Camera Strap

Recently I purchased a new camera, the Canon 5D Mark II.  Sigh.  I love it.  Anyway, it has one small problem.    It has "CANON 5D MARK II " embroidered on the strap.

Ben immediately told me I had to get a new strap because
a) it was just begging to be stolen
and
b) it looked pretentious.

Both points that I agree with.  I didn't even have to tell the guy at Pictureline which camera I was talking about when I told him I needed a new strap.

Since I am traveling to Denver this weekend to shoot one of my BFF's weddings (YEA KARA!!!)  I decided to get one before I left.  Pictureline recently started carrying the cutest line.  The brand is called "madebymeegz"  They are super fun feminine quick release straps.  She has them for point and shoots and DSLR's.  Since many on my friends have the same camera obsession that I do, I'm linking to her website. She also has an Etsy shop. Seriously, go check them out.  They are DARLING!  I got the Black and White Delight.

www.madebymeegz.com

Christmas Cards and Such

Holy Christmas Cards!!!  Just when I thought I was done, my dad asked me to take some pictures and do a "special" card for him on Christmas Eve to email to his CAT (tractor) buddies in England.  It was a super quick creation but funny anyway.  Here is the collection of cards from us and the Dannelly's.

Dad's card

My parent's card

The sticker that came with our card

And our card . . .

Happy Holidays!!!

Tricky Tricky Sneaky Sneaky

Sam has a new favorite game.  It's called "Let's Hide Stuff From Mom".  Here is a list of hidden objects and their respective hiding places.

1.  Dad's contact case - Found in the TP package under the sink

2. Sam's water bottle - Found in the toy drawer.  He put it back as soon as Ben took it out.

3. Bottle of milk - Entertainment center drawer

4. Toy ATV - Grandma's tupperware drawer

5. Mom's contact case - Under the bathroom sink

6. Sam's water bottle (again) - Mom's rain boot.  I took it out.  Later he went to the boot again, we thought he was going for the water bottle.  Wrong, he wanted the comb that he had also hid in the boot.

7.  Mom's foundation makeup - Inside the toy helicopter

8.  Pacifier - I watched him hide it under the couch and retrieve it later.

9. Mom's Blackberry - In the dinosaur at Grandma's

And my very favorite 

10.  Grandma's cordless phone - In the toilet. 

Bruiser

Sam has really taken off walking in the last month.  Ben calls him a T-Rex because he walks with his arms bent at 90 degree angles and growls.  The only problem is, his balance in the morning isn't super hot.  The other day he went to stand up and fell forward and hit his face on his plastic tool bench.  His eye immediately started turning black and swelling. He cried for about 90 seconds then pushed Mom away and went off to play.  What can I say? He's a tough guy.

Here is the eye the next day:

Turkey Throwdowns

Ben is the youngest child in his family.  For some reason this means that nobody trusts him. Especially his cooking.  We usually share food assignments with his brother Nathan.  This is particularly hilarious since Ben is one of the best cooks I know.  Nathan is no slouch in the kitchen either. (MMmmmm Nathan's tri-tip steak.) When it comes to family parties we are usually assigned 1 of 4 things: chips, drinks, cookies (Ben's cookies are FAMOUS) or the camera.

NOTE: Ben's cookies are famous and no one can make them like he does.  His dad (DJ) thought he had perfected them while on a mission in Canada.  We had a cookie throwdown at the next family reunion.  Ben thrashed him.

My family on the other hand trusts Ben to cook and often makes him do it.  If you recall, last year Ben made the turkey for my family's Thanksgiving.  It was GORGEOUS and ever so delicious.  So delicious that my sister told her husband and father-in-law that they were going to have to work to make a turkey as good as Ben's.  So delicious that my parents asked Ben to do their turkey . . . even though we weren't going to eat at their house.

Knowing how delicious this turkey was last year, Ben told his dad he would be happy to do one of the turkeys for the Hanson Thanksgiving at Ben's grandma's house.  DJ seemed skeptical but decided to allow it.  Then when it came time to buy the turkeys, he bought two.  A 22 lbs turkey and a 15 lbs turkey,  He gave Ben the little one.   We just shook our heads.

