mikelle

Here's a weird thing that happened to me.  I got a call one day from a woman in Grand Forks, ND, a friend of a friend of mine, asking if I wold take her daughter's senior pictures.  I was completely floored but really honored and extremely freaked out.   I couldn't say no, but in the back of my head I was thinking, what the hell are you thinking?!  These people are driving like six hours for this.  I gave them the whole "I'm not a professional speech".  I almost said, "you know there are real photographers in ND, right?"  But I didn't, and I'm pretty proud about that, because here's what I learned; I work really well under pressure.  This forced me to take a step that I've been wanting to take for a long time.  I was pushed outside of my comfort zone. I learned a lot and had a great time doing it.  Bonus, Mikelle is a fun and beautiful girl, and her family was truly awesome (yes, the whole fam came on the shoot, even Dad).  It was so great doing something I love so much and having this family trust and appreciate me.

I've been looking at and futzing with these for two weeks now.  I know I still have a lot to learn and would love some constructive feedback.  What do you think?

rocky mountain high

A couple of weeks ago Joe completely surprised me with a trip to Breckenridge, CO.  He had everything arranged...travel, kids, lodging.  He even called my boss to make sure I could get the time off.  He employed the help of my friend Amy, and managed to keep it all top secret.  I was so impressed.  I love surprises!

We had so much fun.  I have been to Breckenridge before, but only in the winter.  I loved it just as much in the summer.  There is something about the mountains that is just so amazing.  We hiked a ton.  Hit the shops, great restaurants and the local brew pub.  The resort we stayed at was awesome, complete with a wood fireplace in our room and about 10 outdoor hot tubs on the property.  Heaven.  The only thing I was disappointed to miss was the concert with this guy doing all John Denver songs.  (I know Carrie can truly appreciate how sad I was about this).

This trip rocked!  Not only was it fun, but just plain relaxing.  We were active and lazy all in one trip.  We had uninterrupted conversations and time to just enjoy the silence.   He gets big points for planning such a great, for no apparent reason, surprise.  Thanks babe ;)

Gondola trip to Peak 8

Top of Peak 8 before the hike down



Midway up hike to Mohawk Lake.

Hiking with a torn meniscus. What a die hard.

It was so pretty at the top.  I want to go back!  Like now.  Right now!

just 'cuz

Just because I haven't picked up my camera in months. Just because it was a warm summer night. Just because Ava and I were home alone and needed something to do after our grilled cheese dinner. Just because I can't believe how much my baby has grown. Just because seeing pictures of her takes my breath away and makes my heart happy. And just because she happily agreed to model IF she could choose her own outfit including crazy high shoes from my closet that she has declared hers once she grows into them. Just because, we took some pictures.





Oh how I love her :)

simple joys

This beautiful lake is literally almost right out my back door. Even though I curse it on a regular basis for the cold temperatures it too often brings us, I do feel lucky to live and work next to one of the Great Lakes. It seems like there's never enough time in the summer. We really don't venture to the beach to play often enough. Sunday evening at the beach was the perfect way to wrap up the weekend. Ah summer...

13 years

I don’t really do much by way of “I have such an awesome husband” or “my marriage rocks” type of posts. For one, Joe never reads my blog. Two, it just seems too oddly personal for me throw a bunch of stuff out there about us and our relationship. And really, I wonder, does anyone care? I mean, by nature I’m a pretty humble person, so rattling on about how awesome things are just seems weird. Plus I would probably feel compelled to post when it sucks too because I’m just honest that way, and who wants to read that? Let’s just say this is way out of my comfort zone.

However…13 years ago on 6/27 we got married. I do believe there’s some truth to being older and wiser. I’ve learned a lot about myself and my marriage these last 13 years (more in the last 5 than the first 8). I wouldn’t trade what I’ve got for anything. There are times I look back and cringe. We are both strong willed, I wear my emotions on my sleeve and I have spent a lot of time wanting to always be right (need I say more?). What I've learned though is recognizing your faults is more than half the battle. Then working on you and taking ownership of your emotions and feelings and recognizing that nobody can "make you feel" a certain way is the rest of the battle.

Even though it’s against my nature, I feel a little compelled to proclaim our success. We have worked super hard at our marriage. Now that we’re putting in the effort though, reaping the rewards is the best thing. Today I’m really happy. Not everyday is perfect, but I know I'm truly a better me, and I feel more secure and at peace with myself and my relationship with my husband than I ever have. I feel blessed to have such wonderful kids and family and awesome friends.

