By now, I’m sure you’ve also heard about Cooper’s House on the local and national news. If you haven’t already checked out his Facebook page, it’s a great place to go to become informed about what’s been happening and get involved.

We love this family. They’re as down-to-earth and warm as you can imagine. I was over there tonight getting a shot of Cooper’s house all decked out in holiday lights. We talked about how things were going, and the family is optimistic that the Andover Forest Neighborhood Association will reconsider its stance on removing Cooper’s therapy playhouse from the property. There’s an overwhelming amount of public support for Cooper, but ultimately, the homeowners in that subdivision will need to make a big decision on what kind of a neighborhood they want to create.

Yep, that’s right. Create. Neighborhoods aren’t maintained. They’re not protected. A neighborhood’s value isn’t in the soil, bricks and mortar any more than a church is a building. A neighborhood is created daily by the choices its residents make in associating with one another. In helping each other. That’s what makes houses homes.

Let’s encourage the Andover Forest homeowners to take on this responsibility and be an example to all neighborhoods.

Here’s that shot from earlier tonight.

It’s not something we had planned for Carson since birth, but homeschooling is something Katie and I have moved into naturally and confidentally. With Katie’s background in early childhood education and my having worked as a teacher (holla to all my Brookside Elementary friends!), it’s a natural fit. 

Things we’re excited about:

Flexible scheduling. I don’t work 9-5, M-F. Most of my work is during the afternoons, evenings and weekends. If Carson were in a traditional school, I’d rarely see him. Also, I get the occasional opportunity to travel with work. Being able to travel as a family is nice. Lastly, homeschooling doesn’t have to take 8 hours per day.

Control over the pace of the curriculum. Notice I didn’t say “control over the content.” Carson will be learning all the same content taught in traditional schools, it’s just that we’ll be able to speed up and slow down as necessary. If Carson wants to spend extra time studying something that interests him, no problem. If he blows through concepts quickly, we can move on to more advanced ones.

Social opportunities. Our schedule is open and we’re beyond the bounds of school districts. Carson can go to any classes or groups he/we want. That’s very freeing.

This Thanksgiving, I’m thankful for you, Katie, for taking on this incredible responsibility. You’re organized, nurturing and passionate about Carson’s future. You are perfect for this.

Backpack Bear visits each day and has a note for Carson.

Carson and Backpack Bear checking out the weather (rainy that day). Notice the drawings on the windows.

Jumping jacks.

Love this.

We’re not really advocates for homeschooling, per se. It’s not for everyone. We get that. But if any of you are curious about what resources we lean on for ideas and encouragement in parenting/teaching, here are a few of our faves:

Bluegrass Homeschool Learning Cooperative
Positive Parenting
Starfall (their kindergarten curriculm covers language arts, science, social studies)
Singapore Math
Handwriting Without Tears
Dr. Sears
Attachment Parenting
Mrs. Jump

If you have any questions, feel free to contact Katie at mamabubblering@yahoo.com . We’re not experts, but we’re happy to chat about these things.

To Tiffiney, George, Jordan, Courtney, Michael, Ally, Cooper, Spencer, Rachel, Rosie, Rob and Charlotte—-Thank you for enriching our lives. You rock.

Carson had a great turnout of friends for his dinosaur-themed Oogles-N-Googles party, at which our friend and cake artist extraordinaire Brandi Romines (Happy As A Lark Cakes) surprised Carson with the biggest edible dinosaur cake you can imagine. She spend an enormous amount of time making sure everything was perfect, modeling it after one of Carson’s toys. Thank you, Brandi! You’re amazing at what you do and deserve tons of success!

Awesome, right?

Pretty impressive, eh?

Flying dinosaurs.

Ally as a triceratops.

Volcano!

Carson loved all of his gifts, but he’s especially fond of books and stickers.

While we were singing Happy Birthday, Carson was sneaking a few bites.

Everybody needs hugs.

Especially the kind that lift you off the ground!

After partying with Carson’s friends, we went back home to have both my and Katie’s families over to hang out.

Auntie Rebecca.

Elijah.

We made sure to give Cera a gift, too. Kept her busy for quite some time.

Aidan is a big reader, too.

Nana!

Mimi and Pop-Pop.

The boys and Gigi.

Even Ben from next door popped in.

Dear Carson—You can’t read all of this now, but one day, you’ll stumble across these posts. I hope you’ll always know how much we love you and how proud of you we are. You’re awesome, buddy—and such a big boy now!

One of the best pieces of advice I ever received regarding time management is that, when you’re self-employed, it’s essential to plan time away from work often and early. Even if it’s just a weekend away from home. Get it on your calendar, and stick to it. You’ll find yourself more productive between the breaks, and you’ll keep a sense of balance.

