thanksgiving for the new year

some of the best subjects for a photo EVER!

mom's homemade pumpkin pie and one of my favorite pass times, watching through the window.
if you want to print a thanksgiving roll basket wall size, let me know. I understand.
kitchen window. strange things seemed to appear....

baby wright was OBSESSED with being perched on the window, sink sprayer in hand...so close to figuring it out..
faith's adorable place cards. she is so creative. best party director hands down.
family prayer (staged!!!!...they loved waiting for that one)

the perfect bite. one of g's and I's favorite challenges.
faith got the whole family outside playing "shark". tag game with safe spots. I had a good time not trying very hard, but grant was sliding and sweating and tripping kids to get to safe spots.
have you ever seen sneakers that white?! I'm impressed dad. what is your secret?





saying goodbye can be hard. goodbye thanksgiving. goodbye christmas, BUT saying hello can be very fun. hello 2009. hello getting married. hello photo projects. so many things I am excited to say hello to. It's going to be a good year.

later 2008.

countdown


when we were 90 days until the wedding, I had an idea....paper chain!!

neither of us could remember the last time we had made one, but kindergarten was ringing bells. so after the cutting and counting we each took 45 rings and wrote down the reasons why we are excited to marry the other person. I know you are thinking that is the number 1 most cheesy gaga thing to do, because it is....BUT taking turns tearing rings off every night and being reminded why we love each other and why we are choosing to be together has been an amazing exercise in being present and focusing on the most important part of wedding planning...each other.

huzzah!

merry christmas to you

I almost gave up on christmas this year, when my sponge cake didn't rise, my sweet potatoes just tasted "ok", I couldn't be with ALL my family and the traffic was bad.....but once grant started lip syncing mariah carey's "all I want for christmas is you", I took christmas back. I didn't even last an hour with christmas on the outs.


christmas story:

I was walking to my local trader joes a week or so before christmas and I saw a friendly middle aged women walking towards me with a long red poncho on. As we passed our eyes meet and just when I thought the usual "smile through the eyes" would suffice she greeted me with a bright "good morning and merry christmas!" I was slightly taken back and tried to return the greeting before it was too late. It really brightened my day. small, simple, barely any effort at all, still it made me feel part of something. I realized I often take the easy way out when it comes to showing extra effort and I continued the day trying to do more than just nod.

connect more. take chances. be friendly even if you feel you are the only one. forgive. try to stop "checking off the list" and take moments to see something, hear something, smell something. make eye contact. tell the people you love that you do... even if it's hard or awkward. don't wait. be the "man on wire". beauty doesn't always have to make sense or have a reason. start living everyday.

these are the things I wish for myself and everyone I love.

merry christmas! joy to the world!

xo.

heather underwater









mark loaned me his underwater casing and boy do I wish I had a photo of the casing! it looked like something suited for spaceships in the 1950's. it was amazing. we headed out into waimea bay and I learned that underwater photography would be much easier if the water wasn't moving. being hit by waves and pointing the space age camera contraption in any direction gave some interesting results. heather was a great sport and as I proceeded to slowly drown her. I love her red hair against the green of the water. wowzas!

I should really buy a underwater casing since I live in beach land. would anybody be up for a underwater shoot? if so email me at rachel@rachelthurston.com

somebody loves christmas trees!










those somebodies are us!

I wish I could tell you how exciting tree lots are for me. I'm not sure if I should feel bad that we chop down SO many trees for a fairly weird tradition of putting pines in our living rooms, but it doesn't stop me from loving every pine lovin needle.

the smell. the silly prickly branches. the crazy high pressure lumberjacks following you around as you hug each tree to see if the fit is right. grant's smile as he frolics around the lot. the santa hat I made him wear. not wanting to do anything all day except sit by the tree, smell the tree and worry if there is enough water for the tree. the other night I even slept on the couch so I could be near the tree. it cures all ailment's too! grant was grumpy from his laptop not working right so I tore off a tiny portion and rubbed it in my hands and held the piney oils up to his face. he cheered right up! I'm serious! try it!

oh, I love christmas.

tree vs. stars

my honeymoon destination search brought to light a few more possibilities...

