And the Winners Are.....

Thank you everyone for your kind comments on both here and facebook.  I truly had a great 2010 while getting to do something I love.  I've spent time photographing family and friends while with meeting new friends along the way.  Thank you all and I hope to see you again either here or in person sometime in 2011.

Crazy as it may sound I still enjoy blogging a photo of the day (potd) even after 3 full years have gone by.  I feel as if each and everyone of you know more about me than I know myself, sometimes I do hold back and not quite tell you everything but most of the time I keep it real and share what I can.  After 3 years it will get harder to post a potd and/or a story that you haven't read or seen before but I'll do my best to keep you coming back in 2011.

Now what you've all been waiting for..... the winners

Blog Winners are - Kitty, Jennifer, Shann, and Shelly

Facebook Winners are - Miranda, Shelly, Lisa, Jamie

And......... you all know me by now I break my rules so for the bonus winners

Blog Bonus Winner - Roxie

Facebook Bonus Winner - Kelly E

This calendar really is a high point for those that have received them in the past and I'm sorry I can't give you all one (I would if I could) but if you would like to purchase one I do sell them for $5.  Send me a e-mail or facebook message to order.  connie.hemmer@gmail.com

Now for the POTD - My little Garrett-Man playing with the village at Auntie Gayle's. 

See you in 2011 - Happy New Year

Photobooth Type Fun

Every Christmas I take my camera with me to Gayle and Bill's house and it usually sits in my camera bag all day until I try to get at least one photo of everyone together. This year we had a bit different schedule than usual so the family would be popping in and out all day long so I decided to do a photobooth type thing that hopefully my family wouldn't think I was too crazy and participate. I decided to practice on Thanksgiving with the kids and let me tell you it was so much fun. Here are a few from Thanksgiving practice, Elly had lots of fun!!

Mallory didn't like the feathers.....

Elly loves her Grandpa

So I thought the background was a bit busy so I opted for a white table cloth that I refused to iron on Christmas morning..... looking at them now I should have stuck with the red or ironed, oh well it's the people that count right?

Here is the host and hostess of our Christmas dinner....

Our Christmas Dinner has been nick-named the Grinchmas for years and he always manages to make a visit.

Nice face Dan....  This cracks me up, if you know my brother Dan he's pretty reserved.

Gayle and Lynn representing Winter and Summer...

Okay so they did YMCA..... not so well though..... Adam knows a lot about the police lately so he just throws his arms up to surrender, Scott makes a not so good cowboy with his finger guns, Lynn is trying to show her muscles and knocks off Elaine's headdress as the Indian.....

Porter was a Rock Star in front of the camera as long as he could wear the hat, glasses, nose and feathers....

Garrett and his Mommy just being cute....

Don't eat dessert out of the center at any event that my family is at or you will get harassed.  We were taught to eat the dessert in rows and if you didn't want an edge piece you waited until a middle piece as open..... if you ate the cake out of the middle you probably belonged to Hayseeds family, they were spoiled and got to do that :)   Wally really hates it when this happens so after a full CSI investigation he blamed Rusty and we took the photos for proof.

I love that Kiana and Beau are posing so cute while Monica and Wyatt do their own thing and forget there is even a camera with a crazy lady taking their pictures.

Here's Randy with his beautiful family.... don't they all look alike?

Okay so if you're not bored to tears with these silly photos you can check out about 400 more that a put on a slide show.  The quality isn't as good as I like but with that many photos I would still be downloading the video 3 days later....   Here it is, now remember I warned you it was a lot of photos of people acting like silly fools.  Gotta love my family.

http://vimeo.com/18239903

Winter Wonderland

Such a beautiful day. 

I could drive around all day looking at the frost, makes me like winter just a little bit more.

It's done....and it's a fun give away

It starts with a January and ends with a December....

It's my 2011 desk calendar and I have to say I think it's my best year yet {insert me patting self on back} and it could be yours for free.  I love my calendars and I enjoy giving them to friends and family for Christmas gifts and then also giving them away on my POTD.  Last year I went with number of comments decided the number of calendars given away which I thought was way fun so let's try that again.  With 5 comments I'll give away 1 calendar, 10 comments; 2 calendars, 15; 3 calendars...... and this year we'll add another contest on Facebook so you can double your chances.   I will draw the winners on December 31st at 5PM Central Time so get your names in early to avoid the rush.

Let's get started,

1 - click on the comment below the photo.  You don't have to sign up with a google account it should let you comment anonymously, if it won't let you (I can't count the number of times people tell me this happens) send me an e-mail to connie.hemmer@gmail.com and I'll put you in.

2 - Head over to My Facebook Wall and comment on the photo for a 2nd chance to win.   

3 - Tell your friends, remember the more people that comment the more chances you have.

GO

Pay it Forward - If I gave you one for Christmas you can still join in, I'm sure there is a friend or family member that you could "Pay it Forward" and I think they just might be their favorite for the entire year.  I'm not kidding, those that have won my calendars send me a random e-mail telling me how much they love it, it's the perfect office calendar to brighten each and every day.

Last years links for give away and the winners

Our Family for Christmas

Our Christmas Eve was spent at home.  We could all be together and we had no where else to run to.  The kids could play with their toys and not have to be wisked away to another party.

Our oldest daughter Lynn with husband Jesse and daughter Mallory..... little one due in April.

Our second daughter Shannon with her daughter Ellyn and son Garrett.

Our son Adam with his godson Garrett

Here is the house at the beginning of the night

Here is the house about 10 minutes later 

Grandpa and Grandma with the 3 little ones.  No spoiling going on here!!

