We went to Disn... Denny's!

One day we made all the arrangements to take the kids to Disneyland! We had promised the kids that if Evelyn stopped sucking her thumb and Preston started going in the potty then we'd take them to Disneyland. Well that very exciting day came and we got the kids all dress up and ready, packed for a day out and hit the road. Little did we know but the 5 was CLOSED! Thank goodness we had agreed to surprise the kids and not tell them where we were going otherwise we would have had some major issues. After sitting in traffic for what seemed like forever we were turned around at the base of the grapevine. We didn't dare turn around and go home so we decided to make the morning of it. We stopped at Denny's and enjoyed a family breakfast. We let the kids pick whatever they wanted on the kids menu, which they loved. If my memory serves me right Preston had pancakes and Evelyn had mac n' cheese. We just had a fun time hanging out and the day was somewhat made up. We even went to the park afterwards. It certainly wasn't the "happiest place on earth" but at least it wasn't a complete wreck and the kids never suspected anything. It'll be one of those stories we tell the kids when they get older, the day we almost went to Disneyland.

Like father like son!  The adorably handsome men in my life.

Me and my best girl.

(We may have done some goofing off during breakfast)

We still plan on taking the kids to Disneyland but haven't as of yet.  They both remind me of our "deal" on a regular basis.  Evelyn has completely broken her thumb sucking habit and I'm proud to say no longer rely's on her nappy headed baby doll.  And Preston is almost 100% with his potty training!  My kids are growing up way to fast and they definitely deserve a trip to Disneyland.

Yosemite Wedding Highlights

Our trip to Yosemite was one of many exciting wedding adventures for us and our our business.  HDM has really taken off and we've started to expand and get more bookings outside of our area.  I've been blessed to be able to help with some of Andrew's weddings and it's been a great experience learning the trade.  I definitely enjoy it but I'm nowhere near the skill level of Andrew, Kim and Josh.  With time and practice however I do feel I'm getting better and hopefully someday I'll be about to "HDM" it like they do.

 Andrew filming the beautiful bride!  You can see Half-Dome and Bridal Veil Falls in the background.

On this very special occasion we had the privilege of shooting alongside our dear friends Tim and Jen Culpepper of Artisan Photography!  They have been so good to us and our two businesses work remarkable well together.  Plus they're totally awesome, fun and talented.  We traveled up to Yosemite early Saturday morning to film the wedding which was INCREDIBLE although the day after shoot was really the highlight for me.  We accompanied the couple into the park itself and really got some EPIC shots!  As my first trip (that I remember) to Yosemite it was tons of fun and I couldn't help but enjoy the beautiful surroundings. 

I loved the little Yosemite Chapel, Yosemite Falls, the initial view of the valley and really ALL of it.  I can't wait to go back!  I got a good look at Half Dome and have already made it a personal mission to make it to the top.  To watch the finished product of this shoot please visit our website at www.hdmweb.com.

California Science Center

The other day during a short business trip down to L.A I figured I'd take the kids on a side trip to the California Science Center.  I've been wanting to go for quite some time so the trip was a great excuse to get out of town and do something different.  Ultimately it turned out to be a much more difficult trip than I had hoped for but I did learn some valuable lessons...

Lesson #1:  If your GPS tells you it only takes 25 minutes to get from point A to point B in downtown L.A. it's safe to say a more accurate time would be at least double that.

Lesson #2:  Kids aren't particularly fond of tuna sandwiches (I don't know what I was thinking but in my defense the store employee claimed they didn't have kids meals and my kids won't eat lunch meat) so next time I'll probably suck it up and go to McDonald's.

Lesson #3:  Parking was fairly cheap (only like $6) and it got you into all of Exposition Park.  And the museum was FREE, although I did donate a couple bucks.

Lesson #4:  It's tough to take two children to a museum by yourself.  They tend to wander and in opposite directions none the less.  

Lesson #5:  The exhibits weren't as hands on as I had hoped although the kids still had fun looking at everything.  They did have two rooms geared toward younger children and that turned out being the kids' favorite parts. 

