Bella's Fascinator

So. It's really popular for brides these days to wear these feather hair pieces in lieu of a veil. They're actually called Fascinators. I was looking at them on Etsy a while back, and I was wishing I had a wedding to plan. It'd almost be worth renewing my vows with Dale just so I could wear one like this:



But since I am not planning a renewal anytime soon, but still wanted a reason to wear one, I ordered one to wear to Meg and Kail's wedding. I thought it'd be a fun way to break up the all-black look. This is the one I wore in my hair:


So late that night, after the wedding was all said and done, Courtney and I were back at her place. I had taken the clip out of my hair at some point and I may have left it on the counter in Courtney's bathroom, I think. I can't remember. All I know is at some point after that we were hanging out and Courtney's yellow lab, Bella, goes wandering by with my feather clip in her mouth. "No, Bella! Gimme that!....(to me) She's a bird dog...it's just her instincts...I am so sorry! How much did it cost? I'll replace it...Oh, how embarrassing..." I told her it was no big deal, and I'd probably never even wear it again. So I took it, cleaned it up, and went and stuck it in my suitcase.

Some time after that, Courtney and I were in her living room looking at her photo album when all of the sudden she's all "Bella, No!!!" and I look over to see Bella lying on her belly with my feather piece pinned between her front paws and she is licking and nuzzling it like it is her long lost lover. I was laughing so hard that no sounds were coming out. What I found most hilarious was that Bella had found which room I was staying in, managed to lift the lid of my suitcase open with her nose, then sniff and root around my stuff until she found her little feathery friend.

The next morning I had my suitcase waiting by the door just before we left for the airport. Bella was going crazy sniffing around my suitcase. She knew what was in there and she wanted it. Her claws were all clicking the hardwood floor as she excitedly danced around my bag.

I think maybe I will send it back to Courtney and she can put it Bella's stocking for Christmas.

Baltimore Wedding Teaser Photo

I just got home from Baltimore two hours ago and I don't think I have ever been this sleep deprived...but wow, what a weekend! Packed to the gills with activities!

NOTE TO SELF: Get more sleep before shooting your next wedding. You know how emotional you get when you are overly tired. And really, is it appropriate for the photographer to cry more than the bride during the father's speech?

But this post isn't about me. It is about the beautiful bride and groom, my new friends, Meg and Kail.

I haven't even looked through all of the images yet, but this one pretty much stopped me dead in my tracks.

Off to Baltimore

I am leaving tomorrow for Baltimore to shoot a wedding.

Fun!

Exciting!

Check Out My Brother Yo!

Just when I thought my younger brother couldn't get any cooler, he goes and does this:

Jen's First

We spent most of today at the Western Washington fair. It was great. We invited our friends, Chris and Jenn and their three kids to join us there. Chris and Jenn just moved out here from Pennsylvania a few months ago. Chris is originally from Shelton, while Jenn is 100% east coast.

So while we were wandering about, Jenn and I were talking about all of the food we planned to eat throughout the day. "I think I'll start with a Krusty Pup first", I said.
"What's a Krusty Pup?"
I thought she just didn't understand this special term.
"You know, a corn dog."
Then she said, without much expression, "I have never had a corn dog before."

*BLINK*

*BLINK BLINK*

For a moment all I could do was stare at her like a deer in the headlights. Then silently I mouthed out SHUT UP.

Chris was equally as shocked, and made a beeline for the nearest Krusty Pup stand. Here is Jenn's first ever corn dog:




After her salty, crusty, deep fried hot dog experience was over, she was all, "Now I need a soda."

"You live in Washington now, Jenn." I said. "You have to call it pop."

I Forgot to Add This One

I forgot to add this video clip to the collection of scary video clips of Dale on Mt. WA. Most of you probably don't read the comments, but if you do you saw my friend Kaylee comment on how many people her dad has "seen" over the years from Mt. WA and even Mt. Ellinor.

Kaylee's dad is a retired funeral director.

Seriously...check out this clip. It's only 19 seconds. It just might be the scariest one.

Mouth Janitor. Frosting Artist. Suture Remover.

Yesterday when my fellow hygienist/friend Monica, asked me to take out stitches in her finger, I felt like...such a...big girl. Like Really? You want me to take your stitches out? I couldn't help it...I was so excited for this job.

Dabbing on some Lidocaine.


