Brooke Salas Photography

Tica Baby

2011-11-19T09:56:00.000-08:00

Here it is... My first photo-shoot done here in Costa Rica. Little miss Olivia is so sweet and absolutely adorable. Also, she is incredibly tolerable of the toddlers in her life.

2011-11-12T10:24:00.000-08:00

Hi friends and anyone else who decided to take a look at this now neglected blog. I can't seem to keep up with this thing lately. Probably because the day to day responsibilities of motherhood and life in general has finally caught up with the newness and excitement of the move. I am doing laundry a million times a day and my precious son is a freak about the clothes he wears. He is as picky as a 14 year old girl about what he eats so I am constantly cooking, and he prefers to make messes in secret, so by the time I catch him he is knee deep in ketchup and sitting in the fridge. It's a little thing I like to call "job security." Anyway it's life as usual around here. Our Canadians came over the other night to swim and BBQ, I must say it was wonderful getting to entertain again. This was the first time in months that I was able to cook for people I know, and anyone who knows me knows I love to cook for people I know. Sometimes I like to cook for strangers but they tend to look at you funny when you ask them to elaborate on why they liked what they ate and to describe the experience in detail. A simple "Que rico" just won't do for me. I love when people talk about a dinner I made years after I made it.( Danny Joe you know what's up, lasagna circa 2008 ring a bell?) Anyway, dinner was delicious we had farm fresh roasted potatoes, green beans with red onion,brown butter and garlic with T-bones, and yes grass fed beef can taste delicious. Also, we finished dinner with a pecan pie, compliments of the Dr. and her Mr. It was supposed to serve 10 people and had 220 k/cal a slice, However, we didn't find this out until after we divided the pie into fours...you do the math. To my lovely husband who decided to read the nutrition label. Thank you Donny for your appreciation of nutritional knowledge. You suck. Charlie and his little buddy were needless to say tuckered out after dinner and swimming. So we turned on the T.V and continued with our little dinner party. About 15 minutes later we realized that one of the boys had turned the T.V onto a Latin soap opera and were clearly immersed in the story line. Enough said other than I have not laughed that hard in a long time. For anyone who has yet to experience the Latin television experience I implore you to do so.

Another thing I have to say is I have just graduated to a new level of cool in my mind. Here's why... I personally released at least 25 baby lora sea turtles into the pacific ocean this past week. O heavens those little things were adorable and amazing. They venture out to sea, only to return a mere 30 years later in efforts to lay their eggs. I don't know why but I am mesmerized by the whole process.

Here are some pictures.

Eatin on my fruits and veggies.

2011-10-30T10:36:00.000-07:00

Hi,

So every friday here in my tiny town of Jaco, we have an open market where the farmers and peeps come and sell their straight from the earth fruits and veggies. As you can imagine this creates a whole world of color and texture also known as a photographers paradise. Therefore this time I took my canon and strapped that sucker around my neck and partied like no other. I did not mind in the least bit that Donny pretended not to know me for the first ten minutes of my impromptu photo shoot... but sooner rather than later he buckled and decided to join me in my picture taking, fruit and veggie buying/sampling en devour. I can't think of a better way to spend my friday morning. SO here are the pictures I hope you ejnoy looking at them as much as I enjoyed photographing and sampling them. Here we go. Oh and may I add that this is how things that come from the earth are supposed to be, dirty, a little rugged but filled with natural goodness. Enjoy!

BEANS

Carrot y Cucumber

Grapefruit

I am going to butcher the actual name and or spelling of this fruit...

Mamonchino

Beets

fresh chamomile...for tea.YUM

Papaya

A story for the ages...

