Morgan's Wedding Shower

Last weekend I had the honor of photographing the lovely Morgan's wedding shower. It was the most beautiful wedding shower ever. Here are a few photos to tease you. I have put up a slideshow of images from the afternoon. Click Here to see the slide show. You want to go, it is worth it!



What a view!


The most delicious lemon cake I have ever tasted!

THE Project

Here is a fun slide show I created with a new piece of software I just got. It was a good excuse to learn my new program.

Hope you enjoy the transformation. There will be more to come as the new deck gets added on.

Alaska in Summer

For those who have never been to Alaska in summer, it is akin to a spiritual experience. I am claiming this as my excuse to not blogging lately. The weather has been simply divine and I am having a very hard time staying indoors. This makes many things take a back seat to the heavenly scents that blow through the trees.

Although there is much that is to savor, we have been working on THE project around here. Removing and replacing our very large deck. It had been showing its age and started to become a health hazard as more and more boards rotted through. I do have a progression of photos of its demise, but they are yet to be uploaded to the computer. Maybe tomorrow... it is suppose to rain.

Back in the USA

What a great adventure the last two weeks have been. A fantastic way to spend a birthday, but I am glad to be home. Here is a little slideshow of some of my favorite photos of the trip.

Still Here

I haven't blogged in a few days. Amy showed up on Thursday and Lorrie left this morning. We had tea at Kensington Gardens, saw Wicked the musical, found a normal shopping area, went to the British Museum, heard Vivaldi at St Martins-on-the-Green, and lots more. Just a few more days.

The Tower of London

Today we spent 5 hours at the Tower of London. I think I am starting to pick up on the British history and line of kings. Our guide was Fell, today. He was a Yoeman Warder and had a fantastic sense of humor. Wish I could share his photo with you on this post, but no way to get it to you yet.

Amy comes tomorrow morning.

PS Sarah, I saw where 3 of the 6 wives' were buried and thought of you all day. Glad to hear you are still in Wasilla ;-) I will know where to find you with your London treasure I picked up for you.

Oxford

We spent the day in Oxford... so much history is such a small area. Time is a bookstore, dinner in a pub, a lovely guide named Charles that taught us all about Oxford and British history, evensong at Christ Church College chapel. One lovely day!

Across the Pond

So things never quite work out like you plan. Murphy's law is in effect especially in the case of travel. I made it to Chicago with no problem. But the next morning when I was checking in for my flight at 7am, I was informed that it had been canceled and I was rescheduled for the 5pm flight. There went my hopes of flying during the day and arriving at night. Then after a phone conference with Lorrie, who had received a 4am call about the cancellation which I had missed, we discovered that we were no longer seated next to each other. At one point, just before the flight we thought we had fixed the seat arrangement only to find stubborn neighbors that would not be persuaded to change with us. So I sat with a young mom, pinned in my bulkhead seat by a bassinet and Lorrie with a grumpy woman 10 rows back.

We arrived at 6am, stood in a very long customs line, and then took a bus to the hotel we had booked and paid for... but which we only spend 3 short hours in... enough to shower and re-group. The tube took us to our stop and we found our hotel with no problem. The room... 5th floor with no elevator. So we are getting good exercise. We headed out to find a meal and then to Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens. On our subway ride home it was all we could do to keep our eyes open. We bought sandwiches at the train station and ate them in our room to the BBC and promptly fell asleep with the tv on and still in our clothes. An hour or so later we woke and really went to bed... I think it was 9pm.

This morning we let ourselves sleep in before heading to the British Gallery and Westminster Abby. We had some yummy fish and chips this evening... with terrible service. But here we are back at the hotel and thinking about heading to bed.

More to come...

London

I am going to London for a birthday party! Mine ;-) Two dear friends are meeting me over there. Many people have asked me what my plan for the trip is... I tell them that I have an airline ticket and hotel reservations. That is my plan so far. I will attempt to catch up on my guide book reading on the very long flight from Chicago to London. Then I might have a little more detail in my plan.

I have a layover in Chicago tomorrow and get to spend a little time with my cousin and her husband there. Then across the pond on Saturday with my good friend, Lorrie. I will try to blog while I am over there, but I can't guarantee any photos because I am not taking my computer.

And because it is always nice to add a photo. Here is Tills. I took the fasted senior photos ever yesterday. He was awesome.

A Little Photography

I had a little photo adventure with some of the senior girls last weekend. Here is a shot from the coffee shop when we hung out afterward. And a couple of demo shots that turned out fun.

Launched

I am excited to announce that my website is done! I have spent countless hours in the last four weeks building my website and officially launched the site last Thursday. I am very happy with the results. Check out my labor of love at www.carrielambing.com.



