So I am taking an on-line photography class with Maggie Holmes. She's an awesome photographer. I'm having a lot of fun. Since Caleb won't let me take pictures of him everyday, I have been practicing with Bear. Sorry if you are all sick of Bear pictures. Here's some pics I got of him today. I think they turned out pretty cute...and I shot them all in Manual mode. The bottom one could be a little sharper, but he's kind of wiggly. I have to take what I can get.

I finally have some of my portfolio put together and up on the internet. I just created a separate blog for it. I will be adding to it here and there. It took me forever to find stuff, and I am still looking for lost projects. :)

www.hillarybarney.blogspot.com

Sometimes they are sweet...sometimes they are sour.

Thursday night I went to the Iron & Wine concert at the Gallivan Center downtown. They are free on Thursday nights in the summer. It is always packed with people. I met Mindy, Maria & Bev there. We had a great time.

I didn't take this picture. I got it off their website. This is what a typical concert looks like on Thursday nights.


Bev, Me, Mindy & Maria at the show.

Last week I got to meet my parents and Ashley in Lake Tahoe and stay for a while. It was so relaxing, and we had such a great time.

The first day I got there, we rode the gondola at Heavenly ski resort.


The view was so beautiful from the viewing point on the Gondola.


Then, we took this chairlift up to the top of the mountain.


We saw these really cool crop circles.


The next day we went on a paddle boat cruise out to Emerald Bay. Emerald Bay is the second most photographed place in the United States. The first is Niagera Falls. The water is so beautiful.




Coming in to Emerald Bay. The water gets more of a greenish color in the bay...hence the name, Emerald Bay.




There is a big Osprey nest in the dead tree towards the left of this picture.


That night we went to an Abba show at Harrah's. They were an Abba impersonation band. It was really good and very entertaining. We learned that Abba has sold the most records next to the Beatles & Elvis. I didn't know they were that far up there. I didn't get any pictures at the show, but my mom did. She posted them on her blog.

The next day we hiked about 1.5 miles into Emerald Bay to Vikingsholm. It's this large mansion that was built as a summer home by Mrs. Lora Josephine Knight in 1929.


I loved her china.


She also had a little tea house build on the little island in the middle of Emerald Bay.


The hike in was gorgeous. Here we are at the top.


We saw this bluejay on our hike. I got him just as he was flying away.


Ashley and I hiking up to Eagle falls too.


We had such a great time. Thanks mom and day for everything!

My mom bought Bear a little yellow jacket in Lake Tahoe. He looks so cute in it, but he doesn't really love it yet. I think he will think it's great when it gets cold outside.



Thanks for the coat mom!

Also, coming soon....my post on Lake Tahoe. Just getting caught up on things.

On Saturday, I hiked to the top of Snowbird with Mindy & Ashley. It was a benefit hike for the Cancer Wellness House. The hike is 3.5 miles with a 3,000 foot vertical gain. We hiked to the top and took the tram back down the mountain. We had a good time. It's definitely a tough hike, but we made it and it felt good to finish. The weather was overcast. Towards the end the clouds rolled in, and it even started to snow a bit at the top. It was 40 degrees at the top...kind of cold. The cooler weather felt nice while we were hiking though. It was perfect weather for a hike.

on the trail


The view half way up.


Almost there...


The view from the top.


Ash & I at the top




Some of the flags for the honorees


Patrick Swayze


These little kids were such good sports. They sang at the top all afternoon in the cold.

Caleb and I decided to head up to Idaho on Sunday. We stayed until Tuesday afternoon. I sure enjoy being able to set my own schedule. Caleb and I are able to hang out more now that we can have some of the same days off. It was fun to be there and visit with my parents and just relax. It's so relaxing at their house.

We went up to Grand Targhee on Monday and rode the chairlift up to the top. There is a great view of the Tetons up there.

The chairlift ride up.



The view from the top




The little critter at the top. We think it was a Rock Chuck (sp?)


On the way back we stopped for the World Famous Swan Valley Square Ice Cream cones.


It was Dance Festival time in Rexburg, so we went to the parade that night. There was a storm rolling in. It held out till the end of the parade.


Bear doesn't love parades. I think he thinks they are kind of boring.


The dance team from Mexico


Sunsets in Idaho are the best.



We were able to see Jaxon and his family on Tuesday. They came over for lunch. It's always great to see them. We don't get to see them as often as we would like to.

A couple weeks ago, Caleb's Uncle Ben was in town from Denver with his family. We were all able to get together at the park. I took some pictures of everyone all together. We were all there minus 4...pretty good considering how many made it. We had a good time together.