Behind the scenes

In this day and age of social media with its tweeting, pinning, texting, posting, blogging, Instagramming, Snapchatting and more, it can be tempting to view all these things and conclude that life is perfect for other people.   

We see pictures of perfect food in restaurants without paying the bill. We see perfect meals made for dinners at home without the mess to clean up. We see perfect crafts not knowing it will cost us triple the amount they said in dollars and time. We see vacation scenery that makes us all wish we were there! But the truth is that that life is staged. Sometimes my own life on my blog is staged! I pick the best pictures, the most flattering pose, the most vivid sunsets. But in seeing the "perfect" we might begin think that that is the "norm" rather than the exception. Not every picture is flattering, not every shot is in focus, not every sunset is photo worthy.

With that said, I couldn't help but laugh out loud at some of the "behind the scenes" pictures that were taken during our 2 week long trip west to Arizona and California. They made me laugh and I wanted to post them on the blog but it was hard to slip the imperfect pictures in with all the ones that came out a little more "perfect". So the solution to my desire to post the imperfect was to dedicate a post to just that -- the imperfect, the out-takes, the behind-the-scenes pictures. Maybe we should celebrate the imperfect just a little bit more. :)

 Trying to smile looking into the sun!

Wait, how's my hair?

Anything for a good picture!

Just a little impromptu Scottish dance by Lisa!

Nobody got the memo on this one that a picture was about to be taken.

A little cotton candy love.

And a little deviled egg love.

Ummm, no words...

I swear this wasn't anyone we knew!

What else would you do in a Walmart checkout lane?

Do they know their side panel is sticking out?

She wants an orange *really* bad!

Partners in crime...Jeff stealing oranges for Annah 

(They looked sooo good but they were the worst tasting oranges we have ever had! Perhaps they were only ornamental for a reason.)

Sorry Lisa....Sooo funny, bad lighting and all!

What better to ruin a perfect wedding day than to have the San Diego Fire & Rescue drive up to the temple with sirens blaring? :)

And Sue (McKenna's mom) couldn't find a parking place 
so she had to unload people and stuff and let 
someone else go park her car 
so she could get to the wedding on time!
(All was well...never did know why they were there.)

Step on the crack, break a donkey's back.

Picture perfect except for Jordan's fly away hair!

Long hair on a windy day is apparently a problem for both the 

bride and the groom!

Try as we night we could not get a picture in front of the temple -- the shade of the trees and the bright white were not friends!

You make a good foot rest, Abigail!

Gotta love Annah and Abigail!

Don't ask him to explain what he's doing with his sister's dress!

Somebody wasn't ready for the picture! :) 
(Do you recognize this pillow, Joan? We were at Tim and Lisa's 
when I saw it on the couch and I knew who made it!)

 This girl (who shall remain nameless) needs a fashion intervention. She claims it's her traveling attire! :) We still love her.

Notice anything funny about this picture?

The baby Jesus is tie-wrapped!

1-2-3 Jump!...or not.

Our perfect lunch fail....

Sometimes there are no words or understanding to be found...

Was it that ornamental orange she tasted?

Okay, so we all have a weird streak!

But that is our imperfect life. Next time we each see the fabulous photos our friends and loved ones are posting just remember there are always "behind the scenes" things that nobody wants you to see...unless you're the Valentas! :P

The Great Valenta Christmas Adventure Part 3

The  Great Valenta Christmas Adventure

A.K.A. An Arizona Christmas and a San Diego Wedding

Part 3

Ahhh, the third and final installment of Loretta's Little Trilogy. :) 

With the reception over and Jordan and McKenna headed for Santa Barbara, clean up began. I have never seen more boxes, totes and bins of "stuff" in one place as there were that night! It surely came down faster than it all went up but it took a lot to get everything hauled back to Sue's house. It all got stacked in her garage to be gone through another time. 

During the clean up a woman came up to me and said, "You don't know me but I'm Michelle and I stalk your blog!"  HAHAHAHA! It was funny and awkward all at the same time! She then added, "Well, like 6 of us stalk your blog."  
Uh-oh. I for sure didn't know what to say then! She said that they all knew McKenna and watched her grow up and that they had to know who she was marrying. Then she added, "But you're funny so it's okay!"  Well, *that* made me feel better! :)  

The next day we attended church at Sue's Ward before making our way back to Arizona. Once back in Arizona we stayed a few more days there before heading back home. We were able to see a few more sights and visit some friends during our last few days.

