Poundmaker's Annual Pow Wow

As mentioned in my last post, right after the wedding ceremony I had to go to work.  I don't normally work weekends, however, as it happened where I work hosted their annual Pow Wow.  I shot tons of photos, between helping in the canteen, paying out dancers, and pitching in where I was needed.  Now the challenge is which photos to post. 

I'll start with this photo, it's one of my favorite!  This Pow Wow was by far the biggest one in the area this year, with over 800 registered dancers on the Sunday and packed grandstands (standing room only) it was busy! 

The children always capture my heart...

We were blessed to have dignitaries from the Northwest Territories in attendance and a few of them played a couple of songs, what an honor to hear this. 

The main event of the pow wow was Iron Man and Iron Woman competitions, the dancers danced for a new car.  This was surreal to witness, the last two women danced for 45 minutes, then the judges were brought in as neither of the women were about to relent, in total they danced 48 minutes!  This next photo is the woman who placed second, she was amazing! 

Poundmaker's Iron Woman 2016

The men didn't dance quite as long as the women did, the winner of the Iron Man contest danced for 41 minutes and he's a repeat winner, rightfully so.  He danced like there was no tomorrow and earned the car he won, now he has a new vehicle to drive back to California! 

And one final photo, as I mentioned it was challenging to pick which ones to share, but I hope you enjoyed the pictures.  If you've never been to Pow Wow, I highly recommend you take one in, it's not only something to witness, it's something to feel. 

Ooops ... Time's Run Away On Me

I just realized I haven't posted on my blog in quite some time.  My last post was my great niece's bridal shower and the wedding has now come and gone; she got married on  August 6 and what a beautiful princess bride she was! 

Dad hugging his princess before he gives her away...

Making it official...

Me and my amazing family who I am so proud of! 

Congratulations David and Ashley!  May you have a lifetime of joy, happiness and immense love for one another through all of your experiences! 

Unfortunately I was not able to attend the reception, I had to go to work...

 you'll see in my next post what work entailed. 

Something Old, Something New

This weekend was my great niece's wedding shower, she's getting married in August.  The party was a 50's housewife theme and what a fun event!  This is the bride-to-be on the right and my beautiful daughter on the left; both looked absolutely amazing! 

From the games to the decor, everything was extremely well planned, and what a ton of fun! 

A take home gift for each of the guests from the bride-to-be...

 One of the games was smell the spice and guess what it is, I didn't far well at all which surprised me, mind you my main spices are garlic and dill! :-)

So much fun! Ashley, Auntie wishes you a lifetime of joy and happiness, I'm totally looking forward to your wedding but if the shower is any indication of emotions I know I'd best be bringing a box of tissues for your Aunties!

  

It's Soccer Season!

I managed to get off work, head home to let Abbie out, and made it to watch Elyssa play soccer...what an amazing player she is! 

Nothing like a proud Grammy moment here as I was watching this young lady glide across the field, taking the soccer ball clear to the other end, nearly scoring a goal! 

Sheer determination...

  "Excuse me coach, can I please go in goal before the game is over?" 

Wise decision coach! :-) 

New Toy

For my birthday this year my children asked me what I wanted, I couldn't think of anything I need ... then a flash of brilliance popped into my mind.  I asked my middle son if it would be tacky to ask for a contribution towards a new toy... he said "Not at all,"  so that I did.  And here's my birthday present, which I'm getting accustomed to one shot at a time! 

There's some pretty neat features in this Rebel, I can not only do simple edits right in camera, I can also use my cell phone as my remote, I can send photos to my phone which allows me instant upload, it's a 24mp vs the 18mp the T5i is and there's more, as I mentioned I'm still learning. 

Thank you Shayne, Sandy, Derek, Sam, Michelle and Elyssa; 

I absolutely LOVE my new toy! 

Happy Birthday

My girl is already six years old, wow, time sure flies!  For her b'day this year she picked West Edmonton Mall Marine Life adventure.  The children, and a few of us adults, got to see a real live penguin along with a private teaching on penguin's. 

