I hope you all have had a lovely week.

We have been very busy baking and gorging ourselves on cookies. We’ve also been napping, watching movies, assembling puzzles, building lego sets, sledding and snuggling. It has been pretty fantastic, if I’m being honest.

I haven’t been on top of posting and working at my desk much because, well, see above. But I have been taking photos (just forgetting to post them). So here’s what it has looked like over here. Enjoy!

This week I had a fun shoot with Artimis here — isn’t she so sweet? She’s ten years old, and was not phased by the tricks I demanded of her. What a cutie.

We’ve been celebrating Hanukkah for the last week, and as we light more and more candles, of course I want to get my camera out. And if you look closely, the newspaper underneath the menorah is about the vaccines arriving in Minnesota — historical, I’d say.

Yesterday the Governor announced that all elementary schools could allow students back in mid-January for at least hybrid in-person teaching, and we sure have our fingers crossed that things our community’s virus numbers are down and teachers can get vaccinated soon so that this is a safe and welcome change. Because this kid? Man, does he want to GO to school (like, SOMEWHERE ELSE BESIDES MY OFFICE).

I got to have some pups in the studio on Monday, and we all know that is the very best way to start the week!

Since it’s Covid and all, my amazing clients are just dropping off their pups at the door and then my family is there to help wrangle the pups while I take the photos. Ezra is amazingly good during these sessions. He loves meeting the dogs, but is happy to just do his schoolwork at my studio desk while I work (seriously I scored so big with that kid).

Anyway, this dog, Odie, LOVED EZRA. He kept hopping up on the couch just to kiss my boy and then back to me to work for some treats. It was adorable.

More photos below — enjoy!

Last week, I finally made it up to Hansen Christmas Tree Farm for a family session — and man is it lovely. I highly suggest this spot!

Here are a few of my favorite shots from this amazing family. Yes the baby is adorable, but let’s talk about that pup! OMG do I love her.

My best friend moved here this fall from Texas. And when I say “here” I mean only six blocks away from me! Which in normal times would have changed our lives significantly, but in Covid times it means we are still seeing each other on zoom, talking through texts and sometimes chatting through a screen door while the other drops something off at the house. You guys, I cannot wait for this dumb pandemic to end.

But a few weeks ago, it was lunch time and we had the MOST GORGEOUS SNOW EVER happening. So I texted her to see if everyone was home and if I could swing by for a lunch break photo session for her holiday cards.

The whole family was ready in 15 minutes. A Christmas miracle! And I got to capture the kids playing in the snow (which is new to them because remember, they come from Texas).

Here’s to future winters when things like hugs and coming inside are normal again, eh? Enjoy the photos.

Miss Magda turned eight yesterday. Look at that white snout.

As you know, I adore dogs endlessly, but watching them age is still hard. I mean, this girl still has her spirit. She’ll still steal a full stick of butter from the kitchen counter and she’ll steal Ezra’s sandwich right out of his hands. But … she sleeps more.

Her snout has turned white. There are lumps and bumps under her skin (we’ve had them all checked — she’s fine). She has cysts in her eye and she’s now terrified of computer alert noises (which is hard when we are all home working all day on computers every day).

But she still loves long walks, snuggling by the fire and stealing mittens out of my coat pocket and hiding them through out the house.

She likely (hopefully) has 4-6 years left, but we are past the prime, and that is still hard.

Yesterday we celebrated her birthday with her favorite cake, an orange and olive oil cake. It is the best and I highly suggest you make it.

How do we know it is her favorite? Because this summer she somehow climbed onto the kitchen counter to snag the cooling cake from the top of the toaster oven. That’s a lot of work for this small girl! And man was she happy to have a piece handed to her last night.

Last month, when we escaped to the north after the election, I wandered outside on the first night and could barely make out The Milky Way with my naked eye. So I grabbed my tripod and made Jamie stumble down to the shore in the dark with me for 10 minutes while I snapped a few quick shots of the sky.

I love what you see in the sky from up north. You never get these glimpses of magic in the city.

Anyway, I have learned from trial and error that it’s easier to shoot the night sky in the winter (when the moon rises later), but it’s also freezing and you need to work quick. Here are a few of my faves from that night.