Twas the Night Before Christmas

 This is a really old book, not sure where or who I got it from but it's one of my favorite Christmas decorations.  I may have to read this to the Grandchildren tonight. 

Wishing you all a Very Merry Christmas from our family to yours. 

Okay here's a hint

The mistake is right here.  I'm sure a niece, nephew, cousin, friend of a family member, family member of a family member knows what's wrong.....  Anyone????  I'm telling you there is a really fun gift coming your way if you know the correct answer...... 

Our real Christmas Tree

O Christmas Tree

Basketball Girls

I had so much fun with the Girls Basketball Team, they are a great group of girls.  We have a fun project going on and I can't share that quite yet but here are some fun ones we did.

Medford Girls Basketball 2010-2011

What happens when you ask these girls to throw the basketballs up and catch them?

Lots of laughing girls and a couple bonks in the face...... Fun times!!

Sock Viewing

You can call my family crazy but every year we have our childhood Christmas stockings travel through the family and whomever has them invites the entire family over to see them.  This year it was my dad's turn, so that means we've been doing this for 13 years, it's my dad's 2nd time around.  I'd like to know how many names we've added since his last turn but it was hard enough counting the amount of names we have total.  There are 69 names on these socks and there are 4 more babies and 1 wedding for 2011 so far....  Now that's a houseful!

That top row of the "older kids" is getting kind of full but the bottom row of "little kids" is trying to hold their own as well.

Here is this years Sock Viewing Host Dad and Joanne.

There is one mistake on this wall and if you are not my brother or sister and know what it is and leave me a comment I have a gift for you.   Wait let's clear this up...... I'm sure there are many mistakes (wink, wink) on this wall but I'm not talking thoooooooseeee mistakes, I'm talking a mistake.  :)

Busier than a .....

Three Legged Cat in a Sandbox.....   Just think about that for a moment, now that's busy.

Miss El's Christmas Program

Miss El had her Christmas Program and of course Grandma and Grandpa wouldn't miss it for the world.  When El along with all the other kids get up on the risers they search the crowd for their families and don't stop looking until they find them.  I have never been a fan of waving crazily to my kids when their up there nor did I like them to wave crazy at me.  So El is taking right after them..... as soon as she finds us she just gives a big ole' grin and we grin right back at her.  

El always comes home with us after a program, she no longer even asks she just assumes she is riding home with us.  While we were walking to the truck I looked at her backpack..... there is no reason a 2nd grader needs to carry a backpack this full of books.  What size will it be when she's in High School? 

Why is my son so much like my brothers?

When we grew up my older and younger brothers always had cars in the yard they were "fixin" up to drive.  They didn't ever sell cars and the worse they looked the more cool they thought they were.  For some reason these Emmerich guys think junk cars, trucks, vans.... with graffiti, stickers, and bad paint jobs are chick magnets and they must fix them up to get them back on the road for cruzin.   My brothers would run these vehicles around the field if they weren't fit for roads.  One day John and I went over to Mom and Dad's and Wally had an old truck and John has his "sticker car", yes I said sticker car, he had a big ole' boat that he covered in bumper stickers.... guess Adam might not get all his car junkin' from my brothers :)

Well Wally and John drove around in the field until they found lots of mud, they were having fun until....... MOM IS HOME.  While both grown men (Wally and John) stood there, tails between their legs, ready to be scolded, but were very much surprised.... she made them both take her for a ride around the mud track.  She was just a hollering and screaming through the whole ride.  Begging to go again.....

Anyway back to the car in question..... We all remember Adam's car, it was a much talked about vehicle by kids, adults, teachers, police... until the day he bought his truck then the car became a vehicle to attach any odd looking part to it, make it really loud, soup up the exhaust stacks coming out the trunk just to ride back and forth to the woods...... until now.  For some reason, could be the Emmerich in him, he insists that he get this beast back on the road (legally).  First thing was the windshield that had a 3 foot hole in it, Check.  Next seal up the exhaust so he can keep the windows closed, Check.  Remove some of the graffiti...... Looks like he might be able to work on it again around spring.

Cold Winter Nights

need lots of candles burning to make it feel warm and cozy.

Brrrrrr on the river

Family photos + More Cold Fingers

Sunday after my cold senior session I decided it was so much fun that I'd do it again with this fun family.  We did only a few outside with a very fast prep time due to the little ones.  I love that the mom and dad wanted the photos to be their normal winter outdoor clothes.  The little guy is sporting the one eye snowsuit look that we all know so well.  No matter how hard you try to get those little ones to get their entire face out the opening they twist and turn making it impossible. 

We then headed inside the warm cozy cabin.  

These next two are my favorites and if it were my family they would be enlarged and hung on my wall.

The only reason they may not be enlarged is because by June this family will become 5. 

Congratulations and we'll see you again this summer.

Dani Senior Outdoor Freezing Cold Photos

 Dani wanted a few outdoor photos and with our freezing cold weather it's been a challenge to get them done but we did.  I got to wear 4 layers of clothing but of course I don't wear any gloves because I'm afraid of dropping my camera if I can't feel it with my hands.  My fingers were near frost bite and I think Dani's whole body was near frozen.  She kept pulling her hands inside her sleeves and I would say "I'm really sorry Dani but I have to see your fingers and hands".  I felt so bad for her but we got them done and she was a trooper.  Don't let the bright sun of this one throw you, I only used this area for her to warm up for a few minutes but I liked her shadow on the brick wall.

Gotta love a girl and her Mustang, and yes it started to snow.

Thanks Dani for being such a good sport.