A Real Shoot 'em Up!

Well I had my big debut as a photographer's assistant today & I think it went really well. Shooter Shelley was really appreciative of my help and is still going to let me come back next week for another one so that has to be a good sign right?

I couldn't believe how fast 5 hours went! I thought that at some point, I'd start to get a little bored but we kept changing things around, going to different places, shooting different people.. before I knew it, it was time for me to go. I left before they started the reception and I almost hated to miss the end. We went to so many spots! The church, an old barn, down by the water, an old Victorian home, the art gallery, parliament buildings.... I have no idea how this poor bride is going to make her selections!

She kept asking me if I wanted to leave & offered to let me off the hook for next weekend if I hadn't liked working with her. What is she, crazy???? I can't wait to go back for more! She seems to think this was a lot of drudge work for me but there wasn't really that much stuff to carry. I just thought the whole thing was fun! I don't even remember the "work" part. If it was something I had to do every single weekend, the novelty might wear off but pitching in for 2 weddings in one year isn't going to burn me out by any means!


I can't wait to see the picture gallery for this couple from today & I'm excited to go and do it again next Saturday. Today's was the easy one, only 2 attendants and 30 guests and no pressure for time at all. Next week will be more challenging.

Friday Fun just got BETTER

M&D decided to give Murray & I a MAJOR treat this week for our anniversary. A day off!!!!!!! This morning I drove all the kids up to their place and they're staying there til tomorrow morning... actually, it's already morning so you can see I'm taking full advantage of the option to sleep in!

I was a little frivolous with my day off, I could have slaved away & cleaned house but I decided to indulge myself and finished off the season of Gilmore Girls I'd been working on for several months. I caught up on club emails and we also had Murray's cousins & aunt & uncle stop in on their way back home. I had lunch ready for them & they were soon back on the road. It was only a brief visit as they've got alot of driving ahead of them. I took Murphy for a little walk and then picked Murray up from work. We played a couple sets of tennis (I won a few games too!) and then went out to eat at a Mexican restaurant, mmmmmmmmm!

THANK YOU SO MUCH MUM & DAD!!!!! Even though I wasn't as productive as possible, I loved the freedom and peace and quiet and it was great to go out & come back to a house that hadn't been trashed yet today. And look at all the blogging I got done too!

Ok off to grab some uninterrupted sleep!!!!!

Cousins!

The upside of a major family event is that you usually get a good turnout. Since they've all grown up, it has been rare for Murray & his siblings to get together with all 3 of their cousins. Some live a 2 day's drive away & some are too far to even drive here. We missed seeing Jamie's wife & his 1 yr old daughter but the 6 cousins were all together for a 24 hr window. We were able to get the traditional cousins' photo that has been done over the years on their vacations etc.

Lindsay's 9yr old daughter also made the trip and she was completely thrilled to have COUSINS to play with! It was funny to hear how often she threw the word "cousins" into conversation. "Well, I'd better go play with my cousins now." It was really cute to see her with the girls & they thoroughly enjoyed her too. The trip for the burial was about 2 hrs each way so I stayed home with the kids but I was hardly needed. She could have run the place on her own! They watched tv for awhile but then she decided it was going to rot their brains and shut it off & took them into the backyard to play the ballhunt game she'd set up for them, using plastic dinosaurs placed strategically around the yard as clues! They ran, they laughed they played hide n seek.... she kept them entertained pretty much the whole time everyone was gone. I was able to do a few loads of laundry, dishes, start supper, sweep & mop the floors, clean the bathrooms, vacuum AND have a half hour nap! Why on earth didn't I have a 9 yr old before now????? ; ))))

MIA, but I've got a good reason!

As you've probably noticed, the blog has been neglected for about almost a whole week. Now Carrie, before you unleash some of that Ferguson fury, bear with me! Murray's grandmother passed away a little over a week ago so we were away for awhile and blogging had to be put on hold. It's taken a couple days to get back in the swing of things.

We're very sad to have lost Murray's grandmother & the visitation, funeral and burial were all difficult and sad. Murray commented that one of the things that bothered him was knowing that our daughters will someday have to go through that process for us. The kids were sooooooooo good during all the trips to the funeral home & during the service itself. They were a nice distraction at times too.

The day we came home was our 9th wedding anniversary so again, blogging obviously took a back seat. We got each other fabulously romantic gifts, Murray got a compost pail & I got a book on Photoshop Elements. Murray did make a cake & got some flowers too when he went out for produce that evening after the kids were in bed. Very low key celebration but we were too tired to do anything else. The last thing we felt like doing was going back out for dinner!