Why, you take a train to the North Pole and ask Santa, of course!  And not just any train, but the Polar Express.

Last weekend, we loaded the family up and boarded the Polar Express, which just happens to have a stop relatively close to our house.  And by close, I mean two and a half hours away.  But, from the train station, it was only another ~40 minutes to the North Pole.

Here’s my boy, Lucas, mingling with the elves, who, naturally, were singing Christmas carols!

Lucas and his buddy, Carter, anxiously watching for Santa to come.  Santa made his way through each car and visited with every good boy and girl.

Decisions, decisions…what do I want for Christmas?!

My sweet baby, Emma.  All she wants for Christmas are her two front teeth…the top ones.  She already has her bottom two teeth.

I love Christmas!

We recently found out that a friend of ours had just finished writing a children’s book! She and her husband are parents, counselors, and now authors/publishers. We, of course HAD to go to the book signing event.

The book is entitled, When Goldfish Chew Gum and Blow Bubbles.

The kids couldn’t wait for Yolanda to start reading it. They wanted to hear part of it right at the store!

We were so excited to have a signed copy! Here is Jennifer Hill, the author, giving us her autograph.

The illustrator, Kelcey Brower, was on hand as well. Such a talented young lady. I’m sure she has great things in her future.

We had Jennifer and Kelcey describe how they met and how the book came together.

My boy loves his copy. The whole ride home, he would not let go of it. Here he is getting into it before we even left the booksigning.

If you have kids, or a kid’s heart, do youself a favor and get yourself a copy. Leave me your request in the comments and I can arrange for you to get a signed copy! If you miss out on this opportunity, I guarantee that for a long time, “your brow will be knit together and your smiles will be drooping low.” Leave me a comment and get yours now for only $16.

Hurt me, baby. Oh, *ahem* not THAT kind of dominance.

Here is your useless fact for the day. Ocular dominance, also known as “eyedness,” describes a person’s tendency to prefer visual input from one eye over the other. It’s kinda’ like handedness. I am right handed but left eyed. This is somewhat unique, but not uncommon. It’s estimated that about 90% of the population is right handed, while only about 30% is left eyed.

Why does all this matter? It doesn’t. But, it means that when I take your picture, you will see me holding my camera with my right hand (supporting the lens with my left hand), but bringing the camera to my left eye.

So, how do you determine your eyedness? Follow these steps:

1) Extend your arms out in front of you.
2) Using your thumbs and pointer fingers, form a small triangle.
3) Look at a small object across the room through your triangle, keeping both eyes OPEN.
4) Now, slowly bring your hands towards your face while humming the tune to “2001: A Space Odyssey.”
5) As you bring your hands toward your face, they will naturally head toward your dominant eye.
6) If you want it to be really clear and obvious, stand up on one leg to throw your balance off a bit. You better believe that I am a master at posing people!

Oh, man! If I were around, I would SO take your picture…lifestyle portraiture, baby!

The family and I took our first plane ride together last week. Boy did we have to haul a bunch of stuff…2 car seats, a collapsible playpen, a stroller, 1 large suitcase, 1 small suitcase, a HUGE diaper bag, and 3 carry-on bags. All of that fit in a Volvo S40 with 3 adults, a toddler, and an infant. Luckily, I was trained as an engineer in my former life. Anyway, we had a blast and were stoked to see our family and friends from our old stomping grounds. Here are a few pictures.

Here are the kids and my awesome wife on the airplane.

Here is my boy with his aunt.

The ladies in my life…so beautiful!

Here is Lucas’ other aunt…they were having a laugh-fest.

I don’t want to perpetuate any rumors, but we spent a lot of time in the car in LA.

Emma did an amazing job, though. She was just happy to hang out with her family.

Finally, here are a few from our trip to the zoo.

Thanks Vicky, Raoul, Mom, Dad, Jo, and our crew in LA. We loved hangin’ with you guys and we miss you.

Well, as fun as LA was, we’re happy to be home. And, we’re excited to be getting back to work. We’ve got some sessions to catch up on and a couple new ones in the next week, so stay tuned!