Hi everyone!

Ok, so I'm back from a week's vacation with Drew & his large extended family. And by large, I mean we jammed 22 people into his cousin's 3 bdr/2.5 ba house!

We started on a boating/crabbing trip around Puget Sound.



Salmon were jumping up all over the place in the canal, but we weren't allowed to fish there. :(


The water was so clear that we wanted to jump in, but fear of freezing cold kept us on the boat.

We stopped on an island for lunch & games. Eight of us played ultimate frisbee while Ann & Ashley (the native Washingtonians) flew their own airplanes.


On day 3, Drew & I visited UW's campus. They've got some cool buildings up there.




Day 4, part of the family drove up to British Columbia, rented bikes, and biked around Stanley Park.

That's some of the crew riding behind me.



The hydrangeas were in full bloom & looked fabulous!






On one of the stops, young & old, we all took turns running through the kids' water playground.


Everyone had such a great time that day. :)

Day 5 - we spent some time at the Butterfly Garden and hiked a bit around one of the parks near Victoria. Those blue morphos are my favorite butterflies.


I loved this tree growing from an older tree trunk.


The sunset on the ferry ride back was beautiful.


Drew & I spent our last two days of vacation in Mt. Rainier National Park. August is an amazing time to witness all the wildflowers while still being able to see the snow-capped peaks.

This park had so many breathtaking views of green hillsides, flowers, and of course, the mountain. The only thing missing was Julie Andrews singing the Sound of Music. What's up Mt. Rainier?






Catching our breaths from the long uphill climb.



After 5 hours, we finally reached the top! It seemed as if we were walking up to heaven with the clouds so low.


I love these little bearded plants, but I don't quite know what they're called.


And on the way down, we were rewarded with a brightly colored meadow.



Can I repeat how much I love this park? There were just so many gorgeous sites! I wish I could post all the pictures here, but I don't want to get carried away.

So I'll end with a few images of our ride back through the countryside and from the plane.






Good-bye Washington!

I had an awesome time with Michelle & Bryan during their engagement session last weekend! We started off with some red wine and cheese so how could anything have gone wrong?







I'm not sure if it was the wine or if it was just Michelle & Bryan being Michelle & Bryan, but I loved how goofy they were. Why am I constantly blessed with such fun, laid-back couples? Some of my favorite moments from them were...

the chest bump,


the "I'm going downstairs now!" act,


shadow puppet time,


and when they created their own unique drawing in the sand. If you can't tell already, Michelle's really into doing triathlons and Bryan is a scientist. Earlier that day, Michelle had biked a zillion miles around Coronado (really, it was some outrageous number that just blew me away!)







Can't wait to document the fun on their big day in October!

I had the opportunity to photograph two of the sweetest people getting married a couple of weeks ago. Jonelle & Victor tied the knot at The Thursday Club, a beautifully charming venue up in the hills of Point Loma.









Jonelle getting a little peck on the cheek from her niece before the big moment!



I love it when people are still kids at heart.



If there was ever a contest for the most genuine & nicest people in the world, I would jump at the chance to enter Jonelle & Victor. As proof, I would play back the video of all the speeches given by almost every family member, grandmas & siblings included! If you were in the room that night, you would've wanted to get to know these two after hearing what everyone had to say.



Jonelle's brother, Johnny played Everlong on his guitar as the two danced their First Dance. (The acoustic version is one of my favorite songs, btw, so great choice Jonelle & Victor!)



Riding away in style...









Congratulations Jonelle & Victor! Hope you two have fun in Jamaica!