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Life of La Vida bio picture

the life of la vida creations photography

We LOVE what we do and LOVE that we get to work side by side each day!

Photography is our passion! When we’re not out and about capturing couples and families, we’re cooking, traveling, playing bocce, or hanging out with our labra-chow Mace Windu. These are some of the things that make up our vida. You’ll learn more about our lives here as we seem to always have a camera in hand. :)

Thanks for visiting the life of la vida. Leave a comment and open the dialogue!

Warmly,
Betsy and Jeff McCue

learning to curl | escondido iceoplex

For my birthday this year, I really wanted to do something “different”. Not the typical go out to a restaurant or bar, but something really unique.

A while ago, my buddy Meaghan Schmaltz of Weddings Made Splendid and her husband Alan talked to me about the Learn to Curl clinics that are hosted by Curl San Diego. Alan is a big part of that club (as is Meaghan) and they informed me that the next clinic would be held on February 27th (one day before my birthday) at the Escondido Iceoplex. PERFECT!

So we called our friends Deven, Karla and Alexis for some good times sliding around on the ice for an evening! Here’s a great shot of our “Skip” Betsy, who is calling directions out to the sweepers. She was so cute yelling “HAAAARD! HAAAARD!!! OFF OFF OFF!” :)

The instructors were great. We split up into 8 groups, with 4 different mini-sessions that explained the rules of curling, the history and etiquette, how to deliver, how to sweep and how to skip. What we learned is that curling is MUCH harder than it looks!

Here’s Alan Schmaltz hanging out with me. :)

We got there VERY early, as Meaghan mentioned that it might be a little crowded since the Olympics were in full swing. We had NO idea how crowded it would be! They had to turn away about a hundred people, and we just barely made it in. We had about an hour or so to kill while they groomed the ice, so we decided to grab a few pitchers of Bud and a round of corn dogs. This pleased us greatly. :)

Karla and Alexis on the delivery station. They make you wear a super-slick pad that goes under your front shoe to help you slide toward the hogline (the place where you let go of the 42 pound rock). If you were to accidentally stand up while wearing that slider pad, you would definitely fall on your arse. We actually saw a guy slip pretty hard, and he unfortunately hurt himself pretty badly. EXTREME CURLING!

Sweeping is done in front of the rock before it “curls” out of position. The idea is to create friction in front of the moving rock so that it slides on a micro-thin layer of water…kind of like hydroplaning. Sweeping is really backbreaking and you feel completely winded afterward. It was an awesome workout!

After a long night of curling, we hung out in the penalty box for awhile. Meaghan borrowed Betsy’s camera for a few quick pics of the group. Karla behaved herself, but the rest of us created a ruckus. :)

Seriously, Curling is so much fun. You all should know by now how much Betsy and I enjoy Bocce, so it makes sense that we would get into this sport as well. Will we try it again someday? I have no doubts. But we may just wait until the Olympic fever wanes a bit, as we want MORE ICE TIME! Big thanks to Curl San Diego and The Schmaltz’s for bringing us together in a friendly and fun environment! :)

March 3, 2010 - 10:38 pm Meaghan Schmaltz - What a GREAT post! Thanks guys; I'll be sure to pass this on to the head honcho's over at Curl San Diego... I AM married to one of them after all. Great photos, as always. HUGS!

March 3, 2010 - 10:50 pm Meaghan Schmaltz - P.S. Betsy - you are SO brave taking your camera out there on the ice. One slip and it'd be a goner...

March 3, 2010 - 11:36 pm Alan Schmaltz - Holy crap those are some great photos!!! (Always a consitent high-quality from you both, but always blows me away) Thank you so much for blogging about us and making us look so darn good!

March 4, 2010 - 12:10 am Jeff - Thanks guys! We truly had a great time. Can't wait to go again! :)

March 4, 2010 - 12:27 am Elliot Hicks - Wow, very cool shots! Your group was a lot of fun to teach - I'm glad to hear you enjoyed curling!