2011-10-29T08:40:00.000-07:00

Hey guys,

First of all since I am a loyal St. Louis girl, I have to give a shout out to my Cardinals. Way to play boys. Also, I owe my husband an enormous apology after I made him turn off the T.V and come to bed while game 6 was on. Little did I know that it was the game of a lifetime. I kindly told him the next time I am acting a fool to just put me in my place. Needless to say the next morning finding out who won the game was exciting and also a huge relief. Last night watching the Cards win the Series, was exhilarating and definitely made me miss home. It was amazing to see how the world literally stops and are given a chance even if it is only for a couple of hours, to take a trip back to childhood. The gleefull anticipation of your hometown team potentially winning the World Series. The flashback to playing baseball in the front yard while you imagine this scenario..." Bottom of the ninth, bases are loaded, two outs, fly ball to the left field, and he's out of there. The crowd goes wild!!" Watching the Cardinals win I saw an entire team turn into little boys, jumping up and down and piling one on top of the other in celebration. It's the American dream coming to fruition and I watched it on live T.V in a tiny town in Central America. It literally brought tears to my eyes. I watched as my two year old, my husband and my father- in -law sat on the edge of their seats, three generations brought together and all sharing a common bond, by something as simple and organic as baseball. I saw what a little faith can do. Just a few thousand people aka Cardinals fans with a little bit of faith in one team, gave them the strength and confidence they needed to win the World Series. It's a story for the ages, hometown boy, playing for his hometown team, hit's game winning homer to save the Series Title. Love it. Feeling a bit nostalgic today...can you tell? I am just a proud girl from the heartland of America, who's baseball team just won the World Series, letting whoever is reading this know that I still believe now more than ever that dreams still come true, and perseverance truly does pay off.

The boys watching the game, and saluting for reasons unbeknown to me.
Brooke

Small Space Idea...Think shelves.

2011-10-17T19:00:00.000-07:00

I know, it's been way too long...but I have a great excuse I have just returned from the states and a mini vacation of sorts. Mainly, I shopped till I dropped at the most awesome outlet mall in the world. It was a great trip overall. Charlie was a champ, and even managed to fall asleep in a shopping cart while wearing soccer goalie gloves and holding a basketball. After all... a sugar buzz can only last so long.

Today, I finally hung the 12x1in shelves and brackets that have been patiently awaiting my time and attention. For those of you with small spaces, I have to say that shelves may be the cheapest and most simple way to visually expand your space while allowing you to add some pleasing aesthetic elements. I chose to hang four 12x1 boards on a basic metal black brackets, you can really have fun with brackets as there are tons of really cool ones I have found...Lowes had a good selection when I looked last. I chose to leave them unfinished, however you could get funky and play on colors if you wanted to. I personally like the way the black contrasts with the light wood. Also you will see in the picture you can measure the chest height from any reasonably sized chair and hang the lowest shelf at this height, making this double as a small office/work/blogging place. Thank you Donny for being my handy man for the day:) So here is a look at the finished product.

As you can see... there are no rules here. I just really like using everyday things that aren't necessarily for "decorating" but are simply things that I like to look at. I guess it's that simple.I chose to use Charlies blocks from when he was a baby, my bracelet as a candle holder, the high-top converse to add interest. It can be so much fun and it takes very little effort. I also love chalk-boards I will show you pictures of my new project later this week. I have a recipe for chalk-board paint thanks to my sis in-law and a way to customize any space with this simple fix. Just thinking about it makes me happy. I am that lame.

I couldn't post without sharing a pic or two of my man Charlie, he is growing so fast. Have a great week everyone.

I Made it...I think.

2011-09-23T15:42:00.000-07:00

Good Friday all,
I have good news and well great news to share. First of all the good news...I quit coffee like a champ. Well I was more like a heroin addict comming off of a 10day bender but who cares. I still quit. Let me give you a brief list of my withdrawl symotoms. They are as follows. Migraine headache, nausea, vomiting, sweats, chills, extreme fatigue. You may think I'm just being dramatic, but ask my poor husband he will tell you. He looked at me before he left for work with a look of concern and maybe a little, has my wife completely and utterly lost her marbles? He even had the nerve to say. "Why don't you just drink a little coffee." HA I laugh in the face of the most commonly used drug in the worlds withdrawl symptoms Donny. I will not give in. I didn't give in and voila, I am no longer a caffeine addict. Charlie and Donny deserve gold stars for putting up with me this week. Now onto the Great news.

