February: back in CO

After a long, fabulous time away from Colorado Springs, I am back in town. It's good to be back, and being back means it's that much closer to the time that Stoney comes home. I can't wait for both of us to be here, together!

On Valentine's Day I arrived back in Colorado Springs with my wonderful mom who made the drive from Texas with me. It was nice to spend Valentine's day with Mom and a great friend of mine, Andrea. Mom was able to hang around for about a day before flying back home.

Then, on Tuesday, my sister-in-law arrived for a visit with my three (ADORABLE!) nieces. She was here for the week, and we had a wonderful time playing in CS. I'm so happy they came to see me, Colorado, and the snow! Here are a few photos from the week. You can see more on PJ's blog. We had so much fun sledding down my driveway, going to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, exploring Garden of the Gods, watching the Olympics (and a really old version of Cinderella), eating ice cream at my favorite ice cream shop in town (Josh and John's), and lots of playing. Here are a few snap shots for you.

I'm so glad you guys came, PJ, and I hope you all had a great time. I loved it!




This is Trinity hold up a really big rock at Garden of the Gods.


This is Micah pretending to be a mountain climber (I think there were some aspects of Micah's dinosaur in this pose as well).




Emory and Micah at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.




It's been snowing here, of and on, for the last couple of days. There has also been some freezing rain...does anyone know why the ice forms this way? The tree does not have thorns normally. I'm sure I learned why this happens [way back when], but I don't remember.




Much love, and stay warm!

Refreshing...

Refreshing. That one word sums up our New Zealand holiday. Stoney and I had such a wonderful time together, and we couldn't have asked for a more perfect R&R. Anywhere else we go now, we will always compare to our time in NZ. The country is clean, the landscape is only something you see in movies...or your dreams, the people kind, and the food is amazing. Here are a few of my personal favorite photos.









































Now, Stoney and I are back to reality and we are praying for the next few months to go by quickly.
I'm sure there will be even more New Zealand photos to come. I hope everyone is having a good start to their week.

Much love!

A wee post on our Kiwi Holiday...Part 2

Since our last update we've driven down the west coast of the south island, relaxed in Wanaka, enjoyed an overnight cruise on a sailboat in Milford Sound of the Fiordland National Park, and had some fun in Queenstown. We're savoring every second we have together and wanted to share a few more of our memories with you...

Love,
Ali and Stoney

A wee post on our Kiwi Holiday...

We are having a blast in New Zealand and wanted to share a few of the memories with you; there are still many more days to come of our Kiwi Holiday.




...Cathedral Cove in Hahei on the Coromandel Peninsula of the north island


...wine tasting in Marlborough, south island


...stopped for a stretch along the Canterbury Plains and this was the scenery




...ice-climbing in the Franz-Josef Glacier of the Southern Alps


...the sunset along the Okarita Lagoon Beach on the west coast

Brainwash!!!

First of all, sorry I've been absent from the blog for so long. Please don't stop checking in for updates! ;)

So, I'm officially famous... I'm on Lauren Clark's blog! On my way home to Texas for Christmas, I drove through Lubbock for my Brainwash session that I won at the Love Affair Photography workshop I went to this past July in Atlanta. Not only is Lauren a fabulous photographer, but a great person as well. We hung out all day and talked about photography things...it was wonderful. You can check out her website here, and the direct link to her blog post about my Brainwash Session here.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, and Happy 2010!

The Stickley's

I met Christy Stickley at the Love Affair Photography Workshop I attended in Atlanta at the end of July. She and her adorable family are from the Denver area. Christy is an awesome photographer, a great wife to her hubby, and most importantly, a fantastic mother to four kiddos. You might be saying..."but wait Ali, there are only three kids in the pictures below..." She actually had her fourth this last week!

Congratulations Stickley Family, and welcome baby Colleen!