This morning Ben woke up bright and early and in true Hanson tradition, he cut his finger.  (Last year it was me after the Hanson Christmas Party)  He would not be deterred though!  We tightly bandaged him up and he prepped that turkey.

And when it came out . . . a masterpiece.

I called DJ and told him he better not cut his turkey until we got to grandma's so we could have documentation of the turkey throwdown.    Here are the images.



Ben's turkey


DJ's turkey

Due to time considerations each man carved his own.  Ben slipped me a piece.  My mouth sang.  So flavorful and juicy.  Nathan stole a piece and then another and then another and then another. Nathan loved it. Kristy loved it.  Their kids loved it.

The rest of the family started to whisper about the two turkeys.

As we sat down at our table (Us, the parents and Nathan's fam). DJ brought us a plate . . . of his turkey.  We each tasted, not bad but not Ben's.  The plate was immediately sent back with a request for Ben's turkey.  The turkey that was no where to be found.  Throughout the house we heard "Which one is Ben's turkey". Apparently other tables snagged it first and were intrigued when they heard there was a difference between the two turkeys.  All I'm going to say is not much of that turkey made it to our table.

Based on consumption and reactions, I think we have a "Winner-Winner Turkey Dinner"

NOTE 2:  This post is not meant to be disparaging of my awesome father-in-law.  It is just to prove that maybe the Hanson Family needs to start trusting Ben a little bit more. 

Cards, Photos and Such

Alright peeps, it is time to get down to business.  Yes, I'm talking business on the family blog.  Annoying isn't it?

Some of you have expressed interest in cards and/or family photos for Christmas.  The schedule is filling up rapidly and there is a lots of travel in my immediate future.  Here is a list of where I will be shooting/visiting over the next couple of weeks.  If you live in one of these places and want a session, let me know!

December 5th - St. George.  (Yea wedding!!!)
December 12th & 13th - Las Vegas
December 19th - Utah County
December 31st to January 3rd - Denver  (Yea wedding again!!!)

Now . . onto cards.  I haven't done many templates this year since I have been so busy with custom orders. Basically, if there is a style or design you like let me know and we will work something up.  There are a couple on my Etsy shop. (Look to the right)  I'm trying not to list the ones that other clients have ordered just because I think it should be their special card for one year.  This kind of stinks because they are of course the cutest!

There is still time to order. (New Years Cards are all the rage this year) The design is $10. This will get you a digital file. You can either print them yourself or I can have them printed for you.  Print pricing is listed on my website under Custom Cards.

Alright, I'll stop now.  Email me if you have any questions!  samstowndesigns@gmail.com

Done and done!

Just in case you aren't on Facebook.

Ben had his defense for his PhD today . . . and passed!  His degree is in Chemical Engineering.  He will officially walk in the spring but as far as his board (and boss) are concerned. he is now Dr. Hanson!

This is a huge accomplishment and I couldn't be more proud.  All of his parent's sons are officially doctors of some sort.

The only problem is now when I argue with his about some ailment he will say, "Tracey, which one of us is a doctor?  Hmmm?"

So cute, so naughty.

The dude is almost 15 months old and is becoming more of a little boy everyday.  We've spent the last 2 days hanging out at home.  This hasn't happened since our trip back east.  We've had lots of time to play (and work) and capture big boy moments.

First, I walked into the living room to find that he had tipped over the new diaper box, pushed it over to his highchair and started climbing.  He climbs EVERTHING.  The other day he climbed from his ride-on train, to the stools, to the table just so he could get to the kitchen counter.  He has figured out that we hide electronics on the back of the couch.  To get them he acts like he wants to come sit with us and snuggle.  Ten seconds later,  he is searching for the ipod, tv remote or phone. Since I'm a mom and I desperately want snuggles I fall for it every time.

