4th of July- Part 2

My 4th of July was challenge after challenge after challenge before "enjoying" the day off. We had plans to visit grandpa and pick cherries from his cherry tree and then off to Nana's for lunch and a nice day in the park with family and friends where the kids can play in the water and just enjoy the day with their cousins.

ONLY that day never really happened. LOL! We got to church late... had to go to an extremely overcrowded grocery story called Wal-Mart to get groceries for our picnic, forgot stuff so made a side trip to Freddies and left my debit card in the car so had to run back out and re-ring everything back up. Got to the Father in Laws house and realized we forgot the kids' fireworks at the house so we headed back home for the fireworks. Didn't get to pick cherries at Grandpas so hoping to get by later this week... which at this point isn't looking so good because my To Do list just seems to keep getting longer and longer. So after fixing face paint umpteen times with the kids, we headed off to Nana's and got there around 4. Can you believe she ate lunch without us! So what if we were only 3 hours late for our lunch date... :D

We went to the annual fireworks at Ann Morrison and left from Nana's house who lives about a mile away. In Madi's stroller we packed in 5 camping chairs, two blankets, a cooler full of ice, a bag of fireworks, a bag of snacks, a 15 lb bag of camera equipment, a tripod, 3 backpacks and a kid's chair. Can you believe the wheel broke off on the way there... A stroller with 3 wheels doesn't work well... did you know that! :D

So here we are with our 3 kids who decided to bring their scooters with them so they can't carry anything and all this gear and a whiney almost 3 year old who thinks she HAS to be carried everywhere and a broken stroller... My husband ran back to Nana's grabbed the van and recruited his brother Matt to help us to carry stuff into the park. My job was to carry in my camera bag and my 3 year old so I walked on without them as they found a parking spot and carried everything in. My husband did a great job carrying everything in except he forgot one little item... As i am getting ready to finally set up my camera stuff 20 minutes before the fireworks display... I notice my tripod is no where to be found. He remembered EVERYTHING except for that.... So no fireworks pictures this year from me. I didn't even try. I knew they wouldn't turn out so I didn't bother. Also did I mention that in the cooler that I packed for dinner at the park included Black Forest ham, Swiss Cheese, Mayo, Mustard, tomatoes, onions... everything except the bread... I FORGOT TO PACK BREAD! It was quite the day of mishaps... but in the long run it still ended up being sooooo much fun and a 4th of July I shall never forget. Next year I guarantee I won't forget the bread or tripod....

I remembered crayons at least for my 3 year old! And here is my cutesy Sister In Law Laury!


My single, adorable brother in law Matt.... :D


Laury kicking her husband in the toosh! Trust me it is much deserved... she puts up with a lot! :D


Me and Laury! Aren't we so cute!


My crayons and books entertained the kids for awhile.


My husband and his brother


My two favorite boys


I have no idea what they were laughing about but soooo cute to watch them


The boys and Madi snuggling up to her Uncle Jack


My niece Sydney and her friend Paige


My nephew Zach. He told me it was one cool picture of him! :D

Girls will be Girls!


Chalk Art in the Park! It was absolutely stunning!


And last but not least.... Josh with two of the kids

4th of July - Part 1

Getting ready was the biggest challenge on 4th of July. I would get the hair and make up done and then it was ruined... NO NOT ON ME!! On the kids Ha Ha!

Everytime one kid was done I would send them off with dad so he could watch over them so I could get the next one done... only dad thought telling them to sit still and NOT touch their face... meant rub it until it completely gone... or to rough house on the floor and rub the paint off their hair. It was quite the challenge but finally got the job done... and so worth the wait. Aren't the kids adorable!

Happy Birthday to Jacob and I

I got the best gift ever on my birthday! I got some pictures of "my favorite twin girls" who no longer live by me.... (sob).

But I am so blessed to get frequent updates from the parents and photos of my little cuties! I love you girls and thanks so much for the birthday wishes

McCall Lake Panoramic

Stunning... simply majestic... and pure perfection

This lake is amazing! My husband asked me to capture this photo for some of our long lost family in a country called Tunisia... (You know who you are and we miss you sooooooooo much!) This was where you stood once overlooking the lake before you rode snowmobiles in the mountains! :D

Anyways this photo took me hours to create. I ran across many problems with photostitching in Adobe. As easy as it sounds it really was not that easy. I didn't use a tripod which was my first mistake! And many others also but I think in the end... it might have been worth the 2 hour headache!

I showed my husband my final edit and this is what I wanted him to say "Oh my gosh hunny you are so talented and so amazing and how on earth did you create such a beautiful piece of art."

But what he really said was "It is much better in person, the mountains look small and the water is sloping to the right!" LOL! :D Gotta love the honesty

McCall Family Trip - Part 3

The last day of our trip was mostly just the drive home but we stopped a few times and took a couple photos of the scenery and here are a few of the pictures I captured. McCall is gorgeous! The lake is beautiful and the drive home is just as spectacular!

But before we do scenery shots... here is a picture of all the kids clonked out in the hotel bed. They were so tired they fell asleep in there swimsuits! It was a busy few days for them.



Here is the view of the lake early in the morning


I love the sunflares! It always reminds me of heaven


I told my husband he had to be in at least one photo so that people know that he exists. He is always working that I rarely get a photo of him


Some different angles of the lake.




These photos were taken through the window driving 65miles per hour down the highway... they actually turned out pretty good!


This is of a Catholic Church up in the Cascade Hills. It is so gorgeous


This was my husbands favorite picture


I actually stopped along the highway and got out of the vehicle to take a picture of this cow and I spoke to him to get him to look up! I wonder what passerby's were thinking! LOL


This old barn is a trademark in Cascade Idaho. It has been in calendars because of the unique look. It started falling down almost 10 years ago but is still holding on. The back end is fallen but the front end is still hanging on. It will be sad to see it go... and yes... we stopped again to get a photo of this. It was always on my priority list.






I have so much more to post. Jake and I celebrated our birthday this week. I have some pictures of the twins to post! Oh I love them! I may not get to them right away as I have 4 photo sessions this weekend! Can you believe that. It was because I was out of town last week and out of town next week so I have to get them all done this week.... Going to be hectic but so worth it! Hope everyone is doing great! I also am excited cause I just ordered a 2.8 11-16mm lens for my camera bag. It got rave reviews and can't wait to share some amazing panoramics with it in the future! I have two urban engagement shoots this weekend so I think this lens will be spectacular to use to get some fun and creative shots! :D