Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Finally...snow

It's no secret.  I love snow.  I can't wait for the prediction of a big snowfall.  I 'm one of those people that flocks to the grocery store to load up on comfort food before the storm hits.  I pray for snow days so we can sleep in. Well...we got it...finally!  We got a big enough snowfall to score 2 snow days.  Our snow just a couple of weeks ago was on a Sunday, and it melted as fast as it fell.  We got some sledding time in, but we didn't get to enjoy it for long.  Last week's snow was one we could plan for and enjoy.  Don't get me wrong...I feel for all of the people who got stuck in it trying to get home.  It fell fast with lots of ice mixed in.  I'm sure if I had to be at work, my feelings about snow would probably be different.  I got to stay home with my family and enjoy it.  I'm grateful for that. 

We spent day one hanging out with Henry and Tyler and then did some night sledding with Jake once the precipitation slowed down.  



The next morning we headed to the "Big Hill" at the back of our neighborhood.  All of Jake's buddies went along, too.  That made it all the more fun!









Later in the afternoon, Kate and Rick decided to hit the Big Hill.  I was shocked!  Kate hasn't been interested in sledding in years.  I had to go along to get pictures!  Jake was excited to get to sled twice in one day...and sled with his sister for the first time ever. 











It's a fast hill!

On a different note...Jake has had a few issues at school lately.  The week before the snow, the director walked him out to the car one afternoon.  She wanted to let me know that he had been having trouble listening at lunchtime.  This is so unlike him.  I was shocked.  Two days in a row, he squirted his chocolate milk box into the trash can causing milk to splatter all over the wall behind it.  He was also smashing grapes on the lunch table with his fist.  I was not a happy mommy when I got this      report.  He apologized to the director right after she told me, came home to some timeout, and then wrote a letter of apology to the director and his afternoon teacher.


I'm happy to say the reports have been better.

In other Jake news...I have an announcement.  Jake is tougher than Toughskins.  No...Sears no longer guarantees them. 


I've thrown away 7 pairs of jeans this fall and winter.  Jake and I sat down a had a little talk about this when I bought new ones.  I hope he gets it now. 

I forgot to post some of the shots I took after Papa and Jake put together his new workbench.  :)  It was a Christmas gift from Mommy and Daddy.  Papa supplied the headlights and the project to work on once the workbench was assembled.









Miss Emma joined me in the studio recently.  She posed on the rainbow brick backdrop.  I've had that one for years, but it doesn't get a lot of action.  I wish more moms would pick it.  I love it! 

Emma is such a hoot!  She's just precious...and a little poser with so many cute looks.





My man, Sam, came by for his birthday shoot on a day with some decent weather.  It was a bit windy, but Sam didn't care.  He was ready to get outside. 






I also met Leo and his mom at the park on another warmish afternoon.  Leo is a sweetheart! Don't tell him I said that.  He's soft spoken and adorable!  He was very cooperative, too!






Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Nashville...

I don't think I've ever laughed as hard as I did this past weekend. My photography club (Shutterclub) meet in Nashville for the weekend.  These people inspire me, push me outside my comfort zone, encourage me, and make me laugh like crazy!! 

Would you believe it was the first time I've ever stayed alone in a hotel room?  I was a little nervous about that...but it was a really nice break.  I could get use to a little alone time once in awhile. 

Meghan and I drove together.  We decided to document our journey. Meghan was calling it "Gigi and Meghan's Excellent Adventure".

 



By the time we got to Nashville, my throat hurt from talking so much in the car.  We had OnStar, Mapquest, and the iPhone doing our navigation. We needed it.  Both of us thought the trip was to Memphis until just days before we left. We could have ended up on the wrong city! That would have been classic!  The motto of our journey was..."When possible, make a safe and legal u-turn."  We heard that quite a bit from our OnStar guide. I got us there safely...that's all that matters! 



Our time spent shooting was awesome. Our time spent goofing around was even better.


The group shots are always fun. I wish we could have captured a few more candids. We were laughing so hard.

In case you are wondering...one of the ladies is Jeff's wife. ;)

I kept a list of quotes from the weekend. We'll be laughing over those for years to come.  I love these people!!

Here are some of my favorite shots from the weekend.