Easter and Wedding Photography Practice

I got up early this morning to get breakfast going for Julie, Greg, Cali and Sophie cause they had to be on the road about 8:30am... I put together a 'Dad' style breakfast for everyone. Mom and Elliott were invited too but nothing was confirmed. After everyone left, I got the dogs fed and was cleaning up when Mom called to say her and Elliott were coming for breakfast and would be there in half an hour! Ack! I ended up making 2 big breakfasts this morning!! Haha... its all good, its Easter afterall!

Breakfast time for Kona and Max... Tag ate further away so we didn't have food jelousy issues!

The most dogs I have ever had in my house! Kona, Tag, Iggy and Max!

Elliott is going to be taking Brian and my wedding pictures so we ended up doing some lessons and practice in the back yard. I hope I didn't stress him out too much! He will do just fine!!

My demo picture of how to use a fence to lead into the subjects using the rule of thirds

Practice Portraits by Elliott using my light screen for soft light

Another practice portrait... like Brian's gloved hand??

Mom hard at work with the light screen!

My demo picture to show Elliott how to get in close  on the picture we were pretending to do (the cup is supposed to be flowers! haha)

Elliott's turn at the same picture, pretty good!

More practice but a good pic of me and Kona!

Another practice shot but a good one of me and Mom... Elliott is standing on the ladder! I did teach him the importance of a higher angle and you see the nice results here!!

A Planned and Last minute visit!

Mom and Elliott were coming out for a quick overnight visit to drop off some furniture and see the new house when Greg decided that he, Julie and the girls should join them! Why not? What a great idea! Although that meant I had to get a move on all my cooking projects Friday night cause I wouldn't have time on the weekend. I got all my perogies made and then got to work on the Easter cookies! I was up until 2am ugh...

Julie, Greg and the girls arrived just before lunchtime so I got my fresh home made perogies boiling and frying and made lunch for everyone. And, since I have my handy heating drawer on my new oven, I was able to have lunch ready for Mom and Elliott when they arrived over an hour later!

My first guests for a home cooked meal in our new home! How nice it could be on the deck outside!

Cute puppy - Kona

Sophie and Cali smiling for Auntie Holly

Posing for a quick picture!

Everybody wants pictures done!

The girls were so well behaved this weekend!!!

Hanging out in the kitchen!

A visit to the park around the corner from my house and fun on the slide!

Mom making Pine Cone animals for the kids!

We all headed off to Aunt Bettina and Uncle Donald's for Easter dinner... we all had a great time. Mom and Elliott stayed there as we only have one spare room and the Lehner's wanted to stay with us!

We offered to take Max for the night cause we have lots of room and Kona and Max are such good friends. They even wanted to sleep in the same kennel together... funny puppies...  All the dogs slept in the kitchen in their own boxes or own bed.

My Bridal Shower!

I headed down to Abby with Brian and the dogs for the weekend to do a tonne of wedding stuff, but most importantly, for my Bridal Shower! Julie did an amazing job and so many of my friends and family were there... it was just awesome! Thanks again for a super party Julie!

(I am sure there are lots of pictures, this is the only one I have though!!)

Dap & Flooring

I finally got some motivation today to work in the ensuite! I sanded down the walls, dapped everything that needed dapping (that was a lot because of the back splash being glued to the walls), I sanded the floor and then wiped down the walls.

Why stop there right? I installed the new flooring too! I think that part took about 3 hours but it sure looks great. Its the Allure flooring from Home Depot (a vinyl laminate interlocking floating floor).

Ok... I am off to do a bit more dapping so I can be ready for round 2 of sanding tomorrow so I can start the painting. After that, the toilet, sink and cabinet is all up to Brian!

Burger 55 - You Gotta Eat Here!

Brian bought a Groupon a few months ago for a burger place in Penticton that is being featured on the Food Channel's "You Gotta Eat Here" in May this year. We packed up the dogs and made the drive out to have burgers for lunch. Burger 55 is just as big as it looks in this picture, it was tiny!! More of a 'to-go' kind of place, but great burgers non the less. I love Groupon... its such a great way to try these places you might not otherwise go to!

Glen Canyon

I decided to take the dogs out for a hike while Brian was working... the snow has finally cleared so I was able to get down the trails close to our house. It was so slippery before so we weren't able to really explore it. The trail is so tiny and steep to get down to the bottom of the Canyon but really cool once you get there. The only problem is once you are down there, you have to climb back up again again. I found a spot further south of where we came down that brought us back up a few streets over... it was quite the workout though! Also... when I got home I had a little freak out when I found a tick on me... totally forgot that there are ticks out here.... ugh!! I jumped in the shower and thew all my clothes in the wash... yuck!!!! (the dogs were ok, I checked them out too!!)

Lunch Break

I worked the last 3 days with Don (Uncle Donald) and Barbra... they kept me busy this week!! Never thought I would be writing database code and I never thought it would start making sense either! Haha. Anyhow, its an interesting change from all the accounting. Yesterday I went out for lunch and ate at the beach... even when its overcast here its still amazing (see above!).

No new prospects on the job front... my interview last week went well, but I didn't get the job as I wasn't qualified enough (I knew that going in, but it was still worth a try!). So, I will keep on looking! Just catching up on some house work this morning and then will hopefully get going with getting the ensuite ready for painting!!

En Suite Reno Underway

The only thing functioning in our en suite right now is the shower. Brian finished ripping out the counter today and ripped out the old lino off the floor. It looks bad now, but will look pretty cool soon... wonder how long it will take us to finish?! Brian is going to put in the new flooring and then I will get the room painted and we will go from there!

Just after the cabinet came out

The view of the en suite from the shower (the door to our bedroom is on the left)

Employment Update...

Well, I have been unemployed for 2.5 weeks now. Wish I could say I feel good about it, but I don't. Having time off is nice, but only when there is vacation pay and nicer weather (snowed again today)!!! I have started working part-time for my Uncle's software company... it's really nice to work with family. I still have to find a second part-time job or full-time job.I have an interview on Friday so wish me luck!

Wedding Dress Cookies!

I decided that I am going to make cookies for the wedding favors. When I went to buy the cookie cutter I wanted from the Bulk Barn (best store in the world by the way)... I ended up getting a wedding set of 4 cookie cutters in it and one was a wedding dress cutter. My bridal shower is a couple weeks away... and I know I am not supposed to do anything for it, but, I couldn't help myself!!!!

What can I say? I am only working 2 days a week now... need to fill my time with something!! And they did turn out so pretty :) (No one needs to know I made the cookies, maybe Julie just bought them somewhere! It will be our secret!)