...like staying in a TREE HOUSE!

I loved swiss family robinson as a young thing and was very intrigued with the inner workings of living in a tree house. I've always wanted a master bedroom with a "roll away" ceiling so you could just sleep under the stars. no 5 star hotel could beat that. I love this idea.

read more about tree house hotels here or here.

...or what about this! a luxury safari camp in africa! I'm not sure how you would be protected from the wild animals but who cares if you can really get this view!

last but not least, SPACE. I'm not sure why I hadn't thought of it before. seems perfectly reasonable. book your flight to outer space here.

honey beach moon hut

(photo somewhere in french polynesia borrowed from here)


today I have been a woman obsessed with beach bungalows.

fiance and I are thinking of a south of the equator honeymoon....or at least somewhere warm....currently most thought about places are maldives, bora bora, india and indonesia. we both decided we wanted our honeymoon to be somewhere neither of us has been.

I have my heart set on some combination of hammocks, white linens, outdoor shower, amazing food, secluded local, mosquito netting etc. it doesn't have to be fancy, but we don't want to be without hot water and a comfy bed. oh, and it would be a plus if it was affordably priced

any suggestions?

where did you go on your honeymoon? what do you wish you would have done differently? know of any great little beach huts?

oh somebody's had a birthday!

..our dear little kateford dear! may father in heaven bless her throughout the coming year!


happy birthday to my first younger sibling. thank you for being a girl. thank you for having the cutest voice EVER when you were little. thank you for saying on the home video "makes me wanna crrrryy". thank you for letting me dress you in doll clothes and push you around in my buggy (I was in baby heaven). thank you for making valentines day memorable for "many" reasons. thank you for appreciating good music, good food, good books and good jokes. thank you for being deep. thank you for loving "little women". thank you for having the most beautiful long golden tresses known to man or robot. thank you for hiding with me under the kitchen counter when we wanted to hid from helping with dishes. thank you for understanding what I mean when I say, "obedient children" or "7x7=49". thank you for sleeping with me on the street during the blackout in NY. thank you for forgiving me when I make stupid mistakes. thank you for wanting to protect our family. thank you for "speciba" (sp) and "lou blu" (sp). thank you for jumping on my tramp with me in your red footie pajamas. thank you for being an amazing aunt to my kids someday. thank you for being the better person always, but pretending that I am sometimes. thank you for having a name like, kate. it fits you perfectly.

25 was one of my top years. you're going to love it. thanks for being born to me as my sister forever and ever more. amen.

ps. I'm glad I get to see you today! maybe I'm with you as you are reading this!

(I am the the one with brown hair, kate, with golden tresses........also notice the sheet under our sleeping bags, I think they are star wars sheets! yes!)

one year ago..

(photo courtsey of shaun)

well, almost a year ago. last year on thanksgiving day gfunk and I jumped on a plane(s) and flew to peru. we hiked the inca trail to manchu picchu and did it with some pretty hardcore friends. thanks mikell for planning the whole thing and thank you porters for all of the coca tea.

off to texas this year for the grateful day. not quite the same as cusco but texas will be full of family so it will be an adventure in its own right!

face film

I just got back my processed film from the film is not dead workshop and am so excited looking through the images. It was a great week with some great photographers shooting side by side....so I thought it only fitting to showcase some of those photographer faces first in what I'm sure will be MANY hawaii posts to come.

jon making the most NORMAL face I ever saw him make (thanks again and again for such an amazing week...I can still hear your shooting "wooOOooo" in my head).
natalie is SO full of energy and has 3 amazing boys and 1 amazing husband that match her energy. how does she do it all?! quite the inspiration.
leilani spent many years living in laie and was one of our island experts. I loved her free spirit and morning walks along the beach.
tracee was the bombshell photographer and mother of 2. thank you for all your advice on child rearing and motherhood. you took away some of my fears and actually helped me feel a little bit of excitement. not sure about your "baby a year" plan, but we'll see how desperate I get!

doble quinceanera

(invite design by jp)

grant n' friends threw a surprise party for me on friday. how thoughtful!! I loved it!

