We had a wonderful holiday weekend with family in town -- tons of amazing food, great weather, long walks and man, were we sad to see them head back to California. But hopefully we'll see them again before fall arrives.
This is how Ezra gazes at his Aunt. He is smitten! And it was so fun to see him so enamored.
On their first morning in town, they wanted to hit up Hell's Kitchen for breakfast. Amazing tastes, these two.
And after breakfast, we headed over to First Avenue for some obligatory photos.
This kid now doesn't really want to be held or ride in a stroller. He prefers to walk most of the time. Or run. Or get dangerously close to traffic, or close to cliffs or close to rivers. It's not unnerving at all.
Sunday, the weather was magnificent, so we (and the rest of the metro area) headed over to Minnehaha Falls. Oh, I do love it there.
On Monday, we started the day walking around Lake Harriet. We decided to to see how Ezra felt about dipping his toes into the lake. The water was quite lovely, but I think he was even more fascinated by the nearby kids who were building sand castles. So later, we went to Target and picked up a shovel and bucket for the beach. How much fun does this boy have in his future?!
And we ended the weekend by cleaning up the house and dishes, and this little helper sure makes me smile. Oh, I wish every weekend could be this much fun!
I was on a shoot last weekend with some new clients (who were fantastic, by the way), when we spotted this crane in the lake. Beautiful, right? And then about five minutes later my camera broke. Not like, "Let's fix it!" broke. Like, "Oh shit, I wore this thing out!" broke. A Nikon is supposed to be good for 150,000 "actuations" (clicks). This camera had 400,000 actuations. So I knew this was coming... but... it was still a little sad. Should I have a funeral? Bronze the thing? Not sure. We'll see...Then on Monday and Tuesday we were sleeping with the windows open and were woken up at 4 am both mornings by some noise. It sounded like a bird in the room, but after listening closer, it sounded more like birds hanging onto the outside of our window screens. I checked both times and saw nothing. I joked that the bats must be returning to the nest. Bad joke.Because last night I was taking Magda for a walk around dusk, and I looked up as we left the house and saw six bats fly from the roof right next to our bedroom window. Yes. That is some creepy stuff right there. But not quite as scary as the cost to relocate the bat colony: $2K. Awesome.And after we got off the phone with the bat exterminator (thanks for answering at 9 pm, by the way!), we were closing the windows to the house and stepped in cold dog vomit and diarrhea. We had been watching 
I want to learn to play the piano. I've wanted to for a very long time, but we didn't have a piano in the house until I was a teenager, and it was always out of tune so I never gave it a shot.But now I really want to learn, and so does Jamie. And we have a spot in the house just waiting for one.So I just started looking on Craig's List at the free ones, and a good friend told me about some at her church. I swung by there today to check them out, and I'm not gonna lie, it's pretty exciting to think about.Pianos and film! All kinds of new hobbies breaking in this year, eh?For your internet share of the day, 
I had a shoot near Lake Harriet on Saturday around sunset, and I stuck around with my tripod earlier to photograph the moon rising above the lake. Oh man, I'm so glad I did! (And might I suggest everyone grab some popcorn and do this some summer evening? So relaxing...)The moon looks oranger than usual, I think, because it was a very hazy day, and lots of haze is what also makes sunsets extra pinkish. Also, as it got darker and darker and darker, I noticed an orange star near the moon. I found out later that it was Mars! What a fun thing to spot!For your internet shares of the day:+ The 
Eating snacks with your shirt off as watermelon juice dribbles down your chin? Yup. It's 
This boy loves his cold watermelon so damn much.
Also, I got a damn good deal on a huge box of Legos at one of the garage sales. Ezra is THRILLED. This kid knows maybe 20 words, and you better believe "Lego" is one of them.
This is another amazing bargain I got at one of the garage sales. Also a huge hit. I love this pose.
During one of our dinners on the patio, Ezra was delighted by the caterpillar that joined us.
On Sunday we went for a long wagon ride / walk, and Ezra was completely mesmerized by all the people all out mowing their lawns. Another word he learned this weekend? "Lawnmower." When we got back home, our neighbor Jon was out mowing his lawn, and we told him how enamored Ezra was with the machinery. And then he blew our minds by sending his children over with this toy lawnmower. Did our kid get spoiled rotten this weekend or what?
While Ezra was in the bath, Magda stole his dirty clothes and played with them in the bedroom. I love how she holds the shirt in her "hands" and barks at the clothing. Adorable.
No real internet shares of the day today, but I do want to tell you all that I'm doing The Dog Days of summer on Saturday, June 25. This means I'll be hosting mini-photo sessions for your pups in the studio! If you're interested in such a session (or know someone who is!), please check out 
I think you all know how much I love living in Minneapolis. And how much I love my neighborhood. And how much I love walking around my neighborhood to support local businesses.Well you guys? It all just got so much better!Now, I'm not meaning to insult any of the other local bakeries etc in the 'hood, but the coffee in my neighborhood? It sucked. We had a mediocre bakery and a less-than-mediocre coffee shop here... until yesterday. That was when 
For your internet shares of the day:I loved 
When one of your very best friends is in town for a quick work trip, but brings her new little boy that you've never met before, and she stops by your house on her way from the airport to her mom's house? You take 10 minutes of that short visit and force them into the photo studio. It's just what you do. Or what I do, anyway.Isn't he adorable?For your internet shares of the day:
Last weekend I was hired to take photos of the Hola Arepa 2 year anniversary party. This was a dream assignment because a) I *love* the food at Hola Arepa. I have been a huge fan since I tried their food truck years ago, and I adore their restaurant as well and b) This party was amazeballs. There was so much good energy and wonderful weather and fantastic music and salsa dancing and everywhere you looked people were smiling. It was such a lovely evening. I posted a few of my favorite shots below. And yes I tried the Dorilocos. And they were FANTASTIC. Don't judge until you try it.
For your internet shares of the day, I love this idea of