So, happy anniversary to my husband that will probably never read this, and if he does, he’ll think I’m a huge dork for posting it. I am lucky and love him so much because he encourages me, makes me laugh, builds me cool stuff, never thinks anything is impossible, dreams big, is an awesome dad, kicks my ass when I need it, takes care of me when I need it, thinks of others before himself…because he’s just genuinely a good person. And for that, and about 1000 other reasons, I am thankful.

progress

Last July I posted the beginning of our remodel project as a 'one of many' post. HAHAHAHA Doing a project of this magnitude has put a whole new perspective on blogging for me. Clearly if I'm blogging, I have way too much time on my hands. I did take some pictures on my phone however, and I have about 2 extra minutes to post them. The photo quality is not great, but you get the idea. We are not done, but we're making progress.

Yes, I do now have 4 bathrooms to attempt to keep clean. Pure craziness since I never kept the first two clean.

Mud room lockers...my dream come true!

View of foyer from upstairs (sure I really call it a foyer, why not?!)


TA DA! This is truly where all our heart, soul, sweat and tears went. Agonizing over the layout of the kitchen, finding the 'right' cabinet maker, deciding on the wood, the color, the hardware, researching appliances and sinks and don't get me started on the counter tops (yes, they are concrete, yes Joe poured them himself, yes I spent hours sealing, waxing and buffing them and yes, they are gorgeous)

If things ever slow down I'll get back to blogging and post some better pictures of the completed project. But this is all I've got for now.

family picture accomplished

I have a lot of pictures. Mostly pictures without me in them. Something Gina said on her website got me to finally quit making excuses and get our family picture taken: "I believe that moms are not in pictures enough and that babies grow up way too fast. " My kids are 9 & 7. Before long they will quit changing so dramatically from year to year, and they will roll their eyes rather than laugh a lot during a photo shoot. We finally found a sort of warm May day where we could carve out a couple hours in our busy schedules to just be together. To laugh at and enjoy each other while Gina snapped away. We had so much fun, and I'm even a little inspired to get my camera out again. Thank you Gina, I'm so happy with the results!

Flying Wild Alaska

There is a new reality series on the Discovery Channel called Flying Wild Alaska. The cool thing about this show is that I've not only met, but spent a fair amount of time with the main players, the Tweto's. Jim Tweto is Joe's best friend's brother. Jim and Fern have been to our house for dinner, and I had the opportunity to hang out with many of the Tweto's including Jim, Fern, Ayla and Aerial while in Belize a couple years ago. Cooler yet, Joe has had many great times flying and hanging out in the areas that are highlighted on the show. He's known Ayla and Aerial since they were babies. I think watching the show brings back lots of good memories for him. And for me, well what more could a reality show junkie ask for?!

Jim and Fern in Belize.

Joe and Fern sharing some laughs.




Tweto girls at the beach.

I'm quite sure this is about as close as I'll ever get to fame.

Family Picture Attempt

This year Joe and I took a majority of the week between Christmas and New Years off. Typically the kids split their break time between us and daycare, but this year we were with them everyday. It was a great combination of relaxing, playing hard and getting things done.

I had a pretty specific list of things I wanted to try to do while I was off. Set up my new computer (which arrived Christmas Eve!) was number one. I have wanted/needed this for so long, but the whole getting it set up part is about the furthest thing from fun for me. I work for a software company. When I get a new computer, someone else sets it up for me. Despite my dread, it was quick and painless. Of course I haven't actually transferred any files from my old PC yet...

Running a close 2nd on the to do list was to take a picture of the four of us. I was dreading this almost as much as setting up the computer. The thought of trying to get us all looking decent, finding good light and background, dealing with the tripod (which I hate) and actually locating the remote for my camera were just a few of the reasons I found for why this wouldn't work. And here's just one reason my husband is awesome; he knew I wanted to do this, and he encouraged and helped me make it happen. We were nearly late for Christmas Eve dinner because he insisted I continue to try to get 'the shot'. Which I never actually got. While I was hoping for something amazingly perfect, the light was challenging and cutting off my own head was a recurring theme (it's really hard to compose a picture with an imaginary person in it). But, it was fun. I love Joe for pushing me to do the things I love.

Ava's forever the helper. Here's my test shot. Probably my favorite picture out of all 61 that I took.

New #1 on my to do...get someone else to take our picture.