Look who turned four yesterday!We celebrated with snuggles, scratches and salted caramel ice cream. Then we forced the poor girl into the studio for a quick shoot. But don't worry, she was rewarded with plenty of treats!And for your internet shares:+ This is my kind of advent calendar!+ This is so, so pretty. I would love it in my house!+ I want to shove both of these foods right in my face! Fondue! Pumpkin rolls! Would someone please make this for me stat?

Are these two the cutest or what? Check out that adorable little sweater! My God!As you can imagine, I have been working my tail off fitting in family holiday sessions lately, and this was a shot I caught on Tuesday. I love these happy smiles and I love photos like this that express the love of the family, but are not posed. I completely realize (and respect) that families want/need posed photos for many reasons, but I try to capture the fun more than anything as those images are always my favorites.For your internet shares of the day:+ Here is a great read about de-cluttering your home. Valuable to many. (Hi Grandmas!)+ Just a stunning wedding. Hugh Forte is one of my very favorite photographers ever. I look at his work and feel like I am worthless, but it pushes me to keep learning and keep trying. We all need heroes like that.+ Some amazing gifts for the foodie in your life (hint! hint!).

That photo up there is a shot I snapped tonight when I left the house to see a movie with my dear friend Betz. I have been a bit down lately, and a night out with a wonderful lady friend seemed like the perfect remedy. Except we saw that Manchester by the Sea movie I linked to the other day and dear, sweet, jesus, I'm not sure I would suggest it. The acting is superb -- I'm not gonna lie. But it is the most depressing film I have ever seen. And that is no exaggeration.But enough about the photo and my evening.Last night, I saw this Atlantic article pop up in my feed. It's an excerpt of a speech by Marty Baron. Did you see Spotlight? (You know, it won Best Picture and all...). Anyway, in case you missed it, it's a movie about how the priest/sex scandal came to light and about the reporters and editors that fought so hard against the Catholic Church to find the truth. Baron was the real-life editor in the film, and he was my boss while I was at the Miami Herald. He, to this day, is the most intelligent, firm and intimidating editor I've ever worked for. I have tremendous respect for him, to say the least. So when I saw the headline declaring his advice to journalists during the Trump Era, I had to read it. I suggest you do the same.No really, I'll wait.I'm not kidding, please go read what he said.Seriously. Read it now so the rest of my post makes sense.Ok. We all caught up?So I read that last night, and then I just could not sleep. My mind was spinning. Not because I disagree with anything he said (I agree wholeheartedly), but because I'm so scared that it doesn't matter any more.If Watergate were to happen this March, and Trump were caught doing something illegal, and the press found proof... who would care? Almost half of our nation just voted him into office knowing full and well that:+ He was being sued for fraud (which he settled for $25 million)+ He had charges against him from a woman saying he raped her when she was 13 (but the case was dropped due to death threats against her family and loved ones)+ He had been endorsed by the KKK (and since has appointed cabinet members who are clearly white nationalists/racists)+ He was caught on tape discussing how he enjoyed sexually assaulting women because he could.+ He openly ridiculed disabled people, Mexicans, Muslims and women+ He threatened to jail his political opponents if he was electedI could go on, but frankly, I'm exhausted. These are the examples that come to my mind first. And I didn't even get into the relationship with Russia.Now, imagine if Regan or Bush or Carter or any president in the 70s or 80s would have been caught with ONE of those attributes. I cannot imagine they would have been elected. I cannot imagine they would have made it past the primaries!So where this gets me, is... so what if the press catches him doing something? I feel like it doesn't matter. People who voted for Trump (yes, even you family members still reading along here) overlooked ALL of those things above because you are more interested in your personal desires for this country (fewer taxes, less regulations on the environment so there will be more oil development, pro-life issues, etc etc etc). But now, how is this man to be held accountable to anyone? He is refusing press access and has painted the press as the enemy.Many of his supporters are also saying the press is the enemy, but shouldn't we want our leaders to be questioned? Shouldn't we want someone to have an eye on them? Doesn't this attack on the media, this complete ignorance of first amendment rights and this need to attack anyone who has a viewpoint alternative to his own terrify you?Because it terrifies the hell out of me.

