St. Patty's Day Fun

Hey Everyone,

I know this is a few days past St. Patty's Day, but I wanted to post a few pictures from the fun evening we had. Our friends John & Nicole broke in their "brickyard bar" with a housewarming/St. Patty's Day party. Nicole is an excellent photo stylist (check out her site), and has worked with Stacey on some past shoots. Needless to say they did an awesome job with their home. Everything was very warm and inviting, including their cool new bar. True to form, they were gracious hosts who put together a fun party with an ample supply of Irish food and drink. Here are a couple pictures from the evening.

The two of us


A toast to the evening


John and Nicole (Thanks you two!)

Stacey and I had a great time and hope everyone else had a wonderful St. Patty's Day!

Later,

Jason

Snow Day!

So earlier in March we got piles and piles of snow. I thought it would be fun to do a photo shoot using the fabulous snow as a backdrop. It was time for baby Alli to get in front of my lens again, so here she is flopping around in the snow with her mommy. We are good friends with Alli's parents, so Jason and Lauren came along for the ride. We had a hard time ripping little Alli away from the snow. She was very sad to go. Lauren, on the other hand, knew that hot chocolate comes after playing in the snow. We had no problem at all getting her out of the cold.

All in all, it was an excellent day. Here is the slideshow!

Take Care,

Stacey

Fun On The Island

Hey Everyone,

Stacey, Lauren, and I have been having a good time with my Dad here on So. Padre Island. We have been taking it pretty easy, but enjoying our stay. I am the proud new owner of a sport-kite (thanks to my Dad). For those of you who haven't seen these in action, they are really cool. It has two strings, which gives you control of how it flies, and allowing for a variety of tricks after you get good at it. In addition, we went on a dolphin watching cruise this morning. We got into a large pod of them which was a lot of fun. They are really amazing animals. The four of us hope to head to Mexico tomorrow, but it may rain, so we will have to wait and see. We will be sure to post more pictures after we get home on Tuesday, but in the meantime, here are a few.

Stacey and Lauren looking out over the Gulf


Lauren enjoying the sunset


Another colorful sunset


Later,

- Jason

We've Arrived

So, after getting up at 3:45 AM in order to barely catch our flight to see my Dad in So. Padre Island, TX, we made it. Stacey, Lauren, and I got in about 9:40 yesterday morning. After some driving around and a trip to the grocery store, we got settled in for the evening. As the sun was setting, I ran a few blocks down and grabbed a couple pictures.





Needless to say it was a gorgeous site. We all are looking forward to some much needed rest and relaxation. I will hopefully be able to post some more pictures throughout the week.

Take Care -

Jason

How They Grow Up

Hey Everyone,

I couldn't help but post this picture of Lauren. We were looking through some recent pictures and this one just jumped out at me because of the look she is giving. It works now, but she better tame it down a little when she gets older otherwise dear old dad will grow grayer by the second. Our little two year old is supposed to look all cute and cuddley, not like she is posing for some fashion shoot. Anyway, I can't believe how quickly she is growing up.



Later,

Jason

Playmates

Last week Lauren's little friend, Reese, came over for a playdate. The girls have been in the same class at school since they were about 7 months old. Reese's mom and I have started swapping babysitting every now and then, which seems to make everyone happy. It's so much fun to see them actually interact with one another now. They are starting to play together and it is so darn cute!



Reese and Lauren have similar temperments and get along very well. Lauren can't wait until the next time she can play with "Reesie"!





Take care everyone!

Stacey

Slide.com

Hey everyone,

We found out about these cool online slideshows that you can easily put together from [b]ecker, a fellow photographer who lives on the west coast. He has a great blog, and is someone whose work we have always appreciated.

Anyway, after checking them out, we wanted to pass the info on. The web-site is called slide.com, and it is free! They have a variety of themes and transitions. We thought you may like the idea for your own blog, wedding-site, myspace or facebook page, etc. For all of you brides, I think you can even put it in on your knot.com profile page.

Later,

Jason

The Wedding Game

Hey Everyone,

We came across this game on MSN earlier today and thought what a great idea for a post. There is a free trial version and a pay version. We put the highlights below.

Game Description: A romantic seek-and-find adventure featuring beautiful graphics, unique puzzle games, and extra ”Wedding Crisis” levels sure to challenge you!

Full Version Advantages:
- Enjoy unlimited, unrestricted gameplay.
- Play all 16 levels and 9 mini-games.
- Unlock the tropical honeymoon level.
- Decide how Jenny met Robert and fell in love.
- Overcome three ”Wedding Crisis” levels!

