More wedding....

Can you even believe this view?!


The whole gang tightened in for this fun shot...

The kiss......................

This is precious- the groom wrote his vows and I was able to get a close-up while he was reading them to her. And that's when the tears started to flow.......for me.

I really like this shot because of all the body language going on. Dad's a little tense, Officiant (her uncle by the way) seems to be challenging the groom "This is my niece buddy, you better understand exactly what you are expected to do here", the groom is taking it very seriously and the bride seems to be nervous for her sweetheart. Maybe it's just me, but I'm feelin' it. ♥

Wedding at the Winery

Photographed a lovely wedding Saturday. It was HOT but there was a nice breeze on the hill from time to time so that helped. I don't think it is very professional for the photographer to cry...have to work on that. I didn't even know the bride & groom! What the heck!?

The bride's uncle officiated the ceremony so I was able to stand behind the wedding party and get some unusual shots. Erin was at the other end of the aisle and got the traditional views. She used a big zoom lens and I used my regular 18-55. Can't wait to see what E got- I love those mega-close shots! We were unable to get many of the couple alone after the ceremony as there was another wedding shortly after theirs, but we did get all the wedding party and family shots. We grabbed the couple and took them outside once we got to the reception site for a few sweet poses. It was a very fast-moving pace but I think we did quite well. We took over 1000 pictures combined, so now the editing begins........ Here's a few of mine:

I really like this one- looking over the groom's shoulder as she's coming towards him...

Painting Garden Stones

Made these darling Stone Snails for Mother's Day gifts. What a hit! Each rock is about the size of a dinner plate- give or take a bit. (The yellow one was quite a bit smaller) I purchased the rocks at a local nursery.

Start off with smooth, clean rocks. I wash mine really good with soapy water and leave them outside for a few days to dry. Bring them in the night before so they aren't too hot or cold to work with. When I am painting something, I usually do 3-4 so while I am working on one, the paint on the others is drying and by the time you're ready for the next step they are ready too.

Using Patio Paint, basecoat each rock. Allow to dry.

Okay I missed photographing a couple of steps because I wasn't blogging when I painted these, but I can explain. Very lightly, use a pencil to freehand the snail head. It's a super easy shape to draw so don't fret! Then to the right of the head, draw a swirl. Use a darker color (from the same color family of course) to shade and a lighter shade to highlight. I often just add white to my basecoat color for this step or just use white. Use pink to add a blush to the cheecks. Use black to form the mouth and eyes. Then add highlight dots in white. I use a stylus or the end of a brush for this step.

Use a sharpie marker to outline the whole thing. Then seal with a clear coat. Aren't they precious!? I gave one to each of my sisters for Mother's Day this year. Aby picked the blue one because her daughter Alyssa wanted it. Alyssa proceeded to name him "Bluie Jacquie". ♥

Town Ball

Just another reason to LOVE living in a small town.

My son has played baseball since he was in first grade. I noticed right off the bat (pardon the punn) that alot of the boys on his team- and the opposing teams- were my own friends' boys. A nephew of mine. My cousin's boy. That stuck up snob I always hated- her son too. Lots of people I went to school with had their boys playing. It wasn't a big deal- it was neat. And of course all the coaches were guys I went to school with. It was strange, all of us being "grown ups". It felt surreal. Something about me still felt 16 and we were all pretending to be parents. Anyway, we've (they've) all been playing for several years now. It's just so much fun. All these guys who played together as boys now have sons playing against each other. And for the most part, we're good sports about it. We cheer each other on. Last night I clapped when my nephew threw my son out at first. I told my friend Randy's boy he was looking good while he was throwing strikes to our boys. When Jake cranked a Grand Slam, lots of people on the other team were even cheering. It's a beautiful thing. It's kind of like a family.

Of course there's always the ones you can't stand. I can't help but get a warm fuzzy feeling inside when my son strikes out the son of that big mouth over there. That'll shut her up. Or when my BFF's boy knocks one out of the park off that boy who thinks he's so great- but only because his parents think they are so great and their $#!* don't stink. Ugh- no one likes them. And then there's the time I actually let out a big ol' "Whooop!" when a boy on the other team struck out- but it was pitching machine league and my pal Amy was mortified that I did that. She still ribs me about it. And once in a while she and I will sit and be like "Oh brother, here comes an out" when one of our own who isn't quite so athletic steps up to the plate. Isn't that awful? I'm not proud of it, but it's the truth. I sometimes wonder if I might end up on the ten o'clock news, having been involved in a little league brawl of parents. Oh yeah, it can be ugly. Again, it's like a family.

I love Town Ball ♥