Well, our next part of our trip took us to the beautiful state of New Mexico. We stayed in Taos, where our good friends, the Duques, have a house there and spend every summer there. It was so much fun for our kids to see their friends and just as much fun for Aron and I to catch up with Rick and Cindy!
The girls spent one day at the historic Ojo Caliente spa for one of the BEST massages I have ever had. There were ancient mineral springs there that have been said to have healing effects on the people who visit. I have to say that we were extremely revived after spending the day there. The kids spent the day fishin' with the boys and had a great time. Although I didn't get the chance to photograph the details of Taos that I had wanted, I did manage to get a few as we headed out of town to our next destination...

This is the famous Rio Grande Gorge. It was so scary looking down on the river from the rickety bridge that we were on...

This is part of the railing along the bridge of the Rio Grande Gorge...the texture was really cool on this...most people probably pass this detail up.

One thing I did notice along all of the roads here were the many crosses with flowers hanging on them. Apparently, there are several deaths along the highway and here at the gorge, many are said to have jumped this bridge to their death. I took this picture right next to the bridge....it was really disturbing to think of how bad this person's life must have been for him to take this plunge. Very sad.

We came across this random ice cream bus. Is this not the coolest, most colorful ice cream us you have ever seen? Doesn't this bus make you want to run up to it and order an Astro Bar? Or an It's It? Who knows what an It's It is? That was my favorite as a kid...does anyone know if these still exist? I would love to know!!!

Our big ol' RV...dogs, kids, and all!

After being on the road for about 4 hours, we found out that we had a FLAT TIRE on our RV trailer...GREAT!
Good thing Aron is so handy...he pulled right over and proceeded to change the tire while our kids played in the field next to the highway.

They aren't kidding when they say that kids find fun in everything....here they are looking for grasshoppers and having a blast!!!

We are now in Durango, Colorado having a great time. It is absolutely beautiful here and will blog more tomorrow after we go digging for gold in Silverton!

This past Sunday, my family and I headed off to our long awaited family road trip. This summer we are traveling through the Southwest and exploring all of the cool things each state has to offer. Our children, who are 8 and 6 years old, absolutely LOVE to go camping in our RV. Although it is not my favorite way to travel, I suck it up for my kids because I know that they are going to remember these times together. After all, the times we have traveled together camping have been the most treasured family memories to date.
Our first stop was The Grand Canyon. Instead of driving into the canyon, we took the Grand Canyon Railway, a vintage steam engine train that made its first journey in 1901.

Before boarding the train, there was a wild west show. These cowboys had such a witty sense of humor and managed to drag Aron out of the crowd to embarrass him among all of the tourists! They had a lot of fun with him...and he took it like a champ!

Once we arrived in The Grand Canyon, we hiked some trails and saw some amazing sights, including some mountain goats.
All Cole wanted to do was throw rocks down the Canyon to watch them disappear. Katie was on a mission to catch any lizard that dared to cross her path. Although she didn't manage to catch one, she did snag a tail off one of them! She beamed with happiness at this accomplishment!

We had a long day hiking along the trail and viewing some amazing sights. Once we settled into our seats on the train and began our journey back to Williams, one of the passengers noticed some cowboys on horses riding right next to our window...they had their bandannas around their faces and they were waving their six-shooters high up in the air...and shooting them!!! Were we getting robbed?
Suddenly, the passengers became nervous and our conductor began to speak..."folks, I'm afraid to say that this here train is being ROBBED!!!"

If you know anything about this train ride, you know that the cowboys that did the wild west show puts on a mock hold-up on the train (did anyone see the Brady Bunch episode when this happened to them?). It was a blast to watch Katie and Cole mesmerized by the cowboys as they entered our area and demanded everyone's money and jewels. Cole threw a few bucks into Lucky's bag and tried to get a rise out of him...Lucky grabbed me and pretended that he was going to take off with me...it was all good ol' fun!!!

Katie and Cole deemed this "the best day everrrr" and I cracked up when they kept saying that because it was only our first stop and we have 4 other places we are traveling to!!!
These are the times when you feel so blessed to have a family and have the opportunity to live life through their eyes for a little bit and be fortunate enough to travel this way...not the most luxurious, but definitely the most memorable in a child's mind.

Stay tuned for stories from our next journey...Taos, New Mexico!

He was on the high school football team. She was a cheerleader. They dated throughout high school and after graduating college, Carrie became a teacher and Chris has just become a full fledged fireman in Orange County! Their love for each other runs deep and they look in each other's eyes like they are a couple of old souls who are clearly meant for each other.
I had to pinch myself several times yesterday as I unfolded their day through my eyes at the beautiful Mission Inn in Riverside. I had quite the awesome crew with me second shooting so we wouldn't skip a beat throughout the day. Damion Hamilton, Matthew Lim, and Marie Bunke experienced this awesome day with me, and I think we all had a great time.
This picture is AWESOME!!! Damion snagged this right before the ceremony and we were being so goofy!!! I love this shot...thanks damion! Make-Up was done by the very talented Tina Goudy from CMG Cosmetics.
Entertainment by Dean Hall at Ultimate Events.

Here is what I saw through my eyes:

I was so honored to be a part of this most amazing day for weddings...lucky 7.7.07.
I truly felt lucky that I photographed this day for Renate and Pat. Their love for each other is clearly evident, and the excitement I saw in their children's eyes was priceless.

This is what I saw through my eyes:

This little cutie didn't know how she was going to make it down the aisle holding the ring bearer's hand, the basket, AND toss petals at the same time!!!

Thank you to all of my blog stalkers and clients who have been so patient with my lack of blogging. I have lots of great things to blog, so keep checking back!!!

Dana and Michael are such a great couple, and it was so obvious how much fun they had together and how clearly in love they are! We met in beautiful Laguna Beach and they were up for anything!

Dana has such a great flirty attitude with Michael.

Like I said, they were up for anything...but by the look on Michael's face, I think he wished he could have kept a little drier!!!

Thanks, Dana and Michael!
I look forward to your wedding in August!