Sunday, September 4, 2011

September LOOOOONG weekend.

My brother in law got married this weekend in Southern Alberta. We took the opportunity as a family to head to Drumheller as our first stop on a very long weekend.

We left our house Friday morning and got to the museum at about 12:30pm. We figured we'd spend a solid 2 hours in the museum, but it is actually very quick to walk through. Our little ones weren't interested in the interesting facts printed on the wall. They just wanted to see DINOSAURS. The last time we took Wyatt to the Royal Tyrrell Museum he was two, and the bones were a little too abstract for him. This year he could recognize what each set of fossils was supposed to be. His favorite part of the trip though was the souvenir shop.
When we were finished we picked up some drive through and headed to our hotel in Calgary. We splurged and stayed in a nice hotel with an almost rooftop pool. We let the kids burn off some energy in the pool then got ready for dinner. We met up with M & H at the hotel and had dinner with their family. It was great to hang out with them. My kids just love their boys.

The next day was the wedding in Cardston. 2.5 hours away from the hotel and we had to be there by 9:30. None of us slept well, and at 4:30 I figured I'd just get up and start getting ready. 6:15 we left the hotel, 8:30 breakfast from the grocery store in Cardston, 9am to the temple... after the ceremony Brett (being the best man) had to stick around for pictures. We couldn't leave without him, so we hung out till 12 when we drove back to Calgary for some more pictures. 2:30- 5ish were more pictures, 5:30 we went to the stake centre to make sure the slideshow I made was ready to go... turns out I needed an adapter to connect my Mac computer to the projector. HEART ATTACK!!! Luckily Jaclyn's uncle is a computer wiz. I ran out to try and buy an adapter at 5:45 before the stores closed at 6, while the uncle tried to copy the slideshow onto his laptop. It did all work out in the end.

Because all the Fixsen boys were in the line, they ate at the head table. The wives were left with the kids to wrangle and feed amongst the other guests. Before the program and dinner had started I was ready to cry and head home. Isla was just a monster all day and night. Needed to be carried, and very sad. Brett finished his food and took her for a little walk, which saved my night. Once I had eaten I felt like I could handle the rest of the night. ( Consider how little sleep we've all had- it was a recipe for disaster)

The kids had a little part in the program- singing " You Are My Sunshine" It was super cute, and so nice to see all the cousins together.

We got the kids back to the hotel by 10, and Brett headed back to help clean up. What a day.

It was a beautiful wedding and reception. Jaclyn's family had every detail covered... ( they had even packed bag lunches with HOMEMADE cheese buns for everyone for the drive back to Calgary) The MC's were hilarious and Jaclyn's little cousins performed this great skit about how the couple got together. So funny. Brett gave a toast to the groom that we had come up with that turned out well too.
We are so happy to have Jaclyn join the Fixsen's. She is perfect for Cody and fit's just right!

Family Photos


We were so lucky to have Kamry take our photos this year!!! I am so impressed, and she was so professional with movies for the kids incase they needed a distraction, toys so they looked the right way, an assistant AND she had gone to the site a few days earlier to check out the lighting and to ask the owners of the property if we could trespass. It was a beautiful night, and some of the sweetest pictures of my kids I've ever seen. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!

Isla was being difficult, and had very few smiles for Kamry. I LOVE this one though.

This is my favorite, and the very first one!

What a handsome man!
My sweet girl!
I risked it and got my hair cut the day of pictures. Afterwards I realized that may not have been a great idea. If I hated it, I would still have these pictures on my wall all year... or would have wasted the generous offer of Kamry to take these pics of us. It all turned out alright!
This must be the BEST picture of my husband I've seen. He has very sensitive eyes, and so tends to have sunglasses on in pictures, or is squinty. Such handsome men!
I always feel weird just having pictures of Brett and I now that we have kids. But I love how this one turned out. There are a couple funny ones, and Kamry was probably laughing editing some of them- " you want me to kiss her hair?" Brett wasn't too into the posing. Reminded me of our wedding photos.

Thank you so much Kamry for sharing your talent with us. You say you are a beginner, but I think you have serious talent and skills. Keep it up, because I think photography comes very naturally to you!