California Vacation and Shawn and Kelly's wedding

We spent almost a week in California and had a wonderful vacation.  My older brother, Shawn, married the love of his life, Kelly, on Laguna Beach, CA.  It was a dream wedding, one that I always thought I would have, barefoot on the beach at sunset. 

Jerome C. Daniel Overlook Hollywood sign behind us

We arrived last Wednesday in Orange County a little after noon.  Collin upgraded our rental car to a red convertible.  We drove through LA traffic to Mulholland Dr. and saw great views of Hollywood and the Hollywood sign.  Then we drove back through the horrible LA traffic to San Padro to meet a friend of mine from Germany who just recently moved to California with her family.  Sue's daughter, Grace, and Caden were good friends in Germany and played together in MOPPETS and PWOC.  They are a month a part in age.  Caden LOVED seeing an old friend.  They hit it off right away, basically as if they knew each other their whole life.  Sue picked a great place for dinner.  We saw sea lions jumping out of the water for fish and pelicans.  The seafood was excellent, very fresh.  We were so glad Sue and her family could meet us at the last minute for dinner.  She is very dear to me and just a wonderful person.  On the way back from LA we found out that Caden gets car sick.  He threw up all over the back seat of our convertible.  Poor little guy!  It was all the stop-and-go traffic.

Jerome C. Daniel Overlook above the Hollywood Bowl

Caden loved the sea lions

All the kids loved this

Me and Sue!

Gracie and Caden

Watching the animals in the water

 

Thursday we spent all day at Disneyland.  We all had a blast.  Caden loved every ride except the Pirates of the Caribbean, which Collin and I didn't care for it either.  That was the only ride he asked to get off of.  You have to be 40 inches to ride several "big kid" rides and Caden is right at 40 inches.  One of our favorite rides was the fast train ride.

Buzz Light Year

Train ride

After this picture I put the camera away!

In front of It's a Small World

 

 

Friday we went to Laguna Beach in the morning to see Shawn and Kelly and the rest of the people who came.  Then my dad and other siblings went to Hollywood.  Collin and I thought we would have more time but the traffic was so bad about 2 hours each way, all we had time for was to walk the Walk of Fame and buy a few t-shirts.  Caden got car sick and threw-up again because of the stop-and-go traffic.  Hollywood is pretty dirty and we wish we would have just stayed at the beach.  Friday night we joined the wedding crew for a lovely dinner in Laguna Beach.

Michelle and I reenacting a pose from childhood

Silly face for a silly author

 

 

Saturday, Collin, Dad, Caden, and I went to Laguna Beach in the morning.  My brother and sister-in-law rented a cabana for Friday and Saturday that was indoor/outdoor on the beach.  They also rented some paddle boards.  Collin and I both got to paddle board in the Pacific Ocean.  It was fun, Collin was really good!  Caden enjoyed the sand and did not like it when the waves knocked him over.

Caden really wanted to swim in the Pacific Ocean

Marisa Paddle Boating

Collin, the pro, paddle boating

 

Saturday evening was the wedding and it was beautiful.  Kelly was gorgeous and Shawn looked really nice too.  The reception was at a delicious restaurant overlooking the ocean.

Cathy, me, and Michelle

My handsome guys!

Opa (my dad), Caden, and Collin

My siblings

Drew and Kristyl

Best wedding kiss ever!

Caden during the ceremony

Sunday Collin, Caden, and I took Drew and Kristyl with us to Newport Beach, specifically Balboa Peninsula.  One side of the Peninsula is a very nice beach, the other side is the bay.  Collin, Caden, and I took a boat tour of the bay and saw sea lions and famous houses.  We ate delicious fish and chips for lunch, road a farris wheel, and then went swimming in the ocean on the other side.  Collin and I both would like to go back to Newport Beach.  There are lots of shops, restaurants, and things to do within walking distance.  We walked down the pier and had a wonderful time.  Sunday evening we met everyone for dinner. 
 

Farris Wheel at Balboa Park

View from Farris Wheel

Boat tour of celebrity homes and sea lions

Caden immediately went to play with the other kids on the boat

Lazy sea lions

Beach where we swam later, left camera in the car

Monday we had a lazy morning at the hotel, checked out at noon and went to the airport.  This was Caden's first state in the U.S. to visit.  He loved California and so did we.  We have missed traveling since moving back to the States and look forward to more family vacations.  Traveling is one of our favorite things to do.

How to make Walnut Milk

Walnut Milk

Walnuts are one of the 5 healthiest nuts you can eat according to Shape Magazine.  Studies show that people who consume walnuts have better cognitive function and healthier hearts.  Walnuts have the highest amount of omega-3 fatty acids, contain the antioxidant ellagic acid (which supports the immune system), and contain 16 disease-fighting polyphenols.

Given the nutritional benefits of walnuts, I decided to try and make Walnut Milk.  My family stopped drinking cow's milk about a year ago when Caden struggled with anemia and his doctor said cow's milk can contribute to anemia.  Collin is lactose intolerant so he never drank cow's milk and I figured I would try and give up my love of cow's milk too.  This was rather difficult but I can proudly say I've done it.  Typically we buy Almond Milk and I plan on making my own Almond Milk, eventually, but first I wanted to give Walnut Milk a try because walnuts are so healthy!