This week my 2 year old, potty trained himself. I did not prompt that child in the least bit. He just woke up one morning( 5am), and said "Mommy potty." We go in he sits on the pot, and well I'm sure you can put the rest together. However, my child perefers to linger while on the comode at 5am, and now tells me to "sit" I guess he knows that this is going to take a while so I may as well get nice and comfy on that cold tile floor. The other morning (4:30) to be exact, he spent 20 minutes pooping, I am sorry if this is too graphic but seriously why does it ever take anyone that long to do their business. With all of this said, I must tell you I am kind of sad that his last bit of "baby-ness" has gone. I now have a little boy who no longer needs his mommy to change his diapers. Sniff sniff. Ok, now that I got that out of the way I need your help. My little boy is not ashamed of his private areas in the least bit, and prefers to drop trou in the middle of restaurants, and pee. It's something that has happened twice now, and I'm not sure how to keep it from happening again. It really dosen't help that the majority of the restaurants are open air, and outside here. He prefers to pee on the beach or on trees and such. Anyone who has ever dealt with this please feel free to e-mail me or leave me a comment and let me know what on earth I can do about this. Wow, I know one teacher who is going to be happy come Monday. Miss Gaby won't know what to do, now that this will soon be a problem she too has to deal with.

Hope everyone is happy and enjoying their fall and harvest season. If you know me you know that fall is one of my favorite times of the year...Pumpkin spice candles, windows open, nice brisk evening walks, fires in the fire pit, making oven roasted squash, potatoes, zuchinni and carrots with a nice pot roast, apple crumbles, and oatmeal rasin cookies, sitting outside on a nice fall evening, and enjoying a nice glass of pinot noir, enjoying latte and going to the kirkwood farmers market, the fall lineup of network tv shows...the list goes on.

That's all for now everyone, hope you all enjoy the weekend!

At the independence day parade with the kids from the school.

Tantrums aren't just for toddlers.

2011-09-14T20:07:00.000-07:00

Hi friends,

Happy to have you back this week, I think I may be a little late, my apologies. I seem to have a 3ft dictator who isn't real keen on seeing the computer in front of me, attached to my hip lately. This put bit of a damper on my blog writing, but this dictator also doubles as my two year old, so I don't mind it all that much. I am pretty sure his two year molars are comming in and with a vengeaence I might add. Holy cow, I forgot how miserable teething can make our lives. AHHHH! The sleepless nights, the diaper rash, the whining, OH the WHINING! Poor kid... when I ask him if his teeth are hurting he just responds "uh huh." Thank GOD for Motrin. We are all better because of motrin. TRUST me. Although, the teething does not explain the fact that he fed the dog an entire loaf of wheat bread ( the fact that it's wheat is important because it's expensive here) and emptied the entire bag of dog food onto the floor...This happened back to back and at 0530am. Good morning sunshine. It resulted in " Donny you are going to have to wake up for this one." I think he was napping by 0645am that day. It was a sanity nap but a nap no less. It's interesting, as awful as he can be at times, he has started this thing where he wants your kisses and then says "kank oo" in his little adorable sweet love of mine voice, and makes the whole world right.

As some of you may know I have recently taken up surfing...It was only a matter of time, seeing as I live in a place with some of the best surfing in the world. I began on my husbands long board, and the waves seemed to just happen, I was happy catching waves no problem. Then I decided I needed my own board, once again that was the five year old in me not wanting to share. So I got myself a nice fancy new lighter (faster) board. Really Brooke? Anyway I surfed Hermosa, a nearby beach to the south of where we live with my husband and his friend this past Saturday. I proceeded to paddle out or so I thought, and only ended up a 1/2 mile down the beach from where I set out. The waves were thick and closed out and horrible, and so a tantrum was in order. Seriously, I whined and smacked both my hands in the water and made my way to the beach in a stomping manner. Nice. True story. Ask my husband. This was only minorly embarrassing, it was eclipsed by my husband breaking the only board that I am actually good at catching waves on. However, it solidifies the fact that the waves were crappy and no one caught anything that day, so a tantrum may have been in order after all.

I would like to take this time to now ask those of you who are return readers, to officially follow my blog. Please and Thank you:)

My New Normal.

2011-09-03T14:33:00.000-07:00

Hola Everyone, I know you are all shocked that I have managed to get two blogs out in the same week. Aren't I just a productive pants these days. Looks like the siesta's are working. I have decided that in this blog I would highlight things that are perfectly normal here and well... lets just say they might be a little unorthodox to most people I know. Let's get started shall we...

