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!!

Ogden Marathon 2010

It's kinda surreal to think back to exactly 2 weeks ago & think about this experience. It almost seems like it didn't happen at all!

I woke up at about 4am to eat and get out the door by 4:30am. Tyler was a sweetheart and drove me to Ogden so early in the morning & then he went straight back to bed while we loaded a bus that took us to the starting line. It was freezing cold so I was grateful to find lots of bonfires to use to stay warm before the race. We waited around for what seemed like forever (really probably only an hour and a half) before we were told to head towards the starting line & wait for the gun to go off! At this point I had a million emotions going through my head- mostly excitement- I was running my first official marathon!

We heard the gun go off & we all cheered with excitement-- although it still took us about 5 minutes to cross the starting line. The first 5 miles were funny to me because you just look to the sides of the street and find clothing everywhere that runners are shedding as they are warming up.

I was lucky enough to have a running partner, Cameron, who runs at the same pace as me. We kept each other going the entire race.

Some of you may have known already, but one of my knees had been giving me grief when I got higher in miles. In preparation for this on race day I brought along some Tylenol & took it at the half. I didn't have any pain at all the whole race! It was definitely my only fear of what could cause me to not finish, so I was very grateful.

Here we are at mile 17 just about to enter the Ogden Canyon! I was feeling great & even better when I saw my Coach, Dave & he ran with us for a while keeping us motivated.
This is at mile 23 I believe & we had just finished running through the canyon. My family was there it was such a surprise & encouraged me to keep going!
They made me signs that went along with the song Unstoppable by Rascal Flatts. It was so thoughtful, Rascal Flatts is one of my all time favorites so it meant a lot to me!
Here we are at the finish about to cross the finish line! The last stretch down Grant was probably my favorite part of the whole race. Your body is screaming at you to stop yet you can see the finish line in the distance & your body fills with excitement and you push yourself to keep going.
Our official time was 4:44 & we were very happy with this considering our goal was under 5 hrs & crossing vertically :)
My family came to greet me at the finish & it was extremely emotional for me. As you can tell by the pictures I was crying. I hugged my Dad first and he asked me if it was hard & I just started crying and said Yes! I knew that I would cry at the finish, it wasn't a surprise to me at all. The night before I told Tyler I knew I would because even then just picturing myself crossing the finish line I got teary-eyed.

I was extremely grateful that my family came out to support me. It would have been a lot harder to finish if they weren't there. They made me feel extremely special for completing this goal of mine & I love them so much!
Me hugging my brother Aaron. He told me he was inspired by me & he is now training to complete his first 1/2 marathon along with me, Tyler & our little sister Karli in Disneyland this September! We are extremely excited to say the least & I am extremely proud of them for committing to doing it.
Me with my biggest fan :)
Karli giving me a victory hug :) I'll be giving her one when we cross the finish line in September!

Tyler's Mom, Amy, came along with Carson to cheer me on! Thanks you guys :)

Me with my parents!
Me and my niece Emerie
Me with my brother Tim & sister in law Megan
Me with my beautiful sisters, Devanee & Karli.

I am definitely grateful for the opportunity I had to run this marathon & I couldn't have picked a better course for my first. It was extremely beautiful the entire way & very well put together. I am also grateful to have found Team in Training to help me train & prepare for my first marathon. It gave me the opportunity to give back & raise money for Leukemia & Lymphoma. Thanks to all those who donated money, I raised more than my goal! A few donations have trickled in even after my race & right now the total raised is at $1,815! So THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart for supporting me in this endeavor. It was an unforgettable experience that I will cherish forever. One of my life long goals has been accomplished but I don't think I'll be retiring from running anytime soon.. next up.. 1/2 Marathon at Disneyland this September!

Yep- It's true - I'm running a marathon!

The Ogden Marathon to be exact. When is it? May 15th - ya less than 2 months from now! Am I freaking out? Um.. not so much.. because I have been training since the beginning of this year with an awesome team. Some of us are running the Ogden marathon & some are running the Vancouver marathon. This team was formed through an organization called Team in Training. What is Team in Training? It is the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's (LLS) groundbreaking charity sports training program. All of us on the team are raising funds to help stop leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma, and myeloma from taking more lives. I am running this marathon in honor of all those who have battled or are battling blood cancers.

