WEDDING

My friend, Melissa, and I shot a wedding for a friend of mine, Jessi. I've been working on getting her photos sorted so that I can get them too her. My mom simply can't stand the waiting...so here's two - that's all I'm going to share until Jessi & Josh get their set.

We had a great time photographing this wedding. We've got another we're shooting this Saturday - wish us luck. Pssst....aren't they a lovely couple!

Blessings,

Aubrey

IT'S A CREATIVE WORLD

It sure is ... or at least it ought to be. I think about what being creative does for someone and I'm so grateful to my mother for helping foster that in me. My mom has always been very creative and encouraged that in me and my siblings. Having some sort of creative outlet has been proven to reduce stress, reduce high blood pressure, etc... (How do you relieve the stress of having too many stress-relievers? Hee hee hee just kidding!)

I've been invited to be a Guest Designer for a day at It's A Creative World on April 19th http://itsacreativeworld.typepad.com/. I was so honored when Diana asked - thanks again gals for the invitation! Here's a shot of Diana and I together when I met her in South Africa. I know you'll just love their site - take a minute and check out all the different projects!

On a personal note - I always meant to go back and finish my South Africa blogging, which is why I haven't posted anything recently, but you know...life just keeps getting in the way.

For Easter we went for a drive through the Anza-Borrego desert. I got some lovely pictures of the desert in bloom.

Last night I just finished the most intense photography class I've ever taken called In Focus 2 - man!!!

My dear friend Melissa and I were lucky enough to be able to shoot my friend Jessi's wedding (sorry Jessi - I'll get those photos to you this weekend.)

So it's been busy...I'm off on some unknown adventure this weekend - I'll post later and let you know where we ended up!

Blessings!!!
Aubrey

AN UPDATE - FINALLY!!!

Hi Everyone!
We are back home. Been home for about a week now (it's taken that long to catch up on sleep)! Just kidding - although I did have some serious jet lag. But I am back home now and went right back into the full swing of things. I've been debating on how to do the next post. There are so many pictures we wanted to share and I didn't want it to be a HUGE post, so I guess I'm going to break it down the way I would've if I were able to blog in South Africa. Today I'll finish the safari post. I know we left off on Day 1 of Safari, to continue that story, we woke up early the next morning and went on the sunrise safari. It was gorgeous!!! We went to a different area of the game lodge - we went up the mountain and checked out the animals there.


This is where we had all our meals. It was so beautiful, and nice and quiet. I especially enjoyed eating outside - it was wonderful.One thing that I thought was really cool, was just about everywhere we went folks used skeleton keys. How cool! Even in the hotels. I think they're such neat keys.When we got back to our room there was this big, green, bug in our room. So we called one of the gentlemen over to remove the bug. He kind of laughed at us - and then told us a Praying Mantis is considered a good luck sign if you find one in your house. Obviously we are foreigners - we just wanted the bug out.Day two we started out on the Sunrise Safari. It was beautiful. I actually much prefer the sunrise safari to the sunset safari. We came across this pond on our drive out. It was so beautiful. There was steam on the water and the sun was just coming up. The water reflected the surrounding scene - it was almost magical. As we went up the mountainside we came across some Kudu. These are beautiful little animals. (They also make a tasty Biltong! *Biltong is their version of Jerky - it's way better too.)Next we saw the Rhinos. VERY cool. There were 4 of them all traveling together. At one point we were so close I took a picture of one of the Rhinos and my shadow is on the Rhinos face - we were that close.Then we were driving around and I saw these Wart Hogs coming out of the ground. There was a whole pile of them in that hole! They just kept coming out. As ugly as they are - I think they're just super cute!Here's a shot from the front. Aren't they cool looking!?!Here's a shot of Leah and I being silly.We came upon a herd of Zebras. They were beautiful. They seemed very peaceful and content to graze in the sun. Michelle told us when her family goes on safari the kids get points for each animal they spot. But if they spot a zebra they get docked points because there are so many zebras around. (So here's my zebra picture, you'll have to dock me!) :)Directly after spending time with the peaceful zebras we came upon a group of Water Buffalo. The ranger told us more people are killed by each year by Water Buffalo than any other creature in South Africa. So as we came upon them this buffalo started to charge us. Luckily his friends took off the other way and he got distracted, but it was really scary there for a bit!We stopped for a restroom break and just outside the walkway to the bathroom was this little beauty. It's called a Black and Yellow Argiope Spider. Thank goodness none of us walked into it's web!Here's a picture of us in the Land Cruiser.

