After Kayla and John's wedding festivities, we had a few days to experience the beauty of Maui and take some photos. My brother (and second photographer), Lawson, was accompanied by his girlfriend, Wendy -- and my cousin, Travis, and his girlfriend, Emmy, also came along. (Whew -- that was a lot of commas!) Emmy is an aerial dance instructor and runs Iluminar Aerial with Travis in Colorado. They were great sports and did some awesome poses in some of the most beautiful spots on the island!

Unfortunately, this trip ended somewhat tragically for me... While touring the Road to Hana, I took a nasty slip down a hill, breaking my ankle in three places. After a 90 minute drive to the ER and two loooong flights home in a splint, I had an ORIF surgery (thanks, Dr. Summers!) followed by several months of rehabilitation. Thankfully it happened towards the end of our trip, and I am pretty much back to normal now. :]

I hope you enjoy these glimpses of Maui!

Alicia and I attended the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta in New Mexico a couple years ago -- what an incredible production! According to the organization that runs the event, it is "the largest ballooning event on earth, the most photographed event on earth, and the largest annual international event held in the United States" -- and we can believe it! Attendance for some of the events approaches 100,000 people!

We got to go up in a balloon ourselves, which was great, but even better was each weekend morning's "Mass Ascension", where 500+ balloons of all shapes, sizes, and colors take off in two huge waves from the 78-acre launch field -- certainly one of the most incredible sights we have ever witnessed.

We enjoyed it so much that we're going again this year. In honor of the occasion, I though I'd post a few of the images we were able to capture last time.

It's been two months since my last post -- my apologies -- but I'm sure this won't be the last time I go a while without posting. Life just happens sometimes. :] I have half a dozen posts on the back burner right now, so I suppose I'll start with the oldest.

Alicia and I attended the 2010 WPPI Convention in Las Vegas earlier this year, and since neither Alicia nor I had ever been to Las Vegas, we decided to arrive a few days early to play tourist. The Hoover Dam was only a 40 minute drive, so we couldn't pass it up. We decided to spring for their most extensive tour (the "Dam Tour"), which took us 530 feet down into the depths of the dam.

We admired the impressive art deco architecture and marveled at one of the greatest engineering feats of the 20th century. The Hoover Dam is like the Grand Canyon in that pictures can't possibly do it justice. It's well worth the visit if you're ever in the Vegas area.