A great big THANK YOU to everyone who has sent well wishes little Sadie’s way!!

Just to update all of you, we visited Sadie this weekend to celebrate her one-month birthday. It’s so strange to think that if she wasn’t so eager to join us, she’d still have two months before her due date. She has had a few set backs along the way, including two blood transfusions and a case of sepsis, a pretty serious infection. But, a spinal tap came back negative, so things are looking up. She was also taken off her breathing machine today and put on a low flow breathing tube. Apparently, the headgear needed to hold the breathing tube she had in place had caused a pretty nasty bruise on her head, so they wanted to let that heal and switched to something less cumbersome. The change is a little scary for her mommy & daddy since the previous times they’ve put her on the smaller breathing tube Sadie has had “spells,” which is a nice way of saying she’s stopped breathing. Preemies apparently often have trouble breathing because they’re lungs aren’t fully developed and it’s all so new to them they sometimes forget how to breath on their own.

The good news is that Sadie now weighs 3 pounds 10 ounces, that’s a pound more than she weighed when she was born…yeahhhh!!!!

When Andy & I arrived at the hospital, birthday cupcakes in tow (can’t hurt to butter up the hospital staff, right? Want to make sure they take good care of our little lovebug!!!) my sister, Kim, was holding Sadie. Kim & Eric, her husband, take turns as they’re only allowed one two-hour holding session per day. Here’s a photo of Sadie on her mommy’s chest. The necklace she’s reaching out for is one I had made for myself and my two sisters after our mom died. I designed it after a necklace she used to wear all the time growing up. It’s the symbol for Capricorn, my mom’s star sign. It just struck a chord with me that Sadie seemed to be getting comfort from touching the necklace. Kimmy says she often holds it….so sweet!!!

So we are back from our brief, but very enjoyable trip to Las Vegas, where we attended the annual Wedding & Portrait Photographers International (WPPI) trade show and convention! It is the largest convention in the country, drawing thousands of photographers from across the country and around the globe. We met a couple from Singapore in the elevator the day we arrived. (And we thought we had a long trip.)

This year’s turnout was massive and we had a blast, attending talks by some world-renown photographers, socializing via late-night dinners and Vegas-style Penthouse parties with friends old and new. Oh, and of course, there was a little gambling…okay, penny slots, but still, it was Vegas, baby! The only bummer of the trip was discovering that the slot machines no longer take coins. Instead, they now take bills and you get credits, which if you win…didn’t see too many folks doing that…you hit the “cash out” button and out comes a credit slip that you can redeem at an ATM-like redemption machine. The change-over to credits has made the casinos a lot quieter and not nearly as exciting in our opinion.

If you’ve never been, Las Vegas really is a town like no other. The nightlife is what it’s all about, with all the neon lights and people everywhere. When you are inside the casinos, you have absolutely no idea what time it is, and this is by design. There are no windows or clocks to keep folks gambling at all hours. Inside the Paris Hotel & Casino, there is a mall-like section with restaurants, shops & casinos, and the ceiling is painted bright blue with white fluffy clouds. The lighting gives the impression it’s day time in Paris…very strange, but very cool! Another mall down a little further down the street must have hired the same artists to paint the ceiling, but they took it one step further and had lights and a sound system installed that provided an eerily realistic thunderstorm every hour on the hour. They even had rain that fell from the ceiling into pools in the center of the mall.

We were also introduced to the Fremont Street section of Las Vegas, known as old town. The casinos are smaller and definitely feel older in their architecture and interior details, but in a very cool Rat Pack kind of way. A portion of the street is covered by a ceiling of light panels that at certain times each night display a crazy light show that can only be described as pure Vegas.

Here are a few photos from our trip.

Directions to the convention from inside the hotel Paris. Most of the programs were held at Bally’s Hotel, but the trade show, which was like nothing we’ve ever seen, was held at Paris. We couldn’t resist and bought some new gear that we’ve already started playing with…so fun!

Family fun watching Bellagio’s incredible water dances.

There is new construction right at the heart of the strip. Some of the locals we chatted with said it will be called “City Center.” Even with just the bare bones of construction showing, it promises to be the biggest hotel in Vegas, and organizers plan for it to offer everything visitors could ever need with several hotels surrounding at least two casinos. Estimate cost? Around $12 Billion! Madness!!!!

And of course it would be rude not to photograph Vegas at night! Here’s a few of our hotel, The Flamingo. We just loved this sign welcoming visitors to the casino. That’s Andy’s poker face…..thus, the penny slots for us!

The strip at night. How would you like to pay that electric bill?

Las Vegas Boulevard with Paris’s Eiffel Tower in the background.

And the Eiffel Tower during the day. We’ve never seen the real one to compare, but the Vegas tower is pretty impressive and we definitely weren’t the only ones photographing it.

Chris having a nap in the glorious sunshine outside Bally’s. Our last day it was about 78F…ahhhhh, dreamy.

Advertising Vegas style…

Since I was a kid, I have been fascinated by the Rubik’s Cube. I had a mate that could complete it really fast, and he always made it sound like it was no big deal. I was so impressed. It helped that I didn’t know anybody else that could complete it without removing the stickers or taking the cube apart! Anyway, after walking around Restoration Hardware this winter while doing a little Christmas shopping, Chris and I saw a Cube for sale. I guess there has been a Rubik’s Cube revival recently. Well, guess what I found stuffed in my stocking? Yep, you got it. Since then, I have been dedicated to trying to learn how to complete this frustrating toy!!! Well thanks to the internet, and in particular YouTube, there are a whole host of tutorials available. And it really isn’t that hard to learn once you get the hang of it. I now have it mastered!! I am no world record speed cuber, but i feel quite the sense of achievement that i can now do it. Here’s my tribute to the cube!!! Check it out….

So i was wondering how many people out there can complete the cube too? Can you?

For the second year running, Chris and I escaped to the White Mountains for the Married Wedding Photographers ski retreat in NH hosted by our friends Matt and Enna of Grazier Photograpahy. Joining us this year were Kim & John from Sanderson Images, (check out their blog for some really cool mug shots of us all), Justin & Mary from Justin Marantz Photography, and Larry and Tabitha from Sherrell Photography.

We spent most of the week hanging out, talking shop, and of course skiing/snowboarding. It was so great to share ideas and experiences with other photographers who understand the challenges and rewards of working alongside your partner. Here are just a few images from our time together.

We picked the perfect day for hitting the slopes!

Kim & John Sanderson give the thumbs up to these awesome spring conditions, which we enjoyed almost entirely to ourselves!!! Gotta love mid-week skiing.

Matt shows off his ultimate speed

Justin & Mary have never been on the slopes before but took to it like a fish to water. Check out their blog for a cool video clip of Justin. Here they are blogging back at the ski house!

Back in the ski house we played a little pool. Here’s a little trick shot for you …

Tabitha shows us her talents outside of photography. Larry, Eldon, and little Vera June watch on.

Ollie Grazier looks on – desperate to join the game!

Everyone brought a laptop or computer so we could do a little work. Here Larry checks his morning email, while Eldon Sherrell looks on….don’t you just love the expressions!

Matt & Enna feeling the love!

And of course there was always someone with a camera at the ready. Christine chimping!

And John getting a few action shots.

Then of course there was a little time for just hanging out. Larry reading to Eldon.

Oh … and Ollie says “Hi everyone” or was it “Another photographer … noooo don’t take my picture anymore!!”

And the great thing is we’ll get to see them again next week in Las Vegas at WPPI – the largest international convention for wedding and portrait photographers. We can’t wait!