Yes, on Tuesday night a tiny dusting of snow fell on us here in Columbia, SC. Many of us stayed up late constantly refreshing the school closings page on WISTV.com, only to be met with sadness and frustration. Still, it was a nice reminder of the snow we had in February, and so I thought today I’d post a few pictures Wendy and I took back then.

There aren’t a whole lot of pictures because (1) while I can handle the cold and wet it doesn’t seem ideal for cameras and (2) it’s all well and good to take pictures, but when you get snow in Columbia it’s important to put the camera down and play in it, so that’s what we did.

Since most of us in South Carolina aren’t very familiar with snow, I’ve prepared a brief primer on proper snow behavior. Let’s start with Snow 101: Snowflake catching.

Next, stand in awe upon realizing that it’s actually snowing.

Next, simply delight in the snow.

After that, realize you’re freezing because you have no clothing appropriate for snow and go inside.

Finally, after you’ve had a chance to warm up, forget that you have no appropriate clothing, raid your kitchen, and go outside and build a snowman.

Our snowman featured a real corn-cob pipe (well, a real corn-cob left over from Chili’s, anyway), a cucumber nose, and two eyes (and a mouth) made out of coffee beans.  We felt he represented us well.

We hope our fellow South Carolinians enjoyed the snow and that you’ll all come back tomorrow for the Friday edition of FIVE (business) DAYS OF BLOGGING.

Meet Ethan.  Ethan loves to read and play, and he insists on giving you a full tour of the toy box as soon as you walk through the door.

I love this next picture Loren took of Ethan watching J.P. juggle some blocks.  At the time, I was helping my mom prepare for our family photo.  Just look at those bright eyes and that smile!

Here he is opening up some cardboard blocks that took the adults about half an hour to assemble (actually, I’m not sure how long it took us, but those blocks are not coming apart again for some time… too many little cardboard teeth).

Ethan wasn’t as excited about the shark poncho we picked out as he was the blocks, books and puzzles.  I can’t blame the kid, but I sure am glad we got this picture out of it.

This is Brooke, Ethan’s beautiful baby sister.  She is sweet and sociable and thinks Ethan is the funniest thing around.  Brooke’s laugh alone is enough to make my day (this is what I’m talking about).

Here’s Poppy snoozing with little Brooke…

…and Pop holding  Brooke after her nap.

Ethan is a wonderful big brother who will frequently bring his little sis toys to hold and even try to make sure she’s present for story time.  But even the best older siblings will sometimes compete for attention…

The trip was awesome!  Mainly, we lounged around, played with the kids, hung out with Betsy and Loren, and ate their food.  My mom and dad were there, too, so we had some bonus family time consisting of caroling, continued eating, and of course a family photo shoot.

Betsy and Loren are amazing parents and, honestly, first class human beings.  They are family and friends we continue to look up to.

Currently, Loren, Betsy, Ethan and Brooke are reunited after Loren’s recent trip to help out in the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti.  You can view some of his pictures from the trip here.  Welcome home, Loren!  We love you!

Among other things I do, I (J.P.) teach Rhetoric. Rhetoric, simply, is the art of persuasive speech.  In my class, the students primarily study Aristotle’s aptly-named Rhetoric, but sometimes I want to share with them something a little more contemporary, something that truly speaks to their generation. I think that infomercials are one of the best modern examples of persuasive communication and it’s for this reason I introduced them to the Snuggie™: the blanket with sleeves.

The students seemed to appreciate the simple structure of the commercial:

1) Present a problem: “You want to stay warm without raising your heating bill and you are incapable of performing mundane tasks like answering the phone while entombed in the shroud-like confines of a blanket. Also, for some reason, everything is in black and white.”
2) Offer a solution while footage switches to color and peppy music begins: “Now, you can own a Snuggie! You’ll be able to stay warm while enjoying a wide range of activities!”
3) Show how the benefits of the solution makes life amazing!

Little did I know how much they had appreciated it…

Two days after my birthday, just as I was getting ready to begin Rhetoric, our headmaster called me down to his office to help him with a computer problem. I asked a student to tell the rest of the class what the day’s assignment was and to have them begin on it, and followed the headmaster. After talking with me for a few minutes, the headmaster walked with me back to my classroom so I could retrieve a USB drive that contained some diagnostic utilities. When I got back to the room, the lights were off, the kids had their heads down on their desks and I was led by the headmaster to the far side of the room.

What followed was nothing less than amazing. My students has remixed and personalized the Snuggie commercial for me: “Mr. Stephens, do you find it miserable teaching in a freezing cold classroom? Do you find it difficult to write on the board when your hands have frostbite on them?”  After presenting the problem, the lights came on, the music started (“Wannabe” by the Spice Girls), and the dancing and singing began. Oh yeah, and one student burst from the closet skating on a scooter while wearing a leopard-print Snuggie.

