Southern California Adventures

So last weekend I had a whole week OFF!! It started off on a very somber side.. I had to head down to Orange County to pay my respects and celebrate the life of a dear friend, Matthew Rzyski who was diagnosed with Meningitis.  His life will always be remembered!! So after a long drive on to the OC on Monday morning and a returning drive on Tuesday morning, my oh so loving boyfriend tells me we were driving back Wednesday afternoon to meet up with some of his family and to go to Disneyland.. now how could I not be excited!! So we packed up and headed out early Wednesday afternoon.  We took the 101, so it was a little difference scenery for me, but I was also able to stop at my favorite cupcake bakery in Santa Barbara, Crush Cakes :) After a quick stop in SB and a looong stop at Walmart and Chik Fil A (to hold off the getting stuck in traffic!) we arrived!!

Thursday morning we got into the park right when it opened and caught a few "Big Kid" rides before his sister, brother in law and niece and nephew met up with us.. It was about Noon when we met at City Hall, it was like we had known eachother for years :) We spent the rest of the day in Disneyland.

Front Gate

DISNEYLAND <3

after just the second picture he didn't want to smile anymore!

in line for Pirates

Carousel

before we got SOAKED!!

Muscle Much?

What better way to end the day :)

 The next morning we got up and headed over to Universal Studios and after that went into Down Town Hollywood to the Kodak Theater. 

nothing like a ranch packet ;)

getting prepared for Jurassic Park

Stephanie & I

Sammy and I getting ready for Shrek 4D

On Saturday we slept in a little, packed up and headed into Santa Monica.  We found a little spot on the beach right by the pier and acted like little kids all day.. body surfed, build sand castles and boggy boarded!! We caught a bite to eat over at Bubba Gumps on the pier before we hopped back on the road back to San Jose

building a sand castle

All in all this trip was packed with laughter, stories and amazing memories for the future.  It was such a blessing being able to spend time with some of his family in such a fun environment! Cant wait to meet the rest of the Cary Clan :)

::Puppy Love::

 MEET TUCKER!!!

So for those of you who know us "Smith's" were known for our house full of candy and dogs!! So we were once again on the hunt for a puppy, a male black lab AKC registered to be exact!! So some of our friends who knew we were looking happened to be in Fresno this past weekend and was glancing through the Fresno Bee looking at new homes for sale, free items and thought why not look through pets too... well lo and behold, they had our exact match for more than half the price that we have ever bought a lab for, so we knew we had to look into it.  With much help from Elaine and Matt Miller, they went to the breeders house for us, Skype'd us and we picked out our newest addition.. the catch, we never consulted my dad about this decision because we decided it would be his early Father's Day present.  So after Tucker's first car ride, which happened to be 3 hours, we went to pick him up from the Miller's to surprise Dad... and man, was he surprised... :)

{Dad so excited to meet Tucker}

{enjoying the yard}

I was lucky enough to catch this precious picture of him knocked out after a day full of fun <3

Jackson Greer

Two months ago Michele and I started planning this photo shoot! I were so excited about it, mainly because were family and we NEVER get to see each other.  I was so excited to see her and Mr. Jackson, since the l saw him he wasnt even able to crawl, and now hes running!! Due to rain (on multiple occasions and last minuet reschedules) we were finally able to get a date down, after the 4th attempt!! It was a Tuesday, so an early morning on my end, but I managed to bribe my grandma into coming with me for car pool and to see Michele and Jackson :) We met up at the Palace of Arts in San Fransisco.  It truly amazes me how close I live to all these amazing structures and have never been to them!! It was so beautiful there, and might I add a beautiful day (God must have had it planned ;)) We started off there then walked across the street to the beach.  We were able to grab a few shots at this point, but Jackson was ready for his nap (and he let us know it!!), so we kept it more candid than posed!  I am so happy that I got to spend a few hours with my family at such beautiful locations.  This little one was so into everything that we even had by standers trying to help get his attention.. As I was trying to get Jackson to look at me and not the ducks this one lady was about 2ft behind me yelling.. "Jackson! Jackson, where's Jackson? Look here Jackson!" or even a local on the beach clapping two sticks together!! It was a fun day full of laughter and great memories!! Next time, let not do work ;)

 

 

 

Here are some cute outtakes of Mommy and Jackson and some of Mommy doing EVERYTHING she can to get the PERFECT Pictures :)

Chuckles and his Chick-lings {Dorcich}

8th Grade... baggy backpacks, bell bottom jeans, bushy eyebrows and brown lip gloss is how I can describe me in the 8th grade.  Today's 8th grader is a completely different description, mainly because of course fashion has changed.. but still I NEVER looked like these 8th Graders, when I was there age! This shoot started out as Madeline's 8th Grade Graduations Portraits which turned into a mini family session as well.  It was fun to catch that "Dorcich" personality :)

Meet Madeline.. edgy, sweet and sooo photogenic

 

 

Chuckles and his Chick-lings...