Maderville

Viva Las Vegas!
I'm back! I have so much to tell so I guess I'll just jump right in. On my way out last Sunday, I had planned on leaving from church and going to lunch and heading straight to the airport. Mike asked me what the temperature was in Vegas so since I hadn't bothered to look I looked it up on my iPhone. I almost choked when I read how cold it was going to be. I didn't pack a jacket or anything remotely warm because I thought it was going to be fairly warm the whole time I was going to be there. We ended up going to church and going all the way back home so I could repack. I am so thankful I did because there were times when I needed the extra layers. I would have been very ill prepared if he hadn't asked that one simple question. Saying goodbye to Landry proved to be harder than I even imagined and I had hoped she would remember who I was when I returned. The flight there was fairly uneventful. I got in there at 7:30pm(their time...it was 9:30 our time) and I immediately hit the the ground running. I met up with my roommate Melanie at a party and caught up. We ended up going to the room and talking. I met a few friends for a little while and actually turned in at a fairly decent(Vegas) hour. I had my first platform class at 8am the next morning. I was so excited to see one of my favorite photographers, Jim Garner, give a great lecture and class. It was a wonderful way to start off my WPPI experience. The rest of the week was spent in and out of classes with photographers whose work I really admire. I loved hearing their methods, thoughts and stories on how they came to this industry. Every night had a party and Monday nights was a big one. It was Beckers [b]school party and it did not disappoint. It was held at the Palms in the same suite that the Real World filmed their reality show. It was crazy. I met so many fun people and I really had a good time. Every night there was something going on or a party to attend. I don't know how people do this lifestyle every day. I was burning the candles at both ends just trying to keep up with everyone. 3 nights is about all I can hang with....5 nights did me in. I am just not there any more! Mike showed up in my 4th and 5th night and we were both so tired that we turned in fairly early. We did have some great food while were were there and walked the Las Vegas Strip. I had to be up at the crack of dawn to get ready for Joe Photo's platform. I was assisting him and I wanted to make sure that all of the details were taken care of to perfection. He was absolutely amazing. He is such a passionate person and he truly loves his work. I was just so happy to be there for it thrilled that he asked me to help him. My name badge had my name and his studio name and city on it. I had several people comment about my southern accent and me being from California! It was pretty funny. All in all, I can't really express how truly wonderful this experience was for me. I loved every minute of it. I missed my baby girl in the worst possible way but she was in such great care with her Momo and Paw Paw that I knew I didn't have a thing to worry about. I love how much they love her and it is really important to me for her to experience that from someone other than us. It was a blessed week for many many reasons. And as I said so many times...I will be back.