Photography Field Trip: Rhyolite

One thing is for sure,

I would never get to shoot a session at a ghost town if we lived in St Louis.

My friend, Kristin and I decided we want to take advantage of the scenery we have living out here every chance we get.

So we decided to take some photography field trips.

I got to be her model at the Dry Lake

and her daughter, LL, got to be our model at a real ghost town.

Yes, like in the movies.

Actually, Kristin told me movies were actually filmed here.

We broke a few rules, dove under barbed wire, and ignored rattlesnake warnings,

but the shots were worth it!!

Happy 3rd Birthday LL!!

What a little model. Look at that pout! (She was not pouting in real life)

On Fathers Day...

First and foremost I want to wish my husband a Happy 1st Fathers Day!

Then I want to dedicate this blog post to all of us whose Daddies are up in heaven celebrating Father's Day.

Whether you were 2 or 78 when your Dad was called HOME,

it still hurts just the same.

The little boy featured in this blog post lost his father last September-

many of you may remember the blog post.

This is Carter's First Father's Day without a Daddy to shower with gifts, take to a baseball game, or share a steak with.

Today, along with many other days, Carter will miss his dad.

Luckily, he has an amazing mommy who will remind him of his father's love.

Carter,

You will not understand this until you have a child of your own but I know your Dad was incredibly proud of you, and still is as he watches you grow from heaven.

I never met your Dad but within 24 hours of your Dad leaving this world, I regretted never knowing him.

He was loved by so many.

Everyone (but me) knew your Dad, and enjoyed his presence.

I hope your memories of him stay fresh, and that when they start to fade those who loved him will remind you of who he was.

I hope that you know he didn't want to leave you

and that if his love for you were enough, he would still be here today.

When you miss him, talk to him- he can still hear you.

Remember that you are blessed to have had him,

even if it was for a short period of time.

You had more love from your dad in a few short years than many children get in a lifetime.

I am sorry you have to miss your Dad on Father's Day,

but I am so happy you have such a wonderful family to help heal the pain.

Wishing Billy Jack a Happy 1st Father's Day in heaven.

-Amy Meyerott

The smirk in the picture below is going to cause a lot of trouble one day. He is so stinking handsome!!

It is quite probable that Carter thinks I am crazy...

Lauren,

I know it has to be confusing and heartbreaking raising a son without his Dad.

Nothing will heal the hurt you feel for this loss.

Just know that you are doing a wonderful job.

Bad Little Blogger

Yep, I know. I have been slacking on the blogging. It's summer and I'm finally done with my masters program, you would think I would have all the time in the world to edit. But I've been busy. Going on float trips, playing sand volleyball with awesome friends, going to California for the family girl's trip, and catching up on some much needed sleep. So here are some pics of everything thats been keeping me away from my computer all summer. : )

Leading off, The 4th of July was my Hubby and I's first anniversary. We spent it at downtown St. Louis. I had never gone there for the fair so we got an arch view room at the Millennium and took it all in.

I'm going to let you in on an Amy Meyerott cooking secret because it's just too good to keep to myself. Early this summer I was walking around Main St in St Charles waiting for a photo session to start. I was in the Olde Town Spice Shoppe when I saw a sign on Greek Seasoning that said "Tastes good on anything but ice cream". Since I hate ice cream I figured their Greek Seasoning would be a good investment. It was. My friends all LOVE when I use the Greek seasoning and it is really hard for me to season chicken with anything else now.

This next cooking creation is made by my cousin Val from California. She won my heart when the girls in my family all went to visit and she had made, with her own two hands, the best guacamole I have ever had in my life.

Val also had a lemon tree. They were the best lemons ever. Super juicy. I had a blast walking over to the tree to get lemons for my tea.

Cousin Char decided to have a BBQ at her house fully equipped with a cotton candy machine, snow cone machine, and pop corn machine. Donna (the one in the blue suit watching intently how to make the cotton candy) loved offering to make everyone's cotton candy. By the end of the day she was a pro!

Val and her daughter, Amanda. I had a lot of fun staying with her at her Hollywood Apartment. You could throw a rock from her apartment and hit the Kodak Theater. Slight exaggeration, but she really is right off Hollywood Blvd.

Our cousin Char sent us a limo (two actually) to take us out of L.A. and into Antelope Valley to stay at her dear friend, Lydia's house.

My Mom and I walking down Lydia's street in the desert. WE were literally walking passed tumble weeds!

Cousin Char also treated all of the cousins to a trip to the Madonna Inn and Hearst Castle. The following is from the restaurant at the Madonna Inn ( I can't believe I forgot to take pics of our room).

Everything in Hearst was incredibly detailed... even with real gold. Hearst made sure to impress all of his visitors.

Likely the only time in my LIFE I will walk on pure gold. I guess I have to wait till heaven to do that again.

I couldn't resist going here. Even if the only thing I could afford to buy was a bottle of water and a Tiramisu.

I took these for the hubby. I had no idea what a Bugatti was before taking this picture. BUt apparently the base price for the car is 2 mill. Which is about 10x the cost of my house!

The following is my cousin Char's poker set. It was also equipped with a marble chess set. Every poker player's dream and yes, it's real.

I have to include a picture of Cousin Violet. She had me laughing all week. Between her Smurf/Simpsons attire and the story of how she met her husband I had a stomach ache from laughing too hard.

We leave California with even a pup praying for our salvation.

I will close out this post with a picture of the love of my life, and the love of his: GOLF.