Sandra Regier Photography

Let me start by stating quite clearly, that I am not a morning person by nature.  I love staying up late and sleeping in.  Life has made me into a morning person with the help of my children…. some of whom happen to be at their best first thing in the morning, sometimes the very early morning.  Warren is one of those kids.  Yesterday morning as we were getting ready for school he came running in the house “Mom you have to come and see this” – a request I often hear which could be anything from a catepillar to a new trick he learned on the rope swing.  I was busy making lunches and tried to brush it off.  But he insisted… “you have to come with me” – so I agreed, and boy am I glad I did.  He pulled me to the back yard and simply said “Isn’t it beautiful”He couldn’t have been more right.  The dew on the wheat field and the sun rising over it was absolutely stunning.  So glad I took the time to enjoy the morning with my little man!

This past weekend I had so much fun!  I had the opportunity to head out to Whistler to spend the weekend with Chris.  He travels quite a bit for his job – fortunately once in a while there is a perk  – which was the case this weekend.  I headed to the airport very early last Wednesday morning and enjoyed 5 beautiful days in Whistler BC.  I haven’t been to the Rockies for quite a long time and it’s been almost 20 years since I was any further west than Banff.  You really do forget how beautiful and HUGE the mountains are.  It’s one of those times when the word “amazing” or “awesome” is accurate.   We sure do have one beautiful country!  Here are a few of my snapshots from my trip……It was neat to see all the Olympic stuff.  Here is the park area where the medal ceremonies were held for the events that took place in Banff.  So cool!!

If you follow me on facebook you’ll know that I’ve taken up running again.  This was the sign that greated me at the entrance to the running trails.  Gotta say I thought twice about heading out for a run…. but I didn’t want to disappoint my coaches Martin & Sue so off I ran…. and look at the view I had on my run….. thankfully no bears were up that early in the morning.

If you know me at all, you know that making new friends is something that comes pretty easily for me.  This trip was no exception.  While I was waiting for a bus in Vancouver to take me up to Whistler I couldn’t help but notice this ladies camera bag…. it was the same as mine.  Our Jill-e bags helped us to strike up a conversation and we soon came to realize we had tons in common.  In fact both of us had a son turning 7 on May 7th!  So strange!  At any rate, Jodie who is also a wedding photographer had the next day free and with Chris busy working we decided to meet up and spend the day sightseeing around Whistler and snapping some photos.  We took a ride up the gondola as far as we could and enjoyed the sights…..Jodie’s friend Gabi – who is a local – was kind enough to play the tourist part along with us.  It was fun!!  This is a shot I took of the two of them headed back down the mountain on the lift.

We went for a big walk one evening over to Lost Lake – Chris tried very hard to get wet feet, but didn’t.  Such a funny guy.  Reminds me so much of our son Warren when he does stuff like that.  Beautiful evening for a walk!

We also found Green Lake after a little drive.  So beautiful and so quiet.  Absolutely loved this spot!

Whistler was pretty quiet while I was there but it certainly was a lovely weekend and we finished up by celebrating Mother’s Day at the Bearfoot Bistro.  If you are ever in Whister I highly recommend you give them a try.  Such a delicious meal and a wonderful way to send off for me!   Monday morning I was back on a bus and headed home.  Loved my time there and hope I can return again someday!

In celebration of Mom’s I’ve decided to hold my first ever Mother’s Day Contest.   The prize will be an outdoor or studio session for one deserving mom plus she will win her very own custom photo purse! Total prize value is well over $200 so please be sure to nominate yourself or a deserving Mom that you know into the contest.  Only one entry per person please!  You can click here to go to the contest form.

To give you some inspiration I thought I’d blog about a mom who I felt was so deserving that she actually received the same prize as her Christmas Present from me – my good friend Aimee Rau.  I’ve known Aimee since she was and I were we little girls, we didn’t really grow up together, but I somehow always remember knowing her.  As teenagers we hung out quite a bit and we went on in life to marry two great guys who happen to also be friends.  Aimee had her first child just weeks apart from my third.  Our two girls have always been good friends.  Our boys were born a little further apart, but still happened to land in the same grade.  Needless to say they also have fun getting into trouble together.  All of this aside, the reason I wanted to give something special to Aimee was as a little thank you for all the love and inspiration she gives to tons of kids each and every day.  Miss Aimee, as she is often called, is a piano teacher like no other I know!  She is caring and patient to each and everyone of  her “little Mozarts” and has inspired more young musicians that I can count – including 3 of my own children!  Here is a shot I took of her outside her music sudio “The Music Box” last week.

So hat’s off to my good friend – Miss Aimee!  A mother to two and mentor to countless!  Thanks so much for all the music and love you share with our community!  Girl you are the best!! 

Now if you know someone who would love a custom photo purse or if you’d like to nominate yourself… go to the form and tell me about this special mom – it can be funny or creative or whatever you like!  Just click here and nominate away!!

Hands down one of my favourite places to visit is the Valley of Fire.  If you look back through my old blog posts you’ll see that I’ve been there before a time or two.  I never get bored of it though.  The landscape is absolutely breathtaking.  This year there were quite a bunch of us from Ontario who decided to take a day and rent a couple of cars and head out to the desert for a fun shoot.  I honestly didn’t get a chance to shoot too much as I spent a good part of the time posing instead, but here are a handful I did take.  Including a couple of what it looks like when 10 ladies armed with more than 20 cameras pile out of cars and start shooting!

Doesn’t look like much of a location to most people, but this is what I shot… kinda fun.

Lindsey looking as cute as ever!

What do mean it’s dangerous to play in traffic?

Love this shot of Jodi with her red shoes!

The ever beautiful Kathy DeMerchant!

Had loads of fun playing with my brand new Radio poppers!  Love off  camera flash!!

Love these two photos of Barb. The last one was definitely her idea.  I think it is stunning and I’m so glad she asked me to take it for her.  Barb you are a brave woman… not just for going topless in the desert but for doing so on a freezing cold and rainy day!    Hope you like the photo.

If you ever decide to head out to Vegas make sure you add the Valley of Fire to your “Must See” list.  It really is an incredible place and just a one hour drive out the city!  Happy Friday everyone… I hope you enjoy your weekend!!

You’ll have to bear with me over the next couple of weeks…..  I’m working on putting together a photo album from our Aussie adventures and editing through photos that I haven’t looked at literally in months.  It’s wonderful to relive our trip and bittersweet as it makes me miss Eileen & Ian who are living there now.  Here is a beauty that I think may have to be a canvas in my stairway…. what do you think?   Cheers

A big shout out to Amanada & Regan Neilands for pulling off a fabulous event.  The day raised more than $2000 to send to Haiti!  Way to go!  Here is a shot of their family in the “Fun Photo Booth”  I had set up.And here are a few more photos I wanted to share.  I took over 90 children’s photos in just a few short hours.

It was a great afternoon and a lot of fun!  Thanks so much to all the sponsors who helped to make it such a great sucess!!