Thanksgiving Weekend

What a RELAXING Thanksgiving weekend we had at our house. Molly and I took a Thanksgiving morning hike up Salmon Creek Dam. It was a pretty quiet hike and only ran into a few other dogs and their owners. Later that day Terry and Gavin joined us for Thanksgiving dinner. Instead of making a full turkey I bought a couple of Jenny-O turkey loafs. They're pretty tasty and so much easier than making a whole turkey! 

Adam and I decided to go out and do Black Friday the next day. Our type of Black Friday shopping consists of sleeping in until 9 a.m., getting coffee and then casually strolling around a few stores. We are NOT into fighting the crowds just to save 50 bucks. 

On Saturday, my camera and I headed over to the Love's house for a photoshoot. Baby is super photogenic and we had fun getting into the Christmas spirit with lights and Christmas bulbs! 

We're still waiting on Baby Harris to show up! I leave for Vegas on Wednesday so we're keeping our fingers crossed that she comes before then! If not, then Stephenie better keep her legs crossed until I come home on Saturday! ;-)
Happy Thanksgiving!

November already.....Yikes!

Where is the time going? The school year is flying by and it's hard to believe we are already in November! Adam has been busy getting ready for parent-teacher conferences and will most likely spend each weekend out at the school until Thanksgiving break. My November calendar is filled with inservices and trainings including one that will be held in Las Vegas. :-) 

Last month was all about baby Harris but this month we will actually get to meet her! My Stephenie friend is due at the end of THIS month. Last night I was part of a small group of ladies that held a "baby blessing" for her. We each read a prayer that we had written for Stephenie and decorated cloth that will be turned into a prayer flag. The colored string represents the women that have come before us and the children that will come after us. It will stay on our wrists as a reminder to think positive thoughts for Stephenie until we cut the string as she goes into labor. 

Stephenie has asked me to take photos of the birth. I'm excited, honored, and (I'll be honest here..) just a little nervous to be part of such an intimate experience. I look forward to meeting baby girl!

Bye, Bye October!

Phew, what a whirlwind October has been! This month was all about BABIES!!!! 

I helped host a baby shower for Stephenie. 

 We had it at the Goldbelt hotel and it was packed with her friends, family and coworkers. Everyone had a great time showering baby Harris with love (and TONS of gifts!)

This was one of the funniest gifts Stephenie received. Who knew they made these?!?! Home alcohol test strips for breast feeding! 

I also did a pregnancy photoshoot with Stephie. We included her cousin who is also pregnant (they are only a couple weeks apart!), her sister and of course, the hubby. 

It was a chilly but SUNNY October day in Juneau so we had some fun with shadows!

Of course, the month of October wouldn't be complete without Halloween! Adam and I helped with the Fall Festival at our school. There were a ton of games, lots of food and even a few bouncy houses! It was fun to see all the great costumes the kids were wearing. I dressed as Katniss Everdeen from the Hunger Games but I'm bummed because I forgot to take a picture of my costume! 

While I quietly chaperoned the "movie room" Adam was busy getting shaving cream pies thrown in his face. What a good sport he was!

And we're already in October......

Wow! September FLEW by and now we are half way through October! It's been a busy month and a half but busy in a very good way.
The school year is settling down and we are all finding our groove. Adam has a big class this year and is teaching a mix of 4th and 5th graders. With a class size of 29 there just isn't enough time during the week to address all of the classroom needs so he's been spending the weekends working at the school. However, he loves his students and enjoys the quiet hours he puts in on the weekends.
My year has been going great as well. I've taken on a few new roles at school and am enjoying the energy and enthusiasm that our new principal brings. I've been asked to be one of the mental health professionals on the Community Response Team and will be attending training for that in November. It is a community wide team of first response people who will assist in the event that a major crisis happens in Juneau or an outlying community (think school shooting, terrorist attack, etc.) It'll be a new challenge and I'm looking forward to finding out what the training involves. I've also been asked to attend a conference in Vegas at the end of the month. I'm looking forward to seeing some sunshine and getting away from the rain!
While work has kept us busy we've managed to carve out time to play and have fun. Lots of dinner dates with friends, good workouts, planning a baby shower and evening walks with dog and hubby. The rest of the month is guaranteed to be fun and exciting. Hopefully, I'll be better about taking time to blog!
Happy October!

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday, Dad! Hope you have a fantastic day. I wish Adam and I could be there to help you celebrate. 

Love you! 

A Wedding!

Last weekend my wonderful friend, Mindy, called and asked if I would take photos at her stepson's wedding. It sounded like a great opportunity to hone my photography skills so I jumped at the chance. It was a whirlwind of a weekend but it was great to be able to sneak in some quality time with Mindy and her kids. 

On Friday night I attended the rehearsal dinner and took some fun pictures of the wedding party. 

 Saturday morning Mindy and her son picked me up and we headed to Twin Lakes for a 5K before the wedding that afternoon! It was her son's first 5K and he did GREAT! Mindy reminded me that I was with her for her first 5K as well. :-)
Later that afternoon I headed to the JACC to photograph the wedding. Here are some pictures of the beautiful couple.

Matisyahu Concert

After Grandma's birthday party we spent the night in Seattle and went to a Matisyahu concert. It was a great concert!