31 years

My mom and dad have been married for 31 years.

I would be nothing without them. I'm so grateful they got married. And that my dad joined the church and they were sealed in the temple. We are an eternal family.

I love them so.

These pictures were taken at my special day at the Chicago Temple in October '09. Nephew #2 was not yet in the world.

Happy Easter

See more inspirational messages here.

He lives.

Nauvoo - Film

From that very cold, snowy trip back in February that was too much fun.

1) These are straight from camera.

2) I had never used one of my lenses with film before, and discovered it's a bit of a wide angle lens on a non-DSLR camera :)

Happy Easter

It's Easter. What a blessed celebration.

Read the First Presidency Message of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ here.

Draper Temple

It was dedicated while I was in Utah and I got to watch the broadcast of the dedication.

I believe that brings the Temple count to 129 worldwide - from Chicago to London to Africa to Hong Kong and so forth.

I love to see the Temple.

St. George Temple

I've been able to add a few Temples to my list from recent travels.

Nauvoo recap day two

Recap day two:

-woke up bright and early.  seriously.  it was very bright and early.

-upon walking out, i didn't realized there was a layer of ice under the snow and almost did the splits.  my leg is sore from stopping me.

-most of the girls were bare legged and high heeled.

-Fix made yummy pancakes while he, brad, and jared sang Saturday's Warriors.

-the Temple was gorgeous and wonderful.

-the weather was freezing and unbelievably windy.

-lunch was warm.

-taking pictures was cold.

-we got to go to the bakery, blacksmith, and family living center.

-we watched candles being made, ate bread and cookies made in a bustle oven, watched a pot be thrown, and made rope.  

-we made like 3 stops in one block before even leaving the little town for water, bathrooms, etc.

-I was self-appointed DJ.  we had moulin rouge, les mis, spice girls, lady ga-ga, billy joel, and everything else I thought my peeps could sing along to.

-we had to go way out of our way to get chinese food that some people were craving.  ridiculous.

-the temperature in the car was either too cold or too hot.  never just right.

-we got back late to cars covered in snow.

-we had so much fun.

Nauvoo recap day one

Recap Day One:

-8 people packed in the suburban

-first stop was only one hour into the trip

-we missed our exit

-next stop was a gas station.  Ray wanted Funyuns but didn't buy them

-45 mins later we had to stop to get him Funyuns

-crossed over into Iowa and then crossed back - boo Google Maps

-big snowflakes came pouring from the sky at hyper-drive speed

-we had to do two u-turns while only a mile from our destination due to the darkness and snow.  One even involved pulling into the edge of a cornfield

-we started to blast Moulin Rouge when we got there, causing us to not want to get out of the car, even after 6+ hours

-Fix made heavenly cheesecake for Ray's birthday that we ate when we arrived at midnight

-I ended up being the odd girl for the two girl condos -thus sleeping on a chair with two ottomans

-I also forgot my pajamas and therefore slept in my clothes

-We all went to bed very late

And that was just Day One.

Nauvoo - digital

Brr.  I only took pictures of the Temple on our quick trip down to Nauvoo for a day.  Why?  Because it was freezing and I'm kind of a fair-weather-photographer when its so cold I can't feel my face.  Nauvoo is right on the Mississippi, as you can see in the last picture.

film shots to follow.  blast Color Prints for closing.  :(

Photo presentation

Tomorrow I'm giving a photo presentation for Family Home Evening.  So come if you can and bring your camera.  

First item of business:  the viewfinder is not for your mouth but your eye.

Second item:  every little boy should have a sailor hat.

{ps: that's my toy camera from when I was 4 or something}