Anyway, it sounded like a fitting game that some of you may enjoy, so we thought we would let you all know.

Enjoy -

Jason & Stacey

Photoshop Training

We are in the smoky mecca of Treasure Island Resort & Casino getting some photoshop training with Kevin Kubota. It is a lot of information to cram into a few days, but has been a great learning experience so far. We arrived on Sunday and started right away. Kevin has been excellent. Not only does he know his stuff, but he also presents it in a fun way.

Last night we went out for dinner in Red Wing at The St. James Hotel Port restaurant. It was a nice change of pace from the day. The restaurant is set in a wine cellar atmosphere. A nice warm environment. We went out with some photographer friends of ours who are also in our PUG group. Here is a picture of everyone from left to right Jason and Stacey, Erin, Sally, Tasha and Kristi.



Good food, good company, and an overall good time. Stacey and I are so excited to get home and implement some of what we have learned. We really think you are going to enjoy some of the things we have planned for the next year.

Well, it's about time for a cold frosty brew!

Later -

Jason & Stacey

Highlights from Sunny Florida

Stacey here! Like I said before, I've not been very nurturing toward our blog, but I did promise some family pix from our trip to Disney World and Naples and here they are.

On Jan. 5th, Lauren and I flew in on a "big silver bird" (as she would say). She was a totally well behaved 2 year old on the plane, which was a relief to me. I would say her good manners were due to our excellent parenting skills, but it might have been the sucker I was bribing her with.

We went to Disney World the next couple of days with my parents, sisters and their spouses (or almost spouse) :)

Grandpa rode on all the rides with Lauren. She even waited in line for 45 minutes to ride the Dumbos. She loves that elephant!



It took a while, but we did manage to find some Disney characters for her to hug. You would think that being at Disney World, Mickey would be around every corner, but that is not the case. There is one huggable Mickey and he pretty much chills in his backyard most of the time. When it was finally Lauren's turn to see him, she had changed her mind. Here you can see Mickey physically restraining her for the picture. Thanks Mick!



She was much happier hanging with Pluto



We stopped at Downtown Disney for a little while and they have these cute gift shop stores called Bibbity Bobbity Boutiques. It's all about getting your daughter dressed up in a princess costume, getting her hair and nails done and then a little photo shoot. Very cute, but very pricey. When it comes to making money, gotta hand it to Walt and co. We didn't do the princess thing. Lauren is a bit too young, but she sure took a shine to the princess in the window display! My sister said that random people were taking pictures of her chatting with the mannequin.



Here is a shot of my very sleepy baby walking back to the hotel room.


After we got my sister hitched, we all cruised down to Naples where my parents have a
winter home. Talk about relaxing! We hung out on the beach most of the time. Lauren wasn't quite sure if she was digging it or not. I think the massiveness of the gulf freaked her out a little bit and she didn't like walking on all of the seashells. She was much happier on the beach with shoes on. Here are some shots of my beach baby.



My parents have this little lake behind their house that is stocked with bass, so we were out there fishing a lot. New uncle Jon caught a whole bunch. I, of course, didn't catch anything, which is typical. Lauren wandered off one evening and found some fruit trees in the neighbor's yard. The nice lady told her she could pick some, which was a lot of fun. They have orange and grapefruit trees and this crazy lemon/lime combo tree that was grafted together. Very interesting. The oranges that she picked were the best/juiciest I have EVER had in my life. Super juicy and sweet. I think they're called "Honeybells"?? (not quite sure on that name).



Lauren and Auntie Wanda, picking a lime


After 5 days with my folks it was time to ship out. We had a great time and can't wait to go back.

Here is Lauren waiting for the big silver bird with her Mema and Papa


I will post again soon...I promise!

Take care and have a great day!

Stacey

Happy Valentines Day

Happy Valentines Day everyone!

I know this is a bit late, but I thought I would do my best to help all you gentlemen out with a little poem for the ladies! I would leave the "thickness in the thighs" part out though, it may not go over so well.

What Is It That I Love?

If asked why I love her I would say
It’s the sway in her hips,
the thickness in her thighs.
It’s the lust in her lips,
the love in her eyes.
It’s the softness of her skin,
the silk in her hair.
It’s the twist in her walk;
it’s the sweetness in her talk.
It’s the way she loves me
that makes me love her each day.
That is what I would say.

- Justin Hutchins -

On the homefront, we stayed in and had a nice relaxing evening. The menu called for Beef Wellington and a little wine. It was pretty funny when I got home and Lauren caught a glimpse of her valentine. Eating wasn't much of a priority for her anymore.

Here is a picture of our little sweet pea eyeing up here present.