Here are some shots from our vacation last fall. Looking through the images while preparing this post was a great motivator for the months ahead. I’ve been meaning to post them for awhile now. Yes—the cobbler’s kids are running around with no shoes. Sorry!

We stayed at Kidani Village at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas. Carson loves animals, particularly the ones from Africa (think Lion King). Best part of staying there was having a balcony overlooking wildlife—even giraffes. Very cool.

Before the trip, we had watched video tours of the rooms, so Carson was already super-excited to get to the balcony when we arrived.

Balcony view

We divided our time between Animal Kingdom Park, Epcot and the Magic Kingdom, though as you might guess, Carson wanted to go to Animal Kingdom most everyday. No prob. We love it there, too.

Carson brought Simba from home. While at Animal Kingdom, he bought a matching Nala with his allowance money. We sang “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” when the two were reunited! Yes—we’re total geeks.

Pretty big moment.

Happy to have this shot in our collection. Kind of a must-have, you know?

Long day. Carson grabbed a nap while we were waiting for the fireworks.

Right before checking out from Kidani Village.

For anyone who’s ever been to Disney, you know—it’s a blast, but not the most relaxing. Our time at the beach was a welcomed change of pace.

We were still at the beach on the morning of Carson’s 4th birthday. We had a party planned for his friends and relatives back in Lexington once we returned, but we still wanted his actual birthday morning to be special. So we brought one gift for him to open and got the hallway from the bedroom all decorated to surprise him.

Loved that moment.

Please don’t judge us for what gift we got him. Gotta learn to text early, right?

Every Sunday morning back in Lexington, we have a fun little routine of eating those ever-so-healthy canned Pillsbury cinnamon rolls. So that’s what we had that morning instead of birthday cake.  Worked like a charm.

And of course, triceratops needed one.

Tampa has a pretty incredible aquarium. Carson loves animals so much—even snakes.

I have the same shot of Carson from two years earlier when he was there as a two-year-old. Makes me happy and sad to see him in that spot again.

Waterpark at the aquarium.

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Bill and I have been the best of friends since we were in elementary school. He now lives in Florida with his wife Kelly and son Ben. They live about an hour away from the beach where we stay, so our vacations are also planned with the intent of giving us time to reconnect.

Yes—that’s eight boxes of sushi that we polished off (nevermind the rum). Not too shabby!

We checked out the Tampa zoo, too. Pretty nice, though I didn’t take a ton of pictures.

Feeding the rays.

Budding photographer. Proud dad.

And a few final shots from our last couple nights.

Behind the scenes there was a bit of a surprise being orchestrated. The plan was to, while having our own fall family portraits taken by Betsy and Magnus, have our friend Jordan show up and bring the puppy to Katie and Carson, both totally unaware. And since the cameras would already be turned on us, all of the fun would be well documented.

Things went off without a hitch.

The family photography session turned out awesome. Betsy and Magnus got some incredible shots of us, and Katie and Carson had no idea what was about to happen.

And here’s where it gets good…We settled into a nice big open area for some final shots of us together as a family…

And then Jordan walks up.

Exactly the reaction I was looking for!

I love this shot of Katie. I’ll now never forget how happy she was at this exact moment.

If you know Carson, then you know that he’s pretty big into dinosaurs.  When asked what we should name the puppy, he came up with Cera (you know, from Land Before Time).

To Tiffiney, George and Jordan…Thank you! I know how much you all love your own pets. Means a lot to us that you would let Cera come live with us. You can be assured that she’s well-loved.

To Betsy and Magnus…Having you two there completed things for me. Yes, it was great having the surprise documented, but it’s way cooler for me that two of my closest friends were there with us.

6 months later, all is well. We love having Cera in our lives.

Here she is at the studio.

Checking out the neighborhood kids.

And chilling with my parents’ boxer.

I’m not alone in this space.  Adam Martin works his design magic from within these walls, too.  He’s one awesome dude, and I know that both of our businesses will grow as a result being around each other.

Two weeks ago, several of our close friends and clients came out to break in the space with us. We kept the party high brow.  PBR on tap, solo cups, and some old school rap.  Niiice.

I want to thank some folks…

DJ: My brother Jay Ring. I might be biased, but I think he’s pretty dang incredible.

Flowers: Jeremy Rice from House. You rock!

Cupcakes: BabyCakes. We made quick work of these.  Amazing, Tricia.

Event Planning: My friend Michelle Lowe of Ideally Done. Want to talk dedication? Michelle came ahead of the party to help us put everything together. While pregnant. While knowing she was scheduled to deliver her baby the NEXT DAY. And thank you to her husband Nathan for helping out, too!