Easy Walnut Milk Recipe

4 cups of water (5 if you want it thinner)
1 cup of walnuts
4-6 dates (more or less depending on desired sweetness, or you can use an alternative sweeter)
1 tsp vanilla (optional)

Put everything in a blender and blend away! I have a Vitamix and it blended everything nicely. If your blender doesn't blend it as fine, put it through a strainer or milk bag. I put my first batch through a strainer since I had never made nut milk and everything went through. You can also add vanilla for taste. Pour into a glass container and store in the refrigerator for 4-5 days.  It was delicious and goes great on cereal! :)

Working Together

Beautiful Dress

Collin and I photographed our first wedding together on Monday.  Some friends hired us to shoot their wedding.  I was a little hesitant because I have never photographed a wedding but excited at the same time.  My sweet friend told me that she thought I would do a good job.  I asked Collin if he would join me because I always think two photographers are better than one, especially for a wedding.  The bride was beautiful, the ceremony was lovely, the groom handsome, and everything went very smoothly.  Collin and I were a little anxious and both studied a lot as we prepared.  Overall I believe the wedding photography side of things went great!  I look forward to processing the images and sharing them with the bride and groom.  I'll also post some to my Facebook page for everyone to see. 

 

Collin and I received a lot of nice compliments in how we worked together.  A few people asked us how long we had been photographing weddings because of how well we worked together and were organized.  Another lady asked me for my business card. 

 

The wedding was in Austin.  We left Caden for the first time ever away from either of us overnight.  He stayed with my sister and brother-in-law who said he was a joy and was very good.  Caden had a great time too!  They took him swimming and invited their other nephew over who is 2 years older than he is. 

 

It was strange not having him with us but we were so busy there was really not much down time to think about it.  We dropped Caden off at 3pm and arrived in Austin and headed to the church around 7pm to talk a few things over with the wedding coordinator.  We left at 8pm for dinner and decided to eat on 6th Street.  We didn't get our food until after 9pm, we usually eat around 5:30pm, 9pm is very late for us.  :)  We got back to the hotel around 11pm and got ready for bed.  Monday we were up at 6:30am to get to the church at 8am.  We left the church around 2:45pm and didn't arrive to get Caden until 7:30pm.  It was a busy but fun day. 

 

Photographing a wedding is a fun and tiring job!  Collin and I are both sore today.  Lots of squatting and bending down took place yesterday.  But we had a great time.  We enjoy working together and both love photography.  Thank you, Gardners, for asking us to photograph your special day. 

First Day of Preschool

Such a cutie! I'm ready to go to school! The sun is bright!

Today was Caden's first day of preschool.  These past three years have really gone by.  I am pleased to say that it went great!  Caden had a lot of fun and I think he is really going to enjoy his time at the Ark.  He didn't cry or come after me, he went straight to the table with where the other guys were and started making magnetic crafts.  He has come a LONG way!  This is the child who cried and cried and cried when I used to leave him in the childcare in MOPS and PWOC in Germany.  He would cling to my leg and chase after me.  I never "snuck" out because I wanted him to always know I would be back for him.  I think part of that had to do with the childcare workers. Also more times than not, I would just keep him with me.  I could not bear hearing my baby cry out. It was if he was crying for help.  So this is really new to us.  Since we've moved back to the U.S. he has really loved his Sunday school teachers and now his preschool teachers.  Some of the childcare workers in Germany were really good and some were not.  They were all paid for by the military chapel and it depended on who was working that day.

Walking upstairs to preschool with my cute backpack

Ms. Susan said he did really good today.  The only problem he had was keeping his shoes on.  Yes, welcome to my world.  He takes his shoes off everywhere we go.  We don't wear shoes in our house, we carried that tradition from Germany and I think it really keeps away germs.  But we would like him to wear shoes out in public.  If he's up walking and playing around he keeps them on but once he sits down at a restaurant or at church, for example, off they go.  Hopefully his preschool teacher will be successful.  She said she told him he couldn't play if he wasn't wearing his shoes and she said he was pretty good about putting them back on.  Sometimes a little positive peer pressure helps.

Caden said he had a lot of fun.  They played outside, read stories, played with play-doh and did some crafts, and he said his teacher made him a boat.  I asked if the boat was on water and he said no.  Maybe it was a paper boat or something, I'm not sure.  Meanwhile, I went to a doctor's appointment, had a date lunch with Collin at Red Lobster, returned a faulty item to the grocery store, went by Lifeway, and enjoyed 45 minutes at home to get some work done before picking Caden up.  It's amazing how fast I can shop and return items when I am alone.  I love having Caden with me but I think he had more fun at school.  I'm hoping this will help my stress level.  Spending nearly every minute of over three years with your child is a lot of parent/child time.  I have loved it but am a little run down and am looking forward to hearing stories from Caden about his time in preschool.

Caden and Mrs. Susan, his teacher

Caden and Mrs. Michelle, his art and music teacher

Doing a magnetic activity with some classmates