wesleyan in this wonderful weather. Danielle looked gorgeous. I had a great time snapping away. I am proud to present the first pictures that I have edited on Photoshop. Thanks Danielle for a great time :)

The GREENHOUSE!

The Greenhouse is an opportunity for Middle school students to GROW in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ (as read in flier), hosted by my church youth group. We will learn what is means to grow in your relationship with Christ, as well as play games, worship, have lots of fun with our friends and sleep...maybe ;). It is from Friday night to Saturday afternoon. I am super excited to go again. I always have a great time and learn so much from the speakers. I look forward to learning more about God's incredible love that he has for me!!!!

Balloon Glow??

Kerinsa Mullins

TONS of people

One of the hot air balloons that never went up in the air...

I had a great chance to go take pictures with an awesome photographer a few weeks ago! Kerinsa Mullins was my 6th grade English teacher. I loved her class :) Over the past few months, she tremendously helped me out with my photography. We have gotten together a couple times so she could show me the ropes. She has taught me tons. We decided to go to the balloon glow during cherry blossom. Though the balloons weren't as great as we had anticipated, we still had a great time snapping pictures. :) Thank you so much Mrs. Mullins for everything you have taught me It means the world to me!!!

To see incredible pictures visit:
http://www.kerinsamarie.com/

A Wonderful Week

My great friend Katherine invited me to go to her grandma's house with her family, and their friends, the Durhams. I had gone with her 2 other times, so I was thrilled to go again! We always have tons of fun together getting muddy, painting, swimming, riding horses, looking for treasures and picking flowers! On her grandma's farm there an endless amount of property. I had so much fun spending time with Katherine and her family. Here is a peek at just some of the fun we had!

On the second night we got to camp! Everyone nearly froze to death, surprisingly I was the only warm one. Well, as warm as you can stay while camping in the cold ;)

Me, Anna Leigh, Porter and Katherine. We went wading in the river while it was extremely cold.

There was an entire field of daffodils! They are so beautiful. We loved picking them. I am a 'selective flower picker' as Kat would call me ;)

They smell wonderful!

We made such good memories! I was honored to become part of the Bolles family for a few days, and experience some of their many adventures once again! :)

Cherry Blossom Festival

Today we went downtown to the cherry blossom festival where there were several unique items for sale. I had the joy of "shopping" with my mom and her friend for the afternoon. I mainly took pictures of anything unusual that I could find. There were tons of neat things to look at!

The most photographed dog of the day... sad thing is...it isn't a female dog. :) poor guy

This fish which is one of many shapes, sized and colors is made out of a water bottle. It was painted on the inside of the bottle. Very creative!

There were endless amounts of jewelry. Most of them handcrafted.

Ok, these are so cool! Inside this glass bottle is a hanging candle. When you light the candle, it becomes a lantern. It can be for indoor or outdoor use. We got one for our front porch. I thought they were so pretty!

The guy that made these signs himself had about 100 signs hanging all over.

I'm not quite sure what KUROBE means, but they were hanging on several of the trees and i thought it looked festive.
Wonderful weather, beautiful sky, a pink town and my camera all making for a perfect day!!