After our encounter with the Water Buffalo and the big spider, Leah and I decided we needed to relax. So we signed up for a massage and one of the neighboring camps. We were driven over and along with an amazing massage we got to enjoy this view. It was so peaceful and quiet. What an absolutely wonderful time we had on safari!!!

BUMMED!!!

Ok, we're seriously bummed. We've got some great photos to share - that help tell our South Africa story and Blogger won't let us upload!!! We leave Friday for Jeffery's Bay, so maybe we'll have a stronger connection there. Sorry guys. We can say, we're having a fantastic time, we've made PILES of new friends and we've never eaten so much meat in our lives! We visited a winery today - we came back to the hotel room and ate cheese picnic style right off our bed. Yep, we're party animals. We promise to post pictures as soon as we can.
Blessings,
Aubrey & Leah

SOUTH AFRICA UPDATE

Hi Everyone!

Sorry it's taken so long to update. The Internet connections here in South Africa have been inconsistent. We've only just been able to get a pretty steady connection. And it seems blogger refuses to let me upload any photos right now. I have to give a quick shout-out to my good friend, Melisa Sanchez. It was Melisa's b-day on March 4th - and I promised I'd post her a happy b-day note on her b-day, but unfortunately I was unable to get internet 'til now. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MELISA - love ya chickie!

I will say we have had a WONDERFUL time here in South Africa. The people are incredibly FRIENDLY! The women have all been so sweet - and very, very creative. What a group of genuinely hospitable folks. I can't say enough about how kind they are.

Our classes have been going well. I think we've sold out everywhere. We've been incredibly blessed. Michelle has really put on a snazzy event. The ladies have been pampered and really treated - that's the way these things should be I think - it's those things you remember.

We've been on safari, we've been to Johannesburg (which they call JoBurg), we flew to Durban, and now we've flown to Cape Town. We're in Cape Town for a couple more days, then we're off to Jeffery's Bay. I believe we're flying into a place called Port Elizabeth. So we're excited to visit there.

It's been so neat getting to really see the different regions of South Africa. JoBurg is kinda big city - with it's different sections of town. Great restaurants and shopping. Neat things to see. Durban was near the sea and had it's different sections too. It was very humid in Durban. The people at the hotel we stayed at were wonderful! I also had the best shrimp I've ever had in my entire life in Durban. Yum!!! Now we're in Cape Town and their Wharf reminds me of the Wharf in San Francisco. Very nice. The weather is PERFECT! We even got a tiny bit of rain today. (Folks that know me, know that I LOVE RAIN! - product of being a desert girl.)

I will try and post again in the morning. I don't want to give away too much because I want to post notes with the pictures. Leah and I would like to thank you all for your prayers while we're away - and your interest in our travels. We really are having a good time together, and we're happy that the Road Show is going over so well. Michelle has been the best hostess - no one could've asked for more. I also can't tell you what an incredible staff Michelle has - they've all worked together to make this trip incredible.

Blessings,
Aubrey & Leah

SAFARI PICTURS - DAY 1

Let's start at the beginning shall we?! As we entered the gate to the game range the first thing we saw was zebras, a giraffe, and monkeys. The monkeys were way to fast to catch a picture of, the zebras were so close I didn't get a great picture, but the giraffe - ahhh...the lovely giraffe, he posed very nicely for us. (This picture is especially for our friend Kate!!!)Next we checked into the lodge. They greeted us curbside as we pulled up. They unloaded our luggage, offered us fresh juice, and took us to our tent. Here's a picture of Leah "going in". It's really a super cute tent. We feel like we're back at summer camp!We had time to get freshened up a bit, then it was time to head out to safari. Michael introduced himself and said he'd be our ranger during our entire stay. The rangers really do everything for you. They come by your tent to give you a wake up call in the morning; if you have to drive somewhere - they will take you. They have all their meals with you as well. Michael has been very nice.The first animal we came across on safari was an Impala. They're so beautiful and there's tons of them out here.

The animal we saw next was an ostrich. The ostrich came right up to the truck and was pecking at it. It almost got our friend Sindy's bottom. When we left it ran right beside the truck for a long time.We were on our way to try and find lions and we had to cross over this little pond. It was the most incredible pond, the water almost seemed to be magical in how well it reflected everything around it. The water itself was not pretty or even clean, but the reflection on top of it was astounding. **Coming back that night we were using a big searchlight to look for lions and shining the light on the water we were able, even then, to get a reflection of the trees around it.**It was getting pretty close to sundown and we came across this Wilde beast. He had his back to us and then it was almost as though he realized we were taking pictures and he posed to give us this great shot. I really like Wilde beast - I think they have incredible faces.

