718

That's the number of pictures I took on our ONE WEEK trip to Juneau, Alaska... yes, my husband is a bit worn out from having to be my eternal subject, but ya know, how often are you surrounded by some of the most overwhelming beauty on God's green Earth???

On the way to our layover in Seattle, we flew past a little landmark..... Mt. Rainier.

Upon arrival in Juneau on Saturday, we greeted the folks, walked the dog amongst the brisk northern air, (...yeah, I, knowing it would be a bit cooler there, did think to bring a jacket on the plane up, but when we landed in 59 degree weather, the short sleeve shirt/skirt/flip-flops I chose to wear didn't quite cut it), then for dinner, we feasted on a delicious venison stew brought over by good friends of Stuart's dad.

Sunday was SALMON FISHING!



Stuart and his pop each caught one! As for me on the other hand, I had the moment of opportunity....then the HUGE fish that it was, (don'tcha know it must have been 30 lbs. or so), got away...
:(


Oh well - her sisters, (once marinated in butter, brown sugar, and garlic - yes, our hosts kept us wonderfully fed! Too good! They are awesome chefs!) were meltably goood!

On Monday morning ~

we decided we needed to have a little adventure hike! So the in-laws went in to work and we took the East Glacier trail that loops near Mendenhall Glacier.


The Tongass National Forest is part of the nation's largest temperate rain forest. And beautiful. Did I mention beautiful?


I've never seen such a creation as this before!


Everything was so lush, and HUGE!
(Other than the pathway...) it seemed so untouched. It was like a secret that, when you put the effort to search for it, you're privileged to have its beauty revealed before you.


We had so much fun exploring! It was 2.8 miles and took us about 2 hours to complete, (including several stops for photo opps. and such - we're somewhat athletic)...


Except that I decided to check out one of the several little babbling waterfalls.... yeah, moss is slippery! It was hard getting up, and this is my husband's effort to help, he snaps a memory of this clumsy excuse of one who calls herself "outdoorsy"!


To show a reference to its mass - see the little dots of people below the glacier?



After our hike ~

with wobbly knees, we went downtown to meet his parents for lunch.


Picking them up first at their cute little shop.

That was just Sat. - Mon.!
I don't know what I'm going to do! I still have 4 more days to share! (I'll try to keep those shorter!)

Farewell, "Lower 48"

The hubby and I are off to JUNEAU, ALASKA tomorrow!!! My father-in-law lives there, so blessed as we are, we have an official, native tour guide, as well as yummy home-cooked meals to look forward to! (Is there a better way to travel?)
On the agenda: zip-lining, fishing, hiking, cruising to see the Tracy Arm Fjord glaciers, (which actually, our cruise ship passed right through there on our honeymoon, but with no advance warning, wouldn't you too have been snoozing peacefully @ 6 am.?), shopping, and how about some relaxing!
I'm not sure how often I'll be able to check my phone messages, but I'll definitely have email access, so I won't be completely out of touch with all you Southerners!
(birdseyephotography@yahoo.com) We descend back to our local flatlands on July 7th, so I'll play catch up with phone calls then.
Stuart's dad and step-mother own a bookstore downtown, so if you're ever in their neighborhood, stop by Rainy Day Books and catch a good read!
(I think this is definitely the most hyper-linked post I've ever done. Once you get started, you can get on a roll with those!)

'Cover'-ed in Fun!

My friends at the Denton Connection magazine, (which I advertise in ...pg. 12 in the July issue...), had a super cute idea for the cover of the July issue, and just needed a local photographer to shoot it.....hmmm, who may have been called upon.......

YES! yours truly!

How exciting is that!? We had so much fun @ our Water Works Park in Denton! Miss Z was such a great little model! I told her mommy she really should consider making this an avenue toward a college savings fund because her daughter is not only adorable, but is so easy going and has such a fun personality! (as the pictures attest to that!)

These are a few outtakes from that fun morning, but....for the grand winner....

Didn't they do a great job putting it all together? I'm very pleased to have been able to work with them this month, and definitely look forward to future shoots together!

Motivating Momma

I have yet to experience the miracle that is pregnancy, but I'm pretty sure this beautiful blossoming of a (2nd time!) mother-to-be may not be my graceful result after 8 1/2 months of growing life...

Yeah, she's a fitness director.

Sweetie M is going to be such a great big sister to the baby girl in her mommy's tummy who debuts in just 2 1/2 weeks!

50 years = 4 kids + 8 grandchildren

Isn't it wonderful that family celebrations, well, bring family together!

These siblings are in town from across the country to celebrate their parents' 50th wedding anniversary!

The grandchildren were so funny and great sports about the weather, (a little sprinkly). This craziness of Texas weather, sooo rainy and it's June??? (Of course our yards are lapping it up now as soon the opposite will be our worry come July! - ...not complaining though, honest....just a little hard when your work requires outdoorsiness and families who only gather so often!)

(how sweet is this romantic couple...)
:)

3 Generations, 1 Day

Miss A is not only getting married in one month, but getting married in St. Lucia! How picturesque is that! Yes, let's all collectively release a tiny little envious sigh...


Her mother, a lifelong local, gave an interesting tidbit about TWU's Little Chapel-in-the-Woods. It was dedicated by Eleanor Roosevelt in 1939! That puts Denton on the map!


This thoughtful bride chose to wear heirlooms from the 3 generations who preceded her. This necklace belonged to her great-grandmother.


The handkerchief is passed down from her grandmother.


And these earrings are her mother's.
Enjoy your tropical paradise and a lifelong happy marriage!

Why, Thank You...

See the cuties in the post below.... these words from their grandmother make me even more thankful that my job is something that is my favorite thing to do in the whole world.


Julie,

I can't thank you enough for such beautiful pictures. They really are awesome. Now comes the hard part when I have to decide what to put up on my walls!!! We will refer you to everybody we know. You have an awesome gift for capturing light and life!

Blessings,
Loretta


As I told her, it makes my work seem easy when every image has those sweet expressions staring back at you...