I was photographing a beautiful family this afternoon near the woods, and I spotted this among the trees. What in the world? And how lovely? Each box is filled with a different source of nature. Quite a lovely find!Lots of internet shares today!+ You've probably heard a lot about the pipeline protests in North Dakota. I enjoyed the photos and this update from the Strib about it.+ And if you're not so sure what all the protestors are upset about, this map clears it up really quickly.+ On a lighter note, I love this drone photography.+ And I would love to find this in my stocking on Christmas morning... (hint, hint)

Did I mention that my sweet Ezra got sick on our trip back to Kansas? Well of course he did! It was a holiday, wasn't it!? Anyway, he got the pukes and a light fever, and 24 hours later he was better. Not back to normal (as in, refusing to eat), but not puking any more.The evening after Thanksgiving, Jamie got it bad. I had a very mild form of the sickness, and frankly just slept a ton to rid myself of it. Or so I thought.We drove back on Saturday, and that night it hit me hard. The worst kind of stomach virus (I will save you from details) and a triple digit fever. I was bedridden for the day, and thank God my amazing man could act as a single parent and simultaneously bring me small samplings of ginger ale and ice chips.Sunday morning was amazingly foggy in Minneapolis, and it killed me to be stuck inside. I asked Jamie to bring me my camera, and I attempted to take photos of the fog out the window from my bed. You guys. My camera felt SO heavy in my sick little hands. The photo above was a mistake shot, but I think it captures the feeling of the day well, so here you go.For your internet shares of the day:+ My buddy Leah gifted me this book recently, and I cannot suggest it enough. Especially if you are a lady who wants to be in charge. It would be a fabulous gift for a girlfriend.+ I love the idea of advent calendars! Here are a few clever ones.+ This movie is getting pretty amazing reviews from the critics.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!I spent the day enjoying the fantastic 60 degree weather in Kansas City (Global warming is both terrifying and enjoyable) where we took a long walk around the Plaza before settling into the kitchen for the afternoon cooking an amazing meal. Those green beans and potatoes up there are killer, and lucky for you I've published the recipes before.I have no internet shares of the day because I haven't been online (save for a little bit of shopping). And I likely will take tomorrow off from posting because I have a gazillion awesome things to do and spending more than 5 minutes at my computer seems like too much.So have a safe and wonderful weekend everyone! And enjoy those leftovers!

I think I've featured Dolly on the blog before, but I have to do it again because her sweet eyes just slay me.Dolly has a bit of a rough time because she is my Dad's dog, but Dad works out of state, so she stays at home with my mom. And... we'll just say my mom is not Dolly's biggest fan.But you know who *is* her biggest fan? Ezra. And he chased and played with this dog for hours on end earlier this week. To be honest, I can't say she loved it (she's not used to small kids), but she was a good sport about it all, and I appreciated that.For your internet shares of the day:+ Alec Baldwin is even aces when he's out of character.+ An article on protecting yourself online in 7 steps (might be important come January).+ An interesting read on the possibility of an election audit.+ And since it's almost Thanksgiving, here are some photos from the DAPL protest, where protestors are being sprayed with fire hoses. In North Dakota in December. Maybe global warming isn't so bad in this instance? Sadly, it's still terrible.

Just a few more shots from the weekend road trip. Even though the Great Plains are flat, there's a stark beauty there in the dried up creek beds and dead trees. I think it's far more lovely in black and white though. The color palette of Minnesota (and the Pacific Northwest) is more my speed. I haven't had time to find any internet shares of the day, but you might find my old-school newspaper experience in Wichita to be interesting.The hometown paper (which gave me my first "real" job in journalism when I was 16 years old, is down to only two sections (News and Sports) and I believe totaled less than 30 pages on Monday. After reading it, I went on a hunt for the New York Times. I tried a Barnes & Nobel, two Starbucks and a Panera. None of them carried it, and the clerks looked at me like I was nuts for asking.Minnesota, this is just one more reason I love you. Cherish what you've got there, people.(Also, I was looking for the actual paper as it's acceptable to be seen reading a paper in my family's home, but staring at your phone is considered rude. Which I don't necessarily disagree with.)