Well for those of you that don’t know, I have been tossing around the idea of starting my own Photography company for quite some time, and I think that I am finally going to take the plunge. However, that leaves me with a rather large dilemma, what am I going to call this company of mine?!?! I am seriously looking for suggestions, from anyone that has one. Jamie and I have come up with only one contender, Perreault Photography. However it might be best to choose something that people can spell and pronounce. Let me know what you think, especially you Nan, I need something that will look good on a business card.
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Charlie and Sarah’s Wedding
The wedding that we went to this past weekend was beautiful, despite the rain and the bugs. Jamie has been friends with Charlie (the groom) since first grade, yes that is 22 years for those of you doing the math. Charlie and Sarah planned for the ceremony and part of the reception to be held outside in a beautiful state park located next to very pretty bay off of the coast in Destin, Florida. They are brave people I know, I would never have the courage to plan an outdoor wedding. When the rain persisted they moved everything into the pavilion, a building on the grounds that resembled a huge screened-in porch. Everything was beautiful, especially the bride. The rain stopped long enough for pictures to be taken outside and for there to be dancing held on the outdoor dance floor. Jamie has posted the rest of the photos on his Picasa website, if you want to take a look click here http://picasaweb.google.com/james.perreault/JorgensenWedding
Sadly, Charlie and Sarah have relocated to Hendersonville TN, near Nashville, and we don’t know when we will be able to see them. Although I know that we will be in touch; the older I get and the more our dear friends move away the more I realize that true friendships survives the distances between them.
On the road again
Jamie and I are on the road again, which feels like a common theme for this summer. Even though we are not, it sometimes feels like we have been away from home more than we have been home; maybe it’s because of all of the laundry that is either done before we leave or when we get back. I do not hate laundry, I just want it to ALL be done at once which never ever happens!
We are headed to the wedding of Jamie’s grade school friend Charlie Jorgensen. It is a destination wedding in Santa Rosa beach, close to Destin, Florida for those of you that are not sure where this is. We are heading out midday tomorrow, Wednesday, for Bonifay, Florida to stay the night with Jamie’s boss and friend and go for a boat ride (think back to the first day of summer pictures). Mickey has a new tube that Jamie is destined to try and maybe I will get a few good pictures while we are out. After that we will be headed to the beach, where Jamie will be hanging out with the guys and I will be either by the pool or on the beach lounging and enjoying a good book. Jamie has a fishing trip planned (a bachelor party of sorts) for Friday and I am planning on the same, a mix of reading and sleeping. The wedding is Saturday, I will post any good shots that I get if I can. After the wedding we will be heading to Pace to see Aunt Denise and the girls.
Well I should go, I am in the process of doing laundry, packing, get the oil changed, dropping off Piper at Grandma’s house and well everything that needs to be done to leave. Jamie actually won’t have to worry about one thing, except for getting in the car tomorrow. Must be nice, but I guess this could be considered my “summer job”.
Almost Settled
We have been home for almost a week now, and we are almost settled again. As you can see from the picture above we had a ton of stuff to unpack and wash, which are two things I don’t really like to do. Jamie has been back at work for the last few days, but yet to catch up with his work email and I have been trying to get into a routine so I don’t waste the summer away. I know, it’s a hard life having the summers off. But I do have a whole lot on my list, including some much needed work around the house, planning for the next school year, getting a business license for my yet to be started photography company and getting my US citizenship (or at least the paperwork completed- trust us it’s a long process). There is never enough time for everything but cross your fingers that at least some of it will be completed.
