just because i had a BIG camera

another family i took pictures for

here's the story.

i have a big camera. *thank you cory.

a camera that i LOvE taking pictures with.

trust me i do take a lot of pictures.

well somehow at my family reunion it got around

and i was asked to take some family shots.

umm... all i could say was 

"sure, but seriously i have NO IDEA what i am doing."

which is very honest.

i might take a lot of pictures, but it does not mean a lot turn out good. if any sometimes.

i need to take a class, or at least have someone teach me how to use my camera.

anyways i happily took their pictures

and was pleasantly surprised with the outcome.

not professional looking by any means, but at least they were in focus. (well most at least)

p.s. i want rice crispy treats.

like right now.

the homemade kind and still hot please.

ah. oooie gooie yummy-ness!!

i got sick.

cory. this isn't what it looks like...

haha, i lied. it totally is what it looks like!

{my two amazing sisters.}
i (heart) them.

my youngest cousin, quinn.
giving baby kisses to his super cute mom sherrie.
LOvE them both.

all and all i had a fun trip. it was great to see my family again, along with bundles of cousins, aunts, and uncles. i really do have a great family, like really great. i could spend forever hanging around and talking with them... one day we will. i did get sick tho. no too bad, just bad enough to loose my voice and pretty much sound like a MAN.
we decided to bail on disneyland (80,000+ people - NO THANK YOU!) and hit up legoland instead, it was like two minutes from our hotel. it was so cute and so fun, the little cousins loved it.
i am now in utah. tomorrow i will fly back to alaska and finally be able to see cory again. i missed him so much. somehow he got sick too even though we were more than 3000 miles away from each other. luckily i get to go home to a sick husband. i say luckily because i love taking care of cory when he is sick. i don't know why i like it so much, i just do.
my family is still in california so i spent the night with my grandparents. we talked for hours. they always make me feel so good about what cory and i are doing in life, especially alaska. after talking with them i realized more than ever that cory and i really are pretty much on a mission together in bethel. i feel so good about my life right now. i wish i could bottle this feeling up and save it for a bad day. i am just really grateful that i am ME. my family, my husband, my friends, my goals, my life in alaska... it might not work for everyone, but it sure as heck works for me.
well i am off to bed. i need to get up early to catch my flight. next time i will be back in utah it will be to finally buy our house... YAY!!
i can't wait. december couldn't come sooner.

reboot sessions: day 2

san diego temple.

or

toothpick castle....

you choose.

reboot sessions: day 1

some pics from my first day in san diego.
we found some groovy glasses.
some random guy proposed to mae.
we joined a biking family in giving a fantastic dragon.
ooo and found treasures on the beach.
p.s. i miss you cory. wish you were here.
p.s.s. happy 9 months! i love you.

packed and ready to go.

reboot sessions. {mae+me time}

kaylee.

the beach.

oh and a trip to the happiest place on earth.

yea. that's right it's vacation time.

no more rain (at least not today)

thank goodness!

sushi anyone?

what are most couples doing at 2 am?

sleeping.

what is this couple doing at 2 am?

taking pictures with a giant salmon!

we have salmon all the time.

smoked salmon.

teriyaki salmon.

grilled salmon.

soon to try homemade sushi.

another free thing we have enjoyed in bethel.

cory came home from work a little before two in the morning.

he was very excited and wanted me to grab the camera.

luckily, i was awake and quickly grabbed my camera.

honestly, i had no idea what we were going to take pictures of.

but who cares.

i ran outside to find a huge 40 lb salmon.

i will admit i didn't want to take a picture with it.

but after cory reminded me it would make a good blog post

and kindly gave me his hoodie.

i was happy to take on the early morning fish photo shoot.

sorry the pictures are so dark.

usually it is still light out all night

but with as much rain as we have gotten

it's been pretty dark at night.

red. white. and blue

i hope everyone had a happy independence day.

we sure did.

the pictures above are from the festivities (parade and carnival).

people would boat in from villages near and far to join in the fun.

YES. it was still a cold over cast day,

but seeing all the excited faces made the day what it was.

the carnival was my favorite part.

since there are no real games or rides, people had to be inventive.

the picture above with the soda bottles is a game of ring toss.

the kids loved it.

simple.

the last picture is me with the owner of subway.

since she is the keeper of my diet coke we have become good friends.

life here is

- - - - - - - -

fyi:

all phones in bethel are dead again.

so if anyone called in the past 2 days and it went straight to voicemail

trust me, we are not screening your calls.

we just don't have any phone service.

they said it should be fixed tonight.

keep your fingers crossed.