Project 365: Day 26

After discovering pages of drawings submitted by kids in Puddler magazine (those of you with duck hunting husbands may be familiar with this...but probably not), Sydney had to get to work on her own masterpiece.  There will be a follow up to this entry if her "ducks swimming in a lake by a cabin on a mountain top" ends up gracing the pages of Puddler magazine.  I'm really proud of her "hey, I can do that" attitude!

  

Project 365: Day 25

Motorcross racing on Pokegama Lake in Pine City.  Doesn't that look fun?  Some members of Jesse's family race quads (a local newspaper article on them here) so we thought we'd go cheer them on.  This picture is not any of them, but he had a big lead and gave me this little nugget during his final lap.  For that, I thank him.  Jesse and the kids were able to watch the action from the warmth and comfort of the truck.  I, on the other hand, fell victim to the constant fogging up of my lens from using the truck as my warming house between races, so I sucked it up and enjoyed some bitter wind and sleet to get a few racing shots.  Aw, what we do for the things we love. :)  

Project 365: Day 24

The Backyardigan's Swing-Along ride at Mall of America's Nickelodeon Universe.  This was their Everest. 

Project 365ish: Day 23

I love a shop that has a daily brain teaser on a post-it in their drive thru.  The question of the day was "What kind of candy on a stick should last All Day?"  I half-heartedly guessed peppermint stick, but I felt like the answer was in the question.  It was.  He laughed and told me I was too young to know the answer.  That made me happy.  Well, the young part, maybe not the humor he found in my ignorance.  He didn't mean anything by it though.  The last time I was there it was a math question and I told him that I couldn't do math until I had caffeine.  That answer had amused him too.

For those of you dying to know and are as young as I am the answer is an All Day sucker.  The giant colorful suckers.  I am familiar with the suckers but was unaware of their formal name.  And the coffee shop is the Nesting Grounds in Wyoming.  Try the Toasted Snowflake.  It's gotta be 1,000 calories but it's winter, so you're wearing a lot of sweaters anyways.  

Project 365: Day 22

Alright, so apparently I'm going to miss a day here and there.  I've accepted that this may end up being "Project 298" and I'm completely at peace with that.  I just wanted to be up front regarding my own expectation level.  If you don't over-commit you can't under-produce, right?  Wow, how lame was that phrase?  I promise that is not my motto in life.  Instead, I will say that I may miss a day here and there, but as long as what I do is done with purpose and something I can look back on and be proud of, well, then I am satisfied.  Whew, that felt better than those quitter words.  Who was that girl?

Anyways, trip to the doctor's office.  Just a check up.  However, even though we fortunately haven't frequented the doctor this winter it seems like we've been having trouble keeping illness out of our house.  Is anyone else experiencing this?  I need to be buying stock in Kleenex.  Now that the kids are older and exposed to more kids they seem to be walking petri dishes.  When someone comes home with a runny nose I should just check into a hotel, because my immune system is no match for them.  They will take me down.  Every time.

Project 365: Day 19

It probably started with an eye roll, because it usually does when my husband suggests we take his commuter car anywhere.  It's just not my preferred method of travel.  But my kids love it and call it the "race car" so I was quickly out-numbered.  On our way home from a nice family brunch I managed to spill coffee all over myself.  I blame it on a flimsy cup holder and NOT me trying to stuff too big of a travel mug into too small of a cup holder.  That's when it was discovered.  Frantically looking for something to soak up the spilled coffee I opened the glove box.  Dun Dun Dun...  It took a minute to register, because you don't anticipate finding a mouse nest when you open a glove box.  I slammed the door shut and hauled my butt into the backseat in between the kids, both of whom looked stunned and confused at the sight of their mother scurrying towards them in fear from the front seat.

The nest was empty.  Not that that matters too much.  They were there.  They built a nest inside of the glove box.  I hope this is the grossest blog post I put on here.  But, it was undoubtedly a memorable moment of my day so here it is.

I'm positive the eye rolling will continue at any mention of "can we take the race car?"

  

Project 365: Day 18

The kids and I took in a couple of basketball games over the weekend.  I have a couple of cousins that play for Coon Rapids.  They both won their games and were fun to watch.  I really hope my kids enjoy sports as they grow up.  My husband and I are both sports enthusiasts but certainly aren't pushing them hard core in any particular direction.  We'd prefer to expose them to a lot of different activities and see what sticks.  Considering my son was more interested in his Mario figurines and my daughter kept calling basketball "football" I probably shouldn't set my hopes too high.  Personally, I wanted to run out onto the court at half-time with the other kids and shoot hoops.  I'm curious to see if my jump shot is still in tact.  Aw, memories.

