Idaho Trip!

Last month several family members made a trip up to Idaho Falls. The main reason was because Devanee was playing in a softball tournament but it was a nice getaway weekend. Sadly, Tyler wasn't able to come so I missed him mucho. Aaron, Meghann & Porter weren't able to make it either which was a big bummer.

Here are several pics documenting our fun weekend together.

We thought it was funny that this can said "Put your butts here" so of course Karli did the obvious :]
We went to Heisse hot springs and swam for a little while.


We went to Bear World & Emerie was super excited to be out of her carseat and seeing all the animals. She kept saying "Grr!"

Look really close.. there's a bear taking a bath!
Not the best pic.. but a bear actually came up to my parents in the car ahead of us and stood up on it. He then proceeded to slobber along the side of the car with his wet nose.
Emerie was scared of being so close to this bear statue. She thought it was real!
We made smashed pennies that had bears on them.
Look at the cute bear family.. and look at the baby bear! So cute

Chase, Karli, Devanee, Micah, Megan (& future baby), Tim, Madre, Emerie & Padre. (Sadly I am taking the picture.. haha)

The baby bears were the cutest!!

There was a petting zoo at Bear World. It was cool that these deer weren't afraid of humans at all.

The coolest fries I have ever seen.. BEAR SHAPED! :)
We made a stop at the Idaho Falls temple and visitor center on Sunday & saw all the amazing images that the hubble telescope took of space.. if you haven't seen them you should make a point to!
We also had the opportunity to visit the little town my mom lived in when she was born, Shelley. My aunt & uncle Randy & Ann were visiting her mom so we were able to stop by and visit for a little bit.

It was a great weekend and it seemed to fly by! It's always fun spending time with the fam!

Camping July 2010

I have been doing so much better at taking pictures over the past month or so I am so proud of myself.. now if only I could get myself to use my professional camera for my own adventures.. but these photos from my ghetto point and shoot will have to do for now!

We had the opportunity to go camping with the Gapinski's up by Bear Lake at the Sunrise camp grounds. We only stayed one night with them but we had lots of fun & were glad we were even able to end up going.. and hey I always love an excuse to wear no make up! :)
Tyler's family adopted one of Roxi & Toby's puppies last year and his name is Brian. Amy loves and adores him & takes him where ever she can.. even camping! He did such a good job with the outdoors & here he is being such a good boy taking a nap.
Tyler and his little brothers were enjoying making the biggest fires imaginable.
We went for a drive.. more like off roading in Jeff's truck and ended up seeing some great views. Makes me wish I would have had my better camera with me.

We went to Minnetonka caves & that was pretty cool to see. It was crazy how unbelievable dark it is in there.
We of course had to get raspberry shakes in Bear Lake.. SO yummy!
For a little while we went geocaching. Tyler & I had never done it before but his mom and little brothers do it all the time. This is the first one we found.



Bear Lake.. SO pretty

Chichen Itza

Well the main reason we went here was to shoot Shanae & Josh's groomal photos. We woke up at 5am to walk over from where we were staying to the ruins & were let in and taken to the main temple where we climbed to the top (terrifying for me who is deathly afraid of heights). If any of you know much about this temple you know that they no longer allow you to climb it because it is one of the seven wonders of the world.. well shhhh.. DON'T TELL! We waited for the sun to rise and then quickly started shooting so we could finish before the place opened to the public. Tourists seeing a girl there in a wedding dress would be a BIG NO-NO.

I must admit that I felt extremely rushed & wished I could have spent more time there, but it was a once in a lifetime opportunity & I am so grateful to Shanae, Josh & her parents Kevin & Tammy who gave me this chance. It was an unforgettable adventure!

Here are a couple photos from their session & then the rest are of the ruins when we actually visited the day prior. If you'd like to see more photos from their shoot check my photography blog. (Should have them up asap!)

The cenote at Chichen Itza

If you look REAL close you can see Tyler & I standing in front of the main temple.

This is the observatory, I thought this looked way cool!

I love this shot because this kid was so cute & it really shows Kevin's personality. His name was Miguel and as our friend Abel, (who is practically family to the Flannerys & also works as a guide at Chichen Itza) was telling us all about the temple , Miguel was trying to interrupt and sell us things- he was so persistent! Kevin started teasing him of course trying to make him smile which was obviously easily achieved as this picture portrays.

This photo reminds me of the movie Road to Eldorado, if you've seen it you know what I mean!

There were people EVERYWHERE selling things. I had to take a picture of this guy because he had hand carved everything you see plus more that wouldn't fit in the photo & he is sitting there carving more. Everything was so detailed and intricate it was simply amazing.

Sorry for the sudden LARGE images. Here is the whole group posing for a pic together at Chichen Itza.

Kevin, Tammy, Josh, Shanae, Emily, Kellie, Me & Tyler

Tyler and I just before entering the ruins- it was HOT!

While we were walking over to the ruins we spotted some cool animals. There were iguanas everywhere though it was kinda crazy. This guy was sunbathing on a rock & was HUGE so I had to snap a pic.

Because of the humidity, it took my camera a little while to quit fogging up so this image of the peacock is kinda foggy. But it was cool to see this wild peacock & even cooler that he showed us his beautiful feathers!

Thought I'd throw this last pic into the mix.. it was taken in Akumel but I think it's beautiful!

Since Tyler got to express his gratitude to the Flannerys in the last post, I thought I would just conclude this by saying thanks again to them & that I am so grateful that they trusted in me & chose me to be their photographer. It was a once in a lifetime adventure & I feel so lucky. I am so thankful for the friendships I've made because of this trip & I had the time of my life! You guys are like family to us now! Counting the days until we can go back--THANK YOU!!