Hey everyone, please join me in wishing my lovely wife and uber-mom a Happy Birthday!  If you want to know what b-day she is celebrating, you will have to ask her.  I have learned a few things as a husband, and this is one of them :).  For those of you who know Stacey, you already know what makes her great, but for those of you who don't, here is what makes her who she is.

To start with, Stacey is fiercely loyal to those who she likes, loves, and trusts!  She will do whatever she can for those who fall into this category.  Family means everything to her.  She loves family more than anything, and this is what makes her such a great mother.  She would do anything for our kids and literally aches inside when they do.  She can be firm, yet has that mothers touch and soothing aura that the kids love.  It is truly a blessing being able to watch her with the kids on a daily basis. 

What do I love about her?  She really is the ying to my yang.  My head is typically in the clouds and dreaming about "the next idea" and she helps keep keeps my feet on the ground, yet still lets me float around.  She can finish my sentences, and knows my quirks.  Above all though, she has sacrificed her personal gain for that of our family.  She lets me run sometimes even if it means she has had to walk!  What more can someone ask for in their spouse?

I love you bird, and hope you have a great birthday!

P.S.  Here are a couple of images our wonderful assistant, Chelsea, took this past summer!


  

It always helps to have a little something nice to cushion the blow of snow when just a few hours earlier your toes were snuggled into the sand of the Atlantic Ocean.  Considering we had just left the sun and sand of Florida our spirits after a difficult plane ride were beginning to match the MN weather; however, we received a quick boost the next morning by receiving an e-mail that one of our images was featured along with a quote for a story on MN Bride''s website.  A fellow friend and photographer Katie Raivala had set up a shoot a while back and asked if we would join.  One of her friends wanted to conduct a "trash the dress" session and write a story about it.  Katie was curious if we had any ideas and wanted to participate.  I always love the opportunity to get creative so I was definitely on board.  Plus I think you can learn a lot by shooting with others.  Sometimes it is a new approach or looking at things a new way.  It had been a while since the shoot so I thought nothing had come of it, but imagine our surprise when I found out it was published online and they chose one of my images to feature.  You can read the story on MN Bride's site and view some of the additional images I took here.

So I figured it was about time that I try to post a few images while we are on our family vacation in Florida.  It all started a few months back when Stacey's sister was wanting us to go with her on a Disney Cruise.  She had just been through a very difficult year and wanted as much of her family to join her as possible.  After some very strong persuasion and an "offer we couldn't refuse", we decided to join her family.  Since we were going to be in Florida, we made plans to also spend some time with Stacey's parents in Naples and check in on some photographers we know in Miami. 

So far we have been blessed by wonderful weather and a great time.  We got to meet up with four of the people I went to Tanzania, Africa with and met some new friends.  My friends Ray Santana and Kenny Kim were holding the portfolio plus workshop at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables, and while doing so, Laura Parker, Phillip Glickman, and David Burke were all coming in to attend or help.  We all share a unique bond by going to Tanzania on the behalf of Thirst Relief.  The next day we had plans to meet up with another photographer I met a few years ago at WPPI by the name of Carlos Baez.  When I told him we were going to be in town, he and his lovely wife invited us over for lunch.  They have the two cutest boys and were such gracious hosts. We had Cuban sandwiches (which I have grown to love) followed by the best Cuban coffee, and a wonderful conversation.  Carlos has been working in photography for over 20 years and has so much great information to share.  

We have one day left at Stacey's parents and then are on our way to the boat!  If all goes according to schedule I heard there will be a shuttle launch the morning we get back to dock.  If so, we should be able to watch it from the boat.  How cool is that!  We have been having a great time and will try to bring some of the Florida sun back with us!  Here are just a few odd and end pictures that we grabbed so far while on vacation. 

Visiting the Polynesian at Disney World where Stacey's sister and her family are staying





Lauren waiting for Tinker Bell to open up the fireworks (which she did if you look at the far right :)



Disney from across the bay at night



South Beach



The "house" that Versace built



This guy would sing on the side of Collins Avenue both days we were there



Starting Lauren off on the right foot!



At Naples chilling out with Stacey's parents









P.S.  If anyone has tried calling me, my phone went out of commission and we haven't been able to get it fixed.  Please either try Stacey or e-mail us!

Ok, I'll just come out and say it, we have been bad bloggers lately!  With that said, I'll do my best to explain why.  I flew out of town unexpectedly on January 10th for a week and Stacey had single mom duty with Lauren and Ian, "the tiny tornado", while I was gone.  We got a call that my dad was in the hospital in Lake Havasu, AZ with some heart issues.  I am happy to report that he didn't have a heart attack, but his heart wasn't "in rhythm".  The top of his heart was beating at a different rate than the bottom.  The good news is that they got it back into rhythm and I was able to take him back to his place.  The Doctors are keeping close tabs on him, but he is out!  In addition, I am very proud of him for taking on some changes he needs to make head first.  He told me that he lost 14lbs since leaving the hospital on the 13th. 

To make things a little more exciting, I flew home on the 17th, gave a speech for the local ABC chapter (Association of Bridal Consultants) on the 19th, and we left for a family vacation the morning of the 20th.  Needless to say it has been a bit chaotic at the Thon house!  Despite all the chaos, it has turned out to be a blessing in disguise.  I got to spend a week with my Dad (and a lot of different Dr's and nurses :), which was nice.  Plus, I had the chance to catch up with some old and new friends.  Roger and I were in each others wedding and have been friends since 4th grade.  He was kind enough to offer me a place to crash before I flew home from Phoenix, where I ended up spending the evening with his family.  To top things off, I was able to have lunch with Melissa Jill, a great photographer and friend from the Tanzania trip.  It was so good to spend a little time with them both! 

In closing I am going to leave you with an image of a sunset taken in front of where my Dad is staying this winter.  It was the best one of the week and I was so happy to be able grab a quick shot.  Check back later for my thoughts on the ABC speech and hopefully we can post some pictures while on vacation!

Wow, I am honored to be the feature speaker on Tuesday, January 19th for the Minneapolis Association of Bridal Consultants.  If anyone in the wedding industry is interested in coming, here is a link to the Evite.

I have posted the Title and small outline of the presentation below:






I hope to see you there!