I have committed to raising $1700 to support this cause & I have barely passed the halfway mark. With less than one month left to collect money, I need your help! Your donation will help the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's mission of finding cures & saving lives. What's more, it's fully tax deductible.

I am so grateful for all the support that I have received so far in my training and in raising money for this great cause & I appreciate every little penny you can give, because it makes a difference!

Donate securely by clicking on the link below to my fundraising page:
http://pages.teamintraining.org/ut/ogden10/rgapinski

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
[♥Rach]

P.S. Enjoy a few pics from some of my "long runs" with my team

St. Patty's Run - 18 miles

A great friend and I after our first 8 mile run back in January

My first 10 mile run back in February

An awesome girl I met through this team and I posing next to a lifesize cardboard cutout of our coach Dave! We thought it was pretty funny :)

...Contest!

Hey everyone, I just wanted to let ya'll know that I am giving away a FREE photo session in honor of this month of LOVE! Head on over to my photography blog for details on how to enter! CLICK HERE

xoxo Rach

Keep yo hands off my mama

Tyler and I came across this hilarious commercial for Doritos. We can't stop watching it! Check it out here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MRTjS3YO0A

Home is where the HEART is

So the other day I realized that we were coming up on the 2 year mark of when we bought our first home. (Yes, the one we are currently living in.) And I also realized that in all this time, I have never put up pictures of it! So TODAY is finally the day! I have decided to take YOU on a tour of our humble abode. LUCKY YOU! :)

Welcome to our home! It's not a mansion that's for sure, and it may be a lot smaller than some of you could ever picture yourselves in.. BUT it fits our little family perfectly!

When you walk in our front door, you will see one of my favorite sayings... It gets me through dark days & keeps me chuggin' along :)

Once you step inside, you'll quickly see our family room. I love the huge window and all the light it brings into our house. Before Tyler and I moved in, I rag rolled the walls in here, it was lots of fun!

Here is another favorite saying that sits on our fireplace

A wide view of our family room

Fireplace

Tyler's pride and joy, his 52" TV he won through his work this past Christmas. Anything bigger would have been TOO big for this room!

Our doggies' favorite hang out spot downstairs, THE COUCH

As you walk around the corner you'll see our Dining area which has a large glass door leading out to our backyard.

Our small & simple kitchen

Keep walking and you'll see our Laundry room & half bath

Let's head upstairs, Toby is waiting for us :)

View from the top of the first set of stairs

View of the second set of stairs from the top, I love my light fixtures!

The view from the stairs down the hallway. That first door on the left that you hardly see is 1 of 3 bedrooms, right now I am using it as my photography studio where I do a lot of babies. The next door is the full bathroom, the very end of the hall is bedroom #2 which is my photography office, and bedroom #3 is the master bedroom (our sleeping quarters) it's on the right.

Bedroom #2 Photography Office. I spend countless hours in here editing my life away & it's where I am RIGHT NOW! :)
Before I forget, check out my super awesome desk chair. My loving hubby got it for me for Christmas cuz my old one was horribly uncomfortable!

The view of my messy desk and huge big screen that I use to proof with my clients. Someday soon those cords will be neatly tucked out of site.. but for now they are just hanging there driving me NUTS!

Our quite girly bathroom, SORRY TYLER, I think it's super cute but have been contemplating going a bit more masculine for the sanity of my husband.

A few little detail shots of our bedroom. Under the window we have a plethora of framed pictures of us from our engagements, bridals, etc.

The most important saying in our house & it's in our bedroom to be a constant reminder.
"Always Kiss Me Goodnight"

Sorry but this is the only view of our bedroom you get! I am currently in the process of finding a new comforter for our bed. So if any of you have good ideas of where I could find one LET ME KNOW!

Well this concludes our tour, thanks for stopping by! I hope that each of you will get the opportunity to visit in REAL life soon! (if you haven't already that is..)
We love our little home!