Sheila and Josh's Wedding

A couple of weeks ago Sheila and Josh got married, and Colleen Donovan let me tag along with her and help her in photographing their wedding. Colleen is an amazing photographer and I always feel so honored when I get to work with her. The wedding was at the CMA church here in Moses Lake, followed by a reception at Hidden Meadow. I had forgotten how much I like to photograph weddings. I had so much fun. Here are a couple highlights from the day...

Taking a quick breather before the ceremony begins.

The lighting of the unity candle.

They looked so happy as they walked back down the aisle as a newly wedded couple.

Everyone had fun with the confetti exit.

I got to ride in the limo with the wedding party to the reception location and got some fun shots, lucky me!

Is this not a guilty face if you've ever seen one? I bet you can guess how the cake feeding turned out...



The couple's first dance turned into one of funk and jig. It was very original, and very fun.

Congratulations to the new couple! Go Sheila and Josh!

Family Happenings

Wow, what a full two weeks I have had filled with family, enjoying every second of it. A couple of weeks ago my family got together at my uncle's ranch in Idaho for a family reunion. It's not very often that my family gets to all be together like that, so it was a real treat to hang with my sisters and parents, and watch all the little nieces and nephews interact and play together. We packed everything we could in our time together including fishing, horseback riding, trekking, swimming, four wheeling, pinata-ing, treasure hunting (put on by Grandpa for his grandboys, but the boys might argue that the junk yard hid some pretty great treasures as well.), and the list goes on. It took me quite awhile to go through my pictures and pick out my favorite ones to post, but I was finally able to narrow it down to these...

If you have not yet noticed, may I please draw your attention to Elsie's ability to stuff as much candy in her hands as possible. I'd say she's pretty well mastered it.

This was the first time Abram was able to ride the horse all by himself. I think he could have ridden it most of the day, despite the fact that the horse was about three times taller than him.

Elsie loved the horses as well. She would giggle so hard when she rode one with her dad, and even harder when she would watch them gallop around.

A highlight for Peter was the fishing. I don't think a day went by without him asking if somebody would fish with him. Once caught, he would pick those wriggling fish up and grip them as if there were no tomorrow, despite the fact that he is at the perfect height to be slapped in the face (see above).

Seth was one boy ready for adventure. With his pillowcase full of a slingshot, bow and arrow, walking stick, a "Dangerous Book for Boys", compass, etc., he was set for anything that might come his way.

I couldn't help but throw this last one in. After the reunion I went home with Lanita for a little while. This was one outing we took with the little boys. Can you tell Chase was a little more than happy?

Happy Independence Day

And what a great holiday it is. What a wonderful time to celebrate this country. I too often take it all for granted, but how grateful I am for the endless freedoms we take advantage of without even thinking about them (at least I do). How grateful I am to our founding fathers that sacrificed more than we know to make our country into what it is. How grateful I am for our Constitution and government that sets boundaries to keep our country free. How grateful I am to the many soldiers who are fighting across the world to sustain and preserve this beautiful, blessed country. How grateful I am for the United States of America. My heart goes out to you. God bless America!

Transition to next topic: In light of a Fourth of July tradition my sisters' and I started several years ago, I post a picture. Every year we make a Fourth of July "fire engine red" cake, meaning we dye the batter bright red, and then proceed to decorate the baked cake with red, white, and blue frosting. This year, it is just me and my Dad this holiday, so the tradition was left up to me, probably the least artistic of all the siblings. Having said that, here is my feeble attempts at cake decorating...the finished product:

Pretty comical huh? I purposely didn't show you the drooping frosting on the sides.

Nutella

It is possible to eat chocolate without really eating chocolate.

It is possible to smear a piece of bread with chocolate, and actually get away with it.

It is possible to have a chocolate sandwich with about the same amount of nutrition as peanut butter. (I know, it may sounds gross, but you're just going to have to take my word on this one.)

It is possible to turn a chocolate milkshake into something it has never been before.

It is possible to dip a banana in chocolate and not feel overly guilty about it.

It is possible to have a delectable chocolate filled crepe without the hastle of melting any kind of chocolate.

Not only is it possible, but it's acceptable.

It's possible to have chocolate without really having chocolate. It's not chocolate. It's hazelnut.

Nutella, welcome to my life.

Ode to Summer

I have never been a true lover of summer. It's often too hot for me, and my skin burns easily; however, something about the long winter months stirs a longing for those warm, sunny, summer days. Now that I'm in the midst of the heat of the summer and camping out in my cool basement with a sunburned back, trying to will myself to get up and actually go for a run, but deciding it's not worth the heat exhaustion that will result, I try to remind myself why I was wishing for this season in February. While going through some pictures, I was able to come up with a few things I have decided I can enjoy and do love about this time of year, despite my feelings toward it already. I love to play on the lake--boating, jet skiing, tubing, the works. Although I am by no means a swimmer, I do enjoy floating around in a swimming pool sometimes. I love bar-b-ques. There's nothing quite like that juicy hamburger Dad grills up and that yummy potato salad Mom whips out. Although they are slightly foreign in Moses Lake, we have enjoyed several thunders storms over the past couple weeks, and I have loved every one of them.

