Vegas Baby

Our family of three hit the streets of Las Vegas a few weeks ago for the Monster Jam world Finals! I know some may think we are crazy and taking this monster truck thing a bit too far but honestly, those are the only thing our kid plays with.......and an excuse to go to Vegas. I was pleasantly surprised at how kid friendly Vegas has become. I did my research before and came prepared with a list of free and a few paid activities. The day we got there we checked into our hotel (we stayed at Bally's which I was worried about but ended up great) then headed to to Mirage for the Sigfried and Roy Secret Garden. Easton was over the moon with the dolphins, white tigers and lions, jaguar and white tiger cubs. We ate at Treasure Island that night where we watched the pirate ship sink right from our dinner table at this BBQ place. Best seats in the house.

On Friday we got up and did a little more exploring before heading to the stadium for the Pit Party. We got to see all the trucks up close and personal, meet a few of the drivers and pick up a souvenir or two. We then headed back to the hotel for a little snooze before going right back out to dinner then the main event! Easton sat on our laps for three hours watching the show which is a record for him!

All in all it was a wonderful trip with some much needed family time for the three of us. As long as the monster truck craze continues we will be back next year.

Snow, Horses, The Outdoors.... Oh My!

Beware of Photographs........You know you will see a bunch when we have been on a trip. I think I shot almost 300 pictures on this trip. Oh and the fun part, you get them in reverse (opps on my part with how I uploaded them)

Easton with Grandma and Grandpa on Morning Star.
This was Easton last year. He cried on the horse!


We had an absolutely amazing trip to Oregon a few weekends ago. Got to visit my parents and my sister in law made the trip up from Klamath Falls to join us for a fun day in the snow. Easton is just in heaven every time we visit, but what's not to love about five acres, a huge front yard of grass, a horse and some snow just a short drive away.

My little cowboy in his hat and boots.

Heading out to ride the horse.

We spent the afternoon at Mt. Bachelor.

I LOVE this shot of my boys. It is already hanging in the house.

Easton with his Aunt Trina.

Daddy slid him down a hill on his rear......All Smiles.

Tubing with Daddy

Little munchkin. I can't get enough of his little face.

Wouldn't be a proper post without the cheesy smile!

Ready to go!

Obviously Grandma and Grandpa's house is not baby proofed! Easton said, "I'm gonna do the dishes".

Look at that fashion statement! Pajamas, cowboy boots, a coat and hat. Love it!!! I think I took this at about 7am when he insisted on going outside.

Beautiful Sisters Mountains.

Feeding the horse with Grandpa.

Out for a hike. Of course we had to get on the big rock.

Laying in the grass. Notice the hands..........Yep, that is mud. Wouldn't be a proper hike without it.

Cheese while climbing a tree.

E and Daddy by the river.

"Just joking". Easton pretending to eat the leaves. This time last year those would have been in his mouth in an instant. Thankfully that stage is over.

Leaves: Something we don't have much of at our new house. We had been at the house for not even 20 minutes and he was already out playing with the leaf piles.

Showing Ace what is out the window. It was a great plane ride and the first time E really understood what what going on. He loved it!

Three Little Words

To Infinity and...........

Thank you Grandma Tracy for the cool pajamas!

Railroad Park.......again

We have been spending our Monday's at the railroad park lately trying to take advantage of the perfect weather. 100+ is right around the corner I fear. Today we joined with my friend Erin and her crew (Charlotte: 2 Abigail and Oliver: 6 months). I helped with one baby and it gave me a good indicator of what it would be like with more than one. Tiring!!!

Monster Jams

We got tickets to Monster Jam at Chase Field and Easton was just over the moon. I got to take some incredible pictures of the trucks in action as well which is always fun to have a new challenge to shoot. It was WAY TOO LATE of a night and E didn't get to bed till almost 11pm. By far a record for him but it was well worth it.

So those of you who know any of the Moster Jam trucks will understand this, which is maybe nobody who reads this, so I will explain. Maximum Destruction, aka. Max-D, is one of Easton's favorite monster trucks that races on the Monster Jam circuit. Those of you who know Easton know that he wakes up WAY TOO EARLY on a daily basis. Monster Jam is on Speed channel from 5-6 am almost every morning so rather than watching cartoons such as Sesame Street, my little monster truck nut is watching Monster Jam instead.

Bike Races

We had a great Saturday a few weekends ago doing a little mountain bike racing. One of my new years resolutions was to do a mountain bike race after Larry built me an awesome new bike a few months ago. Why not get it out of the way early. It worked out perfectly that I could race at 8:30 and Larry at 11:30 so we could swap the little Mr.

I have to say all in all it was pretty good. I had a lot of fun and would do it again. Besides taking my first spill on a bike since I was probably five. I woke up the next morning not being able to lift my hand past my shoulder and a nice scratch and bruise on my rear. There were only 4 women in my age group and lets just say I didn't win but I wasn't last.

Easton even got to race too. One of the race staff was walking through the parking area and saw Easton attempting to "ride" his Strider bike. Asked if he was going to do the kids race and I said, "Oh, maybe we will come and watch". Oh no, not Easton. He heard kids race and was there lined up with the big kids raring to go. He ended up waiting until the little kids went, him and one other girl, and I basically pushed him the whole 50 meters. He got a little medal, his picture on the awards stand and has been wanting to ride his bike every day since.

All in all it was a beautiful, sunny, 70 degree day spent with my favorite two boys.

This little thing called a Blog

Sorry for those of you that actually follow our blog (mom and Trina). After a hectic holiday season I feel like we are finally getting back into the swing of things. Starting in October, right around my last post, weekends became engulfed in photo sessions. I've been very fortunate to be so busy with the business and am enjoying every moment I spend behind my camera. I've had the pleasure of photographing some beautiful families, spunky children, glowing new mommies and sweet little newborns.

My sister in law, Trina, was here for Thanksgiving and was able to see the new house. Oh yeah, we moved at the beginning of October! We could not be happier with the new house with it being in a amazing area, by great schools and only five minutes to Larry's office. I have yet to meet anyone around here but hopefully through the multitude of activities we are involved in we will meet some new friends soon.

As for Christmas, my parents were able to make the trip down and spend a week with us. With any luck we hope they will be able to make a permanant move some day to our warmer climate. Easton was so into the whole Christmas thing this year! It was so much fun taking him to see Santa, wrapping presents and seeing his face light up with the plethora of Monster trucks that made their way into our home on Christmas day. Lucky for us they are small, inexpensive and easy to clean up.

New Year's Eve was uneventful just how we like it. A few fireworks in the driveway then off to bed early. January 10th brought an exciting day for us as Oregon played for the BCS national title game. Unfortunately they came up short but we cheered on the Ducks the best we could. Easton had the "GO Ducks" down pat!

I promise to be more diligent about posting on my blog so please leave a comment if you like to read all about our exciting life :)