My Website is Active!!!

Well...After many nights of no sleep, I have finally launched my photography website.  I am working on finalizing all of my business/tax paperwork to become an "official" business.  This will be a very part-time business.  So the website isn't all that professional, but it serves its purpose.  I hope to develop it more in the future.  I have a price sheet, galleries, and online proofing/ordering (which is pretty cool!).  Take a look when you get a chance!  More to come...

www.robbchristopherson.com

Christmas cousins through the ages...

Most of you know that Kari and I and her two brothers' families built homes next door to each other in 2004 (we affectionately call it the COMPOUND). For the last five years, we have taken pictures with all of the cousins on Christmas Eve in their new PJs. Here is our latest pic, taken in our living room (we rotate houses each year). This will definitely be fun for the memory books! Also...note Zach's robe...he has worn the same robe for the last 4 years. We know what he's getting next year for Christmas! It's fun to see the cousins added over the years and it's hard to believe that in 5 years, we'll be sending Zach out on a mission.


2007...In Grandpa and Grandma's house...They moved in next door to us in 2007 (making it 4 houses in a row).

2006-Matt & Aimee's House

2005-Jeremy and Jenn's House

2004-Our first year in the compound! Taken at our house.

You really should think before you act...

...especially when there is a camera in front of you! I asked Matt to come over and fill in for me while I set up my lights and shot some test shots. Afterward, he was to act as the trigger man. Well, during the test shot, he thought that it would be funny to "expose" himself. No one else in the group knew what was going on...In the end, we have this great picture! I respect everyone too much to show the entire picture, so I had to censor it just a little. The original picture reminded me of a Seinfeld episode (think "Bro")!

Family Pic...

Finally...We took a family picture! Enjoy...

Here is what we used for our Christmas cards this year. It really shows the family's personality. Merry Christmas!

Happy Hmong New Year!

Reagan Elementary celebrated Hmong New Year yesterday. One of our teachers has a collection of authentic Hmong dress and much of the staff dressed up for the occassion. We had a huge Hmong potluck and great assemblies. Kari came over in the morning to take a picture with me and the boys. It was a fun day to celebrate an amazing culture!

Ward Christmas Party...Santa Pics!

We had our Ward Christmas party on Saturday morning. Santa almost didn't show up...but he made it just in time for pictures. I shot over 50 family/child portraits with Santa. I had the 5x7 prints made at Costco and ready to go at Church on Sunday. I am quite pleased with the results. Merry Christmas!


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Turducken anyone?

So, I was watching a show on Food Network and they featured Turducken.  It is a boneless chicken inside of a boneless duck inside of a boneless turkey.  There is some yummy sausage-based stuffing in between each layer.  I knew that this was the turkey for me!  Well, I couldn't find duck anywhere before Thanksgiving, so it wasn't going to happen.  I did, however, make the stuffing, deboned the turkey and added chicken thighs to the inside of the turkey (I would have deboned a chicken, too, but I was afraid that doing two birds on my first attempt would be difficult).  I placed the laptop on the counter and watched a YouTube video on how to debone a turkey.  It worked great!  It took about 7 hours to cook the concoction.  I am pleased to announce that it was delicious.  I am for sure going to find a duck and add a full chicken to the mix next time.  Christmas?  We'll see.  Sam was so into the process and he helped me throughout the evening.  We not only did the "Turken" but we also prepped and cooked a regular turkey using our "secret recipe."  Enjoy the pics!

Our Knott's Berry Farm Trip...

We spent 4 days at Knott's during the first part of Thanksgiving vacation. We had a blast. We stayed in a great hotel and the kids loved the jacuzzi and the indoor pool. Knott's closes early during the winter so we had the evenings to play around in the pool. We spent some time at the beach with the Minnicks and played a mean game of football. The drive home was eventful with pouring rain, two kids throwing up over the grapevine (where we couldn't pull over for at least 20 minutes), and complete exhaustion as we drove late into the night. With all of this, it was the still our best Knott's trip yet! Here are some pics from the adventure...

Kari's Photo Shoot!

I can hardly believe it myself! Go visit my photo blog and check out some pictures from Kari's photo shoot. So sexy!

New pics on my photo blog...

Well, Kari cleaned out my photo studio yesterday and I felt inspired to shoot some photos (and I actually had some time to do it!). I posted a pic of Ricky that I took a few months back and then some pics from Meghan's photo shoot this morning. Check out my photo blog for all of the pics. I'm including one of my favorites from this morning. Kari is going to pose for me this afternoon!!!!

Veteran's Day Parade

Meghan was sick today, but Kaleigh marched in the Fresno Vet Parade. Here's mom, dad, and Kay posing on the route. The weather was perfect for the event! Happy Veteran's Day!

