Christmas 2014

G and I really enjoyed our Christmas Break back east this year. It is safe to say that we made it the 1,100 miles (18 hours) there and then back within a 7 day span without any headaches. Usually we are battling Mid-West winters which can involve ice, snow, rain, WIND, and snow drifts but this year not a bit of it was to be seen from here in Iowa all the way to Maryland.

My week started out with spending time with my best friend, her husband, and this little bundle of joy! With living so far away M and I don’t get to see each more than a few times during the year and of course the last time I was back I missed meeting him and the time before that in July he came into this world a week after I left. I really enjoyed the evening spent getting to see my best friend be a mom. It’s indescribably the most amazing thing to witness and be apart of. It’s nothing for her to move about changing his diaper and wiping his little dribbles away. Here we are 17 years later… oh my… I had to do the math twice to make sure. Yes, 17 years ago we met at a birthday party and have been through thick and thin since. Boyfriends, breakups, engagements, weddings, moving, and now a little baby. I’m just so proud of her.

While I was visiting my parents I wanted to play with my Canon T3i a bit more and so my parents poor pups received the brunt of my focus. We got some fun shot in and I’m glad. Now my mom will always have these photos.

Being back east involved lots of back and forth. G’s home and mine are 40 minutes away from each other which is NOTHING in IOWA TIME. For east coasters that’s a “long” drive. We spent Tuesday at my parents and returned to his on Wednesday to spend Christmas Eve with his parents and sister. We ended up playing a hilarious game of “Cards Against Humanity”. Lets just say I got much closer with his parents … on a whole different level. Christmas morning was opening presents with his family then back up to Delaware to spend time with mine.

Photos below are from after presents. My sisters boyfriend received a dart gun that shoots at a target, I didn’t part-take but it was fun watching!

After a lunch out with my family we said our goodbyes and G and I headed back to his parents for our final night. It was a beautiful day! 50 degrees! Is that even December weather? I decided to take a walk with Winston around my in-laws place and of course bring my camera.

I’ve been reading about shooting in the “RAW” and so I wanted to try it out. These photos below do not have any “actions” used on them. I simply loaded them into Photoshop and used the simple edit option to lighten them up a bit. I’m in love. This is why I invested in a decent camera and lens. I can’t want to continue on this journey.

G decided to go for a walk with us. He isn’t much of a photo lover but as long as I’m not in his face like a “Crazy Camera Lady” then all is good.

Happy 2014 All!