The Queen's Throne

Good luck getting a seat around here.

A.Rogers Feb.2011

A.Rogers Feb.2011

Nothing quite like a sandy beach ObG#16

Some more pics from our short visit to Seal Beach, OC. It was too cold and windy to stay very long, although Bubser probably would have objected. He was loving it, snotty nose and all. At the time, he got around by doing what we called the "Stink Bub Crawl." The minute we put him down he was "Stink Bubbing" through the sand and grunting with excitement. "Ooohh. Ooohhh. Ohhh." He loved the sand more than any baby I have ever seen. When his mama tried to confine him and wrap him in a towel, he objected. When we decided to leave he was furious. It was so much fun to see his excitement. I am glad he loves the beach as much as we do!

A.Rogers July 2010

 Original

A.Rogers July 2010

Corel Paint It! Watercolor sketch

Precious Princess!

Such a beautiful little angel! She was so sweet and pretty content. Especially when she was in her swing.

A. Rogers Feb. 2011

A.Rogers Feb. 2011

My, how you have grown! ObG#15

A.Rogers Thanksgiving 2009

A.Rogers 2010 about 6 months old

Learning to roll over and to eat his own socks.

A.Rogers Thanksgiving 2009

Looking back to just a little over a year ago makes me smile. He was so little. What a cute little monkey!!!
Auntie Aa-ie loves you sooo much. ((((Squeezes!))))

Seal Beach, OC ObG#14

"The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever."

~Jacques Cousteau

"Every drop in the ocean counts."

~Yoko Ono

"The cure for anything is salt water- sweat, tears, or the sea."

~Isak Dinesen

A.Rogers July 2010

A.Rogers July 2010

Swinging with Daddy ObG#13

A.Rogers July 2010

Original

A.Rogers July 2010

Illustration effect (Corel "Paint It!")

I took this picture last summer when I went on a picnic up in Cedar City with my sister, Will, and Bubs to escape the heat. It was a beautiful day and even started to sprinkle a little. We took Bubs to the swings and he had a great time swinging for the first time. He caught a glimpse of a pretty little girl swinging next to him and had a hard time concentrating after that. :) What a great memory.

The Happiest Place on Earth! ObG #13

"We did it, Disneyland, in the knowledge that most of the people I talked to thought it would be a financial disaster- closed and forgotten in the first year."

~ Walt Disney

"When you believe in a thing, believe in it all the way, implicitly and unquestionably."

~ Walter Elias Disney

"Mickey Mouse popped out of my mind onto a drawing pad 
20 years ago on a train ride from Manhattan to Hollywood at a 
time when business fortunes of my brother Roy and myself 
were at lowest ebb and disaster seemed right around 
the corner."

~Walt 

"All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them."

~Walt Disney

 

A.Rogers Dec. 2009

One of the special changes made at Christmastime is a holiday overhaul on several rides (Small World and The Haunted Mansion, are the two big ones). All the puppets are replaced and signs wishing blessed holiday greetings in many languages are put up. The puppets were absolutely beautiful! 

A.Rogers Dec. 2009

Grizzly River Run in California Adventure reminds me of everything Northern California. 

I am playing catch up right now, as I have not had a minute this week to blog. Shame on me, I know. I have been looking through old pictures, because it is going to have to be an "Oldie but Goodie" week. I came upon a treasure trove of beautiful Disneyland pictures from Christmas 2009. I love Disneyland, but especially at Christmas time. It seems even more magical. The special decorations and lights just ignite the spiritual feelings of childhood, celebration, and imagination more than normal. If you haven't had the chance to yet, I encourage you, with all my energy, to try to get to Disneyland at Christmastime! You will feel a little miracle rising up in you as you enter the gates and walk down Main Street, USA toward your adventure. <3

Glad it's not my job! ObG#12

 "Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe."
  

"I desire to conduct the affairs of this administration that if at the end I have lost every other friend on earth, I shall at least have one friend left, and that friend shall be down inside of me."

