Sunday, June 24, 2012

Lily Doing Cartwheels

Good Afternoon and Happy Sunday!
I wanted to post these pictures I took this weekend of my daughter participating in the Lompoc Flower Festival Parade with her gymnastics group. She and many kids enrolled at Gymnastics North were asked to walk and perform cartwheels along the parade path, the older kids did some amazing tricks involving flips and walk overs. It was a cold and foggy morning, but Lily soon warmed up. She had a great time being in the parade. Thank you to Gymnastics North for a great time. Enjoy! :)















Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Katelyn and Nick's Wedding

Happy Wednesday!
I am still working on updating my blog with weddings from late 2011. Today I am featuring the wedding of Katelyn and Nick.

Katelyn and Nick were married October 1, 2011. Their wedding was at the beautiful Our Lady of Snows Catholic Church in Lake Almanor. The church was recently built nestled next to the Bailey Creek Golf course. The church is modern, tranquil and serene with gorgeous stained glass. The landscaping is beautiful. The leaves were just beginning to turn it's wonderful warm fall colors. I knew their photos were going to be very colorful. Their wedding was appropriately themed for autumn and harvest as well. Their wedding reception was held in West Almanor right on the lake shore. There was an awesome deck that the bride and groom were able to walk out on and I was able to get Mt. Lassen in the background of the lake images.

Let me back track a little bit of how we know Katelyn and Nick.  My husband, Jerick, began working for US Forest Service in Chester in March 2009.  In November 2008, my husband applied for a position promotion and accepted a position as Captain with Almanor District with Crew-1, a 10 person hand crew. Our baby boy was due for February 5 2009, but he came 6 weeks early, the morning after Christmas.  We juggled with the move, 3 weeks of NICU visits and knowing that my husband was going to live in the barracks away from us while the kids and I stayed in Davis with my parents until we could settle on finding a home.  Anyway, Jerick worked very hard filled with dedication to re-establish this 10-person hand crew and built a strong crew and bond with his 10 guys.  Nick ended up being Jerick's apprentice on his crew. I met Katelyn at the crew's end-of-the-year party. Katelyn was filled with sweet smiles and laughter that night I met her, and I could see how happy she and Nick were together. She was very playful with my daughter, Lily. And Katelyn tried so hard to hold baby James, but he was such a Mama's boy. By the end of the evening, James finally let Katelyn hold him. Katelyn had found out that I am a photographer and had commented on how when she gets married she wants me to be her photographer. With a blush, I was honored and excited for that coming day.

Nick proposed to Katelyn over Christmas in 2010 in front of their families. And we were completely taken back by the honor of actually getting to be their wedding photographers.  We met up a few times to go over photo information. And texted quite often the weeks before, both watching the weather reports so closely. The weather changes so quickly in Chester area, especially with the season changing. There was a threat of rain, and the reception was all outdoors. There was a moment of panic for the bride and groom to rent a tent, but it all worked out in the end.  I was there for their rehearsal run through and it was a warm autumn day. And so was their wedding day. It was truly a blessing!

The bride and her ladies got ready at her mother-in-law's friends home located in the Bailey Creek Golf Course. It was a beautiful home with so much window light to offer. Then the ladies wanted photos at another friend's home of Katelyn's mother-in-law. Their yard was huge and beautifully landscaped. The ladies were ever so patient with me because I just couldn't stop taking photos of them and the beautiful scenery. Jerick photographed the boys getting ready their in the church lobby. And photographed the boys hanging out before the ceremony.  Jerick also was able to photograph the arriving guests while I was busy having way too much fun with the ladies. Their wedding ceremony was very touching and sweet. It's my favorite moment to see so many touching tears of joy in a room full of love and support for the couple. After the ceremony, Katelyn, Nick and I bolted in a yellow convertable Mustang to a spot on the golf course with a cool bridge and a pond with a spraying water fountain and mini waterfall. One of my favorite photos is of Katelyn and Nick int he background with the mini waterfall in the foreground. When we got back to the church, we photographed their family portraits inside the church and photographed the bridal party outside of the church and then weeded it down to photos of just Katelyn and Nick. We drove over to their reception site and awaited the arrival of the bride and groom, who arrived in style approaching their reception in the yellow convertable Mustang through the pine trees and into the grassy area of their reception. The bride and groom were welcomed with a receiving line, allowing the bride and groom to greet all of their wedding guests.  We enjoyed eating wonderful variety of food outside under a clear and beautiful early evening. After dinner, their family toasted the couple. Katelyn's father gave a very touching speech that even caused me to get teary-eyed. Katelyn and her father then wanted to honor all the women in Katelyn's life with a yellow rose. It was such a sweet and touching moment of the evening. After the toasts and honors, we were able to sneak away to get some sunset shots of Katelyn and Nick out on the lake shore with a glorious view of Mt. Lassen. Finally, the couple and their guests were able to let loose and party. We stayed and photographed as late as we possible could. Their DJ was amazed on how hard we were working and how late we were there taking photos. We had so much fun at Katelyn and Nick's wedding. Always such an honor to photograph fellow US Forest Service friends. Congrats to Katelyn and Nick.

Here are some of the images from their wedding album that I designed for them.  This is one of my favorite wedding albums. Wedding albums are truly my favorite thing to do for my bride and groom! Enjoy!!




























Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Château a la Domingues...


Château a la Domingues...

Ok, not really a château, really it's our humble townhome. Just recently, we FINALLY decorated/put photos up on the wall. It's not much, but it helps make it feel like "home." And please ignore the chaotic mess... *blush*


The living/dining/office area

The work station

Jerick's homage

The work station

The camera that started it all...

Hallway of memories

La Cocina

 La Conina

Stairway hall

Stairway hall

Lily's room

Lily's room

Monkey Bathroom for my Monkeys

James' room

James' room, big Cars and Toy Story fan

The messy masterbedroom


Kitchen artwork

Fireplace mantle

My artwork