. eli & allison e-session :: preview .

a few weeks before leaving for cali, i was asked to shoot an engagement session for eli & allison. i've known eli for years, so it was really a privilege to meet his fiancee, allison. it was even more of a joy to spend a couple hours with them going around town and looking for cool spots to take some shots. this couple loves to laugh! so this session was so much fun! thanks, eli & allison, for letting me capture these moments. here's a few preview pictures i was able to get done today. i'll let everyone know when the full set is up!

. the halls .

yesterday i was given the privilege of spending two hours with the hall family. justin & gretchen are missionaries in Albania but have spent the summer here in the states awaiting their daughter's birth. well, she arrived six weeks ago, and she is adorable. the halls are such an awesome couple, and they were a pleasure to talk and laugh with as we strolled throughout the alleys and back ways of Wheaton. their two kids are beautiful. so here's a few pics from the session. to see the full gallery, click here. justin & gretchen, it really was an honor.

. real people . real moments .

i know what you're thinking - again?! yep. i guess i was simply not absolutely thrilled with the (newly) old site. more importantly, it lacked the phrase that defines GeeFamily Photography. but that phrase and purpose is now clearly stated. we're about building relationships so that we can capture those moments that define who we are and what we're all about. so enjoy the new site (i love it!).

Vacation's All I Ever Wanted - Pt. 2

As promised, here is the second installement of our vacation: day 2! Thursday was filled with a mishmash of relaxing and touring. We started our day with our first delicious breakfast cooked by the owner of the B&B, Bob. After eating, we set out for Holland, MI, a dutch town about thirty minutes north of South Haven. We have some friends who grew up and went to college there, so we figured we stop in on their hometown (even though they now live in Wheaton) and look around.

The downtown was so cute! We walked from storefront to storefront. Monica picked out an awesome necklace, and I found a violin-crafter's shop - apparantly a rather well known violin maker from the Netherlands. Henning was kind enough to let me fiddle around a bit and we chatted with he and his wife for awhile. After grabbing a cup of coffee, we set out for "Windmill Island", the home of the only operating Dutch windmill in America (i.e., the only windmill that still grinds wheat, complete with the only Holland [the country] certified master miller!). The whole thing was kinda touristy, but for 7 bucks, it was a lot of fun and pretty interesting as we even got a tour of the windmill. All in all, Holland is a beautiful city with a good deal of fun things to see and do!

After grabbing a quick lunch, we went back to South Haven and laid out for several hours at the beach. We even managed to avoid getting burnt! After a pizza dinner, we headed out to the lighthouse at the end of the pier where I couldn't help but take some pictures of my be-a-utiful wife! Finally, we ended our day back where we ended it the day before - at Sherman's. I was a lot wiser this time and only ordered a single scoop!

So that was day two! Here are the photos...

The Violin Shop

Henning and Me with a Viola He Made in 1957 Monica's Super Cute Necklace!

Downtown Holland

Monica and Yet Another Friend...I Knew He Was A Mischievious Fellow!
Hand-Carved Wooden Horses from a Dutch Carousel at Windmill Island
At Windmill Island...

Ah Yes, the Clogs...Thank Goodness These Never Caught On!
This Pic Speaks For Itself!
An Old Dutch Traveling Organ
The Windmill

...With an Underwhelming "Authentic" Dutch Dance
They All Look Like They're Loving Being There...
A Cool Shadow...
Inside the Windmill...





Us at the End of the Pier



And, Of Course, My Hottie Wife!




At Sunset...

An Explanation of Summer Reading

I'm not the fastest reader in the world (even in grad school!). My wife is. Thus, it is always an accomplishment when I finish some book and move on to another. I've made it a goal to work on that this summer, so I'm trying to have something to read before my eyes at all times. A mix of fiction, biography, and non-fiction seems to be the best combination - hey, it's summer, you have to read something fun!

That being said, I've just completed my first summer book, one that Taylor Sutton recommended I read a few months back. It's called The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson. It's a historical fiction book that tells the true stories of two men who each impacted the 1893 Chicago World's Fair (a.k.a. World's Columbian Exposition) in very different ways. It has been an enthralling read. I love Chicago. I love Chicago history more. And this book is replete with the stories and tales of a largely forgotten event that, in its day, was one of the most significant achievements of Chicago and America that the world had ever seen. What's more, all of the quotes in the book are taken from actual letters and newspaper articles written by the actual characters/newspapers from those days. Larson masterfully combines meticulous research with biting whit and humor to contrast the stories of the Exposition's head architect, Daniel Burnham (perhaps the most famous architect of the late 1800's/early 1900's) and America's first mass murderer, Dr. H. H. Holmes, who lived just blocks from the World's Fair when it was going on. The two men never met, but their lives and actions both profoundly affected the course of American history, even up to the present day. If you like a great story, some excellent history, and an overall fun read, this is the book for you!

Turning from that, I've now begun reading Jonathan Edwards: A Life by George M. Marsden. This biography of the greatest American Theologian and Philosopher has received excellent reviews from everyone I've talked to, and I've been wanting to read it for some time now. It's definitely a little bit more heady than the book above, but still very accesible by all audiences. What's more, it's spiritually profitable. I'm only 30-something pages into the text but have been challenged by the ways that the puritans thought and acted in their own time. The style is comfortable and the material strikes a good balance between narrative and biographical styles, so it's very easy to get lost in its pages. I'll give a more full review of the book when I've completed it.

For now, I'd recommend putting down the remote and picking up one of these, or any other, books and enjoy the oft-forgotten playground that is your mind.