Laura & Brandon

Last weekend I had the privilege to be at Laura & Brandon's wedding at the Camelback Sanctuary. It was such a beautiful day and Laura & Brandon were such a sweet couple. I really enjoyed the whole day. Jennifer, thank you so much for letting me come with you. You are so talented and I'm so fortunate to be able to hang out with you. You have no idea how much I appreciate your generosity. Thank you!




Their vows were so touching. I have to confess I got teary-eyed.What a stunning happy couple:

Kika (kee-kah)

Kika, Kika... There's nothing better than to hear this sound. It makes my heart melt. Only because I only hear it when my nephew is calling for me. Yes, it's my new name and it makes me feel so special. In the middle of his 100 words or so, there I am. He loves me just as much as his "Bo" (bottle, which really is a sippy cup with milk), Tocas (Thomas the tank engine -and really any other train), and his "shoesh" (shoes). Oh I feel so special! I love my nephew so so much. There's no better day than a day spent with him. He's so much fun! He's my best buddy :)

Yesterday we spent the afternoon at the train park. I'm redecorating his room with a Thomas the tank engine theme so we went to the park to take some pictures. He really doesn't like wearing hats so it took quite the family effort to get these photos:

Nina and David

Before I go on, I need to apologize to my friend Janette for missing her birthday party this past Saturday. That morning I got an unexpected phone call from photographer Debbie Moon. She needed someone to help shoot a wedding that same afternoon. I of course couldn't miss the oportunity. I thought I'd still make it to Janette's party but I didn't leave the wedding until 10:30. (Thanks for being understanding, Janette). Debbie was so nice, she even let me use her camera/lens. I can't wait to see the pictures I took with her camera. At first I spent a little time with the boys while they were getting ready, then we switched and I spent most of my time with the girls while Debbie was with the boys. So here are a few shots I got with my camera:
The boys getting ready:
The best man : Dad watching his little girl getting ready. I love this photo. The look on his face says so much.A few details:
The maid of honor practicing her speech:
The bride just moments before the ceremony. (So calm and just beautiful!): Time to celebrate:
Debbie, thank you for this opportunity. I had so much fun! David and Nina I really appreciate you sharing your most special day with me.

The monkey and the bunny

The monkey and the bunny. Little did they know that one day they would end up meeting each other and spending the rest of their days together. The monkey was Leeana's first toy and the bunny was Don Paul's first toy. Now the four of them are awaiting the arrival of Aliyah (expected at the end of May) whom in fact already has a brand-new monkey waiting for her. Her first toy. One of the many wonderful memories her parents are anxiously awaiting to start sharing with their precious daughter.

Curt's birthday

This last weekend was so much fun! Curtis turned 30 on Friday and we had a surprise birthday party for him on Saturday! Thank you so much to all of our wonderful friends who made it possible for us to have such a fun party! I can't thank you enough!
Earlier on Saturday we went to the zoo with my nephew, my mom and my sister. I just love this picture of Nathan and grandma hanging out at the zoo.
And I just had to post this picture of my good friend Shanel's baby boy. His name is Bryson. Isn't he just perfect? I hadn't seen him since he was just a few weeks old. I can't believe how much he's grown and changed. Shanel and Brian, thank you for coming and bringing Bryson. We all loved spending time with you.

ARUBA

We just got back from our super relaxing vacation! We were in Aruba for a week and it was amazing. Aruba to me felt like Mexico in Europe or a Giant Disneyland where the theme is the beach.

Most days we just slept in, ate breakfast, went to the beach (where we slept some more), enjoyed the constant breeze, read a few books, jumped in the ocean, took another nap, and followed it up with a fancy dinner. By the way, if this was Disneyland, my favorite rides had to be the restaurants. We had everything from Belgium to Dutch, Brazilian, Japanese, Aruban, and Italian. Oh yes and we also had "Two, two a day". Two scoops of a new flavor of ice cream two times a day.

Ok, so it wasn't all rest, relaxation and "engordation" (that's my new word for fattening myself up). We did some fun things too. We rented a jeep and drove around the island, we found some indian ruins, the natural pool, the natural bridge, the lighthouse and checked out the other side of the island where people go to surf. We also sailed on a cataramaran and snorkeled around a ship that sunk during World War II.

Here are some pictures from the trip.

the hotel:

the view from our room:
the houses were all so colorful! loved it!

these little guys were all over the place!on the way to Eagle beach:the indian ruins:

the natural pool (sorry for the tilted horizon, please try not to get seasick):
on the sailboat:I can't wait for our next vacation :)

baby Ryder

I felt so special to be able to meet little Ryder after just 2 weeks of life. It was so fun to meet the baby I've seen everyday for the past nine months. By the way, I was totally wrong because I thought it was a girl...

He is certainly a boy, a very adorable little man:

While Denise was pregnant, Steve sent her flowers at work and they were addressed to "Mamma Llama", so here I present to you the the new Llama Family:
Speaking of nicknames, Denise calls Ryder "Littles" and in such a sweet way!
Here's a rare Ryder moment where he is not totally alert (it only lasted about 0.145 seconds).

"Littles" doesn't even know it yet, but he is one lucky baby born to wonderfully loving parents.

Thank you Denise, for inviting me into your home and letting me spend time with you and Ryder.