1. Riding your bike with a small child in the front basket.
2. Treating your beach cruiser like a mini van. Seriously, the other day we saw an entire family of four on one bike. Dad was doing the peddling, mom was holding baby and the little boy was behind mom. Straight up talent right there folks.
3. Taking your dog everywhere. We saw a couple with their dog on a dirt-bike. The dog was riding with front and back paws hanging over and belly down on the back seat. This was not a small dog I might add. I could not get a picture as it was raining too hard.
4. Wearing your bikini into the grocery store.
5. Gold chains are back and in full force here.
6. Getting to first base just upon meeting someone. Seriously everyone kisses you it's no big deal, unless of course your a germ-a-phob.
7. At any given time you may be delighted to to see a combo store, my husband and I enjoy these a great deal, it's when you find a place that has dual or even multifunctional purposes. For Example, you may have a soda y zapata repair shop. After all who doesn't like to have a bite to eat AND get their shoes fixed, duh it makes total sense.
8. Holiday's are very common and everyone gets off school or work for these days. Example, we have had three holidays since being here, Guanacaste day, Mothers Day, and some other holiday that I honestly didn't take the time to remember. This Friday is yet another holiday and we are comming up on Costa Rica's independence day. I am actually quite excited about this, but only because my son is going to be in the parade here in town with his school.
9. Eggs are not believed to necessitate refrigeration. ( I don't follow this rule)
10.Everything will be done later or tomorrow just not now, and with no sense of urgency.

In other news...the restaurant is doing well and we are up and running for breakfast, my cinnamon rolls are a hit. I am finding myself making at leat a few batches a week. It's great for business and not so great for my waistline. We can't seem to predict when people will be hungry but they tend to come in herds when they do come. It's the one thing that reminds me of the ER, feast or famine ya'll. Shout out to my Nurse pals I am missing you guys something fierce. Did I ever mention that I ran into Dr. Ullery in line at the airport when we were on our way to Costa Rica? Crazy right?

Charlie has been great this week, but that could be because he went to school all full days this week. So proud of my man. It's not easy being the youngest kid in the whole school. Who really wants to poop in their pants in front of their peeps, it takes away all your street cred, for real. I took some time to observe my little piece of genetic offspring the other day. This is what ensued, he marched around his toys and proceeded to say the word "mine" at least 15 times consecutively and I'm being conservative. Also he changes at least 4 times a day, but he won't wear what I choose. He has to pick it out. You can only imagine the tantrums that result because of this. Today he wanted to wear his soccer cleats, but we have ceramic tile floor so this combination usually results in lots of falling and it's not good . Needless to say I have hidden the soccer cleats for now. I'll break them out when I find him a team to play on.

That's all I have for now. Love.

The Good the Bad and the Day to Day.

2011-08-29T18:12:00.000-07:00

Holy cow have we been busy lately, hence the lapse in time from the last blog post. My bad. No excuse other than the fact that we have been working, playing and meeting so many new people I feel like I need clone just to process all of the new information. Any way...I guess I begin with my canine counterpart Evie, my black lab. My little lover girl has a man friend who lives across the street. His name is Chewey, he's a golden doodle and a bit of a grump. He stays in our yard guarding it without prompting or reward and even barks at Donny when he leaves, which makes me giggle a lot. I'm pretty sure he just does it to be cavelier. Maybe that's what she likes about him. When I call her to come in at night he walks her all the way to the door, waiting for the invitation to come in, usually to no avail but hey whatever works right? They do say that persistence pays off don't they? He is a bit dramatic, sometimes he stands in the middle of the road and refuses to move, I ususlly end up talking him down and de-escelating the situation telling him that "suicide isn't the answer and things will get better." he usually ends up moving out of the way with no sense of urgency what-so-ever. See my nursing training did me some good. Chewey and Evie are a super cute couple, I will most definately need to post some pics of this pairing.
Next order of business is Charlie, he has been doing really well you know as well as a two year old with his countless emotional breakdowns, anorexic tendencies, and throwing himself onto a tile floor at the mere mention of the word "NO" can be. But seriously he is awesome and loves a party, no kidding. I showed up to school the other day and there was a Karoke bus parked with the bass bumpin to some killer Miley Cyrus tunes. I'm telling you they really know how to get down. He loves to dance. It's pretty cute.
On another note, I think he inherited my clumsiness, his teacher sent him home the other day with outfit # 3, #1 was a victim of the blueberry and granola combo think lots of fiber and a really good cleansing of the colorectal system. # 2 he managed to fall sliding at least 2 feet in the mud covering his entire outfit in good ol Costa Rican mud. I used bleach and peroxide but those clothes are DONE with a capitol D. I don't understand why they don't make special clothes for toddlers, espically boys, out of the same matieral as those washable bibs. Just wipe em off.
We are meeting so many interesting new people, it's lots of fun. So far we have a couple of Texan friends, A man from Alaska who hunts things, carries guns and is friends with Ted Nuget. A group of kids from Seattle, one of whom is getting ready to stard Med-school, so I got to talk using medical jargon, it was kind of nice. A lady from Turkey who likes my Empanadas, and a bunch of Highshool teachers from Germany who can't get enough of my Banana pancakes. Just to name a few.
I took a two hour nap today, I have not done this in a long time. It was well deserved and much needed. I am thinking about making the siesta a staple in daily life. I guess that one of the perks of being my own boss.
In other news...
Currently reading a book called Breakthrough Prayer, by Jim Cymbala great read so far.
I got donny hooked on espresso, for those of you who know my husband this is a big deal.

