Sleepless in Seattle

I wasn't really sleepless, but I was finally able to visit the location of one of the greatest movies of all time and one of my new favorite cities- SEATTLE!!! Oh my goodness, how I love this place. There's such a unique feel to it. A kind of eclectic energy you might say. My dad was presenting at a conference and what a blessing it was to be able to go along! Gosh, I want to go back. Now. But I suppose I must be content with looking at photos, blogging about them, and reminiscing about the sheer fantastic-ness of it all. This may be long...but when are my posts ever not?? ;)

One of our first outings included a visit to Whidbey Island. That's one of a few islands across the "sound" (aka. a body of water that feeds directly into the ocean apparently). You learn so much while traveling. It's just grand :) Anyways, to get to the island we got to take a ferry! This thing was HUGE and wonderful and complete with TONS of indoor seating, a snack bar, and the bajillions of cars making their way across. Have you ever stood at the very edge of a ferry (moving quite quickly I might add) with the wind blowing like crazy and nothing separating you from the water way below but a railing? Oh my scariness!!! Yet what a rush :D.

Our ferry on the way over. 

We're a photographic family, what can I say?

Whidbey island is just great! There was the cutest little town and beach area we got to explore.Put me near the water and I am one happy girl :).

One of several boats just chillaxing on the shore. Was I tempted to test it out?? You betcha.

 Now one of the all-time most greatest things about the city of Seattle is how incredibly walk-able it is. We took the monorail and went perusing one afternoon, discovering the fantastic gem that is Seattle's street performers.They're everywhere!! And sooo talented! :D Seriously, I could have spent an entire day just seeking these folks out. I only documented about half of the ones we saw. Gosh, they're cool.

This guy was an Otavalo Indian from Ecuador and played the most beautiful flute music. His flutes were big and wooden and totally authentic. He was probably my favorite performer we saw. His music just touched my soul and was fantastic.

A chap of many talents, the same flute player also sold these friendship bracelet things. I just love mine :).

My second favorite guy. He's playing those Jamaican dingy things. I clearly do not know the proper name but if you've ever heard one, you know what I'm talking about. However, he didn't play just any songs. Instead, he was playing classics like Eine Kleine Nachtmusik. I know, right?! And he was so happy! I just love happy people :). Too cool.

Now this dude definitely wins for most creative! You may not be able to see it all in the photo but he's actually spinning TWO hula hoops, stamping bells on his shoes, playing the guitar and harmonica, and singing! He even balanced the end of his guitar on his face once. Delightful! 

Check out the sweet architecture in the library.

 An icon of Seattle: The Space Needle. I didn't go up, but my dad and bro did. Apparently the view is pretty great!

A glass sculpture from this delightful glass works place by the space needle.

Okay, now we're getting to the legendary Pikes Place Market! Everyone I asked about Seattle told me I just had to go there. They were totally right because this place is so GREAT! So many little shops and vendors and performers and people! Best people watching spot EVER. This is also where I discovered quite the interesting little book shop and picked up my own copies of The Scarlet Letter, Memoirs of a Geisha and Gray's Anatomy. And yes, I'm referring to the 1000+ page medical volume written a billion years ago. I just had to... :)

How cool is he?

K, one of the specific greats of Pike Place is the fish throwing. I'd seen this on TV and yep, it exists. Customers say what kind of fish they want and the workers literally chuck it to each other! Craziness. I wish I could've captured this in motion because these guys are pros.

Another performer at Pike Place.

The alley leading to the infamous 'gum wall.' What is the 'gum wall' you ask? Wait for iiiit...

Bam. Years and years in the making and probably hundreds of thousands of pieces gum, all in one place. Both incredibly disgusting and incredibly intriguing at the same time!

Believe it or not, we all contributed. The trick is to be sure you touch ONLY your piece of gum while sticking it to the wall..;)

I know right? He's just terrific.

Well, that about wraps up my documentation of this peach of a city. I just loved it to death. Even the weather. :)

Recap! I'm Back!

Hello friends! What a ridiculously long time it's been! Goodness gracious. I've missed you all. Basically, my allotted free space was used up before the end of the year, so unless I wanted to start paying money (it was tempting...) I was forced to wait until the New Year before I could post any more photos. Annoying, yes, but I'm just happy 2013 is here so we can get things up and running again! By the way, a huge thank you to everyone that told me how much they loved/missed my blog! You guys are so wonderful and really know how to make a girl feel good about herself :).
So, since so much time has passed, these photos aren't exactly 'new' but more of a recap of my photographic adventures that I never got a round to posting. Warning- this may be the longest post of all-time.-

Let's get started.

In August, I had the opportunity to photograph my great-uncle's wedding! Now, I am by no means a professional. Photography is my hobby, not my career, so the thought of being responsible for documenting a wedding day was beyond intimidating! I was scared to death...Luckily, I was blessed with wonderful weather, and tons of amazing family who helped me pose people, rally everyone together, get babies to smile, etc. I ended up taking a bajillion photos but am only posting a few. It was a beautiful day and I was so glad to be a part of it!

 I spy...ME! haha. Someone was kind enough to snap this photo so I could be with the family :)

Tehe, I love the expression on their faces :D 

I have adorable second cousins!! :) At least I think that's what they are..gahh, I've never mastered the art of how that works :P.

Love this! Family photos are indeed exhausting... 

Grandpa and grandbaby :)

Another fantastic event that happened in August was my Daddy's graduation!! :D Four long years of hard work, and he earned his Eds. Degree. That's an Educational Specialist Degree and it falls between a Masters and a Doctorate, aka. TONS of work and super awesomeness :). My grandma, aunt, uncle and cousin from Texas were able to come celebrate with us which was so fun! :) Go Daddy! and of course... Go cougars!

 Please be aware that the date listed is for his Bachelors. Confusing, I know...:P

 There he is! Jk, I have yet to find him although I believe he's somewhere on the far left side.

Future BYU grad? :)

Aww, she's so proud of him :).

 Brothers!

Love my Daddy :) 

 The famous cougar which ever grad needs a picture by.

Well, summer came and went and soon it was the best season of the year...AUTUMN! Love it, love it. In American Fork, there's this darling little fall-ish petting zoo place that really gets you in the mood for everything Autumn. I got to go with my sister and her family and document the cuteness of it all :).

I was too big to ride...:( Darn.

I LOVE this pic. It totally captures the essence of their cute little familia :)

So I've noticed that many photographer's seem to have a strange obsession with shoes...(usually in engagement photos). I decided to see what the deal was. Turns out, they're super fun to capture! Also, someone once told me that when looking through old photos, one of the most interesting things to look at are the shoes. So. End of story :)

More shoes. Favorite pic of the day, I think. :)

 Um, yeah, is that not the most epic pony in the world?? I think so.

 Jeff thinks so too.

 Like father, like son. So sweet :)

 Like other father, like other son.

Auntie-brag moment part 1. :)

Auntie-brag moment part 2. :)

Well, before I knew it, it was CHRISTMAS! I really didn't capture that many Christmas photos which is an epic tragedy for sure!! However, I did have the opportunity to take family Christmas photos for my beautiful friend Becca! 

Yay! I love these guys! :D

 This child has the biggest, bluest eyes you've ever seen. Soo cute!

 I decided to get a little 'artsy' in my editing. Way fun :)

 Love this girl! :)

I. LOVE. THIS. 

So there ya have it. I may have missed some stuff, but don't worry- I won't hesitate to do more posts and you can quote me on that ;).

It's good to be back :).