Ella's dedication

Our friends TJ and Courtney had their little girl dedicated at church last week and here we are celebrating afterward.  It's been so nice getting to know and hanging out with these people.  We are so thankful for good friends :)

Sarah, Brandon, Courtney & Ella, TJ & Tre, me and Richard.

V-day

 

Last year our valentines day didn't go quite as planned.  We tried going to downtown Portland last minute to eat at a new restaurant... the first one we tried wasn't even open so we headed to 23rd ave. and every place was packed, so we ended up eating at a random Chinese restaurant.  Let me just say there was no one there for a reason :)  but of course we enjoyed each others company. 

So this year, we thought it would be fun to spend a little extra on grocery's and do fondue at our house.  It was amazing!  We had a great time making everything together and then enjoying it together.  Not to mention we both love cheese and chocolate.  I agree that valentines day is kind of a "hallmark" holiday, but it gives us an excuse to do something different and spend time together.

 

We had some leftovers and they were definitely eaten by the next day :)

Ice skating

Ice Skating at the Lloyd Center!!

My friend Courtney and her baby Elekana

I had the pleasure of taking pictures of my friend Courtney and her new baby Elekana, Ella for short.  They are both beautiful, which helps make the pictures look good :)  I am very thankful for this opportunity to gain more knowledge and experience in taking photographs.  It was lots of fun and I can't wait to take more pictures of cute babies!

 

 

 

More Ohio pictures

Here's some more pictures from my trip to Ohio to visit family and attend my grandpa's funeral.

 Aunt Becky, Aunt Julie, Maw Maw, Aunt Tammy and my mom, Christy.

 Here I am with my grandma on High St. in Worthington, where I grew up.  I remember many summer days spent bike riding to this street to eat ice cream and hang out.

 Black Raspberry Chip ice cream from Graeters.  Best. Ice Cream. Ever.

 I got to go skiing with my Uncle Tommy and cousins Connor and Leighanne.  It was a lot of fun!

 It was great spending time with everyone in Ohio!  There is usually too much time in between visits :(  Miss you guys.

Paw Paw

Sadly, my Grandpa Joe (Paw Paw as we called him) passed away last week.  He had been battling cancer for a while now and just couldn't hold on anymore.  My mom and I were able to fly to Ohio to be with family last week (my mom also got to spend some of his last days with him).  The funeral was difficult but it was really special to spend time with family and talk about all of the memories we had with our grandpa/dad/husband.  He always had a special place in his heart for his grandchildren and made sure we knew that.  He was a great man and left a lot of wonderful legacy's with us on earth (especially my mom).  RIP Paw Paw, I'm so happy you're in a peaceful place now.

Marvel Family

Richard's Aunt Rena had her entire family in town for Christmas this year and she asked if I could take a few pictures of them together.  They were a lot of fun and had some great pictures ideas!  They even let Richard get in on a few :)  Thanks Aunt Rena for letting Richard and I document this special time for you.