Just a few pics of us around the shop and Charlie playing at McDonalds.

Me Encanta!

2011-08-10T13:19:00.000-07:00

Hello all...

I have just sat down at the kitchen table with the most delicious cup of costa rican cafe` con leche y asucar.Trust me, it sounds as good as it tastes. Charlie is napping not suprising, seeing as he wakes up at 6am and is bouncing off the walls until we leave for school at 0745. His teacher is truly earning her $ with Charlie joining the class. Which brings me to the subject of escuela. We have learned in the short time that he as been in an organized classroom setting, that A. He needs to work on listening. HA. B. He eats a lot...seriousl,y I sent him a huge bagel and cream cheese for a mid morning snack, and the teacher said he was still hungry. Geez, the kid is a living breathing garbage disposal. Did I mention that the mid morning snack is at 9 and he eats at least three times before we leave the house? My favorite part about school so far, is that when I go in to pick him up, the kids yell "Charlie! Your Mommy is here!" It's adorable that all 10 of them know me already. As for the atmosphere in school, its so incredibly different than that of a school in the states. Just the other day when I went to observe. I was outside watching Charlie, when a huge Iguana climbed onto one of the trees and was pooping on the concrete around the outside of the play area. One of the little gringa girls says in English "EWW the iguana is pooping." then a little Spanish speaking boy comes up to her and in spanish says. "Cuidado, chicos and went on to explain the Ca ca situation. To my amazement that little girl who was maybe 5, switched over to the most clear Spanish I have ever heard. Impressive. Not so impressive to my sons Spanish repertoire he now has the addition of "ca ca" to his ever expanding Spanish vocabulary. Super! In other news, today was picture day, o my goodness was my kiddo cute in his little uniform, made me smile. I being the awesome mom that I am forgot to take a picture...I'll just take a picture of my guy in his little uniform tomorrow before he goes to school. So you can see for yourselves how adorable he is. Also, while I'm on the subject of adorable... Charlie's little camo rubber boots have been added to the lineup of boots outside the classroom. I'm not kidding it's precious.

Mom after talking to you this morning I thought I should include this... I met a Man his name is Hector. Me Encanta! It does not matter that he is gay, because the work he did with his hands today on my frock of hair was nothing short of amazing. I think Donny loves him too because he made me look pretty, and I'm convinced that my husband likes when I look pretty. 7 inches later I am a new woman. Seriously I have been a notorious hair stylist whore for years. I am now ready to settle down with Hector. Anyone who really needs a good stylist, it's well worth the $20 for a shampoo, cut and style! Mom, skype me tonight, and I'll show off my new hairdo.

Bought the new Mat Kearney album, its amazing. Highly recommend it, I have had it on replay at the shop while getting it ready for the grand opening. That's all for now folks... I have included a beach pic of my girl Evie, on a little Sunday romp on the beach.