No luck fishing
Jamie and my Uncle Keith headed out yesterday at 7am to go fly fishing and did not return until 11pm, now that is dedication. They drove over two hours to a place called Crowsnest Pass, it’s a river southeast of Cochrane where my Aunt and Uncle live. Jamie practiced fly fishing in the yard the last time we were at their house to get the hang of the motion needed to cast, or something like that. I do have pictures of that but I do not have pictures of them when they were out. Much to my disappointment they came back with no pictures of Jamie in his waders, chest high rubber pants, or any pictures of them fishing! I would have been all over that prime picture op. Although I am disappointed without any pictures it is probably for the best since Jamie took a “swim” in the river at one point and got soaking wet; to his defense it is not easy to stand in a very fast current with rubber shoes on wet, slippery rocks. If it was me I would have been swimming more than that, I am sure. Uncle Keith caught three trout, two rainbow trout and a brown trout, and Jamie didn’t get any although he had lots of fun. It was probably a great time spent by all in their “nothing box”.
We are off to watch my cousin Amy’s soccer game today and then to hike with my Auntie Trish and Uncle Keith out near Moose Mountain, although we will probably not see any moose there. Either way it should be fun. We are headed home on Monday afternoon but we don’t get back into Orlando until Tuesday; it will be a long over night flight. We are looking forward to our last few nights of relaxation until we get back and have obligations.
Stop to smell the mountain wind…
Yesterday Jamie and I returned to Mount Edith Cavell, a gorgeous place where you can admire three brilliant glaciers all at once. We went there the day before around 9pm, yes it is still light enough to hike at that time, to see the sights and we enjoyed it so much that we went again yesterday. The hike to get there was not easy and my legs are sore from it, pathetic I know. However, we took the lower road yesterday and that hike was a much easier one.
Jamie and I stood there for 2 hours each time that we went, just staring at the beauty around us. I know that you can’t even begin to imagine these sights or the grandness of these mountains unless you have been there, especially from these photos, but trust me it was wonderful! You are surrounded by mountains on three sides, two of which are home to three Glaciers that could swallow you whole in a minute flat. It is peaceful, except for the occasional human voices (there weren’t any the first night that we went, a perk of night hiking) and the occasional snowfall. A snowfall which I have affectionately called it, is much like a waterfall; it is when a large amount of snow slides off of the side of the mountain and makes a huge rumbling sound that I, being a girl, could not replicate properly. If you want the sound effects ask Jamie, his are better, always.
This trip has been fun, animal sightings and all. However, it takes sights like these, the ones that take your breath and your usual ability to use descriptive language away, to truly appreciate the beauty around us. I hope that you all have a moment like this soon, and if you do not, take the time to make one.
Elk and Goats and Bears, Oh My!!
Well I know that all I have practically written the last few times that I have posted is about the animals that we have seen, but I am going to do it again. We saw tons of them today and all kinds too. After packing up our stuff and checking out of the hotel we got on the road from Banff to Jasper (first using the number one, which as far as I know takes you right across Canada and then taking 93 through the mountains). From the moment we were on the road we were lucky with our sightings, two deer running across an open field- man are they fast.
Although the deer are cool, we also saw 5 more up the road. We quickly came upon a huge male Elk just eating his way down the highway. There were tons of people stopped to see him as he had his mid-morning snack, maybe some dandelions and grass, but he couldn’t have cared less if we watched him. I guess when you have a huge rack, the same rules don’t always apply.
I couldn’t resist adding this one, it’s too funny.
After the Elk, we began our very exciting Bear sightings, yes “sightings” plural. Jamie and I saw a total of 6 Black Bears today, 3 young bears on their own and then lastly a mother and her two cubs. We were anywhere from 15 yards to 40 yards away from them each time and safely behind car doors. We are curious but not stupid. It is so amazing to just be driving down the road and look over to see a bear having some lunch, by the way they are always eating when you see them. It makes me wonder just how many things are roaming around in the beautiful mountains that we miss all the time.
Bear #1
Bear #2
Bear #3- Pretty shy and not photogenic
The babies
“Following the leader, the leader, the leader…”
Between bear sightings we were able to add another type of animal to our ever growing list, the Mountain Goat. We saw a bunch of goats licking the mineral deposits off of the side of the road when we got closer to Jasper. As a matter of fact we passed a “Warning Goats Ahead” sign (it didn’t actually say that but I am unable to precisely describe the sign without boring at least a few of you) and we saw the first group maybe 30 seconds later, I kid you not. The best part about seeing the goats was the seeing the little one, man was he cute, all tiny and huddled next to his mama. It is great to see the animals in the spring, they all seem to have a baby in tow, and man are the little ones my favorite!