You don't see clouds like this in the winter. Only summer makes 'em like this.

Although I am personally no fan of fishing, I love watching my nieces and nephews fish and get so excited about catching one. We are having a family reunion coming up in a couple weeks, and I cannot wait to witness these episodes again.

Okay, so even though the sun can be way too hot and intense, the sunshine and blue skies are beautiful. Plus sun flare is way to fun to play with :)

Who doesn't like that spontaneous water fight that is bound to happen at least once a summer?

Okay, so maybe summer isn't quite so bad after all. But what about you? What is your favorite part about summer?

Photoshop class

My sister recently emailed me about a photoshop class online that anybody can join. The best part about it--it's free! Plus you can go through the lessons on your own time whenever you have the time. I promptly signed up for it and can't wait for it to start! Here's the link for anybody that's interested. Even if you don't have Photoshop, there are free trials available online.



http://www.jessicasprague.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=976:free-photo-editing-class&catid=1:latest&Itemid=148

The Vestibule of all Viruses--What you'll need to know

I have come to discover that the germ's playground is masked under many different aliases. Some countries call it the tube, others the metro, and yet another, the underground. It's more properly known (that is if there's anything proper about it) as the subway. No matter what it's called, it's the same thing everywhere--the mainstream of microbes, the burrow of bacteria. Having said this, there is one thing everybody should know before using this unsanitary and unfun underground system--try not to worry. Try not to think. Just go with the flow and be like everybody else and become the animal you will feel like, just for this time. It's the only way come out alive.


The first thing to hit you as you descend the stairs, leaving the real world above and entering the depths of the underground system, is the sudden change in smell. You immediately feel the need to take shallower breaths to avoid as much of the recycled air as possible, intermingled with scents of body odor, some one's old fast food (who would expose their food and then proceed to eat it in this pit of germs, I never was able to figure out), traces of urine maybe?, and who knows what other foreign smells that you'll never be able to discern and that you'll never smell again except in this world of the underground.


The next thing that hits immediately after is the constant rush and feeling of anxiety as you hurriedly try to find your pass while being shoved through by some strange character. You'll pull out your little tiny pass with a sigh of relief and continue to stick it through the machine to let you into the dreary halls. You'll say a littler prayer that your ticket will work like it's supposed to and not be rejected for whatever reason. Despite your hopes, when this happens, not if, but when, you will be stuck between the door contraption that refuses to open for you, a stranger who is trying to get through, and a long line of hurried, impatient people who are yelling out of frustrations and annoyances for you to keep moving, possibly even in another language. Try not to worry. It's the human that would give over to the stress, but it's the animal that survives in this world.


Once you've made it through, you'll feel the need to get to your platform in a big rush, even though you'll most likely have to wait for the train once you get there. Don't ever count on the subway waiting for you as you enter the platform and being able to hop right on, it just doesn't happen. If anything, you will arrive just as you see the doors closing and the back of the train leaving you behind, maybe even carrying half your party along with it as well. Somebody else in your party might get a little upset when this happens. They might mumble something a little less than happy under their breath and be a little cross, regardless of the fact that another train will be coming in approximately two or three minutes time. Rather, the less than human you enjoys the company of strange people of every kind you will be surrounded by that only exist in this part of the world. Meanwhile, your human friends are busy stressing and making sure you are all still with the rest of the group, hoping they aren't the only ones that didn't make it on the subway the first time around.

Once on the train, the animal instinct disregards the thoughts of how many people have shared the same air, and touched the same spot you are, and just pretends like it's normal and not disgusting. Just don't look at the peculiar drips and substances clinging to the walls and windows, and don't think of the mice you are probably sharing the subway with. The animal feels no claustrophobia as you shove your way on, while the sensitive humans try not to get shut in the doors as they close.

Just when you think not another fly could squeeze on, suck it in and get a little more cozy with your eccentric unknown neighbor, because more people will always stuff in despite what you may think. Oh, but be careful of the pickpocket you might also be standing next to as well. When you are slowing down for your stop, you'll wonder how in the world you will shove past all these people to get out, and your human conscience might worry you'll miss your stop because you can't. Relax, somehow, by some magical miracle it works, and with an animal-like push and shove, you'll find your way through and discover yourself back out in the open air with gratitude and forgotten thoughts of any diseases you might or might not have caught through your journey. You'll walk around a while and do what you needed to do, forgetting the horrors you went through just in time for the return trip home to go through it all again, but just relax and give yourself over to that animal within one more time and you will survive just like every other time before.

I can sense your hesitancy, but see? Not to worry, this particular area is under video surveillance.

Try to disregard the bones that curiously look human, and I know it's hard, but do your best to ignore the blood splatter on the window too.