It's a lot of fun watching her get so excited and interested in things now days.

Needless to say we had a wonderful day, and hope you all did too.

- Jason & Stacey

Check out these berries!

So, I'm not typically one to get excited over household items, but I have to tell you all about these totally awesome food storage containers I got for Christmas. Yes, I actually did ask for tupperware for Christmas. I'm a dork. Here's the story... I was flipping through the channels one day and saw a segment about these cool new silver-lined containers that are supposed to keep food fresher longer. I guess the silver particles absorb or neutralize or kill the bateria that grows on food. I'm not all that sure how it works.

We have a problem at our house with fruit getting moldy before we can eat it all, which annoys me. Mostly strawberries and grapes. Lauren is really the only one that eats the strawberries and by the forth day in the fridge they are usually getting pretty sketchy. Anyway, my parents bought me a set of these rather spendy Fresher Longer containers (they aren't made by Tupperware, by the way) and I have to tell you, I'm ready to replace the rest of my stuff with it.

Here's the proof:

I bought these strawberries on Jan 2 and I took the pictures on the 23rd. That's 3 weeks and not a bit of mold! The bottom picture is a close up of the nastiest looking one. Of course we didn't eat these, (they were my test subjects), but I totally would have at 2 weeks old. They didn't even start to get squishy til the third week.






Okay, so it's going to take a lot of strawberries saved to equal what the containers cost, but still, I am amazed at how well they work! Leftovers last longer too.

-Stacey

Family fun and a wedding too!!

Hi everyone! This is Stacey. As you might already know, Jason is the primary caregiver of our little blog, but I am going to try my best to start giving it a little TLC too. So here goes...

On January 8th, my sis got married in Disneyworld! How cool is that?! Lauren and I flew down to Orlando on the 5th (Jason already had some prior commitments, so we had to go without Daddio...sad). Anyway, my entire family spent 5 days together at the House of Mouse. We only went to the parks for 3 of them though (which was enough for me with a two year old). We had such a great time though. I'll put some family pictures up in a different post. This one I want to dedicate to the wedding. It was held at the Polynesian Resort up on a beautiful bluff overlooking a lake with Cinderella's castle visible in the distance.


The Polynesian did a fantastic job with the wedding. Everything ran like clockwork and was very professional. Everyone was really friendly too, but what do you expect...it's Disney World. Outside of the sky getting a little overcast, it was a perfect day and a perfect wedding.

Congratulations Kristi and Jon! You guys make a great couple and Lauren is very happy that her AUJ (almost uncle Jon), is now officially Uncle Jon!

I made a little slideshow from the day, so be sure to take a peek!

Take care everyone. I will try to write again very soon!

Stacey

The Nutcracker

As some of you may have read earlier, Stacey and I had the opportunity to shoot a production of the Nutcracker in December. The Wausau Dance Theatre, under the direction of Madame Karkar (Central Wisconsin School of Ballet), put on a beautiful show. It was so much fun to be so close and have the freedom to go backstage, etc. It's hard to really appreciate how graceful everyone is and the amazing things these dancers can do, unless you get the opportunity to be a part of the action. For those of you who couldn't make it, hopefully these pictures will help tell the story.

The Prince and The Sugar Plum Fairy



Clara & Fritz battle for the Nutcracker



The Land of Snow



Graceful!!



The Land of Sweets



The Arabian Dancer



Be sure to take a peek at the slideshow we put together recapping the highlights of the production.

We encourage anyone to check out their production of Storybook Weekend featuring Sleeping Beauty which will be held at the Grand Theatre in Wausau, WI on May 11 and 12th.

Out With The Old, In With The New

Happy 2007 everyone.

Well as I am sitting here in a comfortable (yet still cool) Minnesota January, Stacey and Lauren are enjoying record highs in Florida. Stacey is doing a wedding in Orlando and spending some time with her parents in Naples, and Lauren is getting to meet the infamous mouse and play in the ocean. Unfortunately we all weren't able to go, but I'm glad to report that they are having a good time and Lauren is loving it.

Yesterday I helped Erin Johnson (a photographer friend of ours) shoot a wedding for Ed and Michelle. They were a really cute couple, and the wedding was gorgeous with the Basilica still done up for Christmas. Unfortunately I don't have any of the shots to show, but she will probably be posting some on her blog. Needless to say we had a good time and it is always fun to see a different perspective.

In the meantime, I thought I would post this picture I took at Stacey's parents while we were there for Christmas. One morning I looked outside and the sun was trying to peek through their pine trees. Needless to say, I couldn't resist running out there and grabbing this shot.



