Merry Christmas 2008

Christmas this year was lots of fun and a little different than in year's past. Even though it was Rich's family's turn for Christmas, Rich's parents were here (and Aunt Janae and Aunt Kara at differnt points) to help with our brand new nephew, affectionately named Baby Bryson. So, we spent Christmas Eve with the Hymases at Clark and Katie's house. They made us a wonderful steak dinner. And we each opened the traditional Christmas Eve gift. The kids got pajamas.

Rich was actually the first to wake up on Christmas morning. He was showered and ready to go before I even got out of bed. Scott and Krissy came over to open presents and we roused the kids and Grandma and Grandpa Baker about 7:30 am. We read the Christmas story to remember the real reason for Christmas, and then went upstairs to open presents. The kids made out like bandits. Rich got some clothes and a camera. I got a sapphire and diamond ring (no complaints here). And our family got a Nintendo WII from Santa.

After that, we headed back over to Clark and Katie's to spend some more time with the family. We got home in time to put the kids down for a nap and then to prepare for Christmas dinner. Grandma and Grandpa Baker invited Rich's family and Krissy's family (who also came into town for Christmas), so we had a big Christmas dinner with everyone that evening. It was a lot of fun.

Weekly Update

I had my work Christmas lunch on Tuesday, so I worked on Tuesday this week instead of Wednesday. They served us a catered Prime Rib dinner, gave out some nice door prizes, and gave everyone some Great Harvest bread and some truffles. Yummy!

On Wednesday, we went to the hospital so see our brand new nephew, Bryson Clark Hymas. Welcome baby Bryson! He was born to Clark and Katie Wednesday morning.

We then headed to Idaho to visit Rich's family for a few days. Rich enjoyed lots of duck and phesant hunting with his Dad, Kara, and Troy. They got 31 ducks and 7 phesants. Lynnae spent her time taking care of Mackenzie. Mackenzie caught a pretty bad cold and didn't feel very well.

Aiden got to play with his cousin Tyler and enjoyed some sleep overs with her. Their favorite games to play are "honey" (which is really house) and fishing. They are now old enough that they have fun playing with each other and pretending to be grown up, instead of fighting over who gets to play with what toy.

Despite the bad weather, we experienced an uneventful caravan ride home with Grandma and Grandpa and Kara, who all came to help Katie with the new baby.

Merry Christmas everyone!

2008 Gallery Book

I recently submitted a "portfolio" book of some of my favorite pictures of the year to the publisher I use for my clients' photo books. It includes some of my nature, portrait, and wedding photos. You can click on the link to it on the right if you'd like to see it:



I was very excited by the following comments I got back from the publisher:

"Thank you for your order. Your book was such a pleasure to review. I have to mention that your photography stands out above the rest...from your nature to your weddings, I am truly impressed by your talent."

It's nice to have your work appreciated.

Ever wonder what's inside of a Love Sac?

This morning we discovered that Mackenzie's diaper had leaked while she was sitting on the Love Sac. So, we removed the two covers that we have on it and discovered an even bigger problem--MOLD! So, we decided the best course of action would be to empty the contents of the Sac, and wash the cover. 14 garbage bags (546 gallons of foam) later, you can see the results for yourself... (complete with "foam angel")

Megan and Christopher

Friday, December 5th was my cousin Megan's wedding. Here are some pictures I took of her special day.

Almarie Bridals

On Nov 22, I was able to meet Almarie and Tyler at Memory Grove for her bridals. Here are a few pictures from the day.

A Wedding and Two Christmas Parties

On Friday, December 5, I took the pictures for my cousin Megan's wedding. It was fun to be able to do that for her. She was married in the Salt Lake temple, and afterwards had the luncheon and receptions at some churches in Layton.

Here are some pictures from the day:



Saturday morning was our ward Christmas party. Yummy breakfast food, an excellent program, and a visit from Santa were just some of the highlights. The funny part was that the power went out right in the middle of Santa's visit, so Santa and the kids had to move to the foyer.

Here are some pictures of the party and the kids' visit with Santa. Of course, Mackenzie was still not so sure about Santa.



On Saturday evening, we hosted a not so annual but we try Christmas Open House. Grandma and I spent most of the day preparing food and adding to the menu, fearing we'd run out of food. However, that ended up not being the case.

It was so fun to see those of you who were able to make it. We sure miss the constant association that we used to have with everyone. The Open House is a great excuse to touch base and see those of you we haven't seen in way too long, as well as our new friends. I was having so much fun visiting that I didn't take a single picture. Shame on me!

We way over did the food. We had more leftovers than we did for Thanksgiving. We'll be eating treats for weeks (long enough to make it to Christmas). So, if you're feeling hungry, come on over...