Many thanks goes out to my site testers who helped me work out the bugs. Thanks for making me look so good.

Prom

Meet some of 'my girls". These beautiful ladies became my girls when they were little crazy 6th graders. I have had the honor of being a part of their lives for 7 years. It blows my mind that this weekend was their senior prom. After teaching a 3 hour photography class Saturday afternoon, I ran over to grab a few shots before the handsome boys with corsages swept them out the door. What fun to be a little part of that fun day. I love you guys and I am so proud of you!

The Ryans

Last Sunday I had the honor of taking the Ryans family photo. It isn't very often that they are all together, so it fun to be a part of the celebration. I was so impressed with their great attitudes for our shoot. It it made it a fantastic afternoon and a blast to do my job. I have to add a shout out of thanks to Jeff and Luanna for being my crew. I couldn't have done it without you guys.

I really love how this shot turned out.


The guys wanted a 'band' shot. Little Elise really wanted in on it.


I think Will suggested this shot so that they could stay warm.


The new treehouse was a perfect outdoor spot for the formal shot.


So many blue eyes and beautiful smiles.



All the girls


Sisters. And they really will sing the song for you if you ask.

Thanks Ryan Family! I can't wait to do it again!

Happy Easter

From my mom's chickens to you... hand-dyed by God this Easter just for us.





I hope you had a blessed day!

He is risen!
He is risen, indeed!

Home

I made it through selling my car, packing and shipping boxes, past the volcano and landed safely in the Last Frontier.

Yesterday I:
~ was surrounded by loads of wonderful friends that I have missed dearly
~ gasped at the stunning beauty of the snow covered mountains
~ savored the long twilight at 9:30pm
~ ate mac and cheese with one of my favorite people
~ was dwarfed by a 140lb great dane that thinks he is a pup
~ had wonderful coffee at my favorite coffee shop in the world... yep, I said world and that is a lot coming from me
~ remembered all the reasons that I moved back to Alaska

It is good to be home.
(and I do know that reality is going to be a bummer in about 2 weeks)

Going North

I have been in Boise for a week. This is only a temporary stop on my way to Alaska. It has been a busy week of hanging out with kids, catching up with friends, packing and mailing boxes, and selling my car. I don't have a flight to Alaska yet, but I am planning to be up there by Monday. I have been making plans for some digital photography classes in Wasilla in April. Let me know if you are interested. Now if the volcano will calm down enough to let the flights resume like normal.

I did get to do a fun little shoot with these cuties yesterday.

Friends

Some of my favorite people are in Arizona right now and I got to see them! Zach and Jane Keller and their tribe are down here doing some more training for New Tribes Mission Aviation. Saturday Mom and I drove down and met them at Tombstone before heading to their place. We had a great time with them. It was so much fun. And, of course, I had to do an impromptu photo shoot while I was there. Here are a few favorites.

Soaking up the Warmth

Two days after I got back from California I headed to Texas. Yes, the travel continues.

The highlights of my 5 days in Texas: Seeing Barbara Lee and spending time with her sister Betsy.
Hanging out with two of my aunts, Peggy and Laila.
Being motivated by some big name motivational speakers at the Mannatech conference.
Going to the JFK museum in Dallas.
The adventure of spending time in a big city.

I am back in Arizona soaking up the heat. It is official... I am heading north next Tuesday. I will be in Boise for 7-10 days and then I am moving to Alaska.

Shooting

The day after I got back to AZ from California my cousin, Ryan and I went shooting. He is a great photographer with awesome gear and makes me quite envious. He took me to one of his favorite places to shoot, the Superstition Mountains. It was a beautiful evening and we stayed for a couple of hours. Thanks for taking me shooting, Ryan. Here are a few of those shots.

Traveling

We made it back to the states about four hours late, missed our flight, and due to a snow storm in ATLANTA we got to enjoy the south for more than 24 hours. This was a blessing, however, because we were able to rent a car and drive to see my brother and family in Alabama. We looked into extending our stay in Atlanta the day before and they wanted $750 for us to lay over for a couple of days. And then God send a snow storm so we could save a bundle and still see the sweet faces of those we love.

Monday evening we finally arrived back in Arizona. The next morning I checked emails and my flight reservations I had made before we went to Brazil. And much to my surprise I discovered I had a flight that evening. So I did a little laundry and re-packed my bags and headed back to the airport. This time it was west to California. My dear friend, Anita just moved to CA to be with her fiance. And I got to do their engagement photos, help with some planning and brainstorming for the wedding, and enjoying friendship.

Here is a sneak peak of the photos. I had such a great time with these two. Thanks Anita and Ben!