Spanglish

2011-08-04T18:25:00.000-07:00

Hey guys,
I realize now that 1. I do not know nearly as much spanish as I initially led myself to believe. 2. I am secretly jealous of my husband and his fluent spanish speaking skills. Don't get me wrong it's super sexy, but I want to speak beautiful fluent spanish and be the best one at it. That's the five year old in me talking. Lately I have been venturing out and doing a lot more, with this I need to be able to talk a whole lot more. As you can seen this poses a bit of a problem. Anyway, the major issue came tonight when I asked the lady at La Soda de Garbito, "que es eso?" she responded, "papas" I was at a loss here because I was commited at this point she thought I wanted the potatoes and I didn't have the words to explain that, I just wanted to know what it was, I didn't want it on my plate...Needless to say I ended up with potatoes on my plate for dinner. Also, Donny has purposed it in his heard to no longer translate for me so I'm pretty much on my own these days. BOO.

Moving on, today was our anniversary, to celebrate we went to the beach for a little surf session, and then went to one of our favorite Sodas. Donny said it himself, best anniversary ever! It was in fact pretty awesome. I sometimes have to really stop and think...This is where I get to live? This is what I get to do on a thursday afternoon? Thank you God, I know that I am so blessed.

We are thinking about starting breakfast at the restaurant, so I have been attempting to perfect a cinnamon roll recipe. I have a whole new appreciation for bakers, and chefs. Seriously, its insane the amount of patience and precise measuring that goes into every bite of deliciousness. Give me a 300lb lady on dialysis with no veins complaining of Chest pain and had Rapid A-fib with RVR and I could probably get the iv's started, monitor, ekg and meds in the time it takes me to get the flippin yeast and water dissolved. irritating to say the least. grrr. Anyway I have rolls attempting to rise as we speak. I am impatient, this is very difficulty for me.

I have some pics from the beach today. Hope you like em.

More on life here...

2011-07-30T18:32:00.000-07:00

Hello friends...I think a am a bit behind on an update so, I'll start with Charlie. We began looking at schools a couple of days ago and I think we found "the one" it's pretty amazing. I am a little jealous that I didn't get to go to school in the middle of the jungle. This place is complete with a pool, butterfly farm, veggie gardens and a huge play ground. All the kids have to bring rubber boots because it gets pretty muddy here during the rainy season ( which we are in now) All the different colored boots are all lined up outside the toddler room. Simply adorable! I told Donny that I'm pretty sure if Dora and Diego were real people this is where they would go to school. We will go on Wednesday to spend an hour with his class to see how he does. I think he is going to love it.

As for Donny and I we are closing on the restaurant on Monday, and will be taking over this comming week. Eeek! I am both excited and nervous at the same time. We have met our employees and they seem pretty receptive about the change and are really nice. So that's good.

Our dear friends Aron and Melissa found a church here in Jaco called Calvery Chapel. We visited when we were here about a month ago and absolutely fell in love. It's outside in a soccer stadium, and looks out over a hourse pasture. The atmosphere is truly indescribable. We are going tomorrow at 10:30 if anyone cares to join us:)

I almost forgot here are some pics of my man Charlie splish splashin it up on some puddles outside the house a couple of days ago. Hope you enjoy!

The gang's all here.

2011-07-25T10:36:00.000-07:00

First I would like to say how incredibly grateful I am to have family and friends that love and care for us so much. The fact that I really feel like we broke some hearts with this move has not rested well with my conscience. However, I know beyond any shadow of a doubt that this was the right move to make for our family. We have been praying for months for God to show us his will in our lives and well this is where we are now. I am so thankful, everything has worked out. The move was incredibly smooth and Charlie is transitioning exceptionally well. This alone gives me peace.

Skyping with Cathy and Preston has been awesome, it was something that seemed like it would never suffice for true human interaction, but let me tell you it is by far the next best thing. Lola (my moms golden retriever) even got a little lippy with Toby ( our black lab) when she heard him barking this morning during our daily skype. LOL.

Sunny our yellow lab did not make the trip with us after careful consideration and lots of tears, I decided it would be best for him to stay in the states. Thank God, I have an amazing family and my Aunt Claudia( aka dog whisperer) and Uncle J, are his new adoptive parents. I have heard nothing but great reports and know that he is going to be very happy with his new family including two new canine brothers, Lance a black lab and Woody an irish setter And two human brothers Evan and Elliott.

Ill post some pictures soon and do some talking about our resturaunt Los Pibes in the next couple of days. Until then. Adios

Goodbye STL...Hello Costa Rica!!!

