Van Horn Family Reunion Part I

I went to Minnesota last month to gather with a hodge podge of family from around the country. Dalton, MN, where my Uncle Roger and Aunt Linda live, was the gathering place of choice and I LOVED it. I hadn't been there since 2000. It seems so long ago, and I guess it was.

There are too many photos to post them all at one time. You would hate me. So here are some photos of tractors. There were a lot given it was a tractor fair, show thing. Lots of family members drove tractors in the parades. Multiple tractor parades over three days, four in total. Yes, I sat through at least two.

This is my Uncle Roger. He collects tractors. Yes, you heard correctly. He collects them. I think he has over 50. Don't ask me where he gets them all or where he keeps them. But they are mostly Minneapolis-Moline and they are really pretty. Tractor design is pretty awesome. Oh, and my Uncle George collects tractors as well. How many people do you know that collect tractors? What? None? Too bad for you.

Ben was supposed to drive this in the parade on the second day, but sadly when he lined up on the parade route the tractor died. It was a sad day. But he did end up driving people around on the people movers on a tractor all day long on the last show day. Believe me, he was a happy cowboy.

Kaylie & Eric's Wedding

So the reason I went to Northern California was to attend my cousin, Kaylie's wedding to Eric. It was a beautiful wedding and so great to see tons of relatives I hadn't seen since I was so little that I didn't even remember them.

Check it.

Aren't my parents the cutest?!

Oh and you can look at more pictures here.

La Honda, CA

La Honda is tucked in the mountains 30 miles south of San Francisco. There on Memory Lane (it is actually on Memory Lane, adorable and fitting) sits a beautiful home on property bought by my great grandfather Lehner. My dad's cousin still lives there and I am super jealous. It really is like being in paradise. I haven't been there in probably ten years. As soon as we got there all those memories from my childhood sprang up. Not a while lot has changed aside from trees growing wider and taller and the bushes getting bushier. It's such a gorgeous place. It used to have finches, rabbits, horses and chickens. But these days chickens and doves are the only creatures housed on the property aside from the deer, blue jays and other  wild beasts roaming around.

It was great to see some family that I hadn't been around in ages. Most of these pictures are just of JoAnn at the house but Sandee was there too. The Blue Jays there are pretty serious about scavenging but they are some of my favorite birds on the planet. That color just doesn't seem natural in nature. It's so beautiful. And perfect. Here are tons of pictures, enjoy.

My favorite thing to look for around La Honda when I was a kid were, banana slugs. Turns out, still my favorite thing to hunt for. And, they are everywhere.

New York State of Mind

What do you do when you miss NYC? You look at photos that you never blogged from last summer. And there is nothing more New York to me than a Shack Burger. Mmmm....queue salivation.

Being that we love food our entire trip was based around meals. Lunch at Madison Square Park's Shake Shack where we saw an interesting art installation of statues on the buildings surrounding the park. Dinner uptown at Malecon with Richard and Yancy. The next morning we had breakfast at Cafe Habana with Alejandro (they just opened another restaurant in Malibu, CA right by my parent's house!) and then treats for the drive home from Billy's Bakery.

While Sir Luke and I were up in Boston last summer we made it a point to go visit NYC for a day or two. Sir Luke's mom, Jennifer, came a long for the fun. We hit up a bunch of our favorite haunts and got to meet up with a few friends as well. Since I'm a photographer by profession I didn't take any pictures with said friends....palm to face. But here are some photos at Madison Square Park's Shake Shack.

Red Sox

We did so many awesome things while we were visiting Sir Luke's family in Boston. One of my faves was going to a Red Sox game.

James didn't get to go but he knew how to suit up.

 I've been wanting to sing Neil Diamond with thousands of people for a long time...dream fulfilled.

This was pre-official Red Sox shirt purchase. I felt a little out of place in the closest thing to a red shirt I had. Ben and Rebekah already had their Sox garb so they fit in with the crowd.

 I was surprised at how small the stadium was compared to Dodger Stadium. This lead to a lengthy debate between Sir Luke and myself about the difference between stadiums, fields, parks etc. Needless to say I won. The point being I thought Fenway Park was so charming. The hot dogs didn't hurt either.

Thanks to Greg and Jennifer for taking us and Ben and Rebekah for joining the festivities.

Whale Watching

There are SO many things we've done in the last couple months. Incessant traveling got me totally backed up on sharing our awesome adventures.

Life goal: Whale Watching - FULFILLED!

On memorial day we went whale watching with Sir Luke's Dad, Greg, his brother, Ben and Ben's lovely wifey Rebekah. I had SO much fun! They said there weren't a lot of whales to be seen but I begged to differ, granted this was my first adventure, so what do I know. I was super stoked that we saw any at all!

One of our more favorite things from the morning were watching the seals swim around and play at the aquarium there in the harbor. Rebekah said they looking like hot dogs with faces when they came towards uus! I couldn't stop laughing because she was totally right.

Cancun: The Big One

This is a long one! So click for more if you really want to go through the entire account of out trip. Click on the photos to view larger.

We had so much fun with Sir Luke's parents. It was a whirlwind adventure in one of the most beautiful places I've been. It turns out I'm an extremely nervous flier since I married Sir Luke. Not sure why but I wig out at every movement and sometimes no movement at all. It makes long flights nearly unbearable so sometimes layovers are best so it breaks up my travel.

When we arrived at our first stop in Mexico city it was freezing cold and raining and I regretted bringing only one pair of pants and no jacket. Thankfully when we got to Cancun and the humidity sunk in coupled with the 80 degree weather eased my mind over my light packing.

Our hotel was the most beautiful place I've ever stayed at. Our room faced the patio and the ocean. I've never swam in the Gulf of Mexico. It was gloriously warm.

Day 1: Market 28. Lucky for us Sir Luke's parets had been to Cancun in the past and knew all the right places to go. I felt a little silly buying souvenirs when I had barely seen the country but it was so much fun to wander and stuff our faces at the local eateries. I drank a lot of apple soda there. Mmm tasty. Mexico is known for pure vanilla and I was able to procure some on the cheap. Sir Luke scored some sterling silver cuff links (also a treasure of the area). It was quite helpful that he knew Spanish because as he started haggling the shop owners would soften up because he was fluent and respectful.

Plus I got this sweet purse. I love it.

Weekend with the Parents

I had so much fun exploring Las Vegas with my parents. It was the first time in the nearly two years we've lived here that they've gotten to do this on a visit.

We decided to take them to the Hoover Dam (my fourth trip this year and it never gets old) and Red Rock (because it's amazing).  Us, and everyone else who was in town over the weekend. It was a mad house at both places.

I stil can't get over the progress that's happened since we were there back in March.