That's it for Day 1 of the safari. We ended the evening without seeing lions, but we did see:

Impala

Ostrich

Monkeys

Giraffes

Kudu

Hyena

Jackal

Wart hogs

Thanks for checking in on us. We're having an amazing time and appreciate all your prayers. Every one here has been incredibly kind and the food is terrific!

Blessings,

Aubrey & Leah

SAFARI

I keep getting kicked off the Internet, so I am going to keep this post very small. We LOVED the safari. We are staying in "tents" on the game reserve. We're not allowed out at night by ourselves because the wild animals are roaming around out there. We've heard the lions tonight. Apparently there are 8 of them on the grounds. We saw all kinds of animals. (Not the lions though). Here's a couple of quick shots. Ok, scratch that, Blogger won't let me upload any photos right now. I promise to try tomorrow morning. We have a 5:30 AM wake up call for the 6 AM sunrise safari. So, I guess we ought to try to get some sleep now.
Blessings,
Aubrey & Leah

SOUTH AFRICA

Ok, we made it. We're here safe and sound. Our flights were incredibly long, but not bad. Customs took us 2 hours to get through once we arrived, but now that we're here it's just wonderful. We were picked up at the airport by Michelle. She took us to our hotel where we freshened up and we were whisked away to dinner. Here's a peek out our hotel window.We ate at a restaurant at the Nelson Mandela Plaza. It was terrific. We had Ostrich and Crocodile for dinner. I also had a beef jerky salad (SOOOO good). All of the food was wonderful. Here's a shot of Michelle and her family. What a wonderfully sweet, beautiful family they are.Here's a shot of Michelle being painted before dinner. This was so much fun. They also came by with a vessel and bowl to clean our hands at the dinner table.

Here's a shot of Leah and I with our face painted. This was a lot of fun.

This is a shot of the restaurant where we ate. There were no outside walls. Just to the right of us out the center of the plaza. There was a water fountain (the kind with the water that spurts up) for the kids to play in - and lots of shops. What a neat place. The hotel we'll be staying at Friday is right near the plaza. I'm hoping to have more shots then to share.

This is going to be a short post. We've got to get downstairs to leave for safari. We'll be at safari for a couple of days. I'm hoping to get great shots. We're having a great time and are doing well. Thank you for your prayers!

Blessings,

Aubrey

FANTASTIC FEBRUARY

Well, where do I start? Everything has been moving a mile a minute here. I don't feel like I've stopped even for a little bit since the start of the year. Good things though, all good things.

FEBRUARY 10:
I took another photography class called "Into the Action". It was supposed to help us with action shots. Here are a couple of shots of our lovely model, Holly.

This was Holly jumping (no trampoline or anything - just her jumping) and us shooting from underneath and freezing it so all you see is her in the sky. These were a lot of fun.
In the next shot we were freezing the action. Her hair is frozen; the tassels on her shawl are frozen, etc. I really like the shadow of the design on her skin.I really like this next one because she's in focus but the background and her wrap (in the foreground) are blurred.This was just another freezing shot - tassels and wrap frozen.I love how long this photo seems to be. The colors are a lot of fun too.FEBRUARY 14:
On Valentine's Day we were all treated to a wondrous surprise. It actually snowed at our house!!! We don't get snow in San Diego, so this was a huge treat. Here's a shot of Addison and his adopted brother, Chief Forest Eagle, outside enjoying the snow. It was really coming down!On his way back inside Addison looked up and was trying to catch some snowflakes in his hand - I was lucky enough to snap this shot then.I wanted to snap a shot of the moutain covered in snow (which it was - top to bottom!) but there was so much clouds/overcast it's hard to see. We still had snow and ice on the ground the next morning. This is a shot of the grass - I loved the way it looked.FEBRUARY 17:
My sister-in-law and niece came down and are visiting with my mom for a week so we drove over to Yuma for a visit. I really wanted to snap some pictures of Lily but she didn't want her picture taken. So clever Auntie Aub suggested we go to the park - that worked! She was all for going to the park - and once she was there, having a good time, she didn't mind having her picture taken at all. Here's a shot of her with Addison (her "best buddy"). I love this shot of them - she's so cute giving the camera a wink!Here's just a shot of Lily. Isn't she darling?! So cute - and such attitude!FEBRUARY 18TH:
Jeff bought me a new wide-angle lens for my camera for my upcoming trip to South Africa. So when we went to dinner with a friend that night I loaded up my camera and snapped this picture of the sunset with my new lens - LOVE IT! (Thanks Baby!!!)