Weddings: Troy & Nicole

I remember the day before Troy & Nicole's wedding day well.  Most likely because it was raining and the weekend forecast was giving me anxiety.  I was crossing my fingers and toes for those clouds to dry up. The morning of the wedding it wasn't raining but the clouds were definitely taunting me. It was chilly and overcast but all of that melted away when I stepped into the church. It was Troy and Nicole's wedding day!  And rain or shine it was going to be a beautiful day.  They are an absolutely stunning couple, and the details of their wedding were elegant and thoughtful. 

It's always an honor documenting a couple beginning a new chapter in their lives.  One of the things I love about photographing weddings is that you could shoot 100 weddings in the same location and have 100 completely different experiences.  Weddings have so many constants: a bride, a groom, a wedding party, a family, bouquets, suits, vows...but the style, the vibe, is always unique, because the people are different.  And it's the people involved that make the experience all that it is and all that it can be, from the planning stages to the last dance of the night.  Thanks, Troy and Nicole, for making it your own, and making it beautiful!

 Between rain sprinkles I did talk Troy and Nicole into taking some outdoor photos.  Hopefully they weren't too upset with me.  We made our way back in when Nicole's goose bumps started getting goose bumps.

 These two cracked each other up and were so much fun.

 I love the glance the father of the bride is giving the mother of the bride as he's giving their daughter away.

 I've always been a sucker for taking pictures of people taking pictures. It's my favorite. :)

 The ceremony was held at the Incarnation Lutheran Church in Shoreview

 The reception was held down the street from the church at the Kozlak Royal Oak Restaurant. It was a gorgeous space decorated beautifully. 

 Troy's got that "luckiest guy in the room" look while he's taking in his bride. Love it.

Project 365: Day 16

Yep. 23 degrees below zero.  BELOW zero.  I have a feeling that there were a lot of people taking pictures of their outdoor thermometers this morning because, even by Minnesota standards, that's dang cold.  It's not the weather we love but we should be proud of ourselves for enduring it.  But even avoid-the-outdoors weather has its beauty.  Like this morning's sunrise.  Look for the silver lining, right?

Project 365: Day 15

She's got her own computer and her own IT department.  This girl is going places!

Project 365: Day 14

My kids are 22 months apart.  They are the best of friends and the worst of enemies.  More often though, they are the best of friends (as long as my daughter's in charge).  One night when my daughter was saying her prayers at bedtime she thanked God for her brother and for making him so funny.  Too cute.  He is quite the comedian.  I had to remind her of that sweet little prayer the next day of course, when she refused to share her Play-Doh.  The Play-Doh she wasn't even using because she was busy coloring.    

Project 365: Day 13

"While we try to teach our children all about life, Our children teach us what life is all about."

- Angela Schwindt

Project 365: Day 12

What is this? Could it be? The sun has graced us with its presence? If only for a few fleeting hours...I will take it. Aw, feel that vitamin D coursing through my veins!

Project 365: Day 11

Sure, your birthday is one day out of the year but the celebration surrounding your birthday should continue on for days. I use "but it's my birthday" as bargaining power around my house for at least a week after my birthday. It's potency tends to taper off quicker than I'd like, expecially when I'm using it to get my husband to hand me the remote because I'm too comfy to move, but a gal's got to try.

We continued the birthday celebration in St. Louis Park Saturday night with my brother-in-law and his wife. We were celebrating his birthday too. Woot woot! Double the fun! We had a nice dinner at Cooper Pub (I could SO go for some of their Baked Cheddar and Tomato soup right now!!) and then took in a showing of the Green Hornet at the Icon Theater ...VIP style! Cozy oversized seats and a cocktail or two. Definitely my theater of choice for an enjoyable movie experience. And yes, you read that right. I saw the Green Hornet. And I'm not apologizing for it. I laughed. Numerous times. If I can drink cocktails in a movie theater I'm probably not going to go the intellectually stimulating movie route. Just a little inside information on me.

Project 365: Day 10

Be careful what you wish for! I guess if it's winter we might as well have snow, right? And snow, and more snow, and even more snow! As long as I'm the one who continues to walk past and occasionally take pictures of the shovel and not pick it up and use it I'm fine with that!

Oh Boy, Oh Boy

I love a session that feels more like a play date, and that's always what I'm getting when I cross the river into Wisconsin to visit Caleb and Cayden.  Our session was right after Christmas so there were toys o' plenty to entertain us. Mom had the idea of putting Cayden in his Christmas stocking.  It was a cute idea but he didn't make it in past his thighs. It was very entertaining to watch! 

Thanks for a fun session. I look forward to playing with you again soon!