Yesterday I had the opportunity to photograph Sir LJ's first baby luau.  In the Hawaiian culture it's known that we throw biiiiiig 1st baby party's to celebrate the first year.  And Noelani & Dante left no detail untouched.  LJ was joined by many of his loving aunties, uncles, cousins & friends to celebrate with him.

Happy Birthday baby!!  Love you!!

Thank you for always loving me & never judging.  Thank you for always being my biggest fan & for video taping hours & hours of memories for me to look back on.  Thank you for listening & the talks.  Thank you for always being there.  

Love you Dad & Happy Fathers Day...

Today I spent the day with the Ragudos family!!  Noelani & Dante have been great supporters of my business since day 1 & i will forever be grateful to them for that.  Their son, LJ, just turned 1 years old yesterday & they wanted to do his 1 year photos along with their first ever family photos.  So of course I obliged & spent the afternoon with them.

Thank you both so much for always supporting me & my business!!  

Over the weekend, I participate in my 3rd Relay For Life.  I love this event & always get goosebumps as I drive down the street overlooking all the tents & people.  I love how everyone comes together to relay against something that is hitting far too many people.

This year, not many people stayed all night long, but our team did have someone on the track during all 24 hours.  I walked on Friday from 9-10pm, then on Saturday from 2-3pm & then from 4:30-5pm.  I even decided to track my progress (a fundraiser put on by one of the teams) & i walked 6 miles total over the weekend.

This years theme was 80's & so we had "Don't Stop Believin" in a cure & dressed up in 80's gear.  It was SO fun to dress up like that again & to dress up Nyomi too.

Here's a few photos of our weekend!!

I know that it's been a few weeks since my trip to Chicago for Ryan & Meredith's wedding, but there's a reason behind the delay.  Ryan & Mere went on their honeymoon & I wanted to make sure they were home before seeing any photos besides the sneak peek.  So that is my excuse...

Meredith & I became friends in Mrs. Allen's 3rd grade class in 1988.  (holy moly!)  We remained friends throughout elementary school, played softball & took dance classes together too.  But we all know that while growing up, people change, friends change & interests change.  We went to the same junior high, but went to rival high schools.  Meredith & I were always cordial to one another as we grew up, but we just lost touch.  And after high school, I hadn't seen Mere at all.

It wasn't until last year when Mere & I reconnected on the wonderful internet.  On Facebook.  It was so nice to catch up on the last bajillion years & when we talked on the phone for the first time, we giggled like we were back in elementary school, because our laughs were still the same after all these years.  While catching up, Meredith came across my photography work & hired me to shoot her upcoming wedding & the rest is history.

When I arrived in Chicago, I was almost petrified.  It had been yeeeeeeeeeeeeeears (yes with that many e's) since i had seen anyone from junior high school & well...i was nervous as hell.   But when I saw Mere & her parents in the lobby of the hotel, I went back in time & it was like we were all young again.

Meredith & Ryan, thank you SO much for allowing Kili & I to be a part of one of the most special days of your lives.  I am still in awe that after all these years, we reconnected & got to spend some time together as grown ups.  I wish you nothing but love & happiness in your new lives as one.

Click HERE to see Meredith & Ryan's slideshow.

On my last day in Chicago, Kili & I decided to wake up early & hit up the downtown area.  Waking up that early only made me wish that I had a few more days to soak up Chicago & all the great things it had to offer.  We made our first stop at the one place that was at the top of my "places to see"....Harpo Studios.  Of course, I wish that I had a ticket to go to a show, but standing outside was good enough!

Here are a few photos from our adventure around town.

PS - I am still editing photos from Meredith & Ryan's wedding (there were over 1500 shots to sort through).  When they are completely edited, I will post up again.  Thanks for visiting! :)

I arrived back home in Seattle today & I am beat.  But I wanted to leave you with a few sneak peek pictures of Meredith & Ryan's wedding yesterday.  

More to come soon...

Crayons were used to set a trend in the restaurant we were at for Meredith & Ryan's rehearsal dinner which was held at Gino's East pizza place.  The walls were covered with different colored scribbles & the aroma of fresh baked Chicago style pizza filled the entire restaurant.

It was so obvious that this wedding has been an event that everyone has been waiting for.  The room was filled with their friends & family from Chicago to Seattle & every where in between. They were all mingling together & trying to figure out how each of us were connected to Ryan or Meredith.

