Category Archives: Photography

Rylee’s Baptism. What a wonderful day!

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Our oldest niece turned 8 on Friday. In the LDS faith this birthday is quite special because it is the age that children can get baptized and take the gift of the Holy Ghost. This marks the day of becoming an official member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  Sweet Rylee had been preparing and patiently waiting for this day for a few years. On Saturday, the whole family gathered in the chapel adjacent to the Sacramento temple to be part of Rylees baptism. Uncle Tom and Dan were the witnesses. Oma and grandpa each gave talks and Rylee’s dad, Jon, was the one who baptized her. It was a simple but sacred ordinance and the spirit was definitely present. Afterwards we went in front of the temple to take a few pictures. It is one of the hardest things ever to try and take one good picture of all the children…the bright sunlight made it even more challenging, but it’s always fun to attempt it nonetheless.  Later we went to Kim’s house and enjoyed a great meal. Some of the boys played football and others watched. Families are the best! Here are a few pictures of the day.

P.S. We always miss Brittany and her family 😦

Mormon Channel Challenge About Prayer

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#didyouthinktopray

Saturday, February 22nd. I messaged Tiffany to check if it was too late to send to her my “I Pray When…” picture. She had e-mailed a few people from our ward 2 days prior and I was one of the lucky ones to get the chance to enter the challenge before it had become public to everyone. Luckily that Saturday was the last day to enter it through Tiffany.
So I took up the challenge and spent about 2 hours with it…it was quite ambitious (for me) to take a picture of myself because I wanted it to be as sharp as possible but the hardest part was figuring out exactly what I needed to write on my blue painted paper. I started collecting my thoughts by making a list of the times when I pray. Halfway through that… I ended up praying. Quickly after I knew what phrase I needed to use. It was a sweet experience and it made me smile many times. Fast forward a month. Today. Tiffany sent me a message saying

“Did you see that your face is on Deseret News!!” http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865599130/Mormon-Channel-Al-Fox-Carraway-extend-social-media-challenge-about-prayer.html

I was surprised. She continued with another message saying

“Wanna know something cool, they totally pray whose pics should be shared!!”

Just that thought right there, that second, put a huge smile on my face. I felt humbeled and happy.

This thought about “praying when life is good too” is making me remember a paragraph I read e few years ago from Brigham Young saying

“The worst fear I have about this people is that they will get rich in this country, forget God and His people…This people will stand mobbing, robbing, poverty, and all manner of persecution and be true. But my greatest fear is that they cannot stand wealth”.

Can we stand blessings? Can we remember to pray even when life is good?

The thought behind the picture is to encourage anyone that sees it. I know it is easy to fall on bent knees when things are crazy or when ones struggles are easily noticeable. It is also easy to forget about God when life gets comfortable but I know I need my Savior every moment. It is vital to pour out the heart to God so He may be able to pour in. I am thankful for prayer and for the difference it makes in my life to be able to talk to my Father in Heaven. And when things are going smoothly for me…there is always someone to pray for and someone to serve to.

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2nd Anniversary

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March 17th is our anniversary. This year we decided to take a bike ride through Big Basin Redwoods State Park. This is where we took our wedding pictures 🙂 The weather was perfect which made the ride very enjoyable. Last time we were here we were wearing a suit and a wedding dress. I love Tom with all my heart and I am eternally grateful to have found him. My life without him would be…well…just half as awesome as it is now and half as satisfying.

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Elephant Seals at Año Nuevo State Park, CA

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January 15th, 2014

This week’s adventure took us to Año Nuevo State Park which is located in Pescadero between Santa Cruz and Half Moon Bay on Hwy 1. There are many beautiful coastal parks along Hwy 1 but Año Nuevo is quite different. It is more than that. Año Nuevo is a Natural Preserve established to protect a large colony of Northern Elephant Seals. Every year in the winter, from December 15 – March 31, the elephant seals choose this spot as their malting, breeding and birthing grounds. The best times to visit the park are between January and February. That is when the elephant seals are the most active. It is not uncommon to see the bulls fight over a harem or an amorous young bull being pushy with the females.

The park provides and requires guided walks to see the elephant seals. Since this is a popular attraction, reservations are highly recommended. It costs $7 per person and parking is $10. The walk is about 3 miles round trip, half of it is on a trail and the other half is on sand between sand dunes. It is an easy trail that even a 5 year old can walk it successfully with a little to no effort. The tour guides are volunteers and they make the walk to the elephant seals much more enjoyable and interesting. They are very knowledgeable and share a lot of interesting facts about the elephant seals and the area.

I learned about these “beauties” last year when my sister-in-law Jessica invited us to go to the tour with her family. I am thankful for that opportunity. It is now a tradition for Tom and I to go see the elephant seals at Año Nuevo every year. I loved that this time we went on the last tour of the day. It was warm and the sun helped create beautiful lighting in some of the photos, and we got to see the sunset which is always a great bonus.

After the tour was over (the walk was about 2.5 hrs long), we decided to follow a trail that led us to the beach. There we found this lonely elephant seal. It was the closest we got to one of them this year.

If you love the outdoors and wildlife in it’s own natural habitat, Año Nuevo is a highly rewarding tour for any adventurer.