Marni and Ira's Wedding ~ Oceanside,CA

I had the honor and the privilege to stand up with my little sister when she got married on April 10, 2009 in a beautiful sunset wedding held on the beach in Oceanside, CA.   It was an absolutely gorgeous evening as the sunset was breathtaking, as were the bride and groom.  I have never seen my little sister so incredibly happy; she was completely glowing.  Her groom looked so handsome in his military dress blues.  It was a picture to behold; the two of them standing together, Ira in his dress blues and Marni in her white flowing dress, lots of smiles and happy tears, as two hearts joined as one as the waves crashed behind us. It is memory that I will not soon forget.  

I truly believe that some people come into your life when you really need them to be there.  I don't think that this happens by accident. I think that is very true with Marni and Ira.  It is rare to find two people who are so complimentary to each other, so accepting and encouraging of one another.  Marriage is something that you have to work at each and every day, there are going to be hard times along with the wonderful ones.  As long as you can lean on each other and always be partners and ultimately best friends, I think that any storm can be weathered.  I have no doubts that this will hold true for Marni and Ira. 

In addition to the wonderful ambience of that evening...the tiki torch lined walk way complete with rose petals strewn on the sand, the sky painted with brilliant pinks and oranges as the sun was setting and all of the friends and family that gathered to share in their special moment, there is something else that I will not forget that happened after the ceremony was over.  As we were walking to our cars to leave a gentleman and his wife, who were watching the wedding ceremony from their beach front property balcony, came up to my sister and Ira and gave them a bottle of champagne and told them how beautiful their wedding was.  A complete stranger! But I will never forget the next moment as he held out his hand to Ira and shook his stating "and thank you so much for your service to our country".  I thought this was such a wonderful gesture by a complete stranger!

As for me, I am so excited that I was able to be a part of their special day.  I not only gained a new brother in law that day but a friend and a wonderful addition to our family.   I am so excited for what the future might hold for them as they grow together in love, laughter and experiences.  

Congratulations Marni and Ira, we love you!

I-D-A-H-O, Idaho, Idaho, Go, Go, Go!

A week ago our whole family made a trip over to our alma mater, the University of Idaho,  for a volleyball tournament that was being held there.  Our oldest daughter, Kaitlyn has been playing on a club team all winter long and this was to be her very last tournament for the season.  We were so excited that it was going to be held at the Memorial Gym on campus.  We had been planning for months to go and had been counting down the days.  Some of you may remember from an earlier post that we had also gone back in September for a brief visit.  This time we were able to spend the whole weekend.  We spent a little more time looking around campus and saw  all the changes that have taken place.

 It was a bit strange though as all of the college students were away on Spring break. The campus almost seemed lonely.  It gave us a great excuse to check out some of the new buildings on campus as well as visit some of our old favorites. 

But one of the most exciting parts of our visit was that my dear friend Misti was able to come, all the way from Alaska I might add, to watch Kaitlyn play!! It was so awesome to see her and get to spend some time with her.  As we sat there watching Kaitlyn play, we couldn't help but to think how amazing it was that we were actually sitting there, on those same wooden bleachers that have been there for a century, in the Memorial Gym, watching a game. Never in our wildest dreams would we have ever thought that would happen.  You see, both Misti and her husband went to the University of Idaho which set the events in motion that led to our friendship. Isn't life incredible?

As I reflected on my weekend away at the University of Idaho I couldn't help but to contemplate my life, the places I have lived since I left U of I, all the experiences I have had and the people I have met,  how my life has changed but has yet still stayed the same. Sometimes, I wish I would have accomplished more by now.  Sometimes, I wish I would have gotten my Master's degree. But the things I am most thankful for and proud of are my family and my friends.  They have always been constants in my life, especially a few of my dear friends.

Once in awhile those dear friends can truly become part of our family.  We share in their joys and their sorrows.  In return they are there for us when we need them the most.  Sometimes a dear friend can be brutally honest with us when we really need to hear it or just be there when we need someone to listen.  They can lift us up when we are feeling low and give us strength to carry on.  That is, at least in my mind, what a true friend is.  You know, the kind where you don't care if there are some dirty socks on the floor and a few dirty dishes in the sink when they come over.  

I feel truly blessed to have Misti in my life.  We may not even live in the same town but she has always been there for me.   Thanks again for coming...all the way from Alaska...we love you!

  

Rattlesnake Mountain

Unfortunately, I haven't posted in quite awhile. The demands of being a volleyball mom, chaperone and part time employee have kept me from getting out there to shoot anything in several weeks.  Oh, how I have missed being out there taking pictures and having my "me" time to stop and contemplate the world and the beauty that surrounds me. It has been my quest since we moved here in August to get out there and find the new type of beauty that surrounds us here in the high desert. Regrettably,  I have been lacking in that pursuit so I was determined earlier this week to get out there and get after it.  