HUGE thanks to my assistant Candi and her husband Josh, Jenny Baumert (second shooter), Kelly Janssen (intern) who helped with everything else (shopping, cleaning, decorating, even bartending). I can’t thank you enough!

And thanks to everyone who came out.  Hope you had a blast.  We did!

I wish I had more photos to share, but I shot very little that night.  Just kind of wanted to hang out, you know?

Here’s one shot of the early crowd.

We tethered a camera so that guests could see crazy party shots pop up live on the big screen.  Thank you to Jenny Baumert, my talented second shooter, for rocking out most all of these backdrop shots.  Not everyone jumped into the action, but the handful that did provided loads of entertainment for us all.

Thank you to Kelly Janssen for putting together this video using more of the party shots. Very cool!

And if you’re still reading this far, I thought I might as well show you THIS video of me trying to dance. Thank you Kelley Nalli for capturing it. Hilarious!

What I’m offering now is a similar position, but waaaaaay more intense.  Not just weddings.  To one person who will dedicate their time and energy to working alongside me, I’ll dedicate myself to making sure that person has complete access to  learn anything and everything I know photography-related—equipment, technique, portraiture, lighting, posing, workflow, post-processing, printing, albums, client communication, invoicing, marketing, branding, goal setting…everything.

Interested or know someone who might be?  Here’s how the application process will work:

Applicants should:

• already have a DSLR camera body, preferably a Nikon
• already have a basic understanding of exposure (aperture, shutter speed, iso)
• want a career in the photography field eventually
• love people

All interested people should shoot over to me a short letter of introduction by October 16.  You can send it directly to my email HERE.  In it, it’d be a good idea to let me know a little about yourself, what experience you’ve had, and what your goals are, both short-term and long-term.

FYI, there will be pay involved, especially as it relates to second-shooting weddings with me.  But this is not a job.  It’s going to be an investment.  An education.  And it’s going to be a blast…promise!

Looking forward to hearing from you all!

Katie does such a great job with Carson.  Here she is planning some new activities to keep Carson from getting bored.

He’s recently discovered the camera on Katie’s cell.  And text messaging.  If you get message from Katie’s number and it has the alphabet, the numbers 20 to 1, or the word rhino (his favorite), I’m gonna go ahead and bet that it’s really from Carson.  Thank goodness he hasn’t figured out how to text the photos he’s taking.

One of the best things we keep downstairs is a Carson’s easel, drawing paper and markers.  If you haven’t noticed it before, Carson always opens his mouth wide when concentrating.

If you have kiddos and don’t already have one of these Display and Storage Frames from Target, do it.  Get a few of them and put them in a series somewhere in your home.  The frame opens like a book almost, so that you can easily change out new artwork.  Where to put the artwork being replaced?  How about in the handy little pocket inside?  Cool idea.

Here’s a hippo, tree, grass and sun.  I might be biased, but I think it’s pretty dang awesome.

Carson took this picture of Katie and me.  I dialed in the settings, but he was the one sighting us up in the viewfinder and pushing the shutter release.  I put the camera body on the floor to make things easier.  Pretty nice shot, eh?

A few weeks ago, we spent a few days in Cincinnati taking in the Newport Aquarium and the Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal.  In the absence of having  a tripod, the old wide-angle camera-on-the-ground self portrait is a good call.

Thanks for stopping by!  -shaun

Katie and I work really hard to always make sure that Carson has new experiences and opportunities for personal growth.  Of all of the classes and groups that we’ve been a part of with Carson, he has been the most interested toward the Kids Yoga class at Bliss Wellness Center.

Katie took Carson the first couple times, and she would come home telling me about the incredible instructor Kara, who would take Carson’s interests (dinosaurs, animals) and develop around them playful, imaginative yoga.  I just had to meet her and see what this was all about.  Of course, I brought my camera, too.

I was shocked by how well Carson did.  He can really rock some poses!  Most impressive, though, was the genuine warmth that Kara exudes.  She has the ability to bring fun and peace to a room.  Like a super-hero.  So cool.

Bliss Wellness isn’t just about kids yoga, though.  They offer a variety of services–yoga, pilates, massage, reflexology, reiki, meditation, acupuncture and Chinese herbs, Phoenix Rising yoga therapy, life coaching, and counseling.

I’m passionate about my businesses, and I can’t help but want to cheer-lead for other people who are fervently pursuing their own.  So after you check out these shots from Carson’s yoga class, I really want to encourage you to check out Bliss Wellness Center.  You’ll be so happy you did!