Us

Christensens

Hastings

Collins

Kessingers

photo-booth

 we set up a photo-booth for a 9 year old girl's valentine's day party with her friends. they had plenty of goofy ideas for their poses.

grandma time

 this cute little grandma wanted some shots with her grandchildren before the little tow head moved to nyc. such a fun shoot.

Days

t's 3rd birthday

thomas turned three when we were in the middle of moving. we had a quiet celebration just the three of us. he is an energetic, creative little man, so  we bought him musical instruments. we celebrated by going to the natural history museum in slc. normally i love big parties for his birthday, but this little celebration was just what we needed this year.

summer time dreamin' today

it's so cold and dry here in utah this winter. we don't have any snow to make it pretty, at all. it's just grey, but still really cold! to warm up, i decided to go through my summertime photos. it's not working, but it's nice to see how much my little man has changed. (shed tear here) this is my favorite picture from this summer. thomas loves his "froggy boots" more than many things in this world. it made perfect sense to him to wear his rain boots in the pool. i love that about kids. their logic is unique and mostly un-tampered with by societal mores.

happy holidays

this christmas was both busy and relaxed for us this year. christmas eve we slept in, wrapped presents, hung out at both of our parents' houses, and got thomas to bed about 11 pm (responsible parenting at it's finest). christmas morning, we started out at home. we slept in and opened presents and slowly got dressed.

we could not pry that kazoo from his hands

jeff is a big outdoor enthusiast, so i got him a water purifier for backpacking.

this is jeff's present to me! i'm in love with it!!

our next stop was jeff's parents for christmas brunch and opening gifts from them. it was relaxed and the food was delicious!

i love how little kids have no personal boundaries.

 afterward, we went to my parents house (my camera battery died, so i don't have any pictures from there. i guess i was too busy with preparations for christmas to charge it... yes, that's why...) chaos reigned at the collins home. i have 5 brothers and 5 sisters and most of them are married with children. after opening presents, playing with cousins, and consuming even more food, we went back to the lakes for prime rib and dessert. we were exhausted by the time we got home. i'm still recuperating! merry christmas and happy holidays!

i decided to post these all in black and white. i think that christmas deserves that nostalgic feel that is captured in b&w. i don't do b&w images often. i prefer to save it for images that earn it.