I am so excited to be photographing one of the most exciting days of their lives tomorrow.

Meredith & Ryan, thank you so much for everything...every thing.  

and of course I had to take one of the Crayola wall & found "Mere" written out on the top.  I'm not sure if Meredith did this or not, but it was so fitting.

Today, I arrived in Chicago & I am soooo excited to be here.  I haven't taken any pictures yet as I arrived at the hotel at 8:40pm (Chicago time, which is 6:40 Seattle time) & caught up with some old friends.  I leave you with this photo though that i found on Google.  This is what I think of when I think of Chicago...

Even though it has been months since I've danced hula, i miss it so terribly.  I have continued to attend class, but I haven't really gotten up to participate in awhile, because our group has been preparing for quite a few big shows & I feel that it's unfair to my hula sisters to have to repeat things because i'm falling behind & am trying to catch up.

Last week, we opened for the Green River Community College annual Hawaiian concert series - Sounds of Hawaii.  This year, Na Leo Pilimehana was the featured artist & the concert was WONDERFUL!  

Even though I didn't perform this year, I was there & wished that I could be up on stage with my hula sisters again.

Aloha everybody!!  So much has happened in the last month or so...all good of course.  My Ry is getting so big already (she'll be 8 weeks on Monday), my family has come & gone from Honolulu, and i'm getting ready to head to Chicago in 2 weeks.  

I know that i've been bad with keeping up this blog, but i hope to get some fabulous photos in the next few weeks.  I'll leave you with a picture of Rylie & her big cousin, Kellan from their trip here to Seattle & another photo of my KIDSSSSSS (i have kids...plural) that i took a couple weeks ago!! :)

Obviously I haven't grasped time management yet since having a new little one around, but i'm ok with that.  For the past 4 weeks & 5 days, my days have all blended together in to one looooooooong day.  And since I forgot to post 2 days ago....i'm here to make up for it!

My & My BFF, Kapua's birthday was April 15th.  We both welcomed little girls in our families in the last 2 1/2 months & even though we didn't have our "normal" birthday girls day (yet), we still managed to get together with friends & family for lunch at our favorite Thai/Japanese restaurant, Saya.

Happy birthday to us!!

E Hula Mau 2007

Ignore the giddy-ness in my voice as i'm SO thrilled to capture Rylie's first big smile on video.  And also please ignore the ghetto-ness of this video.  I couldn't figure out how to get the video off of my phone, so i opted to take video of the video on my phone!! :)

Ry's big smile

I've resorted to one of THOSE mommies who enjoy dressing their babies up in different things & taking pictures of them.  I'm sure she'll hate me when she gets older....but TOO BAD!! :)  

Rylie was so calm & relaxed after taking a bath, so i couldn't help but take a few pictures of her!!

I can't believe how fast time is going by already & how big Rylie continues to get every day.  I look forward to introducing her to our family & friends who've been anxiously waiting to meet her in person & through "the blog."

My Rylie is getting so big!  She's already 17 days old & i see such a difference from when we first brought her home.  

Yesterday, my inlaws came over & brought a baby book with some photos of Marcel & my sister in law & wouldn't you know it...Rylie looks just like her daddy & auntie when they were babies.  

Here's a picture of Marcel as a baby...

And here's a picture of Rylie today...

I've mentioned many many times about my hula sissy, Kili, who I'm always running around going on shooting field trips with & whom I also ask to second shoot with me.  Well a few weeks ago, she stepped from behind the camera & got in front of mine.  

Kili just launched her very own business, Chock'ful Of Life Photography & needed a few photos for her new website!  

We had a great time laughing it up & making the best of what little sun we could find that day.

Thank you Kili for always being my shooting partner & having patience with me while these were being edited.  Love you!

Happy 1 week birthday Rylie!! Love you!!

I've been taking a photo each day of Rylie.  It's nothing staged or anything (so far), it's just her being her & capturing her at different times during the day.  

She's got a mild case of jaundice, so i've been trying to put her in whatever sunlight we've been having.  I put her blanket down on the floor & open up the curtains & lie her down with her clothes open or off.  

Here she is in the warm Washington (not) weather soaking up the 15 minutes of sun we had...

She's here!!  :)  We finally met our new little girl, Rylie Maluhia on Monday, March 16th, 2009.  She was born at 5:01pm, weighing 7lbs 9oz & 20 1/4in long.  We're still recovering, but hope to share more with you as we go along!!