Travel Talk

Lately there seems to be lots of talk about travel. Okay well maybe I have had travel on the mind.
I sat with two lovely ladies after church this morning and we talked about travel and places that would be fun to visit. :)
Then on the car ride home my sister and I got to talking about traveling and she mentioned a program she had heard about that she wanted to try. I don't know a lot of information about the program but it is through "People to People" which is an ambassadors program. They host trips to all over the world during the summer and provide students with the chance to grow in leadership and learn about different cultures.
She really had me interested and I could help but think of how fun it would be to do something like this together. Her dream trip would be to Australia and the New Zealand area. I think part of me of me is really excited about traveling for the photography opportunities but many of the trips are also featured around community service projects.
Oh goodness, I think I have gone off an a whim. We have never really ever gone on a family vacation and I think that is why I so desperately want to travel. I guess we will see. I believe that one day my impossible will come true. :) There are so many factors that often say 'no' to something but if it is right and meant to be then it will happen.
The funniest part of it all is I am one of those people who needs organization and routine in my life to function so the lord must be growing something in me to even consider travel...and it has been on the heart a lot lately.
Still dreaming of the beach and wishing I could take a mini vacation there with some friends.

Wedding and Vacation Fun :)

My sister and I were blessed to have the opportunity to be bridesmaids in our aunt's wedding. Though there were a few rough spots along the way this weekend has probably been the closest thing to a vacation that our family has done.

Here is a rough overview of our trip. :)

• Our journey started at around 11pm thursday night. We packed up the car and headed out to KC so we could catch our 4am flight to Denver. We got to the north side is Springfield and had to turn around and go back to Nixa because my mom's truck was still having problems (it had been in the shop 4 times that week). So we got home and reloaded everything into my little Geo. We left Nixa...again...at around midnight.
• We landed in Denver around 7am and went to breakfast with the rest of the family before our 2 hour ride up the mountain to Vail. Memories were definitely made during breakfast because my family was exhausted and slightly delirious from getting such little sleep. A new name was made for the bride and groom (Shane and Jamie are now Shamie and Jane) and it has stuck ever since.
• The Condos in Vail were like castles. I have never seen or experienced anything close to them before. There were at least 9 rooms all with 2 or more beds and the upstairs have 5+ beds in each room. On the second night we had the entire 3 floor rented out. The view of the mountains was amazing!
• Preparing for the wedding was slightly chaotic but in the end the wedding was beautiful. My sister and I were escorted by the tallest groomsman which made for a funny moment that will be remembered.
• I had a little bit of a rough time being at 8000 feet since I was sick before I left for the trip and the air is so dry and thin up there. Started on my second round of antibiotics and hoping they will do the trick. Since I wasn't feeling well I didn't get any pictures the first night and I was a little disappointed with the quality of some of the pictures I took- I think there is a little lesson within it all though because I was reminded that I have to look at all situations and pictures with an open mind and open eyes. Sometimes I have to remind myself to step back and not be so hard on myself.
• I got the chance to visit a little with the wedding photographers there and since they were shooting with canon also I was able to help them out. They filled up ten 4gig cards while shooting raw but they forgot their cable reader. Luckily I had mine so they were able to dump the card to their laptop and continue shooting. They also had a photo booth type set up and they were asking for someone who could "jump" so just for fun I did a ring leap and they captured it perfectly (not many I have come in contact with can capture that) so I am super excited to see their pictures. It was really fun doing pictures with them as part of the bridal party.
• Our plane ride home was definitely a stretch of my comfort zone since it was so chaotic. One of those moments where I had to remind myself to breathe. There were so many people at the Denver airport and many of the flights were messed up because of high winds. Our flight had a gate change and we had to wait on another plane to come in before we could leave. It was a very bumpy ride but we got to KC around 1am and we were home around 5am.

Thankful to be home and for all the beautiful memories. Can't wait to see all my lovely friends :)

Above is a picture I took of my mom and sister getting ready and below is a picture my mom got during the wedding of my sister and I.