New Blog

Hey Everyone!
Just thought I would let you know that I am moving my blog so if you would like to keep up with me then follow me over to kristiejean.com. I decided that I wanted something that had no dot whatever dot coms attached to the end of my name. Be sure to look around on my new blog ( you can see what book i am reading and what my favourite music at the moment is wahoo!!) and hit that subscribe button to get emails when I post something new.

Blain Family Pictures

So I am sure most of you have seen these pictures on Dustin and Jodie's blog but for those of you who haven't here are some Blain family pictures. It was fairly chilly day out and Dustin was leaving this day so we snapped a few shots as quickly as we could. I was shaking pretty bad (either from the cold, hunger, or I just couldn't hold a camera still for some reason) so imagine my surprise when a few turned out to be in focus :) Oh and we found out that if you want a picture of the whole family smiling at the same time just hang the kids upside down (that's not asking to get charged with child abuse or anything at all...)

P.S Don't I have the cutest nephews in the whole wide world!

Iphone pictures

So I decided to share some of my

pictures from my phone

I have a little to much fun with

instagram at times which is

an app for iphones that has

a bunch of different filters

you can put on your pictures :)

This one if from sometime back

in the summer when Nadine

and I where on a hike

The hardest hike we went on

and the most adventurous.

We were still out there after dark

trying to find our way back to the car

through a pitch black forest

without a flashlight

good times!

This one is from about a week ago.

It was a beautiful day so Markus,

Ryker and I went to the park and

played in the fall leaves.

I was picking leaves out of my

clothers forever afterwards!

Last but not least I couldn't resist

putting this one on.

Poor Tina the tiny green truck.

As the days get colder and I leave

in the mornings to a frost covered

car I miss my trusty

four wheel drive truck.

Bon Iver and running

I was looking at my blog a while ago and realized that it has been a VERY long time since I have posted anything. So the other day when I was running I took a few quick shots with my phone....edited them on my phone and now they are here for your enjoyment. The best part about my run was the first song that came on. I always just plug my headphones in and hit shuffle and then don't pay much attention to it after that. The song that came on was Blindsided by Bon Iver and it was talking about being blinded and at that moment in time I was being blinded by the sun. I am now fairly certain that my phone can read my mind....
Summer was officially over a few days ago which is very sad. I can't say that I enjoy any other season very much. On a positive note though I LOVE it when it is JUST cool enough to wear cozy sweaters, scarves and cute hats. So here is to the next six months give or take of bundling up in the winter woollies, freezing the minute you step out the door and driving a car that is not meant for snow! How is that for positive (read it as if I were saying it in a very bright cheerful tone)?
I hope you enjoy the picture and I will leave you with a little quote that I read the other day
"Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning how to dance in the rain"

Battle Bluffs

Here are a few pictures from Nadine and mine latest hike. We hiked up Battle Bluffs which is near Red Lake (as far as I can remember) and the lake you can see in the pictures is Kamloops Lake. We actually managed to stay on the path most of the time which is pretty amazing for us so there was no getting lost and wondering if we were going to make it back before dark (though we did pack a flashlight...and bear spray...just to be safe). The best part of going for a hike is when you reach the top, it's always so peaceful and quiet. We always sit down to watch the world below and the sun set before we head back to the car.

Pure Boredom

I'm sitting in Starbucks drinking my iced tall half sweet passion tea lemonade (second one of the day, soooo good) editing pictures. Of course after about twenty minutes of editing said pictures I start to get bored. Lucky you guys, now you get to listen to me ramble on and on and on and on and....well...you get the point. So if at this point you don't like to read my ramblings then skip to the bottom, you may just get to see a very cute picture of a very cute boy... hows that for a bribe eh! I have been noticing that all my posts have lost the stories that go along with the pictures. I am always in hurry to get the pictures on and don't take the time to chat. So here goes a little chit chat!
This picture I am showing you today is of the one and only Mr. Ryker. I took it a couple months ago at the school while we were waiting for Markus to get out. He always picks flowers and brings them to you to blow. I started look after the boys when Ryker was 9 months old, today was his 17 month birthday. It has been fun watching him grow and learn news things. He finally says my name when I walk through the door in the morning which is very exciting. Tammy would always say "who is here Ryker" and he would go "Dada" then "Mama" then "Bubba", at this point we would all give up on him getting it right. Pretty soon I'm sure he will be telling big stories like his big brother (when I say big stories I mean big, the more interest you show the bigger the story seems to get) and talking my ear off. I have the greatest job I have decided, I spent the day today having a water fight with Markus while Ryker slept and then we hung out at the park for a while. There is no complaining about a day in the sunshine!!
Lastly and completely off topic, here is a quote I found that made me giggle just a little "The brain is a wonderful organ, it starts working the moment you get up in the morning and does not stop until you get to the office" - Robert Frost

