Fun-filled Weekend

I have refrained from posting my professional work on this blog since I have a photo blog, but this shoot was way too fun. This weekend I worked with another photographer to shoot a wedding in St Paul. Although coverage was for 10 hours, it was incredible fun. I won't say much here, because I have posted a ton of shots on my photo blog. But here is a taste:

This Sucks!!!

This photo says it all. I have nothing more to say...

Happy Birthday Mom!

Quick blog post to wish my Mom a very Happy Birthday! Hope you have a great day! Wish I could give you a hug, but here's a photo from Thanksgiving of us. Thanks for everything you do! We miss you and love you!

Our Tree

I know Christmas is over and we've already celebrated the new year . . . but I wanted to post a few pics we (as in John) took of our little family and our tree on Christmas Eve:

I love how Zoe looks sad in this picture with us kissing!

It was tough getting Zoe to look at the camera. We finally had to throw a toy at the camera for her to look!

We hope you all have a Happy New Year! My favorite part is I can say I will graduate NEXT year! Yahoo!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! I cannot believe Christmas is tomorrow! We are headed down to my mom's tonight to spend Christmas.

This is our Christmas card that John designed. I think he did a great job. And I love this picture (thanks tripod and remote control).

Stay safe and warm! We hope you all have a Merry Christmas!

A Cold Day Exploring

John and I had a lot of fun today. When it is 2 degrees F with -19 windchill we did what anybody would do, go spend the day outside taking pictures! We decided to explore Minneapolis looking for some new places to take pictures. The cold wasn't too bad when we layered up! We drove around Nicollet Island, Stone Arch Bridge, along the Mississippi, and Hiawatha area. We also stopped and walked around the Walker sculpture gardens.

Looking back at Spoonbridge and Cherry (aka the cherry on the spoon sculpture). I can't believe we've lived here 2.5 years and this is the first time we've been here. It's pretty cool in person. You should come visit and we will take you here. (And I guess we will take you the Mall of America . . . there is more to Minnesota than the MOA but whatever.)

Inside the conservatory at the Walker. It was warm and a nice break from the cold.

Frank Geary, Standing Glass Fish at the Walker (and the only place I've seen palm trees in Minne"snow"ta)

This is me in my furry hood. That's it.

Trying to get some air on the Stone Arch Bridge

My hot husband. I love the Stone Arch Bridge because you get great views of the city in the background.

John and the cherry on the spoon.

This is a random building we drove past. John stopped the car and jumped out to take this picture! I locked the doors while he was out of the car because we weren't in the safest part of town if you know what I mean...

It was Minnesota where I first learned that a hood is not only used for precipitation. It works really well to keep you warm. The must have accessory in Minnesota, 180s ear muffs. Yup, ear muffs. They keep you so warm.

I don't know why it looks like I'm smiling in this picture. I was screaming because I was so cold!

Better air on this one.

Word.

A cool picture John took. I really like the mixture of the leaves on one side and the snow on the other.

I'm better at throwing snow than John. See his picture above and let me know what you think.

Good times. I guess my bitterness about the cold may be resolving, at least today!

I Like Minnesota Until . . .

I've enjoyed living in Minnesota. I love my school. John has a great job. We have great friends. My mom lives close by. People are nice. There is lots to do. Etc, etc. I often contemplate living in Minnesota past my training, then I am reminded of it's biggest flaw: Winter.

Today the high was -1 F. That's the high! The low is -13 F. But it gets better: a wonderful thing called WIND CHILL. The wind chill is predicted to be as low as -40 F. This does NOT happen in Utah.

For those of you who prefer the metric system, that is a low of -18 C and a high of -25 C. Interestingly enough the wind chill is the same at -40 C. We have actually reached a point where
fahrenheit and celcius are the same. Global warming/climate change = yeah right.

Regardless of the scale you use, it is cold. It is so cold it makes you scream to get into your car. When I took Zoe out on our walk today, she didn't even want to walk very far (this is very unusual). It was so cold my nose ran, then the snot froze (is that a word?) to my face. Normally I don't want people's sympathy. I'm tough, I can handle it. But today I will take it. It is days like this that make me consider residency in Arizona. What do you think hubs?
(In reality, we will choose a residency based on the program and not the weather . . . but that is not the point.)

On the bright side: If I am ever outside during daylight (which rarely happens because it gets dark around 4pm), it's too cold for clouds so the sky is blue and the sun is shining. Well, that's the only bright side I can think of. You are more than welcome to mention any others.