Then she started laughing because my hand was shaking, which made me laugh, then we sat there in fits of giggles, then I had to have a little talk with myself, saying You can laugh, or you can clip sutures, but you can't do both.

Dale's Mt. Washington Clips

If you haven't read my Mt. Ellinor post yet, read it before you read this one.

Ok. So. Yesterday Dale hiked to the peak of Mt. Washington with three of his coworkers who had also done Ellinor with us. I didn't think much of it. All I knew was that Washington was much more challenging of the two, but I didn't worry.

I am so glad I had no clue what my husband was doing yesterday while I took the kids to the fountain park. Sometimes, in certain situations, I think it is just better not to know.

Dale bought this tiny little video camera that he wears on the front strap of his pack. When he came home yesterday, he's all, "Let's watch my video!" I am posting a few highlights here. Seriously, as I watched in horror, all I could do was laugh. Like hand over my mouth, eyes bugged out, laughing out of utter shock, because my brain became confused on which emotion to display. My husband is in good shape, but no experience! No ropes! I was thinking, aren't they supposed to have special gear with names like crampons and carabiners?

This first one shows how the "path" goes along a) a sheer cliff on one side and
b) a pretty steep drop off on the other.



Here they are reaching the summit. Cool accomplishment, but my God, scary!! There is NO WAY I would have been able to do it.

Mt. Ellinor

Finally!! I am posting about this! Sheesh.

I can't believe I have lived at the base of the Olympic Mountains for most of my life, yet have never done the famous Mt. Ellinor climb until now. Several weeks ago, Dale came home from work and said that he and a group of his co workers were planning to do this hike at the end of August. "Can I go too?? Can I go too?? Can I go too??" I begged like a little kid. I didn't want to be left out of this fun adventure.

Eleven of us went. I was not the only tag along. One of Dale's co workers brought his son, and another brought his sister.

We met at the trail head, bright and early. The weather was iffy. Not raining, but definitely foggy and cloudy. We did end up lucking out as the rain held off, surprisingly, until we got into our cars to go home. But I am getting ahead of myself.

For some reason, I had it in my head that climbing Mt. Ellinor wouldn't be that hard. Not because I think I am so in shape that I can ascend a mountain while filing my nails, but because it is part of a national park and the trail is maintained by the Forest Service (miss you, dad). Why I made this connection, I will never know. Like, hello, you are climbing a mountain.

See the two tallest peaks? Ellinor is the one on the left. (I did not take this beautiful photo)


Here we are at the trail head.





The trail starts out innocently enough. It's very beautiful.





We took several breaks. The trail may be pretty, but it is (duh) all uphill.


The exposure on the this photo was way off, but I kinda like it anyway.





Have you ever seen purple pine cones?


About mid way, you go through this strange rocky section. You can still make out the trail here as the rocks are stacked to make steps.





Here it gets pretty steep and we were about to go up through the cloud cover.
We stopped to refuel before the hike got harder.




That's the trail that winds up the hill behind me. Steep, huh?


This is my favorite trail mix. It has bits of dried ginger in it...and oh, how I love me some ginger... I, personally, am not sold much on powerbars and such while doing lots of physical exertion. This stuff is great. The chocolate chips give you quick energy, the dried fruit provides energy for the long run, and the nuts give you the protein to help rebuild muscle. Yes, I do treat myself to a little sugar in times like this.


Dale's hair from all the moisture in the air.


We had a nickname for these steps: The Dalai Lama Stairs




We finally reached the summit. Just shy of 5000 feet elevation. Woohoo!
As you can see, we were surrounded completely by clouds, so instead of a view of Seattle, Shelton, Hood Canal, the ocean, and the Cascade mountains, we pretty much had a view of...uh...not much. Lotsa white.

Here's Dale with his buddy Alex.




While we had lunch, the chipmunks did do. They will almost eat out of your hands, but they are pretty skiddish.



Dale took these LOVELY shots of me eating a banana.




I was a little disappointed that we didn't see more mountain goats. We only saw these, from far away.



So as we're hanging out eating, my lens cap somehow turned into a wheel and rolled down the rocks, landing somewhere between Mt. Ellinor and Mt. Washington. We could see it, so I attempted to retieve it.



This next photo shows my priorities:
1. Very Most Important- not loosing my grip on the beef jerkey in my right hand.
2. Also Important- not falling off the mountain.


Alex ended up being the hero of Operation Rescue Lens Cap



Here we are!!