Married! {Michael&Mari}

It was a gorgeous day in Tucson for a wedding. This last Saturday David and I were able to photography Michael and Mari's wedding. It was a warm 85 degree's, a nice change to the 50 degree weather in Seattle. It was such a beautiful wedding. Filled with anticipation and excitement. Mari looked stunning and I think Michael was speechless ;)

Travel Dates

For those who don't live in Seattle and would like a photoshoot, these are the locations and dates I have available:

Cincinnati OH, June 19th

Tucson AZ, November 5th

Please E-mail me at info@kinseymeredith.com to set up your time.

Thanks!

Family Pictures {W}

Such a fun and loving family. I love that the little girls brought their camera's along to take pictures too.

Kinsey

HOME!

We safely arrived at home, after a very, very, very long 11 hour flight. I am so glad to be home!

What an eye opening experience. I am so thankful to live in America. Pictures coming soon!

Panda's! Day 3

DAY 3

Finishing up last nights fun... hot pot was HOT! I am pretty sure I am going to loose a pound or two from how much I sweat at each meal. It is so good though. Several different versions of tofu I didn't know existed, and some really cool stringy mushrooms. My favorite was the cucumber! After dinner we walked around back to the apt. and stopped off for for ice cream. David convinced me that the ice cream shaped like corn was really good. I tried it. It tasted like, corn. Too bad there really aren't any nutrients in that, it would be a whole lot easier to get kids to eat their vegetables that way!

After ice cream, we headed to the large courtyard area thing. We heard there was dancing at night. Boy, was there dancing! The entire courtyard, bigger than a football field, was packed with people dancing. All different kinds of dancing and people learning to dance. Some very interesting styles and moves. I think my mouth was wide open for a couple minutes. David, he jumped right in and started dancing. Fit right in! Several people stopped in front of me to pose for a picture. At first I put my camera down, embarrassed that they thought I was trying to take a picture of them, but when they stood there- smiling and waving, waiting... I realized they wanted a picture taken. A whole family stopped and held up there son, then ran over to look at the picture. It was the highlight of my day!

Today, we went to the Panda Reserve. Our driver gave us a personal tour of the facilities, he said his wife worked there, and fed the panda's. We got there early so they were pretty active. I even got to hold a Red Panda! (hence the button in the picture below). I didn't realize until later, how dangerous that actually was. But, anything for a picture, right?!!

After the panda's we went to a very laaaarge wholesale market. Unlike anything I have ever seen. I don't even know how to describe it....

When we got home after that, we took one of our little friends to get our hair washed. For $2.50 I got a 15 minute head massage, shampoo and conditioned, a little back massage, my ears cleaned (bonus!) and a blow dry. Woot! David got a haircut, but the only trimmed the sides, not the top, so he has a puffy afro.

I tried some cucumber flavored potato chips... taste like, cucumbers. There's also blueberry flavored, cherry red tomato, and some other spicy flavor... anyone want some interesting chips as a souvenir?

Below is a picture of our freshly washed hair, panda souvenir, and a view from our room.

kinsey

We have arrived! Days 1 & 2

DAY 1

12 hour plane ride... was not fun. Still congested and not able to fully pop my ears. Not as painful as I thought it would be, but, pretty uncomfortable. Had to pretend I wasn't sick so I wouldn't be quarantined when passing through customs. Sickness is taken pretty seriously here after the Swine outbreak. Let's just say it's a REALLY good thing I didn't have a temperature!

The seats on the plane were not made for white people, as both of our knees were hitting the seat in front of us. I won't even mention the food.

Got in to Beijing in the early evening. It had just snowed, so our taxi ride to the hotel was beautiful. Not at all what I had expected. Large trees lined the streets dusted in snow, people still riding bikes in the slush, pulling in to the hotel with the large arching snow topped gates looked like something out of an old movie.

We arrived exhausted, ready for bed- only to realize it was just 7:00pm. I went to sleep anyways. And woke up at 3:00am wide eyed.

Below is our picture in our hotel room. This is how we felt. Me: exhausted and sick. David: super excited.

DAY 2

Flight to a city 3 hours South West of Beijing in the early a.m.. Dissapointed in the breakfast options... no Starbucks :( Met up with some friends and got a tour of the city. More of a homey feel than Beijing. Had my first REAL Chinese food. Suuuuper spicy, and very different from American Chinese. Mom- no Hot and Sour soup, but lot's of white rice. Buckets full! David and I went to a market similar to Walmart. Got some interesting candy. We are gettng ready to head out for some Hot Pot now! Tomorrow, we go to the Panda Reserve!

kinsey

Away we go!

Camera's, check. Lenses, check. Memory cards, check. Extra memory cards, check. Extra, extra memory cards, check. Computer, check.

The most important part about getting ready for a trip is not my clothes, not the reading material I will have on the plane, or the snacks in my purse (which, in my family, is REALLY important), it's my camera!

We are all set to take off for China tomorrow morning! Doing a little tourism, meeting up with some friends, taking some family pictures, and eating lot's of good food! Or, maybe, just a lot of rice.

We are so excited for this adventure. Well, I was so excited until I developed this really nasty cold, TODAY! Sinus' are clogged and ears won't pop! I can't imagine an 11 hour plane ride with out being able to pop my ears, yikes, that landing will be painful.

Really, I am excited. I have been to a lot of places- the Philippines, Mexico, Europe, South Africa... but, none of them are quite like China. I am pumped to explore this culture...minus the whole, squatty toilet thing.

Hoping to be able to post a picture every couple days and a little info as to what we are doing. But, I have no idea what the internet access will be like.

zaijian,

Kinsey & David

Family Pictures {Schimmel}

David and I just got back from visiting our friends in San Diego. Right amidst their craz thunderstorms and flooding! Somehow, we were blessed with an incredibly beautiful day on Saturday. So we took advantage of it, and did some family pictures around the University of San Diego.