Baby, It's COLD Outside!

**Picture heavy post**

My co-worker, Erin, hired me to take photos of her siblings as a surprise gift to her parents. It was COLD, but we managed and it was a lot of fun! We met at the Mall of America Nordstrom entrance and did photos in the stairwell of the parking garage. Some people who walked by said, "You are out here by choice, huh..." and couldn't believe we were out in such frigid temps (just below zero!). Anyway, I love a lot of these photos, so I had to post a bunch! Merry Christmas!

I totally messed up with this photo technically, but I sort of like how it turned out. Not sure why.

This might be my favorite shot from today. Not one single thing is in focus in this shot and it was my very last image taken today (maybe my fingers were frozen?). We had lots of people inside Nordstroms looking at us taking these shots through the skyway. It was just a fun afternoon and even though it's completely blurred out, I'm calling it my favorite. I like it.

Christmas Give-Away

Yesterday I had another great volunteer opportunity to take photos at a Christmas give-away event. My dad and his cycling buddies ("Team Roadkill" or "Roadkill Club" is what they call themselves) put out the word over the last week for people to donate new or used bikes. The club then cleaned and repaired over 100 bikes to give away to kids and adults who were in need of a gift this Christmas. On Sunday, the bikes were on display at Otten Bros. Nursery in Long Lake and the event started. Despite the bitter cold, people came out to get bikes for kids, teens, adults and even a grandma! It was really fun to be part of an event that was helping people feel special at Christmas time.

A Baby Girl Is Coming...

Today I did my very first baby bump shoot! My friend, Nealy, let me come over to her and her husband's home to get the shots done. She was such a beautiful model and was up for anything I wanted to do. This shoot was so fun and I am pleased with how the images turned out. I am really excited for Kyle and Nealy to welcome their daughter into this world... and I am especially excited because she is due on my birthday!!

The Out-of-Towners

On Thanksgiving weekend, I met a family at the Walker Sculpture Gardens for their session with me. Not one of them calls Minnesota home! The family gathered here to celebrate Thanksgiving and then went back home to their own parts of the country afterwards. They hired me to get some family photos while they were in town together. Maybe next time they'll pick a place warmer than MN! :)

An Early Christmas

The Scovill family was celebrating Christmas early this year with a special family member home only for a short time. I was able to come over and get some family shots so they have memories for a long time. It was a chilly morning, but we managed to get through it just fine! I hope you all had a very merry early Christmas!

With dogs running circles during the big, family shots and with lots of funny personalities in this bunch, the candids are plentiful :)

Just Because

Us... morning after a fresh coating of snow.

Baby Games

Mary, and her sister, Anne, hired me to take photos of their sons. Both boys are under a year old and it was fun to be around such little babies! They had both been under the weather recently, so we met at the Walker Sculpture Garden Conservatory for their session where it was nice and toasty on our November morning. These two families were great to work with and I'm sure there will years of fun with these two cousins in the family (they were already wrestling...as much as babies can... by the end of the shoot!).

Changes

EDIT: I had to do some maintenance to this post. More photos will be added at a later date.

A coworker of mine hired me to do a shoot for her sister's family as a Christmas gift! The "kids" are growing up and living their college life. I had a blast working with the Stinger family and really enjoyed their company. Linda was so kind and asked me every question under the sun about my business, my other job, my life. I felt like her friend by the end. They were all good sports despite the cold November wind! Brrr!!


In other news, over dinner tonight, I asked my husband what he wanted to do this evening and he casually replied, "Go buy a Wii." I nodded my head as if saying, "Hmmm..." and just sat there for a minute. He didn't really say anything either. I decided to quit resisting and appearing like a responsible adult because deep down in my gut, I want one too! So... we cleaned up dinner, drove to GameStop and bought a Wii. In our first tourney tonight, I won bowling, but lost tennis and boxing. Maybe I'll ask for Wii Fit for Christmas! I hear its fun.