:PHOTOS: Eagle

On the way to in-laws a couple weeks ago, we saw this eagle out in a field and scrambled to take a few shots from the car.

(Click an image to see a larger view.)

 Quite a sight!!

:PHOTOS: My Cute Little Car Hop

Kaitlin got SO MANY smiles and comments on her costume this year.

With all the locations we trick-or-treated around town, we didn't see one other girl with a similar costume and she took a lot of pride that she picked something so unique.

Wouldn't you buy a burger and a soda from her??

:PHOTOS: At the Pumpkin Patch...

LOVE the annual trip to the pumpkin patch!!

Here's a few favorites from our trip from a couple weekends ago...

(click any image for a larger view)

:PHOTOS: Indian Summer...Part II...

Same day, same outfit, different location...

(click any image for a larger view)

:PHOTOS: Indian Summer...Part I...

Where did the summer go??

Luckily, we recently enjoyed a bit of an Indian summer and finally had the opportunity to go out and do a shoot in this outfit...which I've been wanting to take pictures of Kaitlin in ALL summer!

(click any image for a larger view)

Love those boots!

AND that smile!

In almost every shoot, she has to throw in a few of these for good measure! Love my goofy girl!

:LIFE: A new toy...

I disappeared for a few days...

That's what happens when you clumsily spill water on your laptop and fry your motherboard.

Sad...

I took it in not sure how bad it was, but basically it could very well have cost more to fix than it would be to buy something new (and potentially better).

My Dell served me well...I do wonder how many hours I logged on that thing in the 3 3/4 years I owned it. So, it has been respectfully laid to rest and replaced with this:

HP Dandelion Breeze 15.6″ Pavilion G6-1B59WM Laptop 

Isn't she cute! Actually, my first choice was a very similar model in black and red, but the only one left was the display...didn't really want that.

So, I went with this one instead - which Kaitlin felt was really the right choice from the start anyway :-). After all, it featured shades of her two favorite colors...good thing I like them, too.

Thankfully, my hard drive had been spared, so everything (all my pictures, documents and more) were transferred onto this puppy and now I ready to roll again.

:PHOTOS: Black Hills Vacation...Day Four

It may have taken a while for me to get through all our vacation photos, but the vacation itself sure flew by.

We might have been heading back east (and home) on our fourth day, but we still had a very full day planned.

First up was a quick stop at Wall Drug...

"Mom! Look where Dad put his hand!"

Throughout the trip, we had been keep a list of all the state license plates and added quite a few just by walking up and down the street at Wall Drug.

We ended up with every state except Vermont and Hawaii. We also had about four Canadian provinces on our list!

Then, it was off for a drive through the Badlands. Talk about some amazing views!

Kaitlin wanted a closer look.

I found this lonely little flower in the Badlands...actually one of my favorite pics from the day.

Justin and Kaitlin had to get some climbing in, of course.

On the way out of the Badlands, we stopped at Prairie Dog Town.

This guy was hungry...

Then, since none of us had ever been to the Oahe Dam, we decided it was a must see stop, especially with the record water releases.

Obviously, the water was a lot higher than normal!

This water was rushing out of pipes that are 15 feet in diameter.

Then, we took Hwy 183 and came across this...

I guess we didn't have to drive all the way across the state to see buffalo.

Of course, it was totally worth it...can't wait for another family vaca!!