Scarlett & Sienna

Last weekend Juan and I got to spend some quality time with my little nieces, Scarlett and Sienna. This was our first time meeting Sienna and man was she a cutie! And Scarlett...I can't believe how grown up she is! I loved the way she called us Aunt Raquel and Uncle Juan in her sweet little voice.

Ashley (their mom) and I have been friends since 7th grade. Needless to say I've got a lot of love for her little girls. Ashley's last minute family road trip out to California (from New Mexico) was announced / planned less than a week before they arrived. Obviously we weren't expecting them but it worked out perfectly. Juan and I were still up at the Rowland Ranch so Ashley, her husband Justin and the girls stayed with us in Ramona. Sienna was a little under the weather and not quite old enough to enjoy all of the perks of the ranch but she was still cuddly and sweet as ever. I can't speak for Scarlett but judging by her glowing smile...she had a blast!

We swam, played basketball, jumped on the trampoline, picked oranges, explored Ramona and even fit in some cartoons.

SONY NEX 6 / Sony 50mm F1.8 Lens v.  Canon EOS 7D / Canon 50mm F1.8 Lens

Ashley has been taking photography classes and doing little side photo shoots as a hobby. Juan has been carrying his camera everywhere (seriously he takes it to work) and having a blast taking new pictures, trying new lenses etc. Late Saturday night we decided they should have a lens / camera competition. Ok...well it was more of a comparison. Ashley really liked Juan's camera and started thinking about selling hers. It was a pretty entertaining event right there in the kitchen as the girls slept. I picked out their ever exciting subject....Core Consulting heads :)

P.S. We decided Juan's camera won. They took the photos from the same spot on the tripod with the exact same settings and same size lenses. Go Sony! Really though I LOVE my Sony NEX 5R...they are great cameras!

Their visit according to Instagram:

Oh and a little more photography fun: 

Before taking off for their next adventure, Juan shot a few pics of the Palmer family. It was the first time either one of us had done something like that; man trying to get kids to hold still, smile and look at the camera is difficult! Hats off to those photographers who photograph kids! Here are a couple of my favs:

Happy Birthday America!

I'm so tired! We have been beyond busy lately....it just never stops. I can't complain though; I know that we are so lucky to have so many awesome opportunities to get out and spend time with wonderful people. We have to take advantage of it while we can... right? This 4th we happened to be house sitting for my dad and Allison at the Rowland Ranch. Keeping it low key, we invited Milton & Christina over for some good ol' fashioned 4th of July food. It was really nice having that one on one time with them. I love seeing Juan and his brother together. The "little kid" comes out of Juan and I love it! It is not very often we get to hang out just the four of us...it was great!

Early evening Milton and Christina left, leaving Juan and I alone. We posted up on some pool mats and took a solid nap, recovering from the food, drinks and 4th madness. But wait it doesn't stop there. Ramona puts on quite the 4th of July event so we jumped on our bikes and headed over to the high school. I think I was in high school the last time I attended Ramona's 4th activities. Wow! It was even more impressive than I thought. Huge lawn party, DJ blasting music, tons of stands with yummy treats. Juan and I endulged ourselved and participated in the junk food madness. Cotton Candy, Kettle Corn and soda. YUM! I think I enhaled the cotton candy. 

The fireworks show was awesome and lasted a lot longer than either one of us expected. Ramona provided the perfect end to our forth of July night. 

Oh and word to the wise: Never forget your lights when biking on country roads!

We forgot our lights and when you are out there in the country without lights...lets just say we biked home blind. Definitely not the safest ride. Then (the professional biker that I am) I somehow managed to mess up my gears. Juan stopped to help me (forgetting he was clipped in..newbie at the clipping in thing) and ate it in the middle of a dark country road. So ridiculous! We couldn't stop laughing (even though it hurt him). He is off riding today...hopefully the clipping in goes a little better than last night.