These guys had such fuzzy butts…
Mama and baby, awww
All in all, it was a very eventful day; animal wise we saw a ton, we got settled in Jasper, saw an amazing turquoise lake (Lake Peyto) and photographed the Athabasca Falls. We will be hiking tomorrow and probably visiting a few of the nearby lakes, I will be sure to keep you all posted on the animal front, we are on the lookout for Beaver, Moose, Cougars, or whatever will pass our way.
Pretty view from the side of the road.
Lake Peyto, no we did not alter the color of the lake
The two of us at Athabasca Falls
Elk, Elk and more Elk
Jamie and I drove up to Banff yesterday to spend a few days exploring the mountains and trying to find as many animals as we could. I would consider yesterday a success since we saw 27 Elk, 17 Bighorn Sheep and a coyote (although we didn’t get a picture of him)!
We drove up to the city of Banff, which is in Banff National Park, got a room at the Caribou Lodge and then walked around town. Jamie had a prime rib for dinner, you should have Alberta Beef when you can, the cows are huge here. After dinner and our downtown walk we piled into the car with our coats, it was getting chilly, and drove up to Lake Minnewanka. The lake is a beautiful blue/green color and they have not yet been able to determine the depth of the lake. When we were at the lake we built an Inukshuk, which looks like a rock-man and is used in the mountains to mark trails while you are hiking. We left “Rockman” at the lake and drove back to Banff which is where we saw all of the Sheep and Elk. The Sheep were in about three groups along the road and we saw one group of 5 Elk on the side of the road; the other Elk were in a big group at the bottom of a valley.
Well, we need to check out of the hotel so I am going to go. We are on our way to Jasper, which is North of here, who knows what we will see today!
Rain and Snow in June
I am sorry for not updating you all sooner, however this is only the second time that Jamie and I have had Internet in while have been here, so it has been difficult to get a chance to update. We have spent a few days in the mountains and a lot of time hanging out with my family. Unfortunately, the weather has not been ideal the whole time that we have been here. It has been raining off and on the whole time that we have been here, and it even snowed while we were in the mountains. Although we have had some lucky days, where the rain has stopped just long enough for us to take in the beautiful sites and take a few pictures.
We have been to the mountains twice, went up in the Calgary Tower, went to the bird sanctuary, and like I said we have spent time with my family, having dinner and seeing the sights. While we were out we have seen lots of deer, all kinds of birds, 3 elk, 3 coyotes, lots of chipmunks (Alvin, Theodore, and Simon), and Bighorn sheep with babies too. I am sure that we will see more and I will continue to keep tally marks in the book I am carrying with us.
Well I should go, we are about to go to Elbow Falls and have a picnic with my Auntie Deb, Grandma, Auntie Trish, Cousin Amy, Uncle Doug, Auntie Marilyn, and Cousin Bradey. It is a nice place to picnic and take pictures of the falls. We plan on heading for the mountains tomorrow and spending a few days in Jasper and Banff. Hopefully we will have Internet at the hotels and I will post some more, until then…
Fun in the Airport
Well, we made it to the airport with time to spare, thanks to Grandpa. When we were getting out of the car we got a little wet, it had just started to pour when we were getting out. We went through check-in with no problem and also through security without any issues either, which is quite a feat with all of our electronics. They pushed us along and didn’t search any of our bags, we didn’t even get patted down, I guess we don’t look too dangerous.
I was surprised by the usually very pretty Orlando Airport, we joked about the cost cutting measures taken to the extreme. There are no ceilings, the polls are wrapped in garbage bags and it has a wonderful fragrance of funk, take a look at the pictures to see for yourself. The last picture is of Jamie, already on his lap top (but not working) as we wait for our flight to start boarding.
the perreault family 