So Sam doesn't like "real" food.  He still only wants baby food.  (Seriously kid?!  Seriously?) Sometimes I can get him to eat yogurt, pancakes, grilled cheese and pb&j.  (And any sort of sweet)  Yesterday I looked over at him eating his pb&j and he had jelly everywhere.  But not like he had been eating it.  Like someone had sprayed him with a spray bottle of jelly.  How does this even happen?!

The last picture is of three of Sam's favorite things.  His blanket, his bottle and chill-laxing watching Baby Einstein (the shape one is his FAVORITE). Sometimes when he wakes up from his nap I can buy another 20 minutes of work by setting him up in his Toy Story chair.  Notice he isn't actually sitting in it.  He starts sitting up and then just kind of slides down.

Kind of like his mom does in the big chair.

She ran and ran and ran . . .

The following information is being posted all over the internet including Facebook and my running blog (willrunfordisney.blogspot.com) . You might even get a hysterical phone call from me about it.

Today I ran for 20 minutes. . . . without a break.  On September 8th I started the Couch to 5K program.  In the beginning you run 60 seconds, walk for 90 seconds and repeat.  The first day I couldn't do more than 3 repetitions. I cried.

Today I kicked 20 minutes' butt.  Granted I'm slow but I did.  I ran an entire 1.25 miles.  I don't think I have ever ran an entire mile.  Not even in High School.  This is a monumental day peeps!

I have 3 more weeks on the program.  Supposedly I will be able to run a 5K by the end of this.  I believe it can happen.  After that a 10K.  After that a 1/2 Marathon.  After that . . . a cruise.

On a side note, here is a picture of Ben's new fancy shoes. (As seen on the other blog) The yellow makes you run faster.

Confession

I love fish and chips.  I constantly crave them and I will eat them from just about anywhere. Seriously. It's so weird.  In my travels, I have a couple of places that I've found that I particularly like.  They are by no means authentic.

1.  Ruth's Diner
2.  Cheesecake Factory
3. JCW's in Lehi

And finally . . . my very favorite.  (Brace yourself)

4.  Arctic Circle.

I'm not kidding. I love them.  I stop and get halibut from AC every Wednesday on my way home from work.  It's one of the highlights of my week. (I need to get out more) Granted, I have to blot excess oil from them with a napkin and they are the temperature of molten lava, but they are DELICIOUS!!!

The other good thing about Arctic Circle (besides Cherry Rickey's, Corn dogs and Cheese-in-a-breadstick . . . I have issues), they list Weight Watcher Points on their website.  Any restaurant that figures out the points for you and puts them on the internet deserves my weekly business.

Side note for Ben and Grandma Barlow. - They do serve their halibut with lemon.

Cows

I'm scared of birds.  

Sam is scared of cows.  

We took a little trip over to Wheeler Farm tonight to try out my new lens and we got there just in time for the cow milking.  We took a couple pictures then decided to go show Sam the bovine ladies.  He was okay, until they got to the fence and the girls started moo-ing.  Ben said he felt his little body tense up and then he just BURST into tears. Needless to say we were done with pictures at that point.  

The funny thing is, he cries when the cow moo's on Baby Einstein and he cries when someone pushes the cow that moo's on a book at Grandma's.  You would think that I would have thought of this before I told Ben to take him to check them out.  Bad Mommy.  

The website

The photography website is up.  Okay, it's been up for awhile but I wanted to add stuff to it before I shared.  I know I'm not the best.  I know there are tons of people way better than me.  Some of them read my blog.  BUT I'm learning more and more everyday and getting better with each shoot.  


Be kind.


www.samstowndesigns.com

Heading Home!

Sam and I have been gone for 2 weeks!!!

We have been at Disney World with Ben and my sister Bethany for the last week and had tons of fun.  Did I take many pictures.  Uhhhh . . . no.  Why you ask?  Well, the first week we hung out with my friend Shannon and her kids on the East Coast and enjoyed fall in New England.  While we were there she booked me a bunch o' sessions with her friends for family pictures.  I've almost finished processing everyone but her family.  Sorry Shan!  I promise, that is the first priority as soon as I get a minute once we get home.  Here is a peak at a couple of the sessions I did.  The website should be up to date next week and then I will release it to the masses.  In the meantime, here ya go!