I had heard about a place called the Hanford Reach National Monument.  I decided to take a drive out there and see what it was all about.  Boy, I was not disappointed in what I saw.  It is an amazing place that seems to stretch on forever.  There is a highway that meanders its way through the sagebrush, shrubs and grasslands like a river.  The sky is so big and bold, it reminds of the saying "big sky country". You almost feel like you are in a giant snow globe!  Along one side of the highway there is the Saddle Mountain Wildlife Refuge and this is where I saw this beauty called Rattlesnake Mountain.  The very top of the mountain was dusted with snow, almost like someone had sprinkled the top with some powdered sugar!  The late evening sun was starting to cast the lovely golden tones along the sagebrush and grasses as we drove along the highway.  We found a place to pull over and the image above was one of my favorites from that evening. The road in the picture is an access road that is closed off by a gate and I imagine that the park rangers are only ones allowed access.  This is definitely an area that I would love to explore more fully. I truly get the sense that I only scratched the surface as to what the Hanford Reach has to offer in beauty and splendor.  

This long over due outing made me remember why I love photography so much.  It is so hard to describe how getting out there and capturing a moment in time, of seeing this beauty in person and actually smelling the sagebrush and grasses as they are drying out from an earlier storm in the day, can rejuvenate the mind and the soul.  

Cannon Beach

There are days that I miss living close to the coast. I think I took it for granted when we only lived about an hour and half to two hours away from the coast. I always knew in the back of mind it was always near by, waiting for a visit from us.  I remember loading the kids up on a whim and taking them over to the beach for the day.  Even now I remember the smell of the salt air and the feeling of the sand on our feet as we walked along the beach.  The water was freezing no matter what time of year it was but it was always a refreshing break. 

There is something magical about the Oregon Coast.  It is a wonder to behold.  It is a very rugged and wild place.  The intense energy of the waves crashing on the beach is palpable at times.  I have always loved to drive along the coast line and watch as the scenery changes.  At times you are driving through the forest only to emerge around a bend in the road and see the wide open expanse of the ocean.  It really is an awe inspiring sight.  

The picture above was taken at one of my favorite beaches to explore along the Oregon Coast. It is called Cannon Beach.  It is a very popular place to go but there is still a wildness about the land there. This particular day it was very foggy and overcast, which is common along the Oregon coast no matter what time of year it is.  We had taken a walk along the beach.  The tide had gone out revealing these rocks covered in seaweed.  I really liked the composition here of the smaller rocks in the foreground with the big huge rocks in the foggy background.  The fog can really add a mystical feeling to the beach.  The next time I go back here I will savor every moment of it! 

A Hidden Gem

I just recently finished a slide show/video that I made as a Christmas gift for our extended family.  It has become a tradition for my little nuclear family to make one of these videos every other year.  The grandparents and aunts and uncles really seem to enjoy getting these videos and have almost come to expect their next installment, so to speak.  The slide show/video is usually set to music and is comprised of our favorite pictures from the past couple of years.  Originally, our thought was that this would be a great way for the grandparents and extended family to see what we have been up to and to be able to watch as our children grow and change. 

Every time we have put one of these videos together it has become a labor of love, at least for me.  It takes a lot of time to sift through all the pictures that were taken in a two year time span. ( Especially now that I am a photography NUT! ) I usually agonize over what music I am going to choose.  But this year I decided to pick two of my favorite songs from the past year. So that made it a lot easier to decide.  This year it was a complete joy to put the video together.  I decided to have pictures of the kids, Kendall, myself as well as some of my favorite photos that I have taken. Some of these consisted of flowers, some were of landscapes, a few were from some weddings I had shot...each and every image was special to me in its own unique way.  I was extremely happy with how it turned out and I hope that our extended family will like it as much I do! 

I really wanted to share this photo above of Maggie.  This was one that I found while looking through the hundreds of images that I had taken.  This has become one of my favorite shots of her.  And to think that I had forgotten that I had even taken it! Amazing!  In my mind, it has become a hidden little gem,  just waiting for me to find it.  Sometimes it pays to take the time to slow down and sift through those "old" memories. You might just be surprised what you find. 

Another Kodak POTD in Times Square!

I was so excited to find out that this image above was chosen as the Kodak Picture of Day for December 15th!  It was a thrill to have this picture up on the Kodak billboard in Times Square for a full 24 hours.  This image is special to me because I took it last December. My son, Thomas, was my model holding the ornament.  I used this photo as the cover for our Christmas cards last year.  I had almost forgotten that I had even entered it. 

Honestly, I didn't know about it until the big day had already passed.  Our family was so busy with the Living Nativity play that I had not checked the Kodak website all month.  I usually visit a few times a week as I really enjoy looking at the photos that get chosen.  It truly is an exciting feeling to have one of my shots chosen as one of the 365 shots that are chosen each year! 

The Golden Coin

I was asked by our church to shoot a picture of a little boy dropping a gold coin into a Salvation Army bucket.  They wanted to use the image in order to advertise for their Living Nativity play.  Even though we are new to this area and we have not seen the Nativity before, my husband Kendall is producing the play this year!  

The main story of the play is about two boys who learn about the miracle of Christmas from a salvation army bell ringer.  If you want to know more than that, Kendall says "come see the play and find out." :)  Needless to say, we are quite anxious to see the whole thing, which includes a realistic nativity scene with donkeys, camels and sheep (oh my)!  It takes nearly two hundred people working for several weeks to pull this off, but the church is amazing, how people just come together and get it done.

Thomas was our little hand model for the image above.  Poor little guy, it was rather cold, but he was a real trooper. He held as steady as he could over and over again until I was satisfied with what I captured.  Kendall was the bell ringer in the background and he was quite a trooper as well.  Overall it was a great learning experience!  I am pleased that they decided to use the image on their web page for advertising purposes for the play!