"I never had a policy; I have 

just tried to do my very best 

each and every day."

Abraham Lincoln

I took these pictures at Disneyland in the hallway of the "Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln" theater. I am so glad they brought this attraction back! Such a spiritual moment to feel as though you are sitting there in an old theater listening to the great leader speak.

 A.Rogers Dec. 2009

 A.Rogers Dec. 2009

"A house divided against itself cannot stand."

A.Rogers Dec. 2009

I love the way this picture captures the stress and anguish and concern that Mr. Lincoln felt for his job and his country and his people. I love the way it makes him the focal point, yet he is so small. I am sure this is how he felt. The fate of the country was on his shoulders, yet he was only one man. I love him for his courage, his strength, his spirituality, his desire to seek God's will in the direction of the country and all things, and his firm stance on the things he knew were right.

Brrrr cold!

A.Rogers Feb. 2011

A.Rogers Feb. 2011

Rainy days like today

A.Rogers Feb. 2011

A conifer outside my home. I love the way the drops of water cling to each needle. Beautiful!

A.Rogers Feb. 2011

The basketball court at my school. Reminds me of practicing rain or shine as a kid! I also really like the way the shadow of the tree breaks across the wet cement.

A.Rogers Feb. 2011

Out here in desert country, we don't get a whole lot of rain, you know. Every time we do, the down spouts at school release floods of water like this. Pretty cool!

A word from my hero about a mother's love

A.Rogers Feb. 2011

In honor of the Great Emancipator's birthday earlier this week, and President's Day on Monday, I thought it was a great opportunity to share this image. My mom and Erin found this framed stitching at Tai Pan a couple of years ago, and the story goes that they thought of me the moment they saw it. I guess I wear my heart on my sleeve because anyone who knows me knows how much I love my America, and my Lincoln! But the quote is one that pricks my heart every time I read it. There have been several times in my life that I have opened the door to my mother's room in the morning or evening to ask her a question, or just talk to her, and I have stepped back quietly to shut the door, because she was on her knees in prayer. I know she was praying for her children harder than anything because I have seen the worry on her face every time one of her children is in trouble, pain, or grief. I love my "angel mother" (another part of this quote) and I am so grateful that Heavenly Father sent me to her.

A message to remember

A.Rogers Feb.2011

Vinyl sticker on the wall says, "In a world where you can be anything....Be Yourself." You are a special child of God, but we so easily forget how special we are while we are caught up in trying to be like someone else.

Another Awesome Sunset

A.Rogers Feb. 2011

Beloved sandals

A.Rogers Feb. 2011

A.Rogers Feb. 2011

Don't you dare suggest that I need new sandals! These are my cherished, precious desert cruisers and I will not get rid of them!

The Morning Breaks

 

A.Rogers Feb.2011

I decided to get to the school pretty early this morning because I had a lot to do, and hadn't gotten it done over the weekend. I got to the school about 7:15 and this is what I saw about 7:45. I wish that my cell phone could do a better job, the sun breaking through the clouds was just perfect, but it is still pretty good. What an amazing sight. I am so glad I walked out at that moment, because these sorts of sights are fleeting around here.

Generations of love

A.Rogers Feb.2011

A.Rogers Feb.2011

We are all aware that we don't know how much longer Grandma and Grandpa, or "Mimi" and "Papa," will be with us. Every moment we have is precious. They are both in their 80's and are very weak. I am so blessed when I get to see them with the babies. I took these pictures of them with little Lauren last weekend. I love the sepia color because it adds an aged effect that reminds me of looking at pictures of my great grandparents. I also love how you can see that Mimi and Papa are so in love with her. Beautiful!

