Life with Lou

Monday, July 25, 2011

BBQ

We had family over for a BBQ yesterday. The weather was a-mazing, so we figured - why not? Josh, Haley and the kids just got back from a week-long vacation to Orlando, my parents came over, and we invited Ryan's cousin Brian and his wife and son over, too.

Burgers, beans, salad and corn-on-the-cob were enjoyed by all (except for the kiddos who were more interested in the beans and corn). The kids played with (not in) the water in Brock and Sonny's pool and the guys got in some washers and dangle-ball action.

You know me.

I couldn't resist:

A) Taking pictures

B) Taking pictures of my niece and nephew

At-ti-tude.

She loves the water rocket

Jealous of those lashes

"Dad... I want your beans."

Kennedy showing me her "bleeding tooth"

Ryan and Brian

Fisheye time:

"You shall not paaaass."

It was a fantastic day. I love getting to spend time together as a family.

Take Luck,

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Beerfest

Yesterday, my family and I went into downtown Bremerton for the Bremerton Summer Brew Fest. They shut down a section of Pacific Ave. and there were a bunch of beer booths (all Washington breweries) lined up down the road. For $20 you got entry and five tokens for beer tasting. We had a really good time. There were 4,000+ people down there, so it was pretty hectic/crowded. I'm not much of a beer drinker (or any kind of drinker for that matter) so after three-five ounce tastings, I had quite the massive headache. I told Ry that I even felt a little hungover this morning.

Sad, sad, sad.

I was packin' heat at the event. My new fisheye.

Shocking, I know.

Ma & Daddio

Rachy & Ry

The lovebirds


Sisters (shutter speed = too long)

Ma with her girls (shutter speed = too long)

View down Pacific

My love

My love doing what he loves

Haas Family! (plus my cousin, Cheryl)

Love and fun, love and fun

Take Luck,

A Fisheye

Christmas come early.

Christmas come early in the form of our one year anniversary.

Ryan bought me a fisheye lens attachment.

Boo-ya-woot-friggin-boo-ya. This lady is excited.

When I first heard about these fisheye lenses and saw how totally cool they were, I did some research to figure out how much dough I would have to pony up. I could get a 35 mm fisheye camera for anywhere between $50 and $75. I immediately got excited, but Ryan made a good point - I wouldn't want to have to carry around a totally separate camera.

True that, hubby.

Time for more research. This further information session only brought on sadness and some depression as a Nikon fisheye lens runs around $800. I knew that was totally unrealistic and crazy. I looked around a little more and found some "generic" (for lack of a better word) brands that sold the same product as Nikon for much cheaper.

Long story short, I found a Rokinon for cheaper. Much, much cheaper.

The last two days I have had some major fun playing around with it, and trying to figure out how the heck to use it right. Unlike my normal Nikon DSLR lens, this fisheye lens is manual. So instead of having my shutter speed and apeture settings change automatically, I have to play with it and figure it out myself.

Oh, boy.

Here's a look at a few of my first shots.

Rachy was playing around with the camera too, so some are courtesy of my baby sister.

I can't wait to see what else this baby can do!

Would it be ironic to take a picture of myself making a fishy-face with my fisheye lens?

No, I don't think so.

Take Luck,

Friday, July 22, 2011

Flashback Friday - The Wedding

Oh, how I love the Flashback Fridays.

I have previously written posts on The Meeting and The Proposal. Since our one year wedding anniversary is quickly approaching, I thought it appropriate to capture the event in this Flashback Friday.

Mr. Peters and I were married on Sunday, August 1, 2010 in Port Gamble, WA at the Hood Canal Vista Pavilion. The location was on the water, and gave us the chance to have the wedding ceremony and reception at the same place. When we first started looking for venues, we had some ideas in mind, but as soon as we saw this place - we knew we had found our spot.

The bridesmaids and I got ready at the Oxford Suites in Silverdale in Ryan's and my wedding night suite. It was big and there was enough room for all of us to cram into and get ready. At one point during the morning I heard a knock on the door and opened it to see Ryan's best men, Neil and Jeremy standing with flowers, balloons and a card. They were all from Ryan, not them. It was a great start to the morning and caught me completely by surprise.

I should insert here that we had a lot of out-of-town guests since Ry's family and friends are all from Illinois. Ryan pretty much had a four day bachelor party with all his buddies, full of beer drinking, golf, and just enjoying his last few days of bachelor-hood. Needless to say I hadn't seen much of him in the days leading up to the big day, so the flowers and balloons were a good sign to me that he was thinking of me, and hadn't forgotten I existed.

Anyway, the ladies and I got ready at the hotel, while the boys got ready up at the wedding site. Some part of me felt comforted knowing that they were up there way before the ceremony. Ryan has his own sense of time and I was afraid he and the fellas would saunter in for pictures whenever... So I was sure to tell him to be up there and ready 30 minutes before he really needed to be.

We decided to do a "first look" before the ceremony - just to get pictures and all that fuss out of the way so we could cruise from the ceremony and right into the reception. I was so nervous to see him. My knees were shaking and so was the rest of me. Looking back, I would have been a complete mess had we not seen each other until I was walking down the aisle.

I couldn't believe how early the wedding guests started to trickle in. The ceremony was to begin at 4:00, and come 3:15 - I had to be hidden away... In the handicapped stall of the bathroom, no less.

That wasn't awkward. OK, yes it was.

The ceremony went off without a hitch. A family friend of my side officiated the ceremony and was incredibly wonderful. After our kiss and she pronounced us "Mr. and Mrs." three eagles flew over us. I think Ryan and I both thought that the crowd was oooing and awwwing at us - but we were wrong.

The reception was a blast, and so nice that we didn't even have to go anywhere. It was at the reception that I realized our wedding cake was blue and not the arranged dark purple. Needless to say I was a little shocked at the sight of a blue cake, but then I figured that if the cake color was the biggest hiccup - then I should just be thankful and move on.

Lots of dancing and laughing went on, love was truly in the air and I would not change a thing. It was the most memorable day of my life, and I am so happy that I've been able to call Ryan my husband for the past year. He truly is a wonderful man, and one of a kind. He lights up my life and brings me more peace and joy than I ever thought possible. I cannot wait to celebrate this day for many, many, many more years.

Now, prepare for picture overload.