After the penguin experience the children were given a close up view of some pretty neat critters and they got to go and see the marine life which included sharks, all sorts of fish, and my favorite... a giant turtle! 

They got to feel some of the oddest looking critters, ones I passed on touching! 

And next there was the seal show.  Being the birthday girl Elyssa got a kiss from the one of the seals, then it posed for a photo with her! 

To celebrate snacks and cupcakes were served on a Captain's ship, then gifts were opened. 

I thoroughly enjoyed the day, one of the best ways I could have possibly spent my Mother's Day! 

Happy Birthday precious Elyssa, six... wow, where does the time slip away! 

Dare to be Different

I'd taken some cranberry white chocolate scones to work one day and one of my coworkers planted a bug in my ear.  He said he wondered what blueberry, white chocolate would taste like and it sounded like an amazing combination.  Tonight I baked blueberry, white chocolate cookies and he definitely got me onto something!  These are delicious! 

I like to be different, try things I've never tried before... my philosophy is why not?  If nothing changes, nothing changes as the saying goes,  and the same old well that gets rather bland after some time. 

It's Been A While

It's been quite some time since I've visited my blog, life has become busy on this end, which is not a complaint by any means as I absolutely love what I'm doing.  This past few months I've not only worked, I've spoken at the Alberta College of Social Workers annual convention.  From this I've been interviewed for the Advocate, the social work magazine which blankets Alberta and the article will be published in the summer edition.  
The event was held this year at the Shaw Conference centre which is an ideal place to hold a conference as there's many rooms where several events can, and do, transpire simultaneously.  There was five group members who spoke, thankfully as we had a full day session, mind you knowing me I could have spoke a lot longer as I'm passionate about the topic we chose:

"Addictions: What the Textbooks Fail to Teach" 

Another milestone celebration, my oldest son and his wife both celebrate their birthdays in April.  I had my wee girl the evening before the celebration which worked out fantastic! We went shopping for a new outfit and the following day prior to the celebration my princess went to the big girls hairdresser.  Quality time with my granddaughter is extremely important in my life! 

We went to a restaurant I'd never been to, Browns Socialhouse I believe it's called, and the food was amazing!  I'll definitely revisit this restaurant! 

Happy Birthday Shayne and Sandy! 

I've still be using my camera, not as much these days, but I did another baby photo shoot and had a ton of fun doing this.  I love it when I see old traditions being carried forward, another moss bag photo of a gift from the Creator, a precious wee girl. 

Last weekend was another family photo shoot for a friend, today the place I work at is hosting a Round Dance and Pow Wow season is almost upon us... I will be attending a few Pow Wows this summer and look forward to the experiences as well as capturing some amazing photos! 

I will be back in time, not too sure when just yet, but all is well in my world.  I wish each one of you a fantastic weekend! Cheers. 

Up With the Birds

Well after all of that education I finally found a job which makes my heart dance, I'm doing what I love to do and have gone full circle.  I worked a practicum placement where I'm at now so I was no stranger to walking into this place and on Monday when I started I felt right at home... a nice feeling for a first day and now finishing my first week, sure I'm exhausted but in a  satisfying way. 

The drive into work... 

I'll be taking my camera along in no time at all and capturing some of my new surroundings, YAY I'm back in touch with nature!  Now to get used to this getting up with the birds routine and arriving to work shortly after dawn, I can embrace my days knowing that I am doing exactly what I set out to do... how cool is that? 

Newborns

I had the pleasure of taking photos of a beautiful new addition to my girlfriend's family,  this is her first grandchild and I was super excited to be taking these photos, I knew I was going to get in some baby cuddles.  

Who wouldn't want to cuddle this wee angel? 

 When I start shooting photos I like to capture things which I feel could become a treasured memory one day when one looks back at their photos.  Take this next photo for example:

"The littlest feet make the biggest footprints on our hearts."

I became excited when I learned this child has a moss bag, 
a traditional way of wrapping baby so they're snug, cozy and warm. 

And one close up in black and white...

