Give Away to Paris?!

Check this out!

http://ohhappyday.com/2011/06/goes-to-paris/

Whale, er... Dolphin Watching!

Hello! My lovely friend Christine asked if I wanted to join her on whale watching trip last Sunday. She only had tickets for the two of us... but Justin was able to reserve a spot when we found out someone cancelled.

It was a nine hour trip out on the water and a two hour visit to Catalina island.

We did not see any whales! We were a little bummed out, but what can you do? They're wild creatures.

We were lucky enough to see two pods of dolphins. They were just lovely!

Next time... hopefully we'll see whales!



Day Trip to Emerald Bay

This weekend the House of Kelley took a day trip out to Lake Tahoe and we enjoyed Emerald Bay. We took our cameras to photograph what we found at the top of the peak.

While shooting, Vienna made a few friends. These girls were so enamoured of her, they took turns taking individual photos with Vienna. You can see that Vienna absolutley enjoyed the attention. 

Sunset was just lovely. The air was crystal clear and the clouds turned several shaded of colors as the sun decended. The water reflected the pink sky too.

Once it was almost full dark we stopped shooting and headed home. Since it's winter and the sun sets so early, we had plenty of time to get home.

Miss You Roxie!

Good-bye Roxie, you will be missed!

You were a fantastic part of our family.

You can also visit Justin's Ode to Roxie.

No Joking Around ...

... else the puppy gets it!

Retro Post: Dee Young With the Hackwiths

Last year we had the pleasure of spending time with the Hackwiths. It was a pleasure seeing Amanda again, and meeting Levi for the first time.

We enjoyed the King Tut exhibit. The last time these artifacts were in SF was 30 years ago! Here is a photograph of a photograph. Sadly, we were not allowed to shoot the Tut Exhibit.

We also enjoyed the rest of the museum. This was one of my favorite exhibits... geometric and free form metallic shapes that were conveniently reflective.

Never mind that I got in trouble 1.5 seconds after I took this shot. The Dee Young docents don't like it when guests ignore the barrier and push it a foot forward. How silly, don't they know it's all about getting the shot?

Mayan Sun God figure. I don't get why he has tusks?

Shot of the museum next door. Newly remodeled Academy of Sciences, I think?

Retro Post: Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park

Last year we had the pleasure of meeting up with some friends our ours. Amanda & Levi were newlyweds, spending their honeymoon in the city. We met up for two days and went adventuring.

I had never been to the Japanese Tea Garden. We spent maybe two, three hours there. I think as a photographer, I could have been there all day.

It was so beautiful! One day our backyard will look this good...

Retro Post: 2009 Christmas Vist to Winters

Hello! Welcome to the first of MANY Retro Posts! I am VERY BEHIND on editing photos... and our little reward to each edited shoot is that I get to post them to the blog!

I will be posting MANY photos from 2009 (and hopefully keep up with 2010) for the next few months as I work backwards to get updated.

Wish me luck!

Here are some great shots from Winters, CA. Justin and I wanted to be out and about on our Christmas vacation, so we took a little jaunt to this nearby town.

We quickly discovered they had a lot of orchards there.

Luckily we didn't get caught trespassing, so we took their nature walk. The walk started with this footbridge.

While on our walk we experienced lost wildlife. We think this guy was somehow separated from his group. He spent most of his time calling to his family and hiding from us.

All in all, a good little day trip. 

One of the highlights of the trip was finding this FANTASTIC diner. Sadly, I didn't take any pictures as I was too busy eating! Next time we go there, I promise to document that delicious French Dip Sandwich.

Just Playing Around

Justin and I decided to spend our Sunday afternoon out and about. After church we took a quick jaunt to Old Town Sacramento.

One of my FAVORITE subjects is Justin - while he is taking a picture. I don't know why... maybe someday I will put together a book... of him taking a shot, and then right next to it, his picture.

This little bit of fall foliage really caught my eye.

Packing crate at the train depot. I LOVE the anchor logo.

Goodbye 2009...

We had some GREAT times this year... we're looking forward to next year's adventures.

For now, here is a quick selection of some of our favorite photographs from the year.

Let's see if I can get this right...
Happy 60th Anniversary Grandma & Grandpa!

This is a good mix of family, adventures, and photographing trips.

We HAVE to give a shout out to Justin's award winning shot!

Happy New Year!

(Click on the group of shots if you would like to see a larger size)

Christmas Day

Merry Christmas!

We had a blessed day spending time with the Balarie side of the family.

We had a great time enjoying time together and of course, some fantastic home cooking! Thanks mom!

When Some Borrows Your Camera...

... you just might get some fantastic shots!

You might see something from a different point of view...

... and even something that might not usually catch your eye...

... and then, well, things just might backfire.

Christmas Eve

Justin and I hosted Kelley Christmas Eve this year. As per family tradition we made Chicken Sausage & Potatoes. Yum!

And yes ladies and gentlemen, that is elephant garlic in there!

Each family also brought their presents to us and to each other. We have never had so many presents under the tree!

Here is a shot from the other side.

We had a great evening with family and newly made friends. Dinner was a hit and we were lucky enough to have the Wongs join us in time to open presents.

Christmas 2009

Merry Christmas! Here is our 2009 Christmas Tree!

We got a new tree topper, as the old one was broken. I packed our storage box too tightly and the base broke. We are going to try to repair it, as we found a new, more special home for it.

Below, you can see our new tree topper, another angel.

This year, Cristina was inspired by a Christmas tree decoration at work. It was a 3 foot tree decorated with only bird ornaments.

We have expaneded our decorations this year and added a pre lit 4 foot tree for the master bedroom. (YES! The downstairs tree is a live tree!) You can see our original tree angel that was passed down from Justin's parents and our growing collection of birds.

It turns out we already had a few birds, and this year we enjoyed adding to the collection. We have had a fun time finding unique or handmade birds.

Last Year's Tree

Here is last year's tree! So pretty!

Justin thinks last year's tree was taller than the one we got last weekend... I will have to take photos to compare!

Welcome Baby Gabriel!

Welcome to our family little guy!

6 lbs 7 oz

18 1/2" tall

Happy, healthy, and SLEEPY!

You've got a LOT of family members to love you... especially your FOUR aunts and TWO uncles!

We love you little Gabriel Allen!

Ana's Baby Shower

I am happy to say my sister is rich in family and friends, and I was lucky enough to throw her last shower, with the help of my sisters & Ana's best friend, Sarah Smith.

We had the house all decorated, and found some adorable balloons for the flowers.

We had a TON of food! This is the table before we got the hot food on, there were deviled eggs on the glass dishes, along with lumpia (thanks Evelin!) and fresh BBQ'd chicken and beef! Hey, we're a Romanian family, it does not count unless there is BBQ!

Look how cute Ana looks! She looks so good!! Opening gifts... here are letters that spell out Gabriel's name. Lizi painted them.

I love you gals! I feel so blessed by God when I think about my fabulous family.

And lets not forget... SARAH! Thanks for the help!