Measure properly…

Laugh a lot….

Show off your successes….

…even if they’re not perfect…

…Keep an eye on your aunt!

always double dip…

But always remember….

HE  IS  RISEN!

Before dinner last night, we hopped on the bus and went directly to A. Baker & Sons (about a 5 mile-20 min trip) to meet up with Pete’s Aunts. This store is odd to say the least. Everything you could think of neatly packaged in bins with hand written labels on them…”White T-Shirts – Large $5.  Some items new, some items used, most in original packaging but behind the counter, out of reach of the customers. You simply ask “Do you have any women’s shoes?” and they bring to the counter what they have in stock that day for you to decide if it’s what you want.  I liken it to a consignment store but with a little (and I’m dating myself here) La Belle’s thrown in. I did not bring my camera along but we’ll visit them again and will definitely have it with me. I shot some video on my phone and will share that on fb when I get back.

After our visit we all walked down to the, I know..not proud of this but…Nassau Hard Rock and from there we grabbed a cab and took the new bridge over to Paradise Island and checked out the famous Atlantis. WOW! This is the craziest hotel on the planet. Seriously, it’s like Vegas on an island. You need a map to get around! It started to get dark while we were there and so we didn’t really get to “see” all there was to see but from what I could see I’m pretty sure that it’s not somewhere that I would stay. Too massive. The fish tank was amazing…I got some great video of that!  We all ran into Ben & Jerry’s for a scoop and then headed all the way back up to our hotel. An early night last night…wanted to be fresh for diving!

Altho’ I posted some images on my fb page I thought I’d throw this one up of my sister enjoying a (literally) hand crafted umbrella drink from a gentleman walking the beach. The first one is $8 (labor included) and the refill is only $4! Yum.

I’ve never been so this is all new to me. I decided, back in January, to click “purchase” on a round trip ticket to the Bahamas and join my sister’s family (minus Ben) on their Spring Break. Now, I know I was just in Mexico with Gary but…really…can you blame me? We spent the better part of the day traveling yesterday and with a bit of a delay in Atlanta we landed around 5pm.

Customs, a breeze. We all hopped in a van and headed to the hotel. Pete, being the local, sat in front next to the driver (Larry) and within minutes, Pete and Larry were talking about Pete’s family and how Larry knew of Pete’s father, Useph (who passed away over 40 years ago) and his uncle George. It seemed as if during the cab ride the two of them were old friends.

Settled in our rooms we quickly hit the town and grabbed a bite at “Conch Fritters” (I kept calling it “The Crab Shack”…turns out, I’m turning into my mother!)

Pete showed us where his family’s store is  “A Baker & Sons” (closed…we’ll hit that another day) and we peeked into the newly remodeled Hilton for a night cap then we decided to get back to our place and listened to some live music in our lobby bar area. We all turned into pumpkins a  midnight. Big first day.

What I know for sure right now…..the local beer (Kalik), in a can, at our hotel is $8.05 and a coke at the pool (in a glass with ice) is $3.00. A Coke, served to you at the beach (in a glass and by the time it gets to you the ice is melted), is $3.75 and an ice cold can of Coke in the hotel store…..$2.50.

Having a BALL!!!

I’m pretty certain that most 10 year old girls (outside of “toddlers and tiaras”!) don’t get to have highlights put in there hair and then toss on a little mascara and head out to a location and have their own private photo shoot compete with props. Yippee for Amanda cuz that’s just what we did yesterday. Due to the fact that Amanda has 2 older (girl) cousins and an older sister that have received this gift in the past she has a tendency to want to emulate their sessions and often likes to get a little serious. But we have fun too, don’t get me wrong.

We got a late start yesterday and with daylight savings time ending I’d forgotten to plan on the sun setting earlier but we got it done! Being 10 also means that high on her list was getting to a family function on time for cake that afternoon and it set the pace for the shoot! Amanda wanted to hit the same location that her cousin, Jess, hit on Saturday for her shoot so once the hair was perfect we hopped in the car and headed back out to the University of Minnesota’s Landscape Arboretum in Chanhassen, Minnesota.

I love her. Here’s a few of my faves from the day….can’t believe she’s 10 already!

So, back to Emily. As is customary, for many years, I have gifted my nieces and nephews with photo shoots for their birthdays which begins with a FABulous hair session. What started as a simple idea has grown to include (sometimes) hours of hair preparation and several outfit changes. This year, Emily kept it simple with a ton of new layers and a date with a flat iron!  I love her energy and spunk. Here are a few of my faves…

Emily, I love you. Thanks for hangin’ with me and allowing me to capture your spirit.

I have to say, and I know I’m not alone on this one, that while destination weddings are a lot of work the rewards and results are always outstanding. Gorgeous backdrops are a given but getting to spend more time with the entire group of guests, leading up to the big day, makes you feel like family and everyone seems to loosen up more!

(Destination Wedding pricing is quoted individually and available upon request)

My sister’s family and I were poolside as the staff at the Marriott was prepping for a beach wedding on Palm Sunday. I grabbed this shot before things got crazy, I couldn’t resist!

This trip was pure pleasure and relaxation for me and an escape from the past 5 months of my mother’s illness and passing. It was so good to be there with family!

Pete, my brother-in-law, turned and asked me if I’d like him to take my photo and I handed him my camera and he got this great shot of me. Thanks, Pete! Thank you for everything!

I’m waiting to get shots off Pete’s underwater camera from our dive & I’ll post those another day. Above sea level, below sea level, we had a fabulous time!

Thanks, again, Bakers! I love you.

Since the recent loss of my mother (March 5th, 2010) I have been trying to reunite myself with with my old self. I thought this would be easy…just go back to what I was doing before November 5th, 2009…the date we got the devastating news of the return of her kidney cancer (metastatic renal cell carcinoma). Turns out, for me, it’s harder than I thought. While I certainly don’t miss the drive out to the Marie Steiner Kelting Hospice Home I do miss the reason I made the trip each day…to see my mom. Good days or bad days, a friend writes on his son’s Caring Bridge pages, they were all worth it.

Days after my mom’s death I found myself wandering about aimlessly and finally I turned and I asked Gary, “What did I used to do?” I mean I literally feel like I’m starting over or something. It’s really weird….or is it? I feel lost…or am I?  Perhaps it’s all normal, I’m certain it must be because after all….I’m normal….aren’t I?  All the things I got good at doing the past 4 months all need to be replaced with what I was good at before that first Thursday in November. Oh sure, I’ll fumble around a bit but before I know it I’ll be back on top of things instead of underneath it all.  I can see my horizon from here and it looks beautiful!

I will confess this….as a Wedding and Portrait Photographer I found myself praising God, selfishly, for bringing this trial to our lives in my “off season”. I was truly blessed to be able to spend nearly every day with my mom as she endured being bed ridden with life threatening, pathological fractures, managing pain with unbelievable amounts of narcotics while waiting for these abnormal cells to take over her body…at the young age of 71. This, my friends, was an amazing woman and I did not want to miss a minute with her…I rarely did, all due to God’s perfect timing.

I know that my life is forever changed now but my parents are reunited and I find such joy in knowing that one day…I will join them.

Thank you all for your continued, heartfelt prayers.

God Bless.