And so it begins . . .

As you know, I'm on the East Coast taking pictures this week for my friend Shannon and some of her friends.  Nine to be exact.  Yes . . . 8 days, 10 sessions.  Yowza!

My lenses just got here today but it has been raining and the children have been sleeping so I haven't got to use them yet.  Sad.

BUT I did get a few of Mr. B before he went down for his nap.  Here is a sneak peek of what is to come in the next 8 days!  YEA!!!!

Vaca

Sam and  I are headed on vacation next week.  We leave Tuesday to visit my friend Shannon in NH.  We've been friends since I was in High School and she invited me out to come take pictures of her cutie family.  Can't wait!  Fall in New England?  Yes, please! In the last week she has scheduled 5 additional sessions for in the 8 days that I'm there.  SO FUN!

Then on the 14th, Sam and I fly to Orlando to meet Ben and my sister Bethany for a fun-filled week at Disney World.  You know how we love DW!  It will be Sam's first visit so it will be interesting.   Bethany graciously agreed to come with us and help with Sam.  She's a nice girl that Bethany.

I am super excited for the trip.  Maybe not flying across the country with Sam by myself . . .

Until this morning I was feeling really guilty about leaving Ben home alone for 8 days and then he decided to tell me how he's going to do to keep busy while we're gone.

Movies. Sleep. Wendy's.   I barely even remember what a these things are!  Well, maybe I remember what Wendy's is but seriously, who is on vacation here?  I have get take my full-time job with me in a stroller!

Somehow this morning I'm feeling a heck of a lot less guilty about leaving.

New Pursuits

So we have a new blog.

We got rid of the food one because let's face it, I don't need to eat more.

I need to exercise more.

So I am.

If you're interested here ya go!

2 Years

Kent went camping last weekend and we all told him to be careful as it was the two year anniversary of his accident. Then I went to work and one of his buddies told me that over the weekend he climbed a 90ft tower on top of a mountain (or something).

Some things never change.

At least he's still handsome.

If you are crazy and want to relive the drama, check out the blog we wrote right after the accident. You'll never believe how lucky he is.

http://kentdannelly.blogspot.com/

This place called the park

So I'm a bad mom. Until tonight I had never taken Sam to the park. He's been to the zoo, on lots of fun vacations, to Wheeler Farm etc. but never the park.

He was in heaven.

We just let him go in the grass and woodchips and he had a blast. Ben took him on the slide and he got to "play" on the toys. As much as he could anyway.

I practiced.

Of course tonight's pictures turned out much better than then posed one's I attempted Saturday. He was in a better mood. The lighting was better. I was more relaxed.

All in all a fun night for all.

(Unless your name is Kristy and you told me to post these, you can skip the rest of my proud mommy post)

(This picture shows how much he is like his Mommy. We'll see if he sticks his tongue out when he plays the piano.)

Mind of his own

This is what happens when you try to take pictures when Sam isn't in the mood.

Stinker.

Retraction

My son proved us all wrong yesterday and started waving. I am sorry if my last post was disparaging in anyway.

On a side note, we went to the doctor and he was on 21 lbs and 10 oz. He's only in the 33rd percentile. Now maybe my siblings will stop calling him a chunk.

Happy Birthday Sam!

Our little man is one.

I can't believe that a whole year has passed since he joined our little family. For his birthday he got to go hang out with Granny and Grandpa Hanson while mom went to work. This is his favorite activity. He gets undivided attention and never touches the ground. I didn't feel too bad about leaving him. Tonight we had a BBQ at my parents with my family and Granny and Grandpa. Nothing too big but enough to get pictures so we have proof we didn't neglect his birthday. He got lots of fun toys and everything was a hit. He especially loved the little cars he received since they of course have wheels and an alligator xylophone/piano thing.

