I met Jeanne and Claire at Ballereana Dance Studio to start our series of photos. We were supposed to be the only ones there, as Claire had reserved the studio for photos from 8 to 10 AM. No such luck, apparently. There was a Zumba class scheduled for 8:15 AM, and yep, they did their Zumba despite our plans. So... we had to wait. There was no sense in wasting time though, so we shot in a much smaller room that was painted red and had a ballet bar in it. We got some very "moody" shots, and frankly, I'm so excited to see them!
After the Zumba ladies danced their way out of "our" studio, we set up a few fun shots of Claire at the ballet bar there. The window light was there, but nearly unusable because of the dark skies and rain clouds hovering overhead. Jeanne posed as an assistant for me, outside, in the drizzle, holding my amber covered flash. Thanks Jeanne!! ;)
After we finished up at the studio, we shot around Sioux Falls, first at a bridge in the drizzle then at the amphitheatre, then did a few shots downtown at a location that Jeanne had scoped out. We took the last shots at the hotel that I'm staying in, in the lobby. What fun we had!!! I can't wait to work on the images when I get home, I must say that I haven't even peeked at them yet! I'm dying!
I met up with my parents who had taken my kids to lunch at Cracker Barrel, and off we drove to Chamberlain. I think my parents must have sprinkled some Ambien on their grilled cheeses, both of them fell asleep immediately in the car and stayed asleep for two hours to Chamberlain. Kaitlyn was sound asleep, still, when I woke her up at Casey's Welcome West. It was a very relaxing drive.
Aaaahhh, Chamberlain. Easy life, nice people, beautiful river and scenery, and GREAT pie. :) We spent the next few days at Cedar Shore hotel along with a slew of people there to celebrate the 4th of July. Most everyone was able to attend the reunion except Mike Casey and is family. We missed them desperately, and said a blessing and cheered them around the table at Terry and Sharon's house that night before dinner.
We all gathered at Terry and Sharon's house for lasagna and good laughs, and to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. They even had a BAR set up outside in their back yard! What an awesome idea!! The kids played their hearts out, and we had such a great time catching up with everyone. Mom and I got to give Terry and Sharon the book that we had worked on together "Fifty Reasons Why We Love Terry and Sharon". We got input from a lot of people in the family for our top 50 reasons why we love them so much. They loved the book, I'm so happy Mom and I got that accomplished!
That night was another restless night for James. He tossed and turned in his bed (and was talking in his sleep) until 3 AM when I finally realized that I should probably give him some Tylenol. That worked... and we all slept comfortably until 7:30 or so. Needless to say, I was a bit of a wench that day... so tired and not really in the mood to celebrate. But, all of that changed as time passed in the day and we had a happy 4th of July. It was great to see cousins and play with everyone, even if we didn't quite get to chat as long as I had wanted.
The kids got to stay up late for the fireworks show. It didn't start until 10:20 and even I was starting to get bleary eyed. The fireworks were great, the kids weren't even scared. They were further away this year than usual, which was a great thing. I think they nearly blew up the marina last year. ;) Ha.
Courtney and me in Chamberlain. Fun fun!
I was giving Kaitlyn cake, and with every bite she would say, "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA?" from her low tones up to her highest tones.
Mom at the piano at St. James Catholic Church in Chamberlain, SD. They had a mass in celebration of Terry and Sharon's 50th Anniversary, but I wasn't able to attend. :(
Dad, me, James and Kaitlyn on the Cedar Shore marina walkway.
James, Pops, Grandma and Kaitlyn on the dock.
James runs up and down the ramp, fulfilling his need to obsess with ramps on a daily basis.
Mr. and Mrs. Terry Casey. Congrats on your 50th! We love you!
Kevin and kids at Cedar Shore Bar-b-que on the 4th.
Kev and Ben.
Me and Bonna Casey.
Kari (Matt's fiance), Jeanne, Maggie, Molly and me during the bbq.
Kaitlyn saying hi to Sutton.
Run, James, run!
Strong Ben!
Kevin enjoying some sports on the lawn.
Jack and James chillin'.
Cameron giving James a piggy back ride.
Fireworks time! FINALLY!
Happy 4th of July!
Cookie monster.
The old Chamberlain bridge, slated to be demo'd this week. Mom says she remembers this bridge from when she was little.
My parents... this was the view I always had when growing up and riding in the middle seat of the back row. This really cracked Mom up when I told her "this is what I used to see as a kid... the back of your heads." :)