New Year Schmoo Year

I hate ringing in the New Year.  There, I said it.  It is my least favorite holiday.  Probably because tv, movies and everyone makes it seem like it is going to be this amazing event and everyone is in love and having a wonderful time.  It is always so built up and it always disappoints!  I spent 3 New Years eve newly pregnant (read: nausious and not allowed to imbibe in New Year toasts).  Then I spent 3 New Years Eves nursing (read: exhausted and not allowed to imbibe in New Year toasts).  I have also rung in the New Year MANY times....alone.  My husband is an early bird (which usually saves our marriage as he gets up in the morning with the kids so that I can sleep in).  However, that means that by 10:00 the early bird is DONE.  Blood shot eyes are glazed over and by 11:00 he is down for the count.

Last year, we were in San Diego and spent New Year's Eve Day at Legoland.  It was about half way through our road trip to California and everyone was exhausted.  We were also in outdoor hallway hotel rooms that didn't conjoin and therefore, each of the three rooms had children that were desperate to sleep (read: their parent's were desperate for them to sleep).  By 9:45, I was the only one awake.  In a dark hotel room...trying to stay up to ring in the new year.  LAME!  I finally turned on the TV (muted of course) and watched some fireworks recorded earlier in London or something.

So this year, I was determined to not care and treat it like any other day.

And we made a genius plan.  We decided to go up to our family cabin in Fairplay.  Further awesomeness occurred when our good friends and my sister and her kids decided to join us.  What could be better than hanging out in the Rocky Mountains with good friends?

We also planned a few activities for the kids so as to make the night go quickly and so we didn't have to answer "Is it time for New Year's yet?" 150 times.

We headed up to the cabin mid-day and got everything set up.  We had fondue for dinner (another genius plan as everyone has to cook their own food, there are very few dishes to clean and it takes a LONG time-which is awesome if you have no where to be).

After dinner the kids played with kool-aid play-dough that I had made earlier that afternoon (you can find it here on my Pinterest board).  It was easy, quick, didn't take a ton of ingredients and smelled delicious.  For the record, don't use lemonade kool-aid.  It doesn't really look yellow.  It is amazing that even the 12 and 10 year olds LOVED playing with the play-dough.

After that, we did bag skits.  You know, where you split into teams and you have to make up a brief skit.  Each team gets a paper bag filled with random objects (usually one prop per person).  You then have to make up a skit using the items from the bag as your props.  The only rule is that, the item cannot be used as its original purpose.  For example, we had a pair of scissors, a bottle of water, a rubber band and a bread-cutter thing that you use to make cute shapes for sandwiches for lunch boxes.  Our skit was about New Year Resolutions.  Julie was the narrator and used the scissors as glasses.  I was trying to lose weight and used my rubber band as excersise equipment.  Tanner was trying to get off the couch and learn a new skill (which was learning how to fence-lightsaber with the water bottle as his "sword/light saber".  Makai was trying to have good behavior and get out of jail and used the bread cutter as hand cuffs.  It was pretty entertaining.

After that, we took the kids outside (in the freezing wind) and we shot off some light up umbrella things that my dad got us for Christmas.  They got them when they were in Europe and they are awesome!
 

You use the rubber band thing to shoot them up into the air and then the twirl around and come down!  It is really fun.  Maybe a little more fun when it isn't freezing cold and windy!  I can see us using these often in the summer time.

By then, it was time to ring in the New Year (Eastern Time Zone)!  It was REALLY noisy with 7 kids blowing noise makers and screaming.  However, that didn't bother Jameson, who was really tuckered out and fell asleep a few hours before.  He slept through the whole thing (like father like son).

After the kids fell asleep the adults played a new game.  It is called Cards Against Humanity.  It is basically Apples to Apples but an adult version.  WARNING: there are some REALLY offensive cards in the deck......but we had some good laughs ("stray pub" was the best card in the deck-funny every time).  It kept us laughing until it was time for the Mountain Time Zone countdown.  Even Chris made it this year!

For lunch on New Year's Day, we did our candy bar switch up.  You can read about it in my previous blogpost HERE.

After a fun-filled lunch, we packed up the kids and headed to the beach.  Fairplay beach that is.  Yes, Fairplay has a beach.  Someone had already formed some tracks and some sweet jumps.  We were the only ones there and the kids had a BLAST. 

Can I tell you how much I love taking sledding pictures?  There is something about catching the kids mid-air that gives me a thrill.  Partner that with me having sciatic problems so I couldn't go down the hill myself.  I had to live vicariously through the pictures.  I took a million pictures, but these are my favorites!

Maddy always caught some serious air!

Ellie did not like getting snow in her face so Adah so nicely covered it for her.  

The 'Stache in all its glory

This one is blurry, but I love the look on her face!

Learning how to snow board on the sledding hill.

Mom of the Year award....forgot the ski coats so the kids just doubled up on hoodies.

Love Tanner's mid-air shot

Love this girl!

Kristin is learning the lesson of "NEVER START A SNOWBALL FIGHT WITH CHRIS LORD".

Snow Stache

Noah is so good with his younger cousins!

Adah showing off her flying skills (notice the sign in the background).

Ouch!

Tanner's frog jump

Might be time for a hair cut

JJ's audtion for the Chorus Line

This is love.  Pushing your cousin up the hill.

A good time was had by all.  It was relaxing and fun. We played a lot of games and barely watched any TV or movies.  The kids were barely even on their i-devices.  They played and played and played.  It was awesome.  Perhaps this year I will be willing to admit that I actually enjoyed the "New Year" holidays and it was all that I hoped it could be!