Mesa Temple

The girls in front of the Mesa Temple

I like big cacti and I can not lie! :)

Tim and I taking a selfie in front of the temple

Some pretty funny pictures I took of an unsuspecting Annah....

Oops...she's on to him... :)

Mesa Temple Lights

In the evening we went back to the Mesa Temple with Tim and Lisa, Jeff and the kids to see the spectacular display of Christmas lights. It was so beautifully decorated!

  

Annah and Abigail in front of the temple

 

  Uncle with the nieces :)

Annah

 Family photo in front of the temple!

Visiting Friends

We were able to visit Lyle and Carol Coltrin who had lived in Kentucky but moved to AZ about 7 years ago. Lyle was a counselor to Tim when he was Bishop in Nicholasville and Carol taught several of our kids piano lessons, including Abigail and Annah. It was so fun to see them again and for the girls to show Carol how they have continued to play the piano. It was a proud moment for the girls and for Carol! :)

Abigial and Annah with the Coltrin's dog, Pedro, who they
 played with as a puppy in Kentucky!

Band Practice

The night before we left Arizona Jeff took us to his good friend Mike's house for "band practice". Oh what fun that was! Mike has his whole garage converted into a music studio that has all sorts of equipment and instruments begging to be played...drums, pianos, and guitars galore! 

Abigail on drums :)

 

Jeff doing what he does best!

 

Annah, Lisa, and Tim and Tim the younger in the background!

 

Lisa, drummer girl! This girl can drum!!!

 

Jacob...not so much but he was a good sport!

Now playing the piano, THAT he can do! :)

Annah on the "shaker thing" and Abigail on bongo drums

 

Tim gives the drums a whirl!

 

Jacob, Tim and Annah

Abigail getting into playing the blue guitar!

 

Annah on drums

 

Tim and Jacob

Annah on the pink guitar

Mike (who is a fabulous piano player!) and Jeff

 

The "band" calling it a night

Farewell Arizona

The next morning we got up and said goodbye to Jeff (sniff, sniff) as he headed off to work. A while later we were packed and ready for the road again. 

It began to rain that morning, something that we've heard is a rare phenomenon in Arizona!

We didn't really give the rain much thought until we were heading north toward Flagstaff and higher elevation. The rain turned to snow and traffic slowed and came to a stand still for over an hour.

The trip to Flagstaff that normally takes about 2 hours turned into 4 hours. By the time we arrived there was about 6" of snow on the ground and it was still coming down. The interstate heading West to California was closed but heading East it was still open so we continued carefully on our way!

Ringing in the New Year on the Road

Somewhere USA on New Year's Eve...um, who's driving??

St. Louis, Missouri

The evening of January 1st found us in St. Louis. We were a day later than planned and decided that after 3 days on the road we all needed a descent night's sleep and a shower. We found a hotel room for the night and the next day we made our way to downtown St. Louis and headed to the arch.  

Nearly 20 years ago we made a move from Imperial, Missouri (a little south of St. Louis) to Kentucky. It was a hard move for us having been in Missouri for 7 years and thinking it would be our "home" forever. Since making the move we have not been back to see the arch and with Abigail and Annah being born in Kentucky, they had never been there. Being so close we HAD to go!

As much as the girls wanted to go to the top of the arch, Abigail was very nervous. This was pretty much the look on her face the whole ride up and down!

I had taken some video of Abigail in the "pod" that carried us to the top of the arch but it was having trouble being viewed on the blog. :( Maybe I can work on figuring out why and post it later. 

At the top...

The sign of a great photographer (Annah)....she'll do 

anything to get a picture....

Of her parents! :)

The St. Louis Arch celebrates its 50th anniversary this year on October 28th which just happens to be Miss Annah's 16th birthday!

Calling it a day in St. Louis and 6 hours from home!

It was a pretty epic two week trip for our family. If I could change one thing it would be to have had Andrew with us on this trip. We got to see family and friends; to be there for Jordan and McKenna's wedding and make lots of memories! What a Christmas to remember!