Stuck in a moment you can't get out of

A.Rogers Feb.2011

This is a picture that I took at Pioneer Park recently. I do not know who the boy is, but it reminded me of a movie that I went and saw today. My family and I went to see 127 Hours, the story of Aron Ralston, the canyoneer who got his hand stuck when a large house sized boulder came loose and landed on it while he was hiking in the remote and lonely areas of Horseshoe Canyon in Canyonlands. After 6 days, he realized the only chance he had of surviving was to cut off his hand with the nail file in his small multitool.
As soon as I got out of the theater I headed to Barnes and Noble to pick up the book. I have known about this story since it happened back in April 2003, but I was eager to read his whole account of the disaster. Ralston moved to Colorado from the midwest when he was 11 and fell in love with the outdoors. He was a bit reckless and often skirted on the edge of disaster as many boys do. I can see him, in my mind's eye, climbing rocks, like this, and mountains and trying to slide down patches of ice, nearly leading to an avalanche.
My favorite line from the movie went something like this, "This rock has been waiting for me for my whole life. Ever since it was made billions of years ago. Ever since it was only a meteor floating in space. Every step I have taken in my life has led me to this rock." The reason I like this quote so much is because its metaphorical value hit me in the face. We all have our own "rocks" that have been waiting for us since before we were born. Rocks that threaten to pin us to where we are standing and keep us from moving on. In fact, I have allowed some of my own "rocks" to lock me in place for years. This is quite unfortunate. How long will we let these "rocks" hold us back before we realize the only way out of it is to cut ourselves free? That is the hardses thing to do, I believe! As I watched Aron cutting off his own hand, I wondered if I would have been able to do the same thing. I hope I would. I hope that I could tell myself that the pain would be but a brief moment. So, maybe it means we have to cut off our own hand, and when it is all said and done, we may stand there completely awestruck realizing what we just did, looking at that lost limb still pinned there cursing at us for cutting it off and leaving it there by itself, but it is only then that we are free to leave that pain behind us. There is much more life ahead of us that we can enjoy once we get up the courage to let ourselves free. That is my goal after far too many years lost.

Simple Treasures

A.Rogers Feb. 2011

 

A.Rogers Feb.2011

Recently, I was talking on here about the beauty of  the simple treasures that we have in childhood that we keep forever. This blanket is very special to me although, as you can see, it is tattered and stained. It was made for me before being born. It is the handiwork of my mother and my grandmother. Every time I hold this precious blanket, I feel loved. The fabric is worn, cool, and perfect. I have a picture (somewhere) of me holding Jude when he was very small, wrapped in this blanket, and I hope someday to have children of my own to wrap in it.

Moon pop style

I love this!

A.Rogers Jan. 2011

Photoshop Express- pop effect with film emulsion border

Thepostwithoutatitleortext

A.Rogers Feb. 2011

pastel effect

UnSuper Bowl Party

The difference between a successful person
and others is not a lack of strength,
not a lack of knowledge,
but rather in a lack of will.-Vince Lombardi

If you don't make a total commitment to whatever you're
doing, then you start looking to bail out the first time the 
boat starts leaking. It's tough enough getting that boat to 
shore with everybody rowing, let alone when a guy stands 
up and starts putting his jacket on. 
~Bud Wilkinson

To succeed, you need to find something to hold on to, 

something to motivate you, something to inspire you.

~Tony Dorsett

There’s no substitute for guts.
~ Paul "Bear" Bryant

A.Rogers Feb. 2011

Pencil sketch effect

I meant to post this the other night, but for some reason completely forgot about it. On Sunday night my family got together at my mom's house for an UnSuper Bowl Party. We did all the traditional partying with food, and had planned to Wii the night away, but my younger sister brought over a selection of football themed movies, which included Rudy, Radio, and The Blind Side. I was slightly bummed that she didn't have Remember the Titans but these are all great flicks. I wanted to watch Radio which I haven't seen in a really long time, but we all agreed on Rudy. What a great film! (And did you know this was one of Vince Vaugn's first roles? Can you name his part?) What an inspiration! We could all learn something from the story of Rudy Rudiegar (sp?). If we all had his persistence and drive, I think the world would be a much better place.
Well, here is my super bowl pic of the day. Enjoy.