Hiking!

Nadine and I go on a hike every week.....and every week it rains on us. Tuesday was the worst weather yet though. We were completely soaked before we even got in to the park (the park being Peterson Creek). Despite being thoroughly soaked though we had a fantastic hike. It took us two and a half hours of walking through the creek, bush waking, and climbing up the side up the hill (we don't really use trails) to get to the bottom. The perfect adventure!

The bushes that were in our way!

The creek! My shoes did not appreciate

this part of the hike.

We climbed up on top thinking we

would spend some time on dry land

only to find out we had to climb back

down to get around.


We were pretty happy to see the

end after being in wet clothes for

that long!!

Kingston!!

I am on a blogging roll weehoo!!!! Roxy asked if I would take some pictures of Kingston before they left...well I wasn't about to say no. Kingston is one of the cutest little boys ever! Last I heard Roxy couldn't decide which picture to blow up so you can let me now what is your favourite and I will pass it on.

The Boys

We took the boys (boys = Ryder, Ethan, Kingston, Ryker, Markus) to the wildlife park this last week. All Markus could talk about on the way home was when we could go next. I think it is safe to say they had fun!

This picture makes me giggle everytime I look at it!

A Sample

I thought I would give you a little sample of Tyson and Karla's pictures. This is the first time really using my new camera, still figuring it all out :) Keep posted for more pictures!

Jamie Delaine Workshop

About a month ago I was reading one of my favourite photographers blogs and found out she was putting on a workshop. I got all excited and signed up right away and life was great. Actually that is one big lie. It went something more like this....

I was reading Jamie Delaine's blog (that would be the awesome photographer) and some how came across her workshop. I got super excited and sent her a message to find out if there were any spots left. Went home, had a wonderful nights sleep, went to leave for work the next day and found out that my car had been broken in to and my camera was gone. I know, I know, why leave an expensive camera lying on the front seat of your car all night. My hands were full when I went inside the night before ok. That's my only excuse. I should mention to that I had only had my car for about three weeks and I only got a new vehicle because a lovely gentleman decided to run in to the side of my truck. I just have the greatest luck! Needless to say I went to work just a wee bit upset. To make what is turning in to a long story shorter a couple hours later I found out there was room left at the workshop. All I could think about though was how dumb it would be to go to a photography workshop without a camera. Seems a little silly to me. I signed up anyways and a week before the workshop I bought a new camera (this one never leaves my sight). All turned out well in the end.

The workshop was yesterday held at Jamie's studio in Langley. It was a very fun day with awesome food and great advice. We even had a little photo shoot outside in the lovely sun.

We had dinner at the lake on Sunday with Andrew and Bre. There were A LOT of people there. On the way to Bre's place I took a wrong turn and I pulled in a parking lot to turn around and decided to call Bre while I was at it. When I looked up I saw my cars twin...how cool is that!!

Peaking through the door of Jamie's Studio

The photoshoot.

My truck/car

This is what I used to drive.

This is what it looked like when I was done with it.

This is what I now drive.

James and Annie

Annie called me up on Friday afternoon to say that her and James had ended up staying longer then they expected and they had decided to get their engagement pictures done the next day. I of course jumped at the opportunity to take them! All in all it was a very fun, cold and at times funny experience!!!

And of course I had to get pictures of all the lovely people who came along for the fun!!