post by leslie

Our big house project this year was to get rid of the mud/weeds in the backyard and convert most of it to gravel. I have been toying with how to do this for YEARS as I love my dog(s) and I want them to have a nice space, but I also am so tired of trying to upkeep with grass. I wanted something that felt California but would work in Minnesota, which was the trickiest part.We started this transformation 4 years ago with the amazing Landscape Love, who put in the patio and some of the plants. This year, I was not on top of it enough to make it onto their calendar, but they suggested Moondog Landscaping -- which was started by one of their previous foremen. And it turned out, he had worked on our patio in the past, and so the transformation was completely seamless.I had a pinterest board full of inspiration, and their plans were great. We spent loads of time this weekend out on the finished patio, sharing meals and playing games, and I am so thrilled to have this little oasis. I think up next maybe I'll look for a small water feature and some classic garden statues.

post by leslie

I have been super lucky to have some great baby sessions lately that also feature dogs! Those are, as you can imagine, my favorites! This was the little girl of a couple whose wedding I shot a few years ago, and I am not gonna lie, documenting expanding families is such an amazing perk of my job. Isn't this sweetie adorable?!? I love her belly and cheeks.

post by leslie

Last weekend I had another Day in the Life session. Have I mentioned how much I love these sessions? They are THE BEST! I absolutely adore capturing the love between parents and their kids in their own environments. The expressions of this sweet boy are so real and so funny and I can tell you, I'm going to miss hanging out with this little angel.But besides the funny kid photos, I also am crazy about the photos of the parents -- you can see how much they adore their kids as it shines through so brightly.Here are a few of my favorite shots from the day. And if you are wanting a session like this for your own family, you can learn more about them here.

post by leslie

We've had a good mix of storms, thunder and lightening lately, but in between we've had a few lovely evenings filled with sunlight. Here are some shots from a family session I squeezed in during those golden evenings by the water.Let's hope the sun can make it's way back to us for the holiday weekend, although things aren't looking too good at the moment.

post by leslie

On our last full day in the city, one of the things we did was head down to the World Trade Center site. The last time we had visited, it was early 2002, and I remember seeing mini blinds from the buildings still stuck in the neighborhood trees.What's there now is something else.We started at the Oculus train station (above and immediately below), which was stunning -- for sure one of my favorite buildings in NYC now. It looks like a space station! And we looked up close at the Freedom Tower (in the above photo to the right of the Oculus), but did not go to the top. It is taller than the original WTC towers, and deliberately measures at 1,776 feet tall -- a reference to the year the United States was formed.A few photos down, you'll see the memorials at the site which mark the footprints of the two original towers. It was extremely touching and somber and we didn't stay too long because Ezra didn't know the significance and we sure didn't want to get into that on this trip. I'm not sure when a child is old enough to learn of that horror, but it's not when you're about to board a plane back home, I'll tell you that much.

post by leslie

Something that we all appreciated about the city was the parks. We spent the majority of one day in Central Park, playing on playgrounds, climbing huge rocks, eating ice cream, riding a merry-go-round, playing with enormous bubbles and concluding it all with a horse and buggy ride. What a resource!We did all of this on a sunny Saturday when it was 77 degrees, and it appeared that tens of thousands of other people had the same idea we did. So on Sunday morning, I woke up early and headed over to the park around 7 am to see it when it was more quiet (like this other time I went). But, uh, there was a NYC marathon prequalifying race happening along with a TON of baseball games on the diamonds and I think there were even more people there than on Saturday! Finding peace and quiet in this city is tough.We tended to have more luck with fewer people when we ventured out to Washington Square park, where we played on the playground, listened to live music and let Ezra run around in the fountain.

post by leslie

One of the fun things about taking a kid to the city is that you can do all the touristy things and not regret it at all because you are "making memories." For instance, I had never taken the time to see the Statue of Liberty, but I had heard the Staten Island Ferry had great views of it and was free -- so we added that to our itinerary.We also spent an afternoon at the Natural History Museum because, well, dinosaurs and space are big hits, and that was amazing as well. Amazing as in there was so much to take in and so much to see and OMG so loud and full of so many children and a bit exhausting as well.So I conclude this post with some of the sights we saw and the resulting nap. Because it's just too cute.  

post by leslie

We spent the weekend in NYC, introducing Ezra to the magic of the Big Apple. And you guys, he fell for it just as hard as his mother. He cried on the last night, asking if we could come back for everybody's birthday celebrations, and he said he would miss the subways the most. What a kid.I'm just going to post a few random images from our trip today, with more specifics later in the week (way too many photos for one post). But I have two observations. 1) NYC is both exciting and exhausting no matter your age or stage in life, but it is especially tiring when you are toting around a small child who wants to touch every single germ the city has to offer and then quickly grab your hand for safety. 2) It is pure wonder to see all these sights fresh in a 4-year-old's eyes. I was worried I would regret bringing such a young kid to this madness, but instead I'm so thrilled that I did. I took this last one as they both fell asleep after the visit to Top of the Rock. I love it when they do this.