Lauren's Tootsies

A.Rogers Feb. 2011

Corel Paint It! Pastel

Pioneer Park

A.Rogers Feb. 2011

Corel Paint It! Illustration effect

Perfect Panorama

A.Rogers Feb2011

I am so thrilled! I spent about an hour this morning up on the rocks at Pioneer Park. It is so amazing how you feel up on the top of the Dixie Rock. You're only about 100 feet up, I would say. Oh, I don't really know. I am not good at estimating like that, but anyhow, the feeling you can get up there on the top of the rock is one of pure amazement. You feel as if you could see the whole world, or at least all of Washington County from there, and it was a great morning to be there. The weather was beautiful, the lighting was perfect for catching the great glows and shadows that are foud there. I even got to snap a few shots of some rappellers. I took so many wonderful pictures, but as I was about to leave, I noticed what would be a perfect shot. The DIXIE white washed rock from above; an image I had never seen in picture form before. I have seen so many from across the street, but never from above.

What's more, when I was at Best Buy this afternoon, I picked up a simple editing program that looked like it would have many fun tools that I could use, which included a photo editing program, a photo painting program, a digital scrapbooking program, and a photo stitching program for panoramic pics. This program is the Corel Create It! collection. So when I got home, I installed all the programs and got to work. It really is pretty simple, but totally cool. I chose the five images that were pieces of the DIXIE rock and thought maybe I would have to do the aligning and dragging, but no! The program detected all the right connection points. How cool is that?!? The only thing I don't know how to do with this image is to straighten the borders, but I think it is kind of cool the way it is.

What a beautiful day!

Northern Clouds

"Clouds and darkness surround us, yet Heaven is just, and the day of triumph will surely come, when justice and truth will be vindicated."
~Mary Todd Lincoln

A.Rogers Feb.2011

"Clouds symbolize the veils that shroud God."

~Honore De Balzac

A.Rogers Feb2011

The weather has been so frigid this week, but today it finally started to warm up a bit, and right now it is beautiful outside. Today when I took the kids to lunch, I was amazed with these intense clouds. The big one above the trees was so smooth and ominous looking. Very cool!

Sunburst

A.Rogers July2008

A Bub and his bear

"If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day, so I never have to live without you."
~ Winnie the Pooh

"Pooh, promise me you won't forget about me, ever. 
Not even when I am a hundred."

Pooh thought for a little.

"How old shall I be then?"

"Ninety-nine."

Pooh nodded. "I promise," he said.

~Winnie the Pooh

The House at Pooh Corner

"Wherever they go, and whatever happens to them on the way, 

in that enchanted place on the top of the forest, a little boy and

his Bear will always be playing."

~From closing lines of The House at Pooh Corner

A.Rogers Dec.2010
contrast adjustment and soft edge

It has been horrendously cold around here this week, just as around the country, and I have not been able to take any pictures. I can hardly stand to walk to the car with the wind and the cold temperatures. Even though Punxsutawney Phil DID NOT see his shadow this morning, I am sure this weather is sure to last a while longer. At least that is what the forecast says. Therefore, I am putting in another fun Photoshop Express (fun, free app!) edit. I took this one a couple of months ago when my sister and I were cleaning up Lauren's bedroom in preparation for her arrival. The Bub was coming in and making sure to undo everything we were doing. Dumping out boxes of old CD's, digging out dolls and throwing them on the floor, and so on. He decided to claim this little teddy and his mother's response, "Is that YOUR teddy? You have so many teddies in your room! Lolo needs some teddies too." Well, as you can see, that attempt at persuasion did not do much good. He has a good grip on that teddy and it ain't goin' nowhere. I love how much comfort a teddy, a doll, a blankie, a binkie- simple things like this become our security. Even as adults, some of us (definitely me) tend to cling on to the special things of our childhood. I still have dolls, and even the baby blanket that Mom and Grandma made for me before I was born. Tattered and stained as it may be, it still has a special cool feel to it that warms me every time I hold it.

Discovering apps~ Photoshop Express (easy and free)

A.Rogers Jan.2011

Original

Vignette blur

Pop

Rough border

Contrast adjustment