March 4, 2010 - 2:38 am Ashley Daniell - Looks like such a great time! I still don't think I understand it though! I love the photos - only you guys could make a photo of Zamboni look good!

March 4, 2010 - 2:44 am Fletch - LOOKS Awesome! Might have to copy you for my bday, sorry I missed it but my boyfriend Jon Bon Jovi was in town and he took precedence over your birthday! Great photos! Glad none of ya'll fell on your arse.

March 5, 2010 - 12:25 am Melissa - Oh man.....that looked like hella fun!!!

March 5, 2010 - 1:20 am Jeff - Fletch, I invited Mr. Bon Jovi to come curling as well, but he never replied to my text. :(

March 6, 2010 - 4:00 am Jordan Hollowell - That's so cool, I had no idea San Diego had a Curling Club!

samantha & chris | wedding at ocean view villas, san diego ca

Congratulations Samantha and Chris!

For days before Samantha and Chris’ wedding down at the Ocean View Villas, we were keeping our fingers crossed that the rain would hold off long enough for these two to tie the knot. As we rolled on down the road, we looked up and saw blue skies and those great big puffy “post-rain” clouds. It turned out to be a beautiful day! That’s just the way it goes for weddings in San Diego. Rain one day, gorgeous nuptials the next. :)

We took Sam and Chris out to the cliffs right next to the villas for their First Look. Chris totally had ants in his pants waiting for his beautiful bride-to-be to walk up. And when she did, the sparks flew! We love First Looks. Such a beautiful way for the bride and groom to spend some private time together on their most important day. :)

Here are some more sweet images from Samantha and Chris’ wedding. Enjoy the slideshow!

Just before the ceremony, we spent time with the bridal party at an old garage just down the street. Got some great stuff of these crazy kids hanging out, enjoying each others’ company and just plain having fun! They were all so stoked to be there which makes our job absolutely delightful!

Samantha and Chris’ ceremony was held under a large transparent tent at Ocean View Villas (after all, it *was* supposed to rain, right?). As all that natural light poured into the tent, Samantha and Chris exchanged their vows in front of all their family and friends. It was really quite gorgeous!

Mazeltov!!!

Awwwwwww… :) Love how the world around them disappeared as they shared their first dance as husband and wife…

Ahhh the Hora. What great fun for the couple and their families! I am happy to report that no one was hurt during the performance of this dance. ;)

Here are the guys sporting a few bottles of Chris’ OUTSTANDING home brew. We have a lot of respect for people who can brew their own beer correctly. YUM!

Samantha and Chris,

Thank you so very much for inviting us into your lives! We had a great time going back to UCSD for your engagement, and of course at your wedding. It was a beautiful day! We look forward to hearing all about your journey through marriage, so be sure to keep in touch. We love that! :)

To Samantha and Chris’ friends and family: Have you signed in to their Pictage Event Page yet? You will be notified as soon as the individual images go live in a few weeks, and you will receive a gift certificate toward your first print purchase!

Samantha and Chris’ fantastic vendors:
Photographers: La Vida Creations Photography
Ceremony Venue: Ocean View Villas

Reception Venue:
Ocean View Villas
Samantha’s Dress: One Night Affair
Florist: Tessilk Flowers
Catering: Personal Touch Dining
Cake Artist: Sumi’s Oven
Officiant: Deborah J. Davis
Event Planner: Sharaye Hood, What a Wedding!
DJ: Jay Brannan Entertainment
Hair and Make-up: Olga Zamudio, It’s All About Me

February 26, 2010 - 4:54 am Michelle Bellofatto - Oooohhh... I'm in love with every one of these! Gorgeous work you two. The shot under the tent with the flare in amazing. Truly.

February 26, 2010 - 11:01 pm annie - Spectacular work as usual!! I am in love with shot of the bride and groom in front of the garage, the one with the brides back to the camera, GORGEOUS!