I hope you are all having a great beginning to the New Year!

- Jason

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays Everyone!!

Stacey and I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and spread some holiday cheer. Looking back on 2006, we can't help but acknowledge our wonderful family, clients, and friends for making it such a great year. We want to thank you all for your continued confidence and support, and look forward to seeing you in 2007.

Thanks again everyone!

- Jason & Stacey Thon
Staja Studios

Mmm Mmm Cake Is Good!!!

What can we say about our little girl? I think she is letting us know that she likes cake. We are hoping to put up a slideshow from her birthday parties (the lucky girl had two), but couldn't wait to put this up ahead of time. She is getting bigger by the day, which is kind of sad, but at the same time so darn cute. Needless to say, it is hard to believe that she is already two.

Guilty As Charged

Hey everyone,

I plead guilty! I am long overdue on catching everyone up on the blog. At any rate, I posted a picture of multiple santas earlier in the month and asked if anyone knew the event. The event was called "Running of the Santas" put on by the MMLA (Mid Minnesota Legal Aid). We heard about it from a friend of mine who was running. Needless to say, it was a pretty funny sight. Stacey and Lauren came along and Lauren was so cute watching all of the Santas. After the run we did some Christmas shopping and stayed for the Holidazzle Parade. It ended up being a great way to spend an evening during the Christmas Season!

Santas on Parade



My Friend John And His Son Cole



The TCF Snowman (Mascot of the Holidazzle)



The Marching Band and Angel



A Pirates Treasure Anyone?



Who's Been Naughty and Nice?




My Lovely Girls!!!!!



Stacey, Lauren, and I hope you all have been enjoying your holidays!!

Life is Good!!!

Hey Everyone,

I had a couple free seconds so I thought I would just say hello. Stacey, Lauren, and I have been in Wausau the past two days. We had a great opportunity to shoot pictures for a production of the Nutcracker. I haven't seen a lot of ballet in the past, but it was simply beautiful! We will be sure to post some images as soon as we get home. If anyone is in the central WI area, I strongly encourage them to go check it out. The show is playing at the Grand Theatre in Wausau through Sunday, December 3.

In addition, while we were here, we are celebrating Lauren's birthday with Stacey's family. I can't hardly believe it, our little baby is going to be TWO!! It is so hard to describe the smile she can put on your face.

Hopefully the past couple days have been as good for everyone else as they have for us.

Season's Greetings

Hey Everyone,

Stacey, Lauren, and I just had a blast today. We spent a seasonal afternoon/early evening in downtown Minneapolis having a great time. I will be posting more pic's from the day later on, but couldn't help but get this one up.



Trivia Question of the day: At what event did we take this picture?

Be sure to check back for the answer in our next post (plus there will be more pictures).

We hope you all had a great Thanksgiving weekend!

Happy Thanksgiving

Stacey & I wanted to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving. We hope you and your families had a wonderful day!

Mary & James

What a fun wedding!! Mary is originally from Minnesota, but she and James now live in Miami, FL. Due to where everyone was from, they had the wedding here (We know, Miami was sounding awfully nice). The wedding was held on October 28th in the Wabasha Street Caves. With it being Halloween weekend and all, we thought it was pretty cool to have it in a (supposedly haunted) cave! We started the day off at Como Park where the lovely bride and excited groom met. From there, the rest of the day was spent at the caves, including the ceremony. It was a small, intimate event, but very fun to be a part of. Everyone was easy to work with and very cooperative. Once again, the weather was down right chilly; however, the area provided some unique features to work with outside, and we got some beautiful light on top of it. We had a great time, and thoroughly enjoyed the entire day and working with Mary and James.

Be sure to check out the slideshow of the day's highlights.

We hope you are enjoying the fun and sun in FL. We will be thinking of you while we are freezing this winter :) !!!

- Jason and Stacey

Kate & Eric

Starting off, we have to thank Kate for her willingness to deal with the cold! It wasn't January weather in MN, but it was by no means nice and warm. We told Kate and Eric if they could hold out for a little bit, they would be happy with the results. In retrospect, we couldn't be more pleased they were willing to go along. Despite the chilliness, there are a lot of cool (no pun intended) shots that couldn't have been done indoors.



The Wedding took place at Pax Christi Church in Eden Prairie, with the reception following at Oak Ridge in Chaska. At the end of the reception, the Groom's family invited everyone over to their place for some post-reception festivities. All in all, it was a fun wedding to be a part of.

Be sure to check out a slideshow of the day's highlights.

We wish the two of you the best, and look forward to seeing you soon!

Thanks -

Jason & Stacey