A Trip to Visit {Easton}

Last weekend, my parents and I took a 4-day weekend up to Billings to visit Dana and Veronica's new baby, Easton. The roads to and from were pretty decent, for the most part. It didn't help the nerves that, on the day before we left, there was a massive wreck by Twin Falls. That definitely set us on edge a little, but we didn't really encounter any nasty road conditions.

 

Overall, I think we had a great trip. We spent each evening battling it out in Trivial Pursuit. In case anyone kept score (of course we did), the girls ended up winning overall, 3-2. Naturally. ;)  It was also frigid in Montana. Single digits all day, with nasty winds. Not very fun if you had to be outside. We also cooked a lot (leaving several meals for Dana and Veronica so they wouldn't have to cook for quite a while), and watched a ton of football. My kind of sports weekend!

 

I also had two little shoots with Easton. The first one, he was such a trooper! The second one, I think he caught on to what we were doing, and the shoot was much shorter and the pacifier played a much bigger role. :)  Can't say that I blame him - we photographers are pretty demanding. ;) 

 

Here are some shots of our visit:

My Beauty

Even though she's been a holy terror lately, I still can't get enough of her.

A Play Day in the SNOW!

New Year's Day was a fun day for us. We went on a little shopping spree and then played in the snow. We had just enough snow covering the ground to pull off some sledding. It was pretty fun! The kids had a ball, and the smiles on their {cold} faces prove it.

 

{2012} A Year In Review

In following the tradition, here is my 2012 year in review post.

 

2012 was a fantastic year. For the most part, we stayed fairly low-key. We had to skip the sledding trip to the cabin this year (usually done in January), due to some maintenance issues at the cabin. Instead of doing sledding, we launched Carter right into ski lessons. He was such a stud! He did a fantastic job and is signed up again for this year.

 

 I also tried snowboarding with Eric. Not my thing. In fact, we recently sold all of my gear. I will stick to sledding. ;)

 

Also this year, my baby turned ONE. The end of this year has been a very trying time in this house as far as Kendall is concerned. Full blown into the terrible twos, early. :/

 

She also got her ears pierced when she turned one.

 

Another big event this year - though I wouldn't call it a highlight - was Dana moving to Montana. It was a decision that circumstances in life dictated, and though we hated to see him move away, it was a necessary step. (We just went to visit this weekend and got to meet baby Easton for the first time - more posts on that later!) He has been back to visit, and we have been there to visit. We're trying to cram in as many as we can......definitely not used to him being so far away.

 

This year was a huge year for the photography business.  I did a little more advertising this year, which resulted in an increased profit from last year (always good) and more than double the hits to my photography website (incredible!). I also had my second published cover on The Advocate, and received an award from the Idaho State Bar for Cover of the Year for my 2011 cover.  I also submitted some photos to the fair, with two out of three receiving awards. All in all, it was a dynamite year for photography and I hope 2013 is just as successful!

 

At the end of June, Eric and I took a trip to Seattle to see the city and take in some Red Sox baseball.

 

 

 

My parents celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary this year - which was accompanied by a nice party. It was a fun night!

 

Eric and I took the kids on a vacation in September - through Yellowstone and then up to Billings to visit Dana and Veronica.

 

 

 

It was a long roadtrip, but we had a great time with the kids. We already have two trips on the calendar for next year, and a bunch of camping trips. I can't wait!

 

I also got a new car this year. My old car was about to cost me a whole lot of money, so we bit the bullet and got a new one. I love it!

 

Carter turned the big FIVE this year!

 

 

I also landed a new job this year. The firm where I was working for the first half of the year was dreadful and I ended up walking away from them and into an AMAZING opportunity. I am thrilled to be with the new firm and it is definitely a long-term gig.

 

This happened:

 

 

And we just got back from a great visit to Billings. I will be sharing the photos of Easton over this next week. We had two shoots and he is such a handsome fella!

 

Farewell, 2012. You were wonderful and I can't wait to see what 2013 brings!