Cecily & Jake: Engagement

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of doing Cecily and Jake's Engagement photos. They had just spent 2 years apart, while Jake was serving a mission in Japan for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. They wrote each other for those two years and here they are...getting married. Brian and I wrote for 37 months while we both served missions and were engaged 4 days after I got home. Jake and Cecily are so cute together. Don't you just love Cecily's earrings? They tied in beautifully with their peacock themed wedding announcement. Jake had braces put back on right after he got home. I removed them in some of the photos, but not all. Sorry Jake. :-)

In honor of today, May 14, being their Wedding Day, I thought it would be fun to post these. 

I couldn't resist.

 She's a beauty.

Happy Wedding Day!

Flagstaff: Simon's Choir Concert

This past weekend, my parents, Emma, Brian and I went up to Flagstaff. Shrine of Ages, a choir that Simon sings in, had their final concert in a beautiful old Catholic Church. 

The acoustics were, of course, amazing, so all of the beautiful choir voices floated through the air and filled every nook and cranny of the chapel. I used Brian's iPhone to take photos for fun. Unfortunately, because I was new to the iPhone, I didn't realize that I wasn't saving the photos as I was taking the next one, so all of my best work got away! I tried to recreate some of them and I will add those later, but thankfully, I had my 'ol Trusty with me, too, so I will post those here now.

Simon and the choir after his piece

 The choir performed a piece that Simon had composed this semester. It had 3 movements and was based on 3 Swedish poems about man and the earth. They sang in Swedish, which was fun for my parents. The piece was impressive and the audience must have thought so too as they gave him a standing ovation. We were all so proud of him. Simon is majoring in Choral Educationn at NAU. He's just finishing his second year.

 It was actually a little chilly after the concert. Emma snagged a coat to wear, making Simon's friend, Cory, her new favorite "brother".

Emma, creating her own Picasso

As we pulled into Flagstaff, we stopped to eat at Picazzo's, a gourmet pizza place that we all like. The grown-ups decided to go "healthy" and get the whole wheat cracker crust. This was a grave mistake. All we could taste was the crust. The grown-ups looked longingly at Emma's pepperoni pizza with white doughy crust.

The evening was complete with a 2 for 1 stop at Cold Stone Creamery. We always get the same thing: Banana ice cream with brownie mix-in. I have yet to grow tired of it.

This made up for the pizza!

Downtown Flagstaff...

My little papa.

Babbits sells crunchy outdoorsy stuff. I could definitely plunk down some cash at this place.

Not a big bumper sticker fan, but I DO like this one.

Window shopping at small boutiques is fun...especially when it involves shoes.

Baxter Black, a very friendly, cool, XXL Black Lab, therapy dog we met while strolling the city.

This dapper dresser added a colorful touch.

Great concert, great food (almost), great company, great weekend.

India Oven: Restaurant Review

For anyone who knows me, they know how I feel about food. I am an adventurous eater and I love many different flavors. One of my new favorite places is India Oven right here in Mesa, just down the street from us. Their address is: 1315 S. Gilbert Rd., Mesa, AZ. I have driven by their place a bazillion times and thought to myself, "I need to try that place." 

Then a few weeks ago, my parents took me to lunch and we all fell in love with the food. Daisy, the owner greeted us at the door. The fun thing about India Oven is that they serve an "All You Can Eat" buffet for both lunch and dinner, so for those unfamiliar with the tastes of India, you can try a little of everything and find your favorites. 

They serve fresh garlic naan bread to go with the meal. Yum.

The food is not overly spicy, has great flavors. The service is great. I read another review of India Oven that made me laugh, 

"Eating here felt so right, yet so wrong. A dinner buffet for only $10?!" 

And if you go for lunch, the price is only $7.95.

My dad gets credit as food stylist on this. My personal favorites are the three on the bottom half of the plate. One of these days I'll learn the names of the dishes. They also have a full menu, which you can see on their website linked above. They also have banquet facilities for 50-250 guests in the same building. If I had 250 friends to have a party with, I would definitely consider India Oven.

In the mean time, lunch anyone?

Josh & Carie + Three Boys= Sweet Family

Carie contacted me out of the blue for family portraits, which I felt afterwards was divine intervention for me. I'm so glad she found me. I fell in love with this wonderful family from the moment I met them. Josh and Carie have three cute little boys: Wesley, 6 and twins, Wyatt and Quinn, almost 4. I have a soft spot in my heart for little boys. It always makes me think back to my own four not so little anymore boys. They grow up so fast.

Josh and Carie

Quinn, Wesley and Wyatt

Wyatt and Quinn

 

I love this photo of Wesley. He is such a good big brother.

 Anyone who has been around little boys knows that flexing is serious business and involves a lot more than just the muscles.

Wesley

 Quinn

 A boy and his fork. Wyatt has a thing for utensils...plastic forks, spatulas, etc.

Sweet Wyatt...

Great family.