Kuya Rich and Mimie tied the knot on Saturday, February 21, 2009 in Long Beach, California. As they affirmed their promises to one another, you can feel how true their love is towards one another. I am so grateful to God for knowing them, for the times Ryan and I had with them, and for being considered as their friends. I seriously miss them being in front of my camera, but I’m so glad I have these images to look at and remember how much fun it was!

Scroll to view some of my favorite images or

Please click here to view more photos on the slideshow

Her blessing…

His miracle…

The guys :o). (Side note: THANKS CONRAD! :o)

The bridesmaids were sooo AWESOME! When we got to Signal Hill, they started to sing the Chapel of Love song to Mimie. Thus, it was appropriate that I use that song for the slideshow :o)!

So much to post about from yesterday’s wedding. But for now, here are two photos from the wedding of Mr. & Mrs. De Castro! I promise to try to send out a full blog post about their beautiful wedding tomorrow or sometime this week. So until then, I hope you enjoy these images…

So last night, I told my dad if he could build something for me… 

I got home today and saw him sketching something on his notebook… (yes, my dad is awesome like that!)

Do you have an idea what this could be?? First person to come up with the right answer, I’ll give you a $10 itunes gift card! (Johnson: you can’t join!)

On a different note, just wanted to wish my sister Janice (pictured) and my cousin Ate Inky (sorry, no picture available :o( ) a HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I MISS YOU BOTH!

I know I haven’t posted up any weddings or portraits.. but I promise to share wedding photos from this coming Saturday’s wedding of Kuya Richard and Mimie! I am enjoying these not-so-busy days when I can just take photos of all sorts of things! As much as I enjoy photographing people and events… I also enjoy photographing the simple joys in life that God gives to us daily..

I wanted to share this poem… It’s engraved on the pathway to Hilltop Park in Signal Hill, CA. I bolded my favorite verse of that poem and I take it to heart.

- – -

Here on this hill
what perspective to see
our world
ourselves
with clarity

Each point of view
repositioning
living
vibrant
inspiring

We come
to this place
when life gets too fast
to reflect on time
make a sunset last

Consider
what has come to pass
Signal fire
Water tower
Oil gusher of black gold
Layers of the past
shadowed images
recalled

The surface hints
of what you can’t
touch to know
Earth upon water
a secret
well hidden.

- – -

So with my new Nikon Coolpix P6000, here are a few pictures Ryan, Jordan, and I took at Signal Hill… together…making a sunset last…

Although life seems to go too fast nowadays… Don’t forget to stop and smell the roses… and make a sunset last!

Okay, so Conrad has been telling me to get on facebook for awhile now.. and I was quite hesistant…but he insisted it was BETTER! Why facebook when I already have two myspace accounts that I hardly go on to.. and I have twitter too! But yesterday (on my rainy day off) I decided to give it a try.. and now I’m hooked… :oP

So yes, I finally have a facebook account! So click here to add me as a friend :o). Thanks a lot Conrad :oP

It’s been raining all morning… but thank God it stopped for a bit and the sun was able to peek through the clouds. Hopefully, by 3 PM today, the sun will come back out again so that I can go to a scheduled family photo session.  I’m hoping to take photos of the Cruz family at Signal Hill before the sun sets. 

Because the rain stopped for a good 1 hour, I went to the back yard and photographed a couple of things, since I’m still on my personal mission to making time to photograph for inspiration. Here’s what I came up with:

Here’s our backyard – it was starting to flood again, but thankfully, the rain stopped.

Flowers that my parents planted around our home. They have the green thumbs in the family and we have about 7 different types of fruit growing in our backyard! Avocados, Oranges, Lemons, Peaches, Apples, Bananas, Papaya (i think).. and some vegetables too. 

Then, as I was cleaning up our office today. I came across two purses that my uncle Jojo gave to me when I visited the Philippines in Jan 2008. I have the most creative family/relatives EVER. My uncle made these purses himself. He’s so clever!!

His logo :o)

On Sunday, Ryan and I visited the Arceo residence. Ryan was asked to install software to their computers and in return we would get free food! Who could pass up free food? :o) Of course I had to bring a camera along with me to get some shots of Kai. It’s been a month since I’ve seen him and he is getting cuter and cuter and bigger and cuter everytime! Here are a couple of photos of him.

I love how they wrap him up like a burrito.

He is so precious!

This last photo of him is hilarious to me!

Now I miss Maia!I bet she’s walking now! I need to call up Vanessa so I can set up time to visit them too!

Last year, we attended and photographed the ABC School District’s Spelling Bee Competition. Last Tuesday evening, we were privileged to photograph the event once again thanks to Christine Balbuena (Sis. Cuwi) for the opportunity . Here are a couple of photos from this year’s competition. To view the slideshow, please click here.

A couple of reminders before the competition begins.

Last year’s Spelling Bee champion who lead us during the Pledge of Allegiance.

This spectator deserves to be posted on my blog! I loved how supportive he was wearing this spelling bee hat!

The final 2 contestants…

And the winner is…

Here are the school district officials who make these competitions possible through their hard work and dedication!

And of course a picture of Ryan next to Jollibee, where we ate our evening dinner.

Just a couple of things to blog about today.

1) I finally have a point & shoot camera! I can now carry a camera with me and it fits nicely in my purse! Ryan and I bought the Nikon Coolpix P6000 this past weekend at Circuit City for a really good deal. There was only 3 left and they were selling it for $350 compared to $400+ online and other stores..

2) Yesterday, I received my first proof book I created using the Aperture program. I LOVE IT!

3) I photographed the ABC School District’s Spelling Bee yesterday evening and wanted to post up a teaser before doing a full blog post tomorrow. I LOVE SPELLING BEES! The kids were awesome!!

This isn’t just a photography/videography blog site. It’s a blog site about sharing our experiences in this journey called life.. so I’m posting about anything and everything – especially new eateries (a new blog category) that Ryan and I have tried out.

One of our newest lunch favorites is SanSai Japanese Grill. Their dishes are delicious and affordable. I love the fact that I can call in ahead of time to order. It get’s pretty busy at lunch time so I recommend ordering ahead of time unless you get there before or after the crowd.

If you’re in the MacArthur Blvd, Newport Beach area and looking for a place to eat, try this place out. They also have locations around Southern California.

See how much Ryan loves it here too?