Thanksgiving Recap

We had the most fun Thanksgiving this year with my whole family at a cabin we rented near Big Lake. It was probably the best Thanksgiving I've had personally in over five years, it was really special. Our family has been going through a lot with my grandparents going through the worsening stages of dementia and Alzheimers and it's put more of a strain on things than I really realized. Our family (my dad and mom, her siblings and my older sister mainly) had been caring for them personally since they moved into Anchorage from their homestead in Talkeetna in 2009 and after a lot of very hard changes, heartache and worsening health on my grandparents part we made the decision for them to be moved into the Pioneer Home here in Anchorage, specifically into the dementia ward where they receive round the clock care.

Understandably it hasn't been easy on a few different levels, but it has gone very smoothly considering and I'm very thankful for that. Thanksgiving was the first big holiday since their big move, and my parents and sisters and I decided to get out of town and spend the long weekend all together as a family (minus my little sister who couldn't make it home from college). We rented a really nice cabin on Beaver Lake (near Big Lake) bought a bunch of food and holed ourselves up to spend the holiday together.

We had bonfires, saunas, and hobbit-watching marathons and it was just the perfect way to spend Thanksgiving break. We all agreed that getting away together as a family needs to happen more often and I can't wait for our next chance to do just that.

just before loading everything in truck...I felt like we were moving haha

RG: five month update

Five months. My sweet little princess is five months old. She is such a doll and we are so in love with her. Her newest trick is sitting up by herself for 30 seconds to a minute at a time. These are busy times and I have no official weights and lengths so I'll just leave it at these pictures which capture her sweet spirit so well.

building my portfolio | Alaskan Outdoor Newborn Session

Photographs have always held a special interest for me. Even as a child I loved to look at our family photos, over and over and over again. Since Riggs was born my interest has grown exponentially and expanded to actually taking photos myself. When Riggs was a few months old my father-in-law generously gave me his older Canon Rebel to use and I've been hooked on DSLR photography ever since.

It's such a lot to learn, however, and I feel like I'm really just skimming the surface of a very deep ocean of information regarding my camera settings, actual setting and posing, and then editing in photoshop and lightroom. It's overwhelming! My learning style is very hands-on so I've been trying to take as many pictures in as many different situations as I possibly can and am happy to have family and friends that oblige me and my picture taking.

My best friend and her husband just welcomed a new addition to their family, a handsome little man named Lane, and I offered to take some pictures for them when he was a week old (see my pictures of his older sister Lyla during her month-long NICU stay, here). I'm really happy with how the session went and with how the photos turned out and just loved getting to document such a special time in their lives.

Goodbye November

After [finally] snowing over the weekend and nearly all of today there's now a few inches coating everything outside and I'm practically giddy with excitement. The last couple of years our winters have been so strange and unpredictable, so despite two sick babies I made a point to get outside and enjoy it. The groomed trails up at the Government Peaks Recreation Area would have been ideal but good naps were a must today today so we stayed close to home instead. Luckily there's plenty to explore around here especially at Riggs' pace.

It was Raina's first time in the sled and in real snow and she seemed to really enjoy it...as usual, she was all smiles. Riggs was up for skiing but just "not too fast, mama". I put my skis on too which seemed to make me even more eager to hit the actual trails as soon as possible. I'm hoping to go without the kids once a week this winter, but once every two weeks is probably more realistic. Luckily our ski club has double chariots available for use, which is so much better than shelling out the $800 myself.

We are very thankful for this little bit of snow, but are also anxious for more. It's December now, so please, let it snow! Christmas will be here before we know it and we need at least another six inches of snow to make it really feel right or this time of year.