Lesson #6:  The museum closes at 5:00 so if you want to see everything without rushing don't get there an hour and 30 minutes before they close.

Lesson #7:  Pay better attention, I guess.  This one wasn't so much of a lesson as an unfortunate circumstance.  After the museum closed and after we had seen everything I thought was there to see I was talking to someone outside the museum who raved about how awesome and hands on the new exhibit was.  It turns out there was a brand new (4 day old) exhibit that was super awesome with scuba divers feeding sharks and stuff and we missed it!  It was so new they didn't have anything about it in the brochure or on any of the inside signs.  I did notice they had a huge sign on the outside but I just assumed it was coming soon.

Lesson  #8:  Ice cream and a play place is a great way to win over your kids and wear them out on the drive home.

Lesson #9:  Getting out of town for the day is so worth it no matter what the circumstances!  I will totally do this again keeping in mind all of the above.  Next time I was thinking the Natural History Museum (also in Exposition Park) and making sure to hit up the missed Ecosystems exhibit on the way.  

In conclusion, here are a few shots of the day...

An A-12 Blackbird is the first thing you see coming out of the parking lot.  We came across two touristy looking missionaries so I offered to take their picture and in return they took ours.

Evelyn on the walkway to the California Science Museum.  

Proof that we were there plus the humongous sign for the new Ecosystems exhibit.

Evelyn's favorite part was this video camera.  

Preston's favorite part were the puppets.

Playing on the rocks outside the museum.

This piece of art was pretty cool.  Can you tell what it is?  Hint: It makes more sense from the other side.

San Luis Obispo Weekend

A few weekends ago (March 21st) our videography business participated in yet another bridal show.  This time it was out of town at the Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo, California! In my opinion it was the best show for us so far and it turned out to be a great little weekend getaway! We went into the show with the entire Premier Event Specialists group which made for an even more fun and successful weekend/ show.

We went up Saturday morning and were SO lucky that one of the members of our group had some major connections to hook us up with a BEACH HOUSE for the night! I literally could not believe my eyes overlooking the gorgeous Avila Beach.  It was so unbelievably beautiful!

That night we went out wine tasting (or hanging out enjoying the scenery for us non-drinkers) at Sexton Winery. We scouted for some possible shooting locations and absolutely LOVED the look of the area. Andy couldn't resist getting a few shots.

Afterwards we went out to eat at THE BEST Italian restaurant I've ever eaten at.  I can't remember the name of my dish but it was a baked rigatoni with meatballs.  So good!  Max made me laugh with his coloring (although I can't exactly say we spared our paper tablecloth either).

 Andrew and I

Soon to be married, Kim and Ricky!  Kim is our amazingly talented new employee.  Her fiance, Ricky, came up for the evening to hang out.  I can't wait to help shoot their wedding in a couple months!

For fun we taught the group how to Indian Leg Wrestle... I lost every game BUT to be fair I was the only one in the room that had every had a baby, hence the total lack of stomach muscles.

After that we taught them the stick-pull game.  By the picture above I'm sure you can tell who dominated that game.

Here's an Iphone shot of the Madonna Inn the day before the show.  It was such a cool venue!  Complete with goats just chilling on the rocks.

The Freestyle guys just prior to the show.

I'm working on getting some pictures of the actual show.  If your interested in seeing those and reading more about the show itself check out the Higher Definition Media blog.

Easter Eggs

The kids decorating Easter eggs.

  

 The finished product!

First official read through and Molly's first house

 Just before Easter we had our first official read through of Liz's script.  I got to read the part of Genie.

 Liz reading with the star of the film, Grandma Bailey, by her side.

 Andrew making corrections and fixing formatting errors.

Afterwords we went for a ride in Scolly (Molly & Scott's) new home.  The kids got a kick out of the fact that we were driving in a house!

Evelyn and Preston with Grandma Waite and Great Grandma Bailey.