They didn’t skimp on the benefits of the solution, either. “Mr. Stephens, with your new Snuggie, you’ll be healthier, taller, stronger, more athletic, smarter…your hands will be nice and warm and you’ll be able to give us all A’s!” “You could even make it the official costume of Lunch Money!” At this point the students all dropped to their knees (approximating Lunch Money fan height) and waved their hands in the air while screaming “I love Lunch Money!”

In the end, I was presented with an awesome card, my new Snuggie…

…a DVD copy of The Iron Giant (they may have felt sorry for me after I showed them my copy on VHS)…

…a handmade Snuggie user’s guide…

(Note the chart.)

…and a cookie as big as my head!

At this point, it’s probably gratuitous to say that I have the greatest Rhetoric class ever. That’s one thing about Rhetoric, if the suck up this well, then they’re obviously getting the idea! As a small thank you to them, I will now conclude with a photo that I hope captures the magnificence of my birthday celebration, my students, and of course, my Snuggie.

P.S.- If any potential clients are reading this and you’re interested in a Snuggie-themed engagement shoot please contact us–we are definitely the photographers for you!

P.P.S.- After lecturing my students about copyright, I should probably mention that the first, second, and fourth pictures were taken by students and they retain all rights to them.

Let me begin with a little explanation of Wendy’s costume, because it’s somewhat conceptual. Okay, it’s totally conceptual, but follow along with me… Wendy is “Christmas Creep”, which is the practice stores have of putting out Christmas decorations and promotions earlier and earlier each year (hence the “creep” part). In my experience, the best Halloween costumes are scary and maybe even a little nauseating. If seeing a bunch of wreathes hanging next to zombie masks in Target doesn’t give you that feeling, you have a stronger stomach that me. (By the way, you can’t see them in the picture, but her necklace alternates Christmas ornaments and rats, and she has Christmas lights around her waist that really light up–though when we took the picture we didn’t have batteries.)

Read more about Christmas Creep at Consumerist and be sure to check out this awesome cartoon from Hallmark that captures the spirit of the costume perfectly.

In case you don’t know, this is Dr. Cockroach from “Monsters vs. Aliens”. I came up with the idea of using a giant pair of sunglasses to replicate his eyes, and then Wendy pretty much went to town from there. She. Is. Awesome. My antennae, by the way, are made from fall foliage found at Michaels. Big thanks to Molly from Lunch Money for getting her dad to loan me a lab coat used for real actual science.

Here are a couple more pics for the road:

We (maybe I should say Jay) drove into Chicago at around 12:30am on Friday morning.

Chicago’s finest came out to greet the crowd.

Although Lollapalooza is pretty much packed with music fans of every age, Kidzapalooza aims at a decidedly younger (and more adorable) demographic.

Yeah, I know. I’m pushing into Cute Overload territory.

That’s Henry rocking out as he plays his part in “HEY! YOU’RE A ROCK STAR!”, a short interactive play put on by The Cool Table, a Chicago improv comedy troupe. Henry was the guitarist in “Sponge Blue Square Blue”, the greatest rock band the world has ever known.

The little guy above didn’t have a role in “HEY! YOU’RE A ROCK STAR!”, but he played his part by watching from the sidelines and having excellent hair.

Meanwhile, the child below practiced for a life of indie rock shows by looking vaguely put-upon by the whole affair.

In addition to the adorableness, though, there was also awesome kids music to be heard.

There was Frances England, who I got to meet for the first time (she’s awesome!):

…and Secret Agent 23 Skidoo always gets the crowd on its feet…

At the end of the day, Lunch Money played, and it was every bit as warm and toasty as it looks.

But fortunately Lucy figured out the key to a good first day at Lollapalooza–a good umbrella.

By the time we finished playing at the end of day 1, we were all pretty worn out, so that’s about it for pictures from that day. Come back soon, though, for pictures from the second and third days of Lollapalooza, including more kiddie cuteness and even a band or two.

New voice on the blog, by the way.  This is Wendy.  Don’t worry, you’ll have J.P. back soon enough presenting you with photos of Lauren (the same beautiful girl you’ll see below) posing in front of an F-16.  You know, the kind of run-of-the-mill bridal shots you see all the time.  Seriously – an F-16!  Yes, we had fun that day.

These shots are special because, well, they’re girl time shots.  So scroll on down to take a peek into the awesomeness that is the wedding dress fitting experience.

That’s Lauren.  She’s ready to do this thing.  Isn’t she glowing?

We weren’t about to let Lauren try on her perfected bridal gown without having a look ourselves, so Brandi, Natalie, Ashley and I came along for the adventure.  Even though the four of us had already walked down the aisle, we couldn’t help but peruse the colorful bridesmaids’ dresses and delicate white veils.

Finally, Lauren emerged from the dressing room in a gorgeous, silky gown that made me think of something Marilyn Monroe might wear.  And there was even more glowing!

The wonderfully helpful and sweet women at David’s Bridal helped us understand the workings of Lauren’s bustle.

That part took a while.

Lauren didn’t seem to mind.