2011-07-22T09:53:00.000-07:00

Well it's been a while since my last post. With that said, let me fill you in on the little bits of life that have happened this past year. Geez, its been a year? Really? Alright hold on tight because this is a lot and I believe list form most suits this rant, so here we go...
Bought and built a new home.
Moved into new house
Bought a restaurant in Jaco Costa Rica.
Quit my job as an RN.
Moved out of new house.
Moving to home in Costa Rica .
As if that's not more than enough, I'm ready to start taking pictures again. I never realized how much I loved it until I recently began looking through old photo shoot pictures. It brought so much joy to my life. I think you are right Shefi, the backdrops are a lot more impressive in Costa Rica :) So I guess this post is more of a "stay tuned"so stay tuned, and hopefully I will have some super cool pics post to this little blog. Love ya'll. To my family... I love you and were going to be some skyping maniacs, so save the tears for something truly sad:)

Cutie Pies

2010-11-11T13:21:00.000-08:00

I just finished this photo shoot not even two hours ago, and what did I do? I made a B line to my computer so I could get a closer look at these cutie pies. Seriously, never in my life met two more relaxed and happy parents of three children under the ages of two! You guys are an inspiration, and your little family could not be more beautiful. I hope you like the lil preview.

Double the Fun...

2010-11-10T18:19:00.000-08:00

Today I was blessed with the oportunity to photograph, one cute little family. The twins you see in these pictures are Blake and Taylor. They are filled with laughter, love and lots of curiosity. I hope you like the little preview guys.

Love all around.

2010-11-06T07:33:00.000-07:00

Rebecca Rose and her wonderful little crew. I can't believe it's been a year since our last shoot, when I first began this picture taking journey. You were a huge catalyst in making my photography hobby more like a second career. I thank you for that. You have a beautiful family where you can feel the love all around. CONGRATS ON THE ENGAGEMENT!!!

The Ehrler's

2010-10-25T18:27:00.000-07:00

Here you go Sherri and Mike, a little preview of your absolutely beautiful family. Hope you like the pictures. I can always count on lots of fun and laughs when I hang with you guys.

And then there were Three...

2010-10-22T08:05:00.000-07:00

Jamie and Jeremy,

I had so much fun with you and that adorable little angel of yours. You guys always bring me so much joy. Hope you like this little preview. Much love.

Pretty little ladies.

2010-10-15T11:07:00.000-07:00

Here is a preview for you Melissa, sorry I didn't get these up sooner, as you can see I did some re-design to my blog. Your girls are absolutely stunning. I love these pictures, and had so much fun with you and your pretty little ladies.

Shout out to Picklemans!

2010-09-11T11:22:00.000-07:00

A little bit ago I decided to go out on a huge limb, and attempt some landscape (ish) photography, for a friend. He is opening up a Picklemans Gourmet sandwich shop, on the Campus of SLU on Lindell. He asked me to take some pictures so he could put them up in his shop. I was happy to help. So here are a few of the pictures I took. Hopefully you will be seeing some of these in person, when you go to get a delicious sandwich from Picklemans.

Baby Carter is Here!!

2010-08-20T17:12:00.000-07:00

My friends Marty and Brandon welcomed a healthy and beautiful baby boy into this world this week. These are just a few pics from a recent visit with them. Oh how I love this baby. He is too precious for words.

Amelia in the Belly

2010-08-09T09:53:00.000-07:00

These are photo's of a beautiful family who are expecting Amelia very soon. As you all know by now I absolutely love maternity shoots, and this one was no exception. Enjoy!

Joy

2010-08-09T09:28:00.001-07:00

These are photos taken of the Graves, a family who with great courage and love, endured the loss of their precious heaven born baby Aubry, are now joyfully expecting a little boy Jaxon. This photo shoot was so perfect in so many ways. The scenery was amazing, this couple are so filled with love and gratitude its contagious, and the joy that accompanies the anticipation of a new little life was completely tangible. I left this photo shoot with the reminder of what an amazing privilege and blessing it is to hold an other's life inside of you.

Baby Mckenzie

2010-08-09T09:15:00.000-07:00

This baby girl, is too precious for words, and so very loved. These pictures were taken when this little one was just 12days old. Still fresh and waking up from the belly. I just love her to pieces.