Camerasutra

I thought Christmas only got canceled in the movies….not so.  As Jess and I were driving towards South Dakota, we got a call from her brother alerting us that due to weather, it was not safe to be traveling over the holidays, so Christmas was being canceled.  Words cannot express our disappointment.  This was my first year to experience Christmas at the “aunt farm”.  Jess had told me so much about all of the wonderful traditions, it was hard to believe that I would not be able to experience them for myself.

We did what anyone in our position would do, we headed to Barnes and Nobel, got a coffee, pulled out all of the travel books and explored destinations that we could explore in 5 days of driving.  We considered several alternatives for our reluctant Plan B including Vegas, the Grand Canyon, Mexico….finally we settled on snowshoeing in Rocky Mountain National Park and staying in Estes Park.

While nothing was going to come close to being equal to spending xmas with family, we had a pretty darn good time in Estes Park.  On Tuesday we snowshoed the Emerald Lake trail in the midst of a heavy snowfall.  Rocky Mountain National Park is amazing in summer, but it so spectacular in winter because you feel like you have the entire park to yourself….which might be true many days.

After the hike we warmed up in the Holiday Inn hot tub before heading to Sweet Basilico for some delicious mountain-made Italian cuisine and Chianti.  Moments after polishing off my eggplant parmesean and my final glass of Chianti, Jess realized a good childhood friend from Ft. Collins was dining in the corner with his two adorable kids.  Had she been facing the way that I had during the meal, she would have seen his wife waitressing behind her the entire meal.  The rest of the evening was spent at Rick’s house playing Wii with his kids and catching up on life’s events since their days as childhood neighbors.

You’ve got to love tradition…especially when it tastes delicious.  Jess’s family has been making what they call Swedish NoNames for generations.  Jess has perfected the art and added her own signature move by removing all of the gluten from these delicious treats devoid of name.

Please note: through an amazing new technology, we can now offer blog entries as scratch n’ sniff.  Please just scratch your spacebar and sniff the caps locked key to enjoy the incredible odor that has no name.

A friend of mine that works for Downtown Boulder asked me if I would help out by taking some photographs at their annual Santa event.  So this afternoon I crowded into the downtown visitor booth with Santa, Ms. Claus, an elf, a full-sized Christmas tree, hundreds of brochures and some very excited kids.  It was hilarious to act as a fly on the wall as they presented their carefully conceived list to Santa.  Some kids froze up completely while other kids had to be carted off while still spewing out ideas.  My camera was snapping away the entire time.

Sadie, Ruby and I got up early this morning for a long sunrise hike.  We hit our usual area at Boulder Valley Ranch, but this time we hiked several trails that we have never been on.  I had Joshua Radin playing on my iPod and my camera in hand.  Fun was had by all.

Jess’s childhood friend recently opened a pregnancy and motherhood center in Denver called Belly Bliss.  They offer prenatal services including yoga, fertility and childbirth classes.  They gave me the opportunity to do several mini photo sessions over the course of several hours on Friday afternoon.  Each session would last 30 minutes.  Having done very few professional sessions at all, I had no idea what to expect with back-to-back mini sessions.

My assumption that it would be totally hectic was spot on.  All the kids showed up happy and sleeping and within 5 minutes were absolutely hysterical.  It was also tough because their age range was from 3 weeks to 14 months.  More than anything, I just wanted to be able to provide at least one good photo for each parent to use in their Christmas cards and birth announcements.  After all was said and done, I did just that.

I had my first professional photography session today.   I was a bit intimidated since I’ve never actually charged someone for my work.  She drove up to Boulder and we did the session in the dining alcove of the Common House.  I was pleased with the results and can’t wait to do more.

I was blessed to have Jess join me this year in Atlanta for Thanksgiving.  I am so fortunate to be part of a family that gets together each year to celebrate this holiday.  Growing up my favorite holiday was without a doubt Christmas.  Without fail, I would wake up on December 25th and there would be tons of presents for me underneath the tree.  My folks always made sure we had a fruitful bounty on Christmas.  It would take hours to open all the gifts.  It was always so much fun.

As I get older, wiser, and have way more stuff than I need, a holiday focused on counting my blessings and being thankful for what I do have feels so much better.  And I have so much to be thankful for.  Everyone in my family is employed, healthy, and in happy, supportive relationships.  This trip was the first time that I had the honor of meeting my brother’s girlfriend Tracy.  I have been heard so much about her since he was out visiting this past summer.  She certainly lives up to the hype.

We were also fortunate this year to be joined by my brother-in-law Alan and his folks Bill and Phylis.  While standing over the frying turkey, Bill explained to me the delicate art of cleaning a squirrel to eat.  I usually just buy mine in the prepared foods section of Whole Foods.

Here are some pics from out first night out sharing dinner and pool with Scott and Tracy:

Sharing beers with Alan and Amy at the Duluth Taco Mac:

Jess making Swedish No-Names for the Johnson’s family to enjoy:

Some shots of the animals around the Johnson household:

Preparing the Southern Fried Turkey:

Sharing the meal and the day with friends, family and pets:

It has so far been a very snowy November here in Boulder.  The dogs are not complaining a bit.

If you’re going to live under my roof, you’re going to end up on the other side of my lens.  Thank you Jess, Sadie and Ruby for being such wonderful and patient models.

Remember, remember the 5th of November.  It is no longer just about blowing up Parliament.  These days it is all about Jess adding another ring to the proverbial tree.  I’m glad so many friends were able to come over and help us celebrate this year.