we bowled, took out 30yrs of pent up aggression on a couple of awesome pinatas and were serenaded by jenny b.

because of friday, this birthday was easier to bear....actually quite easy. I was happy and content with my old, old age. thanks to everyone who sent me birthday wishes and everyone else who thought it in their hearts.

hasta luego a los anos veinte.

jenny & baby battlestar


















introducing my soon to be sister in law, with darren making a guest appearance (g's brother) and the real show stopper, little baby bump! our very own baby battlestar! my cute cuddly, mad over his aunt rachel, soon to be nephew!

photographing and looking at these images truly remind me how blessed I am to be adding these people to my life.

jenny has been such a positive influence on me this past year and a half. she is one of the most Christ like people I know. so forgiving. so generous. so accepting. she is a magnificent mother, wife, woman and sister. her smile makes me smile and her love helps me feel welcomed into her and her family's life. I love darren for being so kind to me and for showing his desire to be close to family. I love chasen for showing so much inner strength amidst life's challenges. I love jori for tenderly letting me know I'm needed. it wasn't long after grant and I started dating seriously that jori said to me "I hope you and grant are always together", when I asked her why, she responded, "because I don't want to lose you". is there a better compliment coming from a child? I love tani for her energy, personality and bright spirit. AND I love baby battlestar. I look forward to him making messes, screaming all day long, peeing on everything in sight and me still melting every time when he looks at me with his perfect little face.

jenny, thanks for adding so much beauty to my life. I love you.

on the web


I shot a wedding in washington dc, a few years back and the sister of the groom had just started getting into photography. since then we have chatted a few times about the biz and she recently has started a photographer directory and featured me on it! how great! take a look:

http://web.me.com/rachaeloborn/directoryofphotographers/T.html

thanks rachael! I am honored. plus you have a really great name..minus one "a".

disney criminal

last night grant and I went to disneyland for 1 hour. our passes expire on monday and we were down in the area so we popped by for the last hour the park was open. In the short hour we were there we rode big thunder mountain, haunted mansion and pirates of the caribbean and were then escorted out of the park by security. yep. escorted by security.

The whole thing was pretty ridiculous but pretty rad all at the same time. it involved us having our own boat on pirates (because it was 10mins before closing). they sat us in the middle row of the boat and half way through the ride we decided we wanted to move up a row..or two. yes, we knew it would be breaking a rule to jump seats during the ride, but we waited till it was practically stationary and no one was with us and we follow the rules way to much. so we jumped up a row. we thought we had outsmarted them and done it in the darkest spot (are their cameras infrared?). after we had done it they asked us through muffled speaker voices to move back a row. we did. I thought it was over after that, but as the ride ended the president of disneyland rules (or so it seemed) and a security officer were waiting for us. they threatened to take our season passes away. we acted aloof and innocent. "we only wanted a better seat...". they acted like they were giving us a lucky break by letting us walk this time, BUT next time we won't be so lucky. apparently we now have a tainted record. are they serious?! wow!

It was kind of embarrassing considering how old we are, but maybe it's just what I needed to remind me, with the 3-0 birthday coming upon me, that i'm still young and reckless. definitely made me feel young...maybe too young. I don't think poor grant had ever broken any rules, so as the sweat gathered on his innocent brow I soothed him with the positive, at least we didn't get thrown in disney jail.

oh, disneyland. how unreal can one place be?

ps. you may be more like crazyland but I love your vintage posters!!

the haunted mansion one has always been my favorite! but the tomorrowland ones are pretty amazing.

here's one place you can buy them...but I'm sure there's others.

I need a new planner

I am a paper planner sort of girl. I know some are super electro with their calenders, but I need to scribble. I had a perfect 2008 planner from staples. It had monthly views and weekly with tons of blanks pages and spaces for my lists, but it is no more! I can't find it anywhere. I did find these:

..from here and they look pretty great, but I can't see the month view...what if the cover is flimsy and the paper is cheap?

does anyone have any paper planners they love? or are all of you reading this post from your iphone and wondering what "paper" is?