After that, she tried on her air force garter (check back for a close-up of this baby – it so, so rocks!)…

…and we all enjoyed some just-us-girls conversation with the bride-to-be.

Group shot?  Why not?

Wedding dresses are so much fun!  Writing this post makes me want to go put mine on again and just laze around in it.

Thanks for stickin’ with the post.  Check back to see a bride wearing combat boots and standing next to a very impressive-looking airplane.

These are some photos of the youngest generation of one of the coolest families I’ve ever known. I grew up with the kids and now they’ve gone and had kids of their own. Their mom asked Wendy and me to get some family photos of the lot of them, and I can’t say no to Tamy. The result was an absolute blast, but it definitely increased my respect for my buddy Rebekah and other photographers who are especially adept at kids and families. Did you know, for instance, that infants will not necessarily look at the camera when you ask them to? I mean, what are these kids thinking? They’re grandmother is paying good money for these pictures and they’re more interested in the dog than they are in looking good in their family portrait.

I blame television.

All kidding aside, bask in the adorableness that is Tamy’s family. First off, the twins.

Can you guess which is the boy and which is the girl?
(Insert Dora the Explorer pause)
You’re right! Was it the haircuts that gave it away?

This little guy wanted to show his cousin some affection. After all, doesn’t everybody love a kiss?

Admittedly, this may have been excessive.

Even he seems to agree.
(Chalk it up to a life lesson, kid.)

Do you think this photo presages their future relationship?

Argh! Can’t make…snarky…comment…baby feet…too…cute!

While we were shooting, Tamy quoted these lyrics from the musical Annie to me and I thought they’d go nicely here:

Some women are dripping with diamonds,
Some women are dripping with pearls.
Lucky me! Lucky me!
Look at what I’m dripping with:
Little girls!

While we were there, Wendy, Loren and I did a Trash the Dress shoot with Loren’s sister Shayne. In general, a Trash the Dress shoot is where a bride, recognizing that she will in all likelihood never wear her wedding dress again, goes out and gets photographed doing all kinds of things one ought not do in a wedding dress. This wasn’t quite like that. Shayne decided not to trash her wedding dress, but instead to trash a dress she bought specifically for this purpose and on which she got a great deal. I’m absolutely fine with that, and we hope you will be, too.

We played for a while on the playground and let me tell you, Shayne is no slouch on the swings. I would have posted a picture of her in action but somebody would have accused me of doctoring the photo. She’s a daredevil. This shot doesn’t really capture that.

Later on we moved on to more traditional Trash the Dress fare.

Apparently tule lacks the aqua-dynamic properties of say, a wetsuit, so big props to Shayne for not drowning (a big plus for any shoot) and for managing to find a dress that pink.

We kind of fought with the sun for a lot of the shoot, but when it worked with us, it was good.

Loren is a much braver guy than I am when it comes to his gear.

I liked this last shot so much that I slapped our studio name on it. All the cool photographers are doing it.

Thanks for following the TEN (business) DAYS OF BLOGGING. If you’ve stuck with us for the past eight days, tomorrow ought to be one of the big payoffs (assuming Wendy and I can get it ready in time). Remember, comments on posts are always appreciated (as long as they’re glowing praise). See you tomorrow!

Wendy had gathered a few pictures that gave the direction she was looking for and took them to Laura at Urban Nirvana in Columbia. Laura took those different photos and came up with something awesome that Wendy and I love and I think suits her perfectly.

…yeah, she could only hold the serious face for so long.

Come back tomorrow; we’re not done by a long shot.

Just before leaving for the trip I bought the Sigma 10-20mm wide angle lens, so I couldn’t help trying it out. (Okay, I actually kept it on the camera almost the entire trip.) I really like this lens, but it’s not really designed for portraits, as you can see above.

Betsy and Loren suggested that we take Ethan to an amazing local park that has everything from outdoor percussion instruments to a pirate ship to a climbing wall. Ethan–not quite ready for the climbing wall. Loren, however, flexed his simian side.

While Loren monkeyed around, Ethan found a bridge that swayed and jiggled while he walked on it, and walk on it he did. I’m going to guess that he crossed that bridge thirty to fifty times while we were at the park. Even getting him to go down the slide involved some pretty intense persuasion.

Finally, Wendy had to put Ethan on her back and run so fast that the sheer excitement of the ride distracted Ethan from the awesomeness of the bridge which he was leaving behind.

The next day, given all the museum choices available to us in DC, we opted to visit the one featured in a mildly entertaining Ben Stiller movie.

While there, I learned a few things about the Museum of Natural History:

1. -One-year-olds would rather watch a video of a fish eating a worm than see the BONES OF ACTUAL DINOSAURS
2. -The lighting in the Museum of Natural History was not engineered with photographers in mind
3. -The insect exhibit is sponsored by Orkin.

Given that I was once a ten-year-old boy, you can probably guess what my favorite part of the trip was. (Special thanks to Loren for holding the flash for me while I took these pictures.)