ok, let's start with california2

i think i have about 12 gigs of pictures to download from our trip to china, and the transfer is taking a little longer than i thought, so i'll start with the end of our trip, in the hopes that we'll get china up and rolling on the blog tomorrow (fingers crossed).

lindsey and ed graciously put us up at their apartment saturday night, even after we'd been in an airport and on an airplane for a combined 20 hours. plus, i'm fairly certain we smelled like china. we love the harmans. ed picked up in-n-out for us while lindsey did my hair, and after a rejuvenating shower, we headed to dish dash in sunnyvale for some much needed mediterranean food. we then were wasted playing rock band, though i did rock a 30 seconds to mars song, and then headed to bed for some serious sleep. lindsey made us french toast in the wee small hours of the morning before our long flight home.

i also took some pictures of baby sarah grace for her *first* birthday on sunday morning. happy birthday, sarah! this child could not be more gorgeous - she makes picture taking easy. we love you harmans and cannot wait to see you in a few months.

some bathtime pics before bed on saturday night

a taste of raleigh

i went shooting with some photog peeps in downtown raleigh this afternoon - thanks to exposaroonie for an inspirational assignment this week. ps, yours truly is in 2nd place for her framing photo - maybe go over and show me some love!

official exposaroonie submission for this week's challenge

more on the flickr page

once in a lifetime

once in a lifetime, you get to take a trip like this. and we're taking it in a week. the laytons and the wades are headed to hong kong and beijing for over two weeks of serious once-in-a-lifetime trip taking.

activities while in hong kong and beijing might include a custom made white or grey linen suit - for julia - hong kong disneyland, day trips to macau and guangzhou, an olympic event or two, the great wall. i even might try a fried bug or snake if i get up enough guts. :)

there's a lot of "preparation apprehension" that is and will be going on for the next seven days before we go. leaving maggie (thanks to the peays for watching her for the entire time we are gone - lily and abby will be fantastic babysitters!), getting the house in order, packing, currency exchanging - it all feels quite daunting. but of course worth it.

so thanks laytons, for the trip of a lifetime. we can't wait. multiple posts of pictures and stories will absolutely follow mid-august when we get back!

eight weeks already?

i cannot believe how quickly time flew ... i am done with my photography class already. booooo! i have learned so much and am hungry for more. well, in honor of the past eight weeks, i thought i'd share some more of my favorite shots with you.

p.s. california babes - be prepared to be photographed - a lot. NINE DAYS!

officially a fan

please tell me you saw gev's solo last week on SYTYCD. i'm pretty sure i made jona rewind on the tivo about twenty times that night so i could rewatch it. probably most entertaining 40 seconds of SYTYCD this season. no joke.

and pretty sure my bro steve is his twin. picture doesn't do it justice, but someone please back me up on this.

ready to roll?

top 10 new best friends in north carolina

in this new life known as cary, north carolina (well, it's not technically that new, we've lived here for almost nine months) i've made some unusual new best friends. i thought i would introduce you to them.

10. bug spray. you would not believe the amount of B.U.G.S. that are here in the summer. bleh. everywhere i go now i've got to think about putting on that nasty stuff. and let's be honest, who wants to put on bug spray? it's all grimy and smelly. yuck. better than being bit by the 10,000 mosquitoes on the hunt. that's for sure. :)

9. my vacuum. alright, alright. maren and kaylynn: you can have your "i told you so moment". maggie is quite the shedder and i HATE it. there are little tufts of maggie hair tumbleweeds wandering around my floors constantly. she wasn't shedding at all during the winter, but the summer has brought out her natural chow chow and she is a shed monster. while i don't have the infamous dyson, i'm starting to believe it's a necessity.

8. the dog park. for reasons listed above, the dog park has become one of my new best friends. especially since it keeps us from walking at hellish times of the day and it zonks maggie out for the evening. plus, we've met some seriously cool people there, NOT including MOG.

7. air conditioning. holy cow people. it is freaking hot in north carolina. some of you floridians and deep south residents might be rolling your eyes at me right now, but GEEZ. a little utahn who just spent four years in the bay area shouldn't be expected to acclimate that quickly, right? my little hvac system in the back of the house are getting along quite nicely.

6. airplanes. i have been a quite a few airplane rides in the last nine months. and they take me to see people i love, so they are definitely on the best friend list. and on an incredibly exciting side note ... china is TWO weeks away. that just might move airplanes right up the list, you know?

5. blogs. when airplanes aren't around, blogs are a nice replacement. kinda makes me feel like i'm staying in touch, yes? they are really fantastic.
4. my little nano. we are best running friends. love you little nano.3. my cell phone. no. i don't have an iphone yet. but i am in contract negotiations with jona for one. this little new best friend would combine all sorts of best friends in one, yes? blogs, ipods, keeping in touch. in fact, i could find my next best airplane friend on this sucker, couldn't i?
2. miss rebel. ah, my camera and i have become instant best friends. i've found a new love.
little plug ... my exposaroonie shot this week. and this week's challenge was created by yours truly! um, so maybe go over and give a little love in the voting section, huh? :)
1. THE best friend. not a new one at all. being together here has been the best. love you, babe.