March 2, 2010 - 8:13 am ohana photographers - gorgeous ceremony!!! rocked it once again guys!

samantha and chris (just a peek!) | ocean view villas, ocean beach ca

Samantha and Chris in Ocean View Villas

Hooray for the sun!

We were very excited to shoot Samantha and Chris’ fabulous wedding at the Ocean View Villas down in Ocean Beach last Saturday… and we were also very excited that the rain held off for the entire day! We are looking forward to putting up more highlights from their wedding. Keep checking out our blog; we’ll have ‘em up very soon along with a cool slideshow! In the meantime, you can view their Engagement Session at UCSD here.

To Sam and Chris’ friends and family: Have you signed in to their Pictage Event Page yet? You will be notified as soon as all the edited individual images go live in a few weeks, and you will receive a gift certificate toward your first print purchase! :)

February 26, 2010 - 10:53 am Samantha - Hey guys, We knew you would do an incredible job, but these exceeded our expectations! Thank you so much for perfectly capturing this day!! Samantha

tiffany and her girls | liberty station, san diego

Usually, the blog is Jeff’s sphere of existence, but I decided to hop online this time, so hold on to your hats, folks!

So this one goes out to our facebook peeps :-) Honestly, I spend a lot of time on facebook. Before you judge, let me tell how great it’s been reconnecting with so many friends from the past. Growing up in Fallbrook, Avocado Capital of the World, I went to school with many of the same people from kindergarten through high school. You leave your small town, go on to a career or college and you lose touch with all those great people who you spent day in and day out with for so many years. And one of the best things is that they GET what it’s like to grow up in a small town, climbing avocado trees, and hanging out in “downtown” (insert quotey fingers) Fallbrook. It’s a pretty unique experience! ;-)

Tiffany and I cheered together in high school, worked hard and had lots of laughs. Through the wonderful world of facebook, we’ve since been able to giggle about our crazy nineties mall hair and recall the trials and tribulations of high school in a small town. So I was stoked when Tiffany thought to call us to help her update her headshots for her business Ship My Car. What a great opportunity to catch up on life and meet her amazing and super adorable girls!!

I’m seriously jealous how Tiffany hasn’t aged one bit! I think she could have posted her senior portrait from high school and no one would have known, but we’re thankful we had the opportunity to create some fresh portraits for you and your new marketing goodies. You are BEAUTIFUL, girl!!

We had a fun time playing with the girls and capturing their special relationship with each other. What a fantastic big sis! They played so well together and just seem to really care for each other deeply. Just love it!

And of course, the three girls together… well, let’s just say it’s obvious that they have a good time and make each other laugh a lot. And isn’t that what life’s all about? We think so!

Thanks, Tiffany for making the trek down to San Diego to hang out with us and allow us to create special images of you and your girls!

And blog friends: if you need your car shipped somewhere, you know who to call!!

February 19, 2010 - 3:57 am Tiffany - Betsy you are very sweet. Thank you for all the kind words and for some FABULOUS photos. You & Jeff were so fun to work with & I appreciate your patience through it all. I'm excited to see the rest.

February 19, 2010 - 4:04 am Melissa McClure - I'm cracking up over the Fallbrook paragraph. Oh I how know that too well...gorgeous photos!

February 19, 2010 - 5:38 am Heather King - Betsy, it is so nice to see you on FB and see the amazing work you do. I'll be calling sooner than I care to think about for senior pics for my Fallbrook high school girl. Downtown Fallbrook (quotee fingers here) hasn't changed much, and the Yogurt Palace is still cool after all these years! Keep up the beautiful picture links. I love to see your work~Heather

February 19, 2010 - 8:16 pm betsy - You're so welcome, Tiffany! It was our pleasure :-) Thanks for the kind words everyone! So glad everyone here can relate to the Fallbrook vibe. So glad the Yogurt Palace is still cool. That makes me happy :-)

February 19, 2010 - 8:49 pm Emily Engle - so so so so so cute! I love the first and last ones.