Be ready for rain

My hubby had the day off of work yesterday, so we got to go play! We went to Magic Kingdom and I spent the day taking pictures of the parade and fireworks. It was hot and sunny when we arrived, but just like typical Florida weather, it was pouring by the end of the night. This leads me to the

Disney World Travel Tip for the Day:

Just because the sun is shinning and the forecast calls for a sunny day when you are heading to Disney World, it doesn't mean that it won't rain. There is a good chance that you will receive a down pour  at an unexpected moment. So always got to Disney World with rain in mind, and you won't be disappointed!

Here are some suggestions on preparing for rain:

 - Map out and learn where all the indoor attractions are. Each disney park has several indoor rides, shows, and activities.

 - Wear closed toed shoes with traction. Sneakers are great. Waterproof are even better! But stay comfy!

 - Don't wear a thin white shirt.

 - Put your extra clothes (especially Baby's extra clothes) in plastic grocery bags inside of your backpack.

 - Put anything you don't want wet, inside of zip lock bags.

 - Bring a rain stroller cover-up; a wet baby in a wet stroller does not equal a happy baby.

 - Pack ponchos and umbrellas.

 - Don't promise your children a parade or fireworks; those can be cancelled due to weather.

 - If you brought your ponchos and your willing to get wet, take advantage of the short lines. The rides with lines outside and the water rides will drop their wait time quickly as guests head for dryer ground!

 - Large sun hats and umbrella hats are wonderful to have during rain. Even baseball hats and visors can make a difference. If you're preparing to stay and play in the rain, I suggest bringing hats.

 - And most important, be ready for the rain and when it comes, enjoy it! Stay happy and positive! Everybody can enjoy a little dancing in the rain!

I also suggest bringing water proof gear for your camera. There are SOOOO Many options you can buy or put together yourself. My personal favorite rain accessory for DSLR cameras is a rain Camera Coat. You can find camera coats here.

Without rain accessories, I wouldn't be able to capture some of my favorite shots.

My brother's wedding

I got the rare opportunity to be both the photographer and a bridesmaid at my Brother's wedding. With the help of Jon Carmichael, a groomsman and photographer, and my last minute assistant, we were able to photograph Courtney and TJ's wedding without a hitch. I'm just going to show pictures from my camera.

It was such an honor to be a bridesmaid! I got to hang out in the bridal sweet with all the girls, complete with chocolates, champaign, and sparkling cider! Then of course I also got the great opportunity to take pictures of Courtney as she get ready to be married.

These Boys:

 How fun are these guys?!? I told them to do this shot, and just has I expected, they hesitated, but then really got into it and completely pulled the shot off!

Courtney was gorgeous! And she did such and amazing job planning this wedding! I thought everything turned out just perfect!

Dancing with mom:

Both the Mother/Daughter and Mother/Son dance was emotional for me and I'm sure others as well. TJ picked a silly song from his childhood, and Courtney chose a song that described her relationship with her mom. Both these pictures were made dramatic from the use of Black and White.

This shot reminded me of a scene in the movie "Hitch" where the awkward "Albert" is on a date with the sexy, famous, "Allegra Cole." During the scene, they are at a club dancing, and every time Allegra Cole would turn her back to him, Albert would break out his famous moves that Hitch mad him promise not to even try. Of course this seemed harmless, until pictures of the moment appeared in the papers the next day.

 As you can see, everybody had a great time! The wedding was a HIT!

Robertson Family Reunion overview

Earlier this month, I was able to participate in the first ever Robertson Family Reunion! Our clan consisted of my grandparents, Pat and Lee Robertson, and their children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. We had at least one family representative from each family. We stayed in a great hotel in Salt Lake City. On Friday, our first night there, we went out to eat at the old spaghetti factory. That night, many of the cousins congregated into one of the larger hotel rooms to play board games while watching the Olympics. 

The next day, after eating breakfast at the hotel, we all headed to a nearby Frisbee Golf Park, where my brother, Steven, taught all of us how to play Frisbee Golf. We split up into 3 teams; Advanced, Beginner, and supporters. I stuck with the supporters so that I got to take pictures and play with the baby :). We then headed to a near by LDS Church building where we had a delicious BBQ! After eating we played Volleyball in the Church gym. We were very grateful to have air conditioning after playing Frisbee Golf in the high heat! Afterwards, many grandchildren went to watch the new "Bourne" movie. I stayed back at the hotel with my Mom to babysit the great grandchildren (We had more fun than anybody!).

Saturday night came together at the last minute but was some of the best moments. I ordered chinese food from a recommended local chinese restaurant, while the family congregated in the lobby of the hotel. The lobby was perfect for our group! There was a large, pub height table, seating like 20 people, in the middle, with smaller tables and couches around the main table. We turned the olympics on the big screen, and played "Wits and Wagers" until our food arrived. After eating and letting the old ones head to bed, the grandchildren stayed in the lobby to play a beloved card game "Scum."

