Christmas isn’t just a day, it’s a season. And we’ve been busy. I’ve never understood the deriding of common Christmas traditions as being “too commercial” or inappropriate for one reason or another. After all, what better tradition in the season of remembering our Savior’s birth, than to gather with family and friends? And how blessed we must be to have so many families to gather around! First we were welcomed into the Smiths’ fresh new … Continue reading
Christmas round one is in the can. Jenny and I made our way over to her mother’s house with the twins for some dinner and some nice family time. The twins had a blast opening their first Christmas presents ever. Well, they had some help getting them unwrapped, but they did a lot of smiling on their own! When I unpacked the camera, expecting to take some quick shots with on camera ETTL + bounce … Continue reading
For my birthday, Jennifer took me to Napa to ride the Wine Train. This trip was no small feat as it was our first away from our babies since they were born. Grandmas shared the duties of watching them over the weekend, though we suspect they enjoyed it considerably! The wine train was fantastic! We dined in a 1952 Vista Dome car, with a delicious assortment of several courses and variety of wines. The train … Continue reading
This Sunday Emory and Elizabeth were baptized at Fair Oaks Presbyterian Church. Pastor Emeritus Henry Wells performed the Baptism and both brother and sister did wonderfully with no crying! Afterwards we had a pleasant picnic in the park with family. Nana Lori took these photos of her cute grandkids. I was too busy manning the grill!
No not celebrities, big balls of nuclear fusion churning gas. Back as a wee lad, I earned the astronomy merit badge while in the Boy Scouts (Carmichael Troop 55!) Then at UC Davis, I took Astronomy courses. Jennifer and I even got checked out on the university observatory where we did some amateur stargazing. Still, until now, I hadn’t bothered to make a serious effort to point my camera at the sky to capture some … Continue reading
The elementary school down the road was a fun place to get in some fetch for Romeo. The twins enjoyed watching the spectacle as well. Album on Facebook. (Originals unavailable for uploading to Flickr due to my OSX86 machine being down for the count.) Sssh! Don’t tell nosy neighbors or authorities we were off leash! Especially don’t point them towards this photographic evidence! (Don’t worry, we can just claim these are photoshopped. Romeo looks like … Continue reading
I am an avid follower of David Hobby’s Strobist blog and instructional lessons on the use of small flashes. After having mastered the bare basics of photography (very bare, I am painfully new to this,) I dove right into his material because I knew I didn’t have an interest in large studio lighting (I am not a professional, just a hobbyist, no pun intended!) Still, I definitely wanted to enjoy the additional creative power of … Continue reading
Jennifer, the kids and I just returned from Roseville High School — in Roseville, CA — where we viewed their Amorphophallus titanum or “Corpse Flower,” Tiger the Titan. It started blooming earlier today for the first time since being started from seed 10 years ago. The teacher who runs the greenhouse sent an advisory email to the various staff members throughout the district, of which Jenn belongs (she teaches at Granite Bay HS.) As these … Continue reading
Early Monday morning Jennifer and I headed to the hospital for a routine checkup. The babies passed with flying colors, but the doctors worried about Jenn. Since the babies were so far along, and due for a scheduled cesarean birth on Friday, Jennifer was beginning to warrant more of their attention and concern. We were shuttled over to a triage room while they waited for things to improve. Soon we were asked the dreaded question, … Continue reading
