Portraits - Safety Harbor, FL: Kara and Chris

Life has a tendency to get very busy. Kara is one of my best friends, and for her birthday back in March I gave her the gift of photos... family photos... of her, her husband, and their dog Kodi. The last time they had official portraits done was for their wedding over 4 years ago, and since then, their family photos have consisted of setting the timer on her camera and running over and hoping Kodi would cooperate in time for the timer to go off. It wasn't until this past weekend that our schedules FINALLY lined up and we were able to meet up and take them. Of course, it wasn't a bad thing that we waited until the scorching heat of summer had subsided down here in Florida. I'm so happy we finally made time to do this!

We found this cool old car in front of an auto shop and stopped in for a few fun photos.

These two are huge Gator fans so as much as it pained us to photograph, we had to capture a few in gameday attire.

Wedding - Homestead, FL: Erica and Matt

Erica and Matt are one of the nicest couples we have met, and the love and happiness between them is contagious. Their wedding was held at Matt's grandparent's property down in Homestead, FL and everyone welcomed us in as one of the family. The weather was gorgeous except for the cold front that had just come through and the guests from Florida (including us) were a little chilly. Here are some of our favorite shots from around the property which had everything from beautiful gardens to old machinery.

The setting for the reception was beautiful with lights strung across the dancefloor and candles hanging from the trees.

Thanks for including us in your beautiful day, we wish you both many years of happiness!

The Sunshine Skyway Bridge

Ever since we moved to Florida, I've wanted to take photos of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. We recently ventured down that way, and drove around the rest stop and fishing pier on the south end of the bridge which is part of the old bridge that used to connect St. Petersburg to the Sarasota/Bradenton area. After the old bridge was hit by a freighter and collapsed, the new bridge was built and it's recognized for its bright yellow suspension cables. The Skyway is listed as one of the Travel Channel's "Top 10 Bridges" in the world, which was all the more reason to indulge into my bridge obsession.

When we drove out on the south fishing pier there were lots of pelicans scoping out their lunch in the water below.

Traveling the Pacific Northwest: Mt Rainier and Seattle

The last of our 6-hour driving days brought us to Mount Rainier National Park. We changed our itinerary to include this detour and it was such a great idea! It helped that the weather was absolutely perfect. There were lots of little things to see on our trip through the park to make it to the main parking lot at Paradise.

As we made our way into the state of Washington the views along the road were incredible.

As we got closer, we were so excited at each glimpse we could catch of the huge mountain.

Once we got to the park we stopped at all the different view points that didn't require any major hiking. =)

The view was so amazing that this photo doesn't even come close to doing it justice.

As we headed out of the park we spotted a momma bear and two cubs passing through a valley.

Since it was such a clear day as we left the park, we headed straight to this amazing view point once we got to Seattle to capture this view.

The next day we roamed around Seattle. Our first stop was the top of the Columbia Center Skyview. We decided to go up and see the view from the 73rd floor of the tallest building on the Seattle skyline instead of going up in the Space Needle. If you look closely you can see that the Space Needle looks tiny from this height.

To fully get the Seattle experience, we rode a ferry over to Bainbridge Island. The view of the skyline was just gorgeous!

Then the famous Space Needle.

Our last day in the Seattle area, we drove up to Anacortes for a whale watching tour in the San Juan Islands. We had a really long day on the water (6 hours) but it was great to see a handful of Orcas. I only wish we had been able to get closer to them.

The views out on the water were just gorgeous.

The naturalists on board the boat can identify each individual whale by their dorsal fin and markings. The first whale we saw was Ruffles, who was the star of the movie "Free Willy". He was around for most of the day because he apparently likes to have his picture taken.

We even got to see one Orca do a spy hop and a few others do some flips in the water.

This really gives you an idea of the size of these creatures.

And here is one last photo as we headed back to Anacortes.

We had a great trip, but as with any trip, it was exhausting and it's always great to get home.