I felt like a meanie, she had to be changed into  different outfits so out of her cozy, comfy place and into other outfits.  I shot as quickly as I could to get the shots in and I learned when there's a moss bag involved, save those shots for last and leave baby be. 

And one final photo, one which I shall call 

Sleeping Beauty 

Could It Be?

I heard the birds chirping away this morning, could it be the "S" word is on it's way?  I hope so, even though it's been a mild winter, that's about enough of this slip sliding away on all this ice already. 

The words of Maya Angelou came to mind when I shot this one...

A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer.

It sings because it has a song. 

So for today I shall sing like nobody's listening! 

THE Dress

Today was an amazing day, one filled with awe, wonderment, joy, and sheer excitement.  I went with my future daughter-in-law and her two bridesmaids (one being my daughter) to look at wedding dresses and wow what an experience. 

Sam, my future daughter-in-law

The first dress I must admit I had a few tears in my eyes, I had people bumps, but there were more dresses to try on.  The second one, the one she had her heart set on was okay, but not nearly as gorgeous as the first.  I don't even know how many dresses I watched her try on but the last one, oh my goodness...

 It's not really fair to show the dress just yet as it needs alterations, but once these are done I know my son will be in complete awe of his bride on their wedding day, she's going to look like a princess! 

The intricacy of the beading is amazing, I'll share a close up of this as it's difficult to see in the photo...

 I also know that I'd best have a big box of tissues handy as she walks down the isle

... 'cause that's how I roll! :-)

Dance on

My dear sweet niece stopped by for a visit and she gave me this handmade Dance Rattle which is made from a turtle shell, deer skin, glass beads, feathers, horse hair and beaver fur. 

This is an astonishing gift! My niece knows my passion for turtles and all they symbolize, she also knows my love of music.  This is definitely a gift which I shall treasure for years to come.  Thank you Cheryl. 

As I've been known to say... Dance on, regardless of what life may throw your way, always dance! 

Valentine's Day

Being single on Valentines Day I choose not to go out, it gets too depressing to see couples enjoying their time together, sure I'm happy for them, but it makes me wish I was with a special someone as well.  Don't get me wrong, I'm surrounded by love and walk in many circles and I love my life, I make the absolute most of it and have tons of fun doing so.    

So how did I spend my day?  I did some online research, I'm starting to do more portrait shots and thought I'd investigate lighting options. Having no model readily available I pulled out my tripod and remote and got busy not even bothering with makeup or doing my hair and here's a few of the photos I captured. 

 I like the black and white for this one... 

It's sure different being in front of the lens, I'm so used to being behind the camera but I went with 'selfies' and it was game on, play time!  I think out of all the shots I did today this next one is my favorite...

So that's how I chose to spend my Valentine's Day, or a part of it anyways.  

How did you spend your Valentine's Day? Whatever you did I hope you had yourself an awesome day spending it with those you love or with a special someone.  

Little Girls and Photoshoots

With tomorrow being Valentine's Day I think it's now safe to share my granddaughters gift to her Daddy.  Elyssa's Mommy asked me to do a photoshoot with Elyssa and I excitedly said for sure!  Whenever I do anything with Elyssa we're sure to have a blast. 

Here's a few of our photos...

Auntie Michelle had Elyssa laughing so hard, it cracked all of us up! 

After a ton of shots and plenty of laughter Elyssa decided to work with me and got into her posing mode, here's a few of the 'model' shots. 

One for Daddy...

And one for Grammy...

Happy Valentine's Day. 
 I already have my Valentine looking at me and she's so adorable she makes my heart melt! 

Love Is In The Air

My son and his girlfriend have announced their engagement and what an honor and privilege to be asked to do their engagement photo shoot. 

A few of the tons of photos I shot! 

You know it's true love when a diehard Oilers fan proposes to a Leaf's fan. 

I'm totally elated by this news! 

Sam I welcome you into our family! I wish you and Derek immense happiness, tons of joy, plenty of laughter, and the strength to get through the challenges in life and always walk side by side... even when the Oilers win! :-)