Last week while Felix and Nicole were in town we were able to grab a photo of all 5 cousins together. We had to wake three of our four boys up from naps to attend the afternoon family gathering, where the photos were taken, and needless to say Luc was a little less than thrilled to be smiling for the camera. We grabbed one decent photo of the 5 boys ages 6 and under (which is no small feat) and then another that I love! Not because it is picture perfect but because it cracks me up SO much! I love my boys and their sweet cousin.
Category: Cousins
i love weddings
Two weeks ago this Friday my beautiful sister-in-law got married. It was an absolutely beautiful day and she was a stunning bride. You couldn’t help but feel the overwhelming love while watching the two of them commit their lives to each other and then get caught up in the joy and laughter as we watched them celebrate all night long. It was beautiful to watch and so fun to be a part of. While I did have my camera with me, it just wouldn’t be right if I didn’t, I wasn’t able to shoot the wedding like I normally would have- being a part of the wedding party and having a 7 week old who was still nursing every two hours seriously cut into my photography time. Darn that sweet, sweet baby! That being said, I still managed to take a handful and I apologize for the ridiculous amount of photos I am about to post. It was a fantastic day and a wonderful start to their journey. Congrats you guys I love you both!
such a special day
I am delighted to share a few photos from the beautiful wedding Jamie, Jay and I got to be a part of last weekend. On Friday the 4th Jamie’s cousin married her long time boyfriend Josh in what can only be described as the perfect day! The weather was beautiful, the bride was even more so, the details were thoughtful and springy and the whole day was just so full of love and joy! Maggie and Josh, we truly couldn’t be happier for the two of you and were so honored to be a part of your special day.
While there were SO many things and moments that I would have loved the opportunity to photograph at this wedding I simply didn’t get the chance. It has been so long since I have attended, much less participated in, a wedding that I didn’t photograph! However, I did get a handful of photos that I love. So please excuse the ridiculous amount of photos I am about to share. I really had way too many favorites to narrow it down any further than I did!
First up- Bridesmaids’ luncheon and mani/pedis
the rehearsal dinner
Jay has a hard time not making a silly face these days
The wedding day!
blue waters- beach time
Here’s the second installment of photos- the beach. We spent almost every morning on the beach playing in the beautiful water and sand. It was glorious and these photos don’t really do it any justice.
Charlie LOVED standing in the crashing waves and almost getting knocked over.
on a few of the days Charlie took it upon himself to nap while in the ocean
blue waters
A week ago we returned from a wonderful week at the beach, Anna Maria Island specifically, and while laundry and a sick kiddo have kept me from being able to post these as soon as we returned here they are for you to enjoy. While we were there I was 34 weeks pregnant, and on my last week of allowed travel per Doctor’s orders, so while I was moving a little more slowly we made the best of it and cherished our time as a family of four.
I am pretty short on words these days, I blame the tiny person inside of me along with the other two that are running around outside of me, so instead of a whole lot of commentary I will just let the photos speak for themselves and say a great time was had by all. As usual, we have a ton of photos from the week so I will break them up into a few posts so I don’t overwhelm you.
If you would like to see some of the photos from our last trip, it’s a semi-annual trip made by Jamie’s family, check out this, this, this or this post.
fishing
Over the years we have had many, many visitors to Florida and while we love to do the traditional things with them while they are in town it’s always fun to do something a little out of the ordinary and I am pretty sure Terra Ceia qualifies as out of the ordinary. So while my cousins were in town we packed up and headed down to treat them to a little tractor riding, castnetting, dock sitting and fresh caught fried fish. We enjoyed it and we hope they did too!
This was also Charlie’s first trip down to Terra Ceia; it’s sad to think that we don’t get down there as often as we would like to. There are only showers at Terra Ceia so we had to imporvise with a few sink baths.
Nighttime fishing and a few first catches- it was catfish but at least it was something ;)
checking out a crab that was caught
saying hello to the crab (affectionately named Herman the Hermit crab- Jay is really curious about people and things’ names these days so most days I just make it up)
future photographer- it must run in the family ;)
Jay loved seeing anything Jamie brought up in the net. He also wanted to touch everything! Don’t worry we washed his hands after this.
Like I said, it was Charlie’s first trip down to Terra Ceia and he loved venturing around the property and checking things out but I think he enjoyed playing under the bar chairs the most.
christmas 2011 recap
The holidays this year were filled with many different things… Time to relax and enjoy playing with the boys, time to start “new” traditions and to introduce the boys to old ones. Time to cherish with family that we don’t get to see very often and time to hang out with friends that live far away. Honestly we got to spend a whole bunch of time appreciating what is really important and spending time surrounded by people that we love; to say that we are blessed would be an understatement.




















a little bragging
I just wanted to take a minute and say how proud I am of my little cousin, Devon. First of all let me clarify “little” with “younger”; Devon is by no means little anymore, in fact he towers over me standing at over 6 feet tall now. Regardless, this post is not to discuss height, mine or his, but rather the fact that he was just signed with Prince George Cougars!!!! For those of you non-hockey fans (ie- non Canadians) the Cougars are a WHL (Western Hockey League) team which is one step down from the NHL (the NFL equivalent again for those of you that are still clueless). He is 16 years old and has just signed with a semi-pro team- yup, he’s a stud! Congrats Devon; we are super proud of you!!!
Here’s a few photographs from a recent Cougars pre-season game, courtesy of my Mom’s boyfriend. Unfortunately, although the game was played while we were in Canada, it was a little to far for a day trip with Jay so we didn’t get to see him play. However, if he signs with the NHL you can bet that I will be at the next game within driving distance to see him play!


the first of the beach photos
Last Sunday (father’s day) Jamie, Jay and I headed down to Blue Waters Beach Club, a beachfront motel on Anna Maria Island, to spend the week with his family. A week at the beach was a long standing tradition with the Vickers Clan who sat sea side year after year and while they took a break for a few years (10 to be exact) it was such a nice tradition to resume. Everyone had a wonderful time, enjoying lazy mornings on the beach and in the waves, early afternoons in the shade, dips in the pool before supper, plenty of family meals, amazing sunsets and great conversations long into the night.
We have so many photos from our trip (surprise, surprise) I am not really sure where to even start! So in an effort to not overwhelm anyone I think I will probably break it out into a few post- you’re welcome, I know you were thinking it ;)
Here you go with the first batch…

























cousin pictures
Every year when everyone is together (which is usually only at the holidays) Jamie’s family takes a cousin picture. Last year they (the Moms and Dads/ Aunts and Uncles) made every cousin a book with all of the pictures- it was so cool to see everyone grow up from year to year. And also pretty darn funny to see some of the clothing (a lot of it was from the 80’s and early 90’s). This year Jay (since he is a cousin too) was included in the picture. I can’t wait to see this picture continue to grow as the family continues to grow!
some other group shots that I (or others) took that day…