I hope that you were all able to ring in the New Year in style.  And if not....there is always next year.  We will take bids for who gets to come with us to the cabin!

Best of LiLo 2013

How can I ring in the New Year without looking back on 2013 and sharing my favorite pictures?

Here are a few of my favorites from 2013!  Prepare for picture overload (in no particular order).

Cute Babies

Favorite Seniors

Favorite Couples

Favorite Cousin Pictures

Favorite Family Shots

Favorite of 2 sessions with these guys!

Favorite parents with kids pictures

Favorite Kids

Favorite Newborns with Siblings

Favorite Props- Hand Knit Blanket, Fire Helmet, Pinterest Blanket and Tiny armchair

Favorite Sibling Pictures

Favorite Maternity Picture

Favorite Location

Favorite Picture of my T-Bone (usually he is making a goofy face or extremely dirty)

Favorite Texture

Favorite Black and White

Favorite "getting ready" wedding picture

Favorite Bridal Picture

Favorite Cowboy

Favorite Squishy Baby

Favorite "dress up" session

Most amazing eyes award

Favorite Backlighting

Favorite Model Shot

Favorite Landscape Wedding

Favorite Look Between the Two

Favorite Corporate Picture- Easy Street Properties

Favorite Ring Picture

Another Favorite Ring Shot

Favorite Smolder

Favorite Story Behind the Picture- click here for the story!

Favorite Newborn Picture

Favorite Wedding Picture

Favorite Kissing Picture

Favorite Bride/Most Photogenic

And the winner is.......

This picture received 3944 hits on my Facebook page!  Can you believe that?

Thank you to all of my clients!  It was a wonderful year and I can't wait to see what 2014 is going to bring.  For more pictures or to schedule a session for 2014, visit my website at www.photolilo.com.

LiLo- 2013 goal wrap up

I am only a few days late after ringing in the New Year.  I wanted to pause for a moment and remember 2013.

For LiLo- it was a banner year!  (See future post for personal-2013 wrap up).  It was fun to take a look at the professional goals that I wrote back in January of 2013.  I was pleased when I took a look at the things I wanted to accomplish and found that I did accomplish most of them.

Here were my goals for 2013:
1.  Grow Business (check)
In 2012, I did 44 photo sessions.  In 2013, I did 67 sessions.

2.  More Newborn Photo Sessions (check)
In 2012, I did 5 newborn sessions.  In 2013, I did 12 newborn sessions.  That is more than double!

3.  Get more year-round business- not just late summer-fall (check)
I still did more than half of my business after September, but I did have more consistent work throughout the year.

4.  Improve Photoshop skills- (check, but still want to work more on this)
What can I say about this?  Practice, practice, practice.  The more you work with something, the better you get.  I have made a few ground breaking discoveries in Photoshop that have helped my editing skills!  I am still learning but I am getting better at taking pictures as well so my pictures are better straight out of the camera as well!  That helps with editing.
 
5.  Be better at taking and printing/sharing/scrapbooking personal pictures (ummmm. could use some work still)
I still did not do very well in the scrapbooking department.  I used to have some family/friends that I would go away for a weekend or two a year and scrapbook but that has gone by the wayside.  I would still love to do it as I would get a TON done during those weekends.  Perhaps I need to find some new scrapbooking friends and get away for a weekend.  I have a cabin we can use.  Who is in?

6.  Buy a new camera body and maybe a new lens (check)
YES!!  My old camera body was giving me some focus issues and it was driving me crazy.  I was able to get a new camera body by doing some work with Jefferson County and their foster care/at risk youth department.  I love my new body (hee hee) and the focus is SOOOOO much better.  I was also able to buy a used lens from my mentor.  Thanks Rene for upgrading your lens so I could buy your old one.

7.  Spend more time on blogging (check)
Blogging is hard and VERY time consuming.  I don't know how some people do it so often.  However, I was much more consistent with my blogging and had 82 posts this year compared to 60 in 2012.

8.  Spend more time on LiLo (check... sometimes it seemed like way too much time.  Need balance)
This one is tricky.  I did spent WAY more time on LiLo this year.  My business was very successful and I am very thankful.  I would love to grow the business even more in 2014!

Yee-haw!  There is nothing like setting some goals, working hard to meet them and then look back at the goals you set and see your dreams come to life!

Now on to 2014!

Last year I was kind of ashamed of my goal setting and didn't tell anyone about them and hid them in my desk.  This year I am going to be bold.  I am going to set my goals out in front of all of you!

In 2014 I want to....

1.  Increase my business even more!
2.  Be better with social media (blogging, Facebook, Instagram).
3.  Create better boundaries for working from home.
4.  Take a class (or two) on Newborn or Family Photography.
5.  Increase and expand my wedding sessions.
6.  Continue to improve my photography and editing skills.
7.  Not be so critical of my photography skills (especially when it comes to personal pictures) and take more personal pictures.  Sometimes I get burned out and don't want to lug around my "big camera".
8.  Get IN more pictures.  Sometimes because I am the "photographer in the family", I tend to take all of the pictures and not get in them.  I need to be better at setting my timer and getting in the shots, myself.
9.  Do a few "just for fun" sessions where I can be more creative and use fun props!

I am going to stick with 9 for now....because 9 is my favorite number and because 10 sounds like one too many!

How many of you write your goals down and then have fun looking back on them to see how you did?

Stay tuned for Best of LiLo 2013!