The Jolley's in Upstate New York

 The week was literally filled with everything Christmas-just the way it should be.  And what a week.  We had made a reservation for something called Lights on the Lake.  It's a drive through light show on the banks of Onandaga Lake and it is a Syracuse tradition.  We were excited to go and thought since we were going to be in Syracuse we would make a point of going to Costco and to see Clinton Square in Syracuse. So this picture is titled Christmas in the City! (this is Clinton Square) And it has become one of my favorite photos. It was freezing cold but the music filled the air and the ice skaters were having a grand time.  Needless to say, 17 minutes on our parking meter was plenty of time to shoot, quickly walk around the square, and get back into the car. But I got the shot and I love it.  We had gotten a call, earlier in the day, from one of our office missionaries asking if we were maybe coming to Syracuse sometime that week-they wanted to give ...

I didn't post last week because we had the chance to run away and do some celebrating with our two daughters who graduated with their Master's Degrees.  We had special permission from our Area Presidency to be with them for their special day.  It was awesome! These girls have worked so hard for the past few years to graduate from BYU Idaho with their Bachelor's degrees and now from The University of Southern Mississippi, both with a Master's in Child and Family Science.  Way to go ladies! After graduation in Hattiesburg Mississippi, we headed for New Orleans for two days.  We had such a great time eating Beignet's in Jackson Square, taking a river boat cruise up the Mississippi, visiting a battlefield, walking through the Roosevelt, A Waldorf Astoria Hotel to see the Christmas lights, and the Ritz Carlton to see their gingerbread Trolly Car.   We went on a little swamp cruise in the Bayou to see gators.  We saw lots of gators. And some turtles! One thing on...

We spent some time in our car on Monday looking for a perfect post card shot for when the snow flies.  I have this idea in my head that I want to capture a Normal Rockwell kind of Christmas village in a snow storm.  There are plenty of enchanting towns here but I want one that I can shoot from on top of a hill so I am shooting down into the town that surrounds the perfect little white church. You know that picture!  The one on Christmas cards!  We'll see if I truly get that shot.  It's on my bucket list.  And Mike?  Well, you know how he indulges me.  We did find some pretty cool trees, completely bare now and hosting a bit of snow at their feet.  I think any season is probably beautiful here! We had the chance to pick up one of our friends from the hospital after a test where they put her out and she couldn't drive.  We love her and were so happy that she had asked us.  She doesn't rely on people very often so it was a nice treat. ...