When I get fun new things for the studio it’s so great to have a built in little model!  Enjoy.

of mice and men often go awry…

So I had this plan to shoot some fun pics of Lael and me while testing out a new contraption for one of my lights. I did my make-up all fun and smokey, put on some heels and cute jeans, I set up the tripod, camera and lights, ran the trigger button up my pant leg to hide it and fired a couple shots of Lael playing with ‘her camera’. I checked the shots (there was backdrop and lights showing in the test shots so I was sure I had plenty of wiggle room). So it was go time, right?!  

So we get ready for the first shot I wanted…a fun shot of me in my jeans & heels with Lael peeking through my legs – I got it – sort of…

On to the next fun series…Since I spend so much time in the studio working in my chair with my little munchkin climbing all over me I thought I’d throw in the chair and get some fun shots to catch us the way we are most days…(minus the heels)

Well I’m not sure if there are little mice living in my house that know how to operate the camera and tripod, but that seems to be the only explanation for the shots we ended up with…They are so not what I was going for, but funny nonetheless. Look how fun these tie shots could have been! 

With every visit with my Dad I am reminded of all the little things that often go unnoticed all around us. For instance as we were watching this amazing sunrise he noticed the way the edges of the clouds were being blown smooth on the edges because of the nearly 100 mph gusts of wind happening 1000 feet above our heads. Or how he showed me how to distinguish wolverine tracks by watching for the marks its long hair leaves in the snow. Because of him I notice the sound of the birds when I walk through the woods and know to listen closely to hear the grouse beating their wings on the ground in the distance at the cabin. Life is full of so many little moments that make each day special and my Dad has done an incredible job of teaching us to enjoy them as they pass through our lives. He is down in Juneau and just knowing it will be months before we will see him again is heart breaking. Our family isn’t whole when one of the pieces is missing and it’s those little things we miss out on each day that makes the distance unbearable. 

As I shot the photos of the sunset I looked up and Lael had her head on his shoulder and he was pointing out at the sunrise and though I didn’t get that shot I had to capture them.  In watching him hold and talk to her I was brought back to a thousand memories of him showing me the little things all around us and I knew at that very moment he was sharing one of those little things with her. 

These guys are the best of buddies and it’s a blast watching them grow up together!

There are some really amazing things about it being 40 below… Hot tubbing at the cabin with icicles on your eyelashes yet feeling like it’s warm out is pretty amazing. Dropping a quarter in the parking lot and trying to retrieve it within 30 seconds only to break a nail because it’s already embedded in the ice is pretty amazing. Our ice fog sunrise and sunsets are pretty amazing. And lastly, the site of a spider web at 40 below, to me, is also pretty amazing. So for all of you who are wishing for warmer temps here are a few shots at 40 below to make you smile, cringe or at least appreciate for a minute these chilly days. Oh and a fun collage of a sunny backyard shoot I did of Lael while we were in Texas. Stay warm!

Hot tubbin at the cabin with my bro & my tough Alaskan girl over New Years

Sun rise, sun rise looks like morning in your eyes…

Chilly spider webs

A little sun for the soul…

Below are some fun photos from our week. 

Hee Hee, I’m Lola!

This is looking through the window of Lael’s new ‘doll house’

Silly Hat!

Chase me Kemper!

Someone save her from that tiny dinosaur!

Decorating the tree this year with Lael made us stop to really enjoy the moments and appreciate all the beautiful ornaments in a way we’ve never done before. She has so many questions so telling her about each one and where we got it and what it is made it extra special for us. Our tree gets more beautiful each year because we have incredible friends who add special ornaments to our collection each Christmas. Remember the little things and take the time to stop and appreciate each gift whether it’s material, a real blessing or just a simple moment this Christmas. 

I have been overwhelmed with the amazing response and the job ahead of me is tough one, but there is still time today to nominate a family in need for my custom photography give away. Click here for details. I want to reach as many as I can with this effort so please keep the nominations coming. The deadline is tonight at 8 p.m. and I will announce the winner tomorrow on my blog so stay tuned. 

Is what Lael kept telling us she wanted on her birthday cake. Oh and it had to be chocolate. Only worth mentioning because she’s never had chocolate cake before, had only seen a short bit of the Nemo movie and had only been to one little kid birthday party. So, I was bound and determined to make sure her cake had all of those components since it was talked about for a month prior to her birthday. We told her we were going to Texas to see Nana and Papa for her birthday so the minute we got to their house she said “where birthday go guys?”. It was a long 5 days for her to wait until her party. The cake was a ton of work, but I had a blast making it! We sang happy birthday no fewer than 10 times that day as she kept saying “birthday song please” and she soaked it up every time! We tried to keep her presents simple, but somehow even with a tiny party she ended up with a ton of gifts – including a $50 bill from her great grandma! Since we were in Texas my family has been trickling in with her gifts on a near daily basis so she thinks it’s her birthday everyday and will likely be confused when Christmas is over and the gifts stop coming.

And…for all the moms out there…blue frosting = a blue diaper the next day!

Maybe just a little taste won’t hurt…

Those hats do seem pretty fun…

You can’t make me smile no matter how silly you guys get…

On the count of 10…

Watch out Momma!

We just returned from 10 days in Texas with Mike’s family and this was one of our many fun stops while we were there. One of the local parks is full of ducks so we grabbed a few loaves of bread and headed out with Michael’s 89 year old Nan for some good old fashioned family fun. Watching Nan light up as the ducks flocked to us was one of those moments that will stick with us. There were moments filled with little screams and lots of laughs as the ducks were pecking at my side and nibbling my fingers and all the while I’m trying to convince Lael not to be scared. Or the brilliant idea to bring the dog over the rock wall to enjoy the ducks with us – the ducks went crazy and headed straight for the water! It was a fun and very special simple trip! There will be several Texas posts to follow so stay tuned.  Enjoy! 

How fast the time flies…that you could love someone so much…that someone so little could impact us in so many fabulous ways…how much she has grown…that she is two! To think that she was just 5 pounds 4.7 ounces two years ago yesterday and was no bigger than our Christmas angel just blows me away. She’s amazing! Stay tuned for birthday pics.