Rain, Rain, Go Away!

Once again it's been a crazy rainy week here in SoCal! The downside... well rain. The upside... pretty rain droplets! I took a chance and ventured right outside our doorway to get some pictures of my potted plants. Then I ran back inside as quickly as possible :)

Rain & Rainbows

Sorry I've been missing in action! I'm back though!

It's been raining like crazy here over the past week! Being in the "burn area" it's been extra fun. Friends of ours are evacuated yet again. This time due to mudslide danger instead of fire danger. Doug's school was closed today in order to keep roads clear for emergency personnel. Yes, these SoCal kids got a rain day instead of a snow day!

The weather has been the strangest I've ever seen. Rain in SoCal usually means a little drizzle, but this week the sky has opened up and sent waterfalls of water down upon us. There has been hail and lightning. And did I mention a few tornadoes? It's been crazy.

We did get a little break yesterday, as well as a beautiful double rainbow! It was extremely bright! Just gorgeous...





Rain
Rain
Go Away
Come Again Some Other Day!

Gorgeous Car Fail

I'm a fan of Fail Blog. I can't help it. Most of their posts are just so funny. If you haven't seen it, go check it out. I apologize for any obscene posts you may find... please skip those and keep looking. It's funny.

At the end of a photoshoot today (coming Monday to a blog near you!) I came across this car, and the sign in the window made me laugh. I'd like to call it Gorgeous Car FAIL.



Have a great weekend everybody!

Announcements!!!

It's been a crazy few weeks in the Laing house!

Two weeks ago I came down with what I think was the swine flu. Started off with a fever, coughing, aches, pains, and the chills. Three days into it I started feeling better, or so I thought. Out of the blue I couldn't eat anything without feeling like it was going to throw up. Went to the Doctor and he said I had some sort of infection. After a blood test (I hate needles!!!) and antibiotics I'm finally able to eat more then a piece of toast! (And no, I'm not pregnant. I have the doctors paperwork to prove it!)

Then I finally had my dad install a new hard drive in my computer. Half my files are still on the old one and half are on the new one. I spent most of the weekend trying to find what I needed!

As life settles back down again, it seems to be the prefect time for a few announcements!

First, some of you may have noticed that the blog has a new address! My wonderful husband bought me a web address for our anniversary back in August. Be sure to update your bookmarks! (RSS feeds haven't changed)

www.lauralaingphotography.com

Be sure to use the www or you get a very ugly large ad at the bottom of the page!

In other news...

I've got a new logo! My husband insisted on making me a new logo and I love it! Keep your eyes peeled for it later in the week!

Be sure to tune in later this week for some Holiday Deals!

Some of my favorites... Mammoth

Convict Lake


Hot Springs outide of Mammoth


View from the Bodie Church


Bodie


Bodie


Bodie


Bodie


Bodie


Bodie


Bodie


Bodie


Bodie


Mammoth


Outside Bishop


Outside Bishop


Outside Bishop


Crowley Lake, looking at Mammoth Mountain

Some of my favorites... Honeymoon Edition

On the 2nd day of our honeymoon we went and saw the sunrise at the top Haleakala. We left at 2 o'clock in the morning and drove until at about 3:30 and then waited patiently until 6. Totally worth the wait and the freezing cold. (We totally stole to hotel's comforter!)


From the top of the summit you could see all of Maui. You can only really get this view first thing in the morning because the rest of the day it gets covered in clouds. You really feel like you're on the top of the world.


We went snorkeling at Molokini and "Turtle Town". "Turtle Town" is funny because the water is so deep and the turtles hang out at the bottom in the coral. You could swim over them and never know it. We got lucky and one decided to swim up to the top to get some fresh air. (This was taken with a cheap disposable waterproof camera! I still can't get over how good of pictures it took!)


The cabana we stayed at in Hana had geckos running all over the walls. Some were inside and some outside. Some poked their heads out under picture frames and others walked across the ceiling. This little guy was on the outside of our window.


This was a flower on the side of the road in Hana. I think it looks like a Chinese lantern.


At our cabana they let you pick whatever fruit you wanted out of the garden. Doug saw some guava that he wanted to get. he covered himself in bug spray (did I mention the million mosquitoes?)and ventured out into the garden. I stayed back so I wouldn't get bit and used my zoom lens!


So we took pictures of all our food on our honeymoon. We're just freaks like that.

Anyways, back to the picture. Nothing in Hana is open for dinner. And by nothing I mean the Hotel Hana Maui and nothing else. So Doug made dinner. Mmmmm....


Have you ever heard of breadfruit? Apparently Hawaiians either mash it like potatoes or make some sort of dessert out of it. And it grows to the size of a human head.

Some of my favorites... Part 2

Point Mugu


Point Mugu


My favorite kid in the whole wide world... at Castaic Lake.
I should seriously share some of the pictures of that boat ride...


Newport Beach

Some of my favorites... Part 1

I randomly decided yesterday to go through all my old pictures on my computer. I have so many pictures I love. Some from vacations, some from just around the house, and some from holidays with the family. Each one has some memory attached.

So I thought I'd throw them into photoshop and show them in their full glory. Enjoy!


This was a sign posted at the camp Doug and I met at. I always loved it!


In 2005 my cousin was studying abroad in Oxford so I went to visit her for spring break. We went to Paris for 3 days (well 2 and Paris Disneyland for 1, yes we're just that big of Disney fans!). 2005 was the year that London, Madrid, Moscow, New York, and Paris were all bidding for the 2012 Olympic Games. It was so cool to see London and Paris all decked out trying to win the bid. Extra points if you can tell me who got it...


We had the bright idea to go to the Good Friday service at Notre Dame while in Paris. I didn't understand a single word.


If I had to pick one picture that was my all time favorite picture I've ever taken... this one would be it.
We had just walked down the Eiffel Tower (yes, I did say WALKED DOWN... and no, I don't recommend ever doing that) and we went to the small park area that is next to it to rest. Needless to say... something magical happened.

Holiday: Valentine's Day

Happy Belated Valentine's Day!

Doug asked me to plan our Valentine festivities this year. I don't know why I said yes, but I did. My plans didn't really come together until Friday... but hey. It happened!

Before we left for the day Doug went running while I slept in. To my surprise, when he came back he brought with him a dozen roses from our favorite florist.

Then we headed out to Boomers! in Upland. If you like miniature golf, go-karts, and more miniature golf, then I highly recommend driving out there. They have 4 miniature golf courses, 2 outside, 1 inside, and 1 blacklight course.

O, and did I mention that one of the holes is a California Mission? To funny.

Some of the holes were challenging, and others were just confusing.

The coolest course was the "cosmic" mini golf course. You couldn't see the hole all the time, so it was totally trippy.

Total side note: If you are really slow at mini golf, and you get 3 groups stuck behind you... let them go first! End Rant.

We ended with dinner at Doug's favorite, Outback. Yummy.

Speaking of yummy. I made some cupcakes for Doug's "Treat Day" at school. BEST CUPCAKES EVER. I swear. And not just because I made them. Devil's Food cake mix for the cupcake, Albertsons brand brownie, and Martha Stweart's strawberry icing.

Now I want to make more...

Random: Everywhere