Happy. Merry. Joyful.

We love our Christmas cards this year... partly because I didn't have to make them, but mostly because we have been wanting to do our Christmas cards through Mango Ink for a long time and we finally did! If you've never checked out this awesome, boutique card company, check out their website here. Trust me, you will not regret it!

If you didn't get a Christmas card, I promise we still love you... our bank account, on the other hand, does not. ;)

We wish you all a joyful Christmas and a happy 2011!

xoxo

Jordan, Whitney, Maggie & Max

Ross + Marlene 9.12.10

If you've ever seen the movie 27 Dresses, you will remember the scene where Jane (Katherine Heigl) tells Kevin (James Marsden) that she always looks at the groom as the bride is walking down the aisle to see the look on his face. Where most people look at the bride, they both agree that the look on the groom's face tells a better story.

The way that Ross looked at Marlene on their wedding day was unlike anything I've ever seen. And it wasn't just the first time he saw her that day when she walked down the aisle; it was the whole day. There were countless pictures where Marlene was looking at the camera and smiling, and Ross was looking at her. I'm not typically a very sentimental person, but the adoration he showed for his new bride was simply beautiful. And I didn't even mention the toast Ross gave to Marlene at their reception... let's just say there were very few dry eyes in the room!

Ross and Marlene's wedding was at Elkins Resort on Priest Lake. There were so many things I loved about this wedding... how their guests all arrived on boats, the ceremony being held on a secluded beach, Marlene's gorgeous J. Crew wedding dress, the live music by Neva during the cocktail hour, the rustic elegance of the setting at Elkins, and just how intimate and personal the entire wedding was. Ross and Marlene decided they didn't want to see each other before the ceremony, so we did most of their pictures during the cocktail hour. Check out the slideshow below to see some Flat 4 favorites of Ross and Marlene's beautiful wedding!

4 Years

Four years ago today I married the coolest human I know. He also happens to be the sexiest, funniest, craziest, most patient, hardest working, most fun, down-to-earth guy out there.

These are definitely not our best wedding photos, but I like them anyway. And it was easier to post these than dig through our wedding photo disc that is still somehow not on my computer. I know, it's weird, seeing as I am a photographer and all... ;)

We are going to a little wine bar that we've been wanting to try out tonight for dinner and then we're headed out to the Coeur d'Alene Resort tomorrow to stay the night and have dinner at Beverly's! I'll be honest, we are doing a Photo Booth event for a company holiday party at the resort on Saturday night and the company offered to let us take advantage of their corporate room rate -- the rates were just too good to pass up! So we decided to make the most of it. :) We have always been more into doing a nice dinner and evening rather than getting each other gifts for our anniversary.

Jordan and I constantly talk about how many big things we have been able to do together in the last 4 years of our marriage...

YEAR 1: Bought our first house! Didn't kill each other within the first four months. ;) Got Maggie! Jordan started law school at GU.

YEAR 2: Hmmmmm... okay, maybe this wasn't a big year. We did work a TON to save up for London. :)

YEAR 3: Lived in London and traveled around Europe for 5 months! Went skydiving! Started our photography business. Got Max!

YEAR 4: Got the Photo Booth and grew our business into something! Bought our 10-acre property in Chattaroy! Didn't kill Max. ;) Jordan graduated law school AND passed the Bar Exam!

The funny part is, four years seems like a long time but doesn't seem very long all at the same time. As cheesy at it sounds, I love Jordan so much more now than I did when we got married. Without a doubt. I look forward to going home from work even when we have absolutely nothing to do that night. I love that he will let me rant and rave about things that fire me up and still love me at the end of the day. I feel blessed to have a husband who will help cook dinner, not care what I spend on clothes or coffee (which, really, is not very much), and is intentional in our marriage. After four years, I can honestly say I am more happy now than I've ever been. And the crazy part? I only see it getting better...

Snow Shoeing Adventures

I grew up snow-skiing every weekend as a kid. We were the perfect definition of "ski bums," that is, until volleyball came along. It turns out Jordan skied a lot as a kid too -- perfect, right? A couple years ago we looked into starting back up with our old hobby, but the idea died abruptly when we found out the cost of a season pass these days is more than our monthly mortgage payment. And to our dismay, our ski gear from when we were 12 wasn't really going to work out either. End of discussion.

We had been dying to get up to our property after the first big snow to see how the views looked when everything was covered in snow. We also wanted to make sure we'd be able to make it up the hill in our car, which thankfully we did! So my Mom suggested we borrow her and Dad's snow shoes...

To be honest, I wasn't too thrilled and secretly thought snow shoes were kinda dorky. Sorry, Mom. But I am pleased to announce that I was completely WRONG! Not only is snow shoeing a lot of fun, it's also a great workout and such a fun way to take advantage of being outside and actually enjoying the snow! I know, I just said "enjoying" and "snow" in the same sentence. It's a Christmas miracle...

So we bundled up, took the pups with us and hiked all around our property! Here is Max getting ready to go. :)

Jordan blazing a trail for the pups on our future driveway... I love how the pups are both looking at me for the picture. We've trained them well. ;)

Little did we know, snow shoeing is a great workout, especially when the snow is powder! We ended up shedding some layers not long after we got started...

Ummmmm... we also didn't realize how bad the powder snow would stick to the dogs! They were such troopers and were having so much fun, but the longer we went, the more snow got stuck to them. Max got it the worst! Jordan was being the responsible one trying to help him while I was screaming/laughing and taking pictures...

I'm sorry, but is that not the funniest thing you've ever seen?! Poor guy! We couldn't get the snowballs off him so we had to wait until they melted on the way home.

Since we had so much fun snow shoeing the first time, we decided to go again the following weekend. This time we brought friends! :) Nicole, Marc, Steve, and Cassie (and their pups, Wrigley and Banks) came with us.

This time around it was super sunny and clear skies so we could actually see the views. The snow was also a lot more compact so it was much easier for the pups since they could walk on top of the snow instead of falling through it!

Our future home site view... LOVE IT!

The ladies...

The gents...

One of many wipeouts! For the record, I was the only one who didn't wipeout during our trip. Just sayin'... ;)

Jordan taking a little break and checking out the view...

I think snow shoeing has become one of our favorite winter activities! Even though we've only done it twice... ha! It is such a fun way to use our property in the winter, and it is so much more affordable than skiing. You really can't beat the seclusion of being up in the mountains with no one else around you... well, unless you invite your friends. :)

FYI: You can rent snow shoes and poles for really cheap at REI if you don't have some! And a brand new set is way cheaper than you might think if you decide you like it.

I'm pretty sure snow shoes and gear got bumped up to the top of Jordan and my Christmas list this year... hint, hint. ;)