FEBRUARY 22:

I was going to try to post last night. I actually even started the entry but I looked over and saw Roscoe all cozy and snuggled in - I had to stop and take his picture. Isn't he cute? Gotta love our pets - they're such a blessing!

I know I sort of skimmed over the fact that I'm going to South Africa, but I am!!! I'm super excited about it too! I leave March 1st and am going with my good friend, Leah Fung. We're going to go teach at the Champagne Road Show. We're SUPER excited!!! I am going to try to post every day, if I can, while I'm there. Check back in for pictures and updates!

Blessings,

Aubrey

New Year -- New Things

Well, Happy New Year everyone. (Luckily I got this done in the month of January, so the greeting is still appropriate - cutting it pretty close though huh?!) Sorry I haven't updated in a while! Lots of things have been going on...let me see if I can get you up to speed...

The day after New Years I got to hang out with my friend Melisa Sanchez for a while. She's crazy for the Cranberry Margaritas at Chevys - they only have them during the Christmas season so of course we met there for a drink!
We had a great time. Left with our tummy's full and our checks hurting from laughing so much.

On the 13th we went to the La Jolla Indian Reservation MotoTrack with some friends. Jeff and Addison rode - I took pictures. Here's a shot of Jeff & Addis riding together.

Melisa came back down on the 18th so my friend Crystal and I loaded up our scrapbooking stuff and met Melisa at her cabin in Julian. I don't know that any of us finished a project but we sure had a great time.

On the 24th I decided I was FINALLY going to learn to knit - I've played around with it before, but never got down to really learning. So, I got a video and sat down and taught myself. I'm almost through with a scarf. I'll post it when I'm finished.Last Saturday, the 26th, I went to Redland to help my friend Leah teach some make-n-takes for a charity crop. We had a really great time. It was just a quick trip up and back, but what a nice drive. There was snow on the mountains (you know we almost never get to see that.) The people were super nice and everyone looked to be having a good time. Part of the reason we had to hurry back was because Jeff and I needed to go to one of his co-worker's retirement party. It was held at the LaValencia in La Jolla (the pink hotel). It was absolutely BEAUTIFUL inside. We had a wonderful time at the party.

It was raining buckets here Saturday & Sunday (still raining too). We went out and I snapped a couple of pictures ... here's a couple favorites.

This is all rainfall - we don't typically have a waterfall!
Again, all rainwater - that's why it looks so brown!

Well, thanks for hanging in for all the info...next time I'll try to update sooner!

Blessings!!!

Aubrey

WHAT'S IMPORTANT

It's getting closer and closer to Christmas and I still don't have all my shopping done - none of my baking either! We still don't know what's going on with Jeff's work and what days he'll have off. Consequently, I don't know what I can tell people about where I'll be and when...but, I woke up this morning and decided I wasn't going to stress about it. As long as I get to be with my family that's what counts. And I know I'll get to...eventually. So maybe I'll turn my Christmas music up a little - count my blessings (be grateful the good Lord gave me two hands to count them on!) and call it a happy day.

Speaking of happy day - it snowed in Pine Valley on Saturday! SNOW!!! I was so excited. We were on our way to Yuma to help my mom with some stuff - where I can guarantee you there was no snow! And we don't get snow at our house, so you can imagine how excited I was. I had Jeff pull over so I could snap some pictures. Here's a picture of one of our cactus type plants with snow on it.

I did get to take a photography class last Friday...it was how to shoot your Christmas photos in low light. Here's a picture I took of the Christmas tree at my mom's office Christmas party. It was a completely dark room. I was so excited to have been able to capture this shot - before I would have put the flash on and ruined the picture with bright white light.I've really enjoyed all the classes I've been able to take this year - I love photography! When I think that at the beginning of the year I was stuck on the "AUTO" feature all the time (and didn't know a thing about manual focus) - I'm so happy I'm able to play with all that now! If you're in San Diego and want to take classes the people to see are Rod & Robin Deutschmann. They're an amazing husband/wife team - not to mention - A LOT of fun!!!

Well, I've bought Christmas cards - but haven't got them out yet. Please be patient with me...I'm hoping to get them out before Christmas this year. What do you think? Can I do it?! Maybe I'll work on those today. Before I go, I just want to say to all my friends and family - that I've had an incredibly blessed year and I know that you are all a part of it. When I thank the Lord for my blessings you're included in that list. Merry Christmas!

Aubrey