The next morning we all headed home. It was the saddest goodbye I've ever had to face with the Robertson family. The reunion was planned so well and everything turned out so perfectly. Still no plans on a family reunion next year, but I am all in if the plans are made!

Here are some photos of us playing Frisbee Golf:

Heart of the Matter - By Emily Giffin

*** SPOILER ALERT!!!!! ***

And just in case my spoiler alert wasn't enough, I am about to tell you events that you don't find out until half way through the book.

This story is told through 2 perspectives. Tessa, a happily married woman with 2 kids, and Valerie who is a single mother of a 6 year old boy.

Tessa's love story with her husband, Nick, is heart warming and relatable. They are truly in love and it is easy to form a bond with them, especially if you are also in love. Tessa's husband is an adored children's plastic surgeon. As a plastic surgeon, he could make a lot of money working on women, but he devotes his life to these young children who are subject to accidents and abuse. While he could make much more, he does make enough for a good living so his wife does not need to work and can stay home with the kids. Nick's love for Tessa is unconditional and mutual.

Valerie is a single mother who is attracted to the wrong types of guys. Her 6 year old little boy, Charlie, has never met his daddy. Valerie meets Nick, Tessa's husband, when Charlie is burned in a camp fire and Nick is assigned to be his doctor. Charlie loves Nick!

I wish I knew more about the book before I began reading and especially before I formed such an attachment to Tess and Nick's marriage, finding it so relatable. Nick cheats on Tessa. It was hard for me to go through this struggle with Tessa, and I wish I hadn't likened their marriage so close to mine. I never expected Nick to cheat on Tessa.

With this betrayal in mind, I would of better enjoyed the book. If you are okay with reading about a cheating husband, then I think you'll enjoy this book. I really like Emily Giffin and loved her book "Something Borrowed" that was recently made into a movie. This book ended as well as it could have for me. I recommend this book, but I don't recommend becoming too attached to Tessa.

Family

 If you have ever seen my mom, you might think that this above picture is a picture of her holding an unfamiliar baby. This is not my mom, this is my Aunt Susan. All of my mom's sisters have been known for looking alike, but I think that my aunt Susan looks the most like my mother.

 Here is a photo of my mom:

I mentioned several times now that I recently went on a family reunion, and I really need to just give the full scoop. I also mentioned that my mom and I stopped by to visit the brown family in Price, Utah before heading to the Robertson Family reunion. While we were in Price with my mom's family, I had my camera ready with nobody wiling to be photographed. Thats when my Aunt Susan came over and my grandma got a few minutes to complain about her lack of photos of my Aunt Susan's new granddaughter! What an opportunity. We left about 2 minutes later and these are some of the pictures that came of it.

The kids

Ben and I have been married for 2 and a half years. We have not yet been blessed with children. We have tried, but we'll continue to be patient while we're still only in our twenties. Shortly after Ben and I got married, we did the cliche trick of getting rid of baby hunger; we got a dog! A Yorkie named Raffiki (Named after the silly but wise monkey in the Disney movie "The Lion King"). Raffiki became sad and lonely very quickly, so less than a month later, we brought home his sister and new best friend, Kamaria, a Yorkie/maltese mix (A Morkie).

We spoil our dogs and treat them as our own children. We even practice parenting tactics on them that we want to perfect before having human children. Just an hour ago, Raffiki decided that it was time for our 3rd walk of the day. He was so upset that I was reading my book instead of responding to his whining plea to take him on a walk, that he pulled my book down from my hands and stood on top of it, staring me straight in the eyes. My most strict parenting tactics weren't practiced here. We went on our walk, and I am sure that we will have at least 3 more walks today as usual.

What do you think, am I being too lenient with my dogs? Am I going to carry this habit over to my children?

Raffiki

What a daddy's boy!

Kamaria

Mommy! What is that thing on your face?

Representing you

My parents bought their house in Henderson, Nevada 16 years ago, in what seemed to be, the middle of nowhere. They lived off of this little dirt road called Eastern. They were truly living on the city limits. Since then, the popular 215 freeway was built, and Eastern is a very busy road that goes up to 5 lanes each way. They are no where near the outside of the city.

Behind my parents house, there are still plots of residential land that is just dirt. In their community, this area is known as "the rock pile." The rock pile is land that has never been altered. Nobody has ever lived there or made any changes to the land. This "rock pile" is a true representation of Nevada's landscape; rocks, dirt, weeds. So imagine my surprise when Tonia Loveland asked if we could do her photo shoot in "The rock pile."

Once we talked about what she wanted out of the photo shoot, I understood her vision and became excited. Once her daughters knocked on my door to begin the photo shoot, I got even more excited. They looked like princesses! These photos really do represent a part of who the Loveland girls are. Beautiful princesses living in the desert. I'm so glad I got this opportunity!