Back in San Diego!

We had such an amazing week last week in Minnesota, but it is definitely good to be home! We got back last night, and I collapsed on the couch at 7pm after eating dinner- I was so tired! Erin woke me up about 10 and got me in bed- I slept so dang good!

Getting to spend so much time with family was a real blessing- I'm so lucky to have such an awesome family. Everybody was so excited to hear about how the first 5 months of marriage have been, and I loved sharing everything that Erin and I have learned in such a short amount of time. I think the over-arching tone was that "Marriage Rocks!" I must have said that about a million times this past week!

Tonight, I'm building my new computer, which I'm super excited about! It's going to be so fast, and allow me to get much more work done in less time, which is always good. I'll be running the new Intel Core2Duo chip in it, which is supposed to be ridiculously fast, so we'll see!

The Eye of the Storm

Yesterday, we woke up super early, and decided to go to the Mall of America for the day after thanksgiving sales. It was crazy! It was like traveling directly into the eye of the storm...this is the largest mall in the U.S. and there were a ton of people there, but that's what made it exciting.

While I didn't get to see any women beating each other with purses over a $10 DVD player, there were definitely a handful of those super intense shoppers out there. The shopping was awesome, but the best part of the experience, for me, was spending a few hours at the indoor amusement park riding some rides!

Erin is kind of grabby.

Erin, Dan (my brother) and me, in line for the rollercoaster!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Erin and I are spending the holiday in Minnesota, where I'm from. It is COLD here!

Wow, this past year has been amazing. It's hard to believe all the blessings in my life that have occurred since last thanksgiving! As many of you know, I started this whole wedding photography thing just over a year ago- it has blown me away to see how this has just gotten out of control!

Anyways, here's what I'm thankful for....

Wifey
I can't believe I got married! So awesome! Erin and I are coming up on our 5 month anniversary in a few days, and I seriously feel like the most blessed man on the planet to get to wake up next to her every morning. She is such a blessing in my life, and I really feel like I'm hanging out with my best friend every moment we get to spend with one another. I'm so thankful for my beeeeautiful wife Erin!

Friends
My friends are incredible, and I'm so thankful for all of you. You've been there for me, and with me this last year so much, as I talked about asking Erin to marry me, the popping the question, and then getting married. Thank you so much for sharing in all the joy and excitement. It means so much to know that I have so many friends who genuinely care about Erin and I, and know that we love all of you so much. Our door is always open, and our couch is super comfy!

Photography
I've gotten to shoot so many weddings, and made a ton of new friends. That's the coolest thing, for me though- the friends I've made. There isn't a couple that I've photographed this year that I don't hear from all the time, and that makes me so excited! I'm so stoked that all these people count Erin and I as friends now, and not just the "crazy guys who took pictures at my wedding and his basically amazing wife." That rocks. Plus, we've gotten a lot of free dinners out of the deal :) And if you know me, you know I love food!

And so much more.....

Happy Thanksgiving! Gobble gobble!

PLNU Homecoming

This past weekend was Homecoming weekend at PLNU, my alma mater. It was wierd, since this was my first year attending anything as an alum. I felt old. It was kind of sad, really!

BUT, I got to take a ton of pictures, which was fun. Erin is working on the school yearbook, and one of the sections she is in charge of is the homecoming section, so she asked me as the husband to come and photograph a few of the events.

Wednesday was the Powder-Puff football game, which was so cool. The Juniors/Seniors dominated, and some of these girls really were pretty good at the game! I've got pictures from that, I'll post them up whenever I get them edited (hopefully soon)

Friday was the Homecoming Court Coronation Ceremony, followed by the annual variety show. One of my good friends, Cristina, was nominated for Homecoming Queen- she didn't win, but she'll always be a queen to us!



Saturday was the Homecoming basketball game. We lost, and it was sad. But, I know something that will put a smile on your face. Steve Riddle, a 6'6" man being crowd surfed up into the stands by a few hundread over-spirited Young Hall guys:


And I'll leave you with that.

Link to pictures from the weekend for the PLNU kids...