at the zoo with Miss Avery and Miss Sopie

...see more pictures of this session over at my photography site (click here)

239/365 school is in session

Kaeden (grade 1) Shelby (grade 12)

well we survived.

day one is complete.

Kaeden attended (even though he did advise me last week, that he"didn't have room in his schedule for school, especially a full day")

and is even willing to give it another go tomorrow.

He was pleasantly surprised that it was not as bad as he thought,

it was almost "a little fun".

Shelby did well,

her hair worked out, her outfit rocked, she looked good

her boyfriend picked her up for school

she saw her friends

and had plans to chill out for the afternoon

all very important parts of a successful first day

until...

an unplanned trip to the hospital with

a very severe suspected allergic reaction

complete with hives

and as an extra bonus,

a most likely not related

possible strep throat diagnosis

It was a crazy afternoon and

Shelby is a bit worse for wear

but she is home and hopeful

that she can go to school tomorrow

or at the very least the lake this weekend.

Last year she started out the school year

with appendicitis and an eventful trip to the Fernie hospital

and I guess she needed to find something to top it this year.

Here is hoping day 2 is much calmer.

happily ever after...

Mary and Cory 

this is the only picture I have so you will have to take my word for it that it was a beautiful wedding (well, minus the 2000 wasps).

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who are we kidding, 

me take one picture 

not likely

especially when the people are gorgeous, 

the location is breathtaking and 

the day was beautiful. 

It was actually closer to over 350+ pictures by time we were rained out (after dinner, around 9ish). I narrowed it down but even at that had a very hard time picking out a few my favourites. 

Shelby, Kaeden and Joel walking down to the ceremony (at this point I was already in love with the location and ready to pitch a tent and never leave)

Mary's sister is a very talented lady. She made the cake, the little girls flower/fairy dresses and the Bride's gown. This cake by the way wasn't only beautiful, it also tasted incredible.

Mary and Cory's little girl Riley (almost 2 years old)

~ a few of the groomsmen. 

~ the wedding party danced down the aisle to the Red Hot Chili Peppers. 

~ the groom (Cory) and his brother (Chad)

~ one of my favorite photos, and maybe it is because it captures my perception of Chad's personality in one single frame. 

Many of these photos, especially the candid ones, were taken with my zoom lens which I like to do as you are able to capture natural photos, full of personality. Even though I must admit I felt a little paparazzi-ish. I also had the luxury of not having to stress about getting certain pictures as that was the official photographer's job, I just got to wander around and snap whatever caught my fancy.

Chad's wife (Molly) and the bride.

a few of Riley, she was adorable, quiet and reserved and I think a little tired of the lady following her around with the camera.

the bridesmaids who all chose their own dresses, they were just asked to keep them in the wedding colours of green and/or orange.

Scott and Kaeden

my bother-in-law Pete

(ha ha. was a typo but now I think I will keep it as my new nickname for him)

was a big fan of being able to have a beer during the cermony.

I have so many pictures I would have liked to post but you would have been here for hours scrolling through them! 

It is always such fun to get together with our US family (the groom is Scott's second cousin, Sharon the groom's mom, is Scott's cousin - I think I have that right, Scott has a very large family compared to my extended family of 13 so it is sometimes a challenge to figure out who relates to who and how).

afternoon at the beach

who said she wasn't a...

guard dog...
she has one ear and one eye on the situation...

Chibry Family Pictures

The last Chibry Family Picture we have is from 1993 and a lot has changed since then... more gray hair, some with less hair, 3 more grandchildren and 1 more sister-in-law! To say the very least it was time to get an updated one. Pete's mom (Eda) did a great job of snapping this for me...it is one of the very few photo's you will see me in :)

The Grandchildren (Joel, Kaeden, Jordan and Shelby) Shelby announcing that Joel was "going down" before the leaf fight began! Kaeden sums up the day...it was an awesome Thanksgiving dinner and Nicole did an delicious job! (she makes some of the best stuffing around which is right up my alley!) I can't believe Kaeden's cake made it all the way home without falling!