He's such a big boy.

We're finding that he is SUPER curious and has to check out EVERYTHING and open EVERY cupboard and drawer in the house.

He likes to play in the water, sometimes he tries to climb into the bathtub when there isn't any water in it. He REALLY likes to play in the toilet when no one is watching. GROSS!

He crawls all over the place and likes to find hidey holes to hang out in .

He is OBSESSED with electronics. It drives me crazy.

He won't clap or wave Bye-bye.

He says "Mama" and "Dada" if he's in a good mood. Kisses for everyone when he's in a really good mood.

He is weird about new food and automatically refuses everything at first.

He isn't naughty but you have to watch him constantly because he is so busy.

He likes to rub his face against Dad's face at night and snuggle with Mom in the morning.

He has the cutest face ever but never sits still for pictures theses days.

So these will have to do.

Happy Birthday Buddy! We love you!

No-Where, Nevada

This summer has been full of adventures so when my dad invited us to go on a weekend trip to Ely, NV of course we agreed! The plan was to ride a steam train and go to Lehman caves. That's it. That is all there is to do. Really.

So Saturday we rode the Northern Nevada Railway.

My dad LOVES riding steam trains (it's no coincidence that he works for the railroad). It was super authentic and in beautiful shape. I love the little luggage cart. Here is my old-timey tribute to the train. My dad was dismayed at the yellow rail my photograph. Apparently yellow rail is not authentic.

Sam must not have been very impressed with the train ride because halfway through the ride he threw his bottle out the window. Just chucked it out. It's now out in the middle of the desert by some abandoned mining cars. I hope the coyotes appreciate my Dr. Brown's bottles.

The first half of the ride we tried to keep Sam under control. Let's just say he is more busy than he was when we took our trip with my parents in June. He's a crazy man! The train was kind of empty so the second half we just let him loose. If there is one thing that Sam loves, it's wheels. Once he found his stroller in a hidey-hole he camped out with his beloved wheels. What you can't see is how filthy he is from the train soot, desert dirt, and natural little boy messiness.

The highlight of the entire trip must have been today. We went to Lehman Caves because Ben had never been there. Our ranger tour guide was super corny and told TERRIBLE jokes. Sam loves echos so he jabbered the entire way down to the cave and all through the schpeal in the first room. Ranger Rick apparently didn't like competing with my cute son for attention because he kicked Sam out. That's right, he called for another ranger and had us escorted out. Really.

I have a feeling this will be the first of time of many in which Sam will get us kicked out of public places.

Last week

The wedding is done. It was CRAZY!!! The whole week was crazy. The wedding was lovely but somehow I didn't get many pictures.

I think I wore myself out taking pictures of her.

And her

And them

And them

This week I plan to hang out with him.

Trouble

WANTED

This little criminal is wanted for stealing laptops, cameras and remote controls.

If you see him and he has this look in his eye, hide all electronic devices.

Sass-a-frass

My niece Kate and I had a little photo session while she was here. She's such a nut!

Notice the boots. She loves them. Grandpa got them for her.

Thomas

Tonight I got the chance to take family pictures for my sister-in-law Laurel. Our nephew Thomas is nearly impossible to get pictures of because he either runs away when he see's me with the camera or he make crazy cute faces. Tonight he couldn't run so I just got hilarious looks. I did manage to get some super cutes ones. This is my favorite so far.

Someday . . .

Maybe I will have a little girl someday.

Maybe she will be as cute as my cousin Amber's little girl Makenzie.

I could take pictures of her all day.

The Train

While the big girls were having a shower for Giana, our niece Kate went with Ben, Sam and Grandpa to go ride the train in Farmington. My dad knows the owner of the S&S Shortline so they went up for a visit.

I'm not sure how much Sam really understood what was going on . . .

But Kate had a great time.

She loves going anywhere with Grandpa.

She tolerated Ben and Sam.

Ben says that the trains are very cool and the kids had a great time. They are only open a couple of days a month but it is well worth the visit. We highly recommend checking them out.