MD!

Aaron graduated from medical school on June 5th. I'm going to try to write this post without gushing too much, but it might leak out a bit. For those who've never had someone really close to them go through the experience of medical school, you might be amazed at what good doctors go through to become who they are. You can write off this next comment to a naively proud wife if you like, but if you know Aaron at all, he'll be a really good doctor because he would never settle for anything less. Watching him go through the grueling hard work of this experience has been inspiring. Man, that sounded cheesy, but I don't know how else to put it.

Aaron wrote me the sweetest card on his graduation day, giving me nearly all the credit. Yes, I worked really hard too during these four years to take care of him and the kids, but I definitely got the better end of the deal. As exhausting as it was, I got rewarded with countless great, funny, rewarding moments with the kids day to day while Aaron would be at the hospital til all hours getting treated like somebody's dog, (when the rotation was a bad one). Add into that the pressure of always needing to study, even during the weeks you're getting up at 4 AM and coming home at 10 PM.

Anyway, I'm happy we all survived. Aaron took our kids with him onto the stage to receive his degree. Ada, as if she'd been prepped for it, leaned in to kiss dad right after he was hooded. Way to nail the moment Ada!



Thanks again to our families who came to celebrate with us!

Wedding photography

I've been taking a ton of photos lately, although not exactly for pleasure. I've done a couple weddings and other shoots in the last few weeks, and it feels like I've been perpetually post-processing photos. These kind of photos are really not my specialty, but I have a hard time saying no. I thought I'd post a few shots as I haven't blogged in ages, and this is what I've been up to since finishing medical school, and before starting residency.

My brother married my new sister-in-law Thyci




A friend and I recently tag-teamed shooting another wedding at the historic El Cortez hotel in San Diego.
A beautiful bride...

cake...

music...

and a beautiful building--



The most fun I had was when I got to spend a few minutes setting up MY kind of shot--a long exposure night shot of the El Cortez with some great colored fill light.

I've gained a new appreciation for people who do this for a living--it's pretty exhausting work, and takes a lot of creativity and really quick thinking to do anything unique. The good ones definitely earn the hefty prices they sometimes charge. For me, it doesn't really come natural. I think I'll keep my day job, and stick to my hobby--landscapes of nature and architecture.

A Fun Trip

We recently drove to Ashland, Oregon to visit my brothers Doug and Jeff and their families. San Diego is a long way from them, and we've missed them dearly.

Being at Doug and Angela's house is like staying in a posh cabin on a forested mountain. So gorgeous. Seth got to drive a tractor and go 4-wheeling in a sweet old Jeep. It was pretty funny to watch this Jeep navigate the rough terrain with car seats rocking back and forth in the backseat with a couple of smiling four-year-olds (Seth and his cousin Johnny).

Between Doug and Jeff's houses, there were plenty of pets to love on--dogs, cats, kittens, a hedgehog, chickens (although Seth was too distracted by the pool to request his usual chicken coop jaunt). There was even a menacing bear lurking near the trash cans at night to keep things exciting.

Doug was very interested in showing his niece and nephew a good time and winning their affections. He didn't mind exhausting himself towing us back and forth on the zip line, taking us on forest tours, motorcycling, and telling the kids awesome bedtime stories.


Doug took the kids to the candy aisle at the drug store and said "get whatever you want". They started grabbing two and three things each -- I immediately corrected them and said "no, just choose one." Doug said, "no, get WHATEVER you want". Wow, the kids had a great time collecting armfuls of candy and putting it in the shopping cart. (Sometimes the kids had no idea what it was they were grabbing, so I admit I plucked some chocolate cherries back out of the cart. Those just aren't fit for consumption). I realized I hadn't ever let them go to the the candy aisle and choose even one thing before. They loved it of course, and they really loved Doug. When we were in the check-out line with over $60 in candy and soda, Doug realized how ridiculous we looked and had to make a joke of it to amuse the cashier and fellow customers who were led to believe the kids were diabetics.

This last photo is probably only funny to me. Doug and I thought Ada in this blanket looked like a Russian baby waiting for her rye. Anyway, we had a great time. We got to meet our newest nephew, had some good laughs, and I was even treated to a really cool rendering of the Shakespearean play "Measure for Measure". If you know anything about Ashland, they do Shakespeare right up there. It was such a treat!