Dan and I spent a relaxing Fourth of July at the family cabin in Heber. It was great to get away for a day or two and just relax after the last few months of being crazy busy. We saw several deer but not too many other animals. We even went into town that night and watched some fireworks. Because of the harsh winter, things at the cabin were much greener that usual for this time of year. Here is a little taste of what we saw.

Dan and I had a great time shooting Katie and Jared’s engagement photos. Katie and I were great friends in high school. After high school we kind of went our separate ways and had not seen each other for many years. So I was so excited when she told me she was getting married and we got to meet up for their engagements. It was fun catching up with her and hearing about her family and her wedding plans. Congratulations girl!

From a recent hike.

I met up with Marie on Tuesday for an awesome photo shoot at the International Peace Gardens in Salt Lake City. I like this park because there is so much variety. Marie of course looked gorgeous and had the most beautiful bouquet. It was nice to finally meet her after several months of emailing. Thanks for the fun time.

This is my dog Savannah. Well she is the family dog and she lives at my parent’s house. Dan and I got to take care of her last week while my parents were on vacation. I used to be really intimidated by big dogs until we got her. She is really sweet and quickly won me over. She is really fun and loves everyone. She is about eight years old. I thought I would try my hand at pet photography and take some pictures of her. It was more challenging than I thought it would be. Dogs don’t really want to stay still. I ended up with some cute shots though.

We had such a fun time at Sarina and Ben’s wedding. It looked like it might rain but as soon as they came out of the temple the sun came out and we were blessed with some perfect weather. They were married in the Odgen Temple and the grounds were just beautiful. The temple has added a lot of new landscaping in the last couple of years and it is really nice. Of course no trip to Ogden is complete without a trip to the ice cream parlor by the temple. The luncheon and reception were also great and I loved all the beautiful details. Sarina had imported some rose petal cannons from Australia for their exit, they were sure fun.

I met up with Terresa at the Utah State Hospital (aka the Provo Castle.) It was great fun. I had never been to that location before so it was fun to explore someplace new. Terresa’s dress was gorgeous and she looked so elegant in it. Good luck with all of your wedding plans Terresa, it was fun to finally meet you.

My father grew up in a small town in Idaho called Malad. We used to go there often when I was growing up to visit my grandparents. Since they have been gone we don’t make it up there very much. They used to have a house in town and a farm we call “the ranch.” Now the family just has the ranch and let’s just say the property could use a little TLC. It is the type of place that as a photographer you look for to find old farm equipment to take portraits in front of.

For Memorial Day my parent’s took us to Malad for our traditional outing. We always start at the cemetery, eat lunch at a small old restaurant in town called the Dude Ranch and then head out to our ranch and poke around. I wanted to take some portraits but it was raining too hard. I did however get some nice shots of the house and surrounding area. It was a lot greener than it usually is.

We have a joke in my family that the spouses can’t go to the ranch until they have been in the family for a year. We don’t want to scare them away until they are really committed is what my dad says. This week Dan’s waiting period was up and my dad let him come. He wasn’t too frightened and he was actually really excited to go. We had told him about it but he had never seen the country side of our family before. Here is a little bit of what we showed him.

This is the house my father and grandfather grew up in. It was built in 1919.

One year ago Dan and I were married in the Manti Temple. I can’t believe it has been an entire year. I feel so blessed to have such an amazing husband. I love you honey!

Dan and I had a great time at Kaitlin and Logan’s wedding. I have really enjoyed getting to know them and their families these past couple of weeks. The weather was perfect and there were beautiful flowers and blossoms at the temple. They had their reception at the Oakridge Country Club in Farmington. It is a beautiful venue. The details and everything were fantastic. Congratulations you guys. I know you will have a beautiful life together.

Kaitlin and Logan wanted to do the bulk of their couple pictures at the Bountiful Temple the night before their wedding. I thought it was a great idea. So often on the wedding day you end up being rushed and don’t have as much time for temple pictures as you thought you had planned. Dan and I met up with them the night before and watched a beautiful sunset during their session.

I have been tagged by Stephanie of Jinksee Photography.

This is how the game works:

The rules are:

1. The rules of the game get posted at the beginning.

2. Each player answers the questions about themselves.

3. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged.

What I was doing 10 years ago: 10 years ago I was still in high school. I was probably hanging out with my choir buddies and taking pictures for the yearbook.

Five things on my to do list today: 1. Work in the garden. 2. Go to the post office. 3. Find something to make for dinner. 4. Continue editing Kaitlin and Logan’s wedding pictures. 5. Spend a fun evening with my husband.

Things I would do if I were a billionaire: Buy a house and pay off my car and student loans. Go visit my in-laws in New Zealand and my sister in San Antonio. Buy new cameras, lenses and Apple computers. I have also always wanted to go to Switzerland so I would probably plan a big trip to Europe.

Three of my bad habits: I have a sweet tooth. I am a neat freak — I like to keep things straightened up. I will even start cleaning up the dishes before we are finished eating. I am a little compulsive and like to check and make sure my doors are locked on my car and house.

Five places I’ve lived: Layton, Utah; Cedar City, Utah; Pocatello, Idaho; Clearfield; Utah and Farmington, Utah

Five jobs I’ve had: I used to work at the photo place in Lagoon where you dress in Western costumes. I was a “serving wench” at the Utah Shakespearean Festival. I was a photographer at the Utah Summer Games. I was the photo editor of the University Journal. I work now in marketing at the LDS Church Distribution Center.

People I want to know more about (a nice way of saying TAG!)

Amanda, Melissa, Shellee, Jessica, Stacy