Lucy and Uncle Robb

Lucy and I hung out in nursery on Sunday. She was in town visiting for the weekend. She slept in my arms about 90% of the time. She woke up to throw a little fit and so I could snap a picture. A pacifier and 4 minutes later she was back to sleep. I appreciated the excuse to ditch high priests!

My Political Survey Results

OK...Here's the shocker of the day...I took this quiz and guess what? I'm a Republican! I was glad to see that I wasn't a Fascist or an Anarchist...or worse...A Democrat! Whew!

You are a Social Conservative (30% permissive) and an... Economic Conservative (80% permissive) You are best described as a: Strong Republican Link: The Politics Test on Ok Cupid

Jellyfish or Nasal Discharge?

All of the little kids loved finding jelly fish parts on the beach. I
just about threw up every time they brought a chunk up to us. Here is
Ammon displaying one of his new beach toys!

Our Three Runners

Jacob, Jacob, and Trevor hit the track yesterday at Clovis East for
their first cross country meet. It was hot and it was their first
experience, but they did a great job! I think that they were all a
little reluctant to join, but it's good for them to be a part of a
team. Next up...wrestling!!!

Jonathan's Mended Heart!

I can't imagine what Kristen and Aaron have been going through over the last week. Jonathan is now 6-days post surgery. It was a long surgery and a tough recovery. Julie kept us posted on the status throughout the week. I heard that he may be coming home today or tomorrow. That's exciting! We've been trying to stay away until things calm down. We look forward to visiting them soon. Check out Aaron's blog to get the latest. Here are some pictures that I pulled from their website:

Last pre-surgery chest picture.

Post-surgery.

After all of this, he can still smile for his mama!

Fat No More!

Well, we finished our summer session of the Fat Man's Club! I started out at 214 lbs. and ended up at 189.8 lbs. I beat Jeremy by .2 lbs. There was some satisfaction in that! I think I put on about 5 pounds after finally drinking some water after 24 hours of fasting and 12 miles of jogging to get me to weight. I still would have been fine since my goal weight was 195. I hope to continue on and drop down to about 180-185 lbs. I would like to run a half-marathon soon and I'm looking forward to triathlons in the Spring. Check out Matt's Blog and Jeremy's Blog for some details and pictures (my camera battery was dead!). You have to love my hair and outfit. After jogging, I showered up and put on a very thin pair of shorts and a thin exercise shirt. I also had to blow-dry all of the water out of my hair...So I looked GOOD! Oh well...Jeremy/Jenn, Matt/Aimee, and Kari/I took the kids to Hometown Buffet for breakfast (that is absolutely Kari's favorite place to eat (I am saying this with such an amazing amount of sarcasm...she hates it there!)). The adults went on a date that night to Fugazzi's and then I had some ice cream at Maggie Moo's. I miss ice cream! Let's hope that this "falling off the wagon" doesn't last too long!

Slip and Slide of Slime!

I promised the kids at Reagan that if they increased their test scores, I would slip and slide through slime during a rally. Well, they did it! We had a great rally with games, music, cheers, and, of course, a 20-foot slip and slide. My new VP, Kim Buendia, is such a good sport. She wasn't around when the promise was made, but she slid with me anyway. Of course, how bad could it have been with all of the protection she had on! I was wearing only board shorts and a swim shirt. We had a blast and the kids loved it!

You really need to click on the pictures to see the bigger versions!

The First Day of School!

So...It was a big day at our house on August 25th. Everyone is in school! Now Kari can sit home and pop those Bon-Bons in peace! (I am so in trouble when she reads this post!) We had a lot of firsts this year: Zach's first year in high school; Meghan and Ricky started middle school; Jake is an upper-grader; and Ammon started Kindergarten. Kaleigh is in 8th grade and Sam started 2nd grade this year. With my new principalship, I am near everyone. The high school, middle school, and elementary school are all on one large complex. I can golf cart over to any one of my kids in just a few minutes. It is so very cool! The bigger kids walk over to my school when they're done with school or done with H20 Polo.

Enjoy some pics from the first day of school!

Here are pictures of the little boys leaving home for Reagan Elementary! And here is a picture of the boys with their new principal (boy, he sure looks awful chummy with Mrs. Christopherson!).

Ammon thought he was so cool as a new kindergartner. This was the first time that I got to attend one of my children's first day of kindergarten. I have always been tied up on the first day at my own school. Now, my two worlds have collided! Kari had mixed feelings about Ammon's start of school. I think that she stopped crying after 2 or 3 days.

The Christopherson-Edwardson Connection

Jake and Jake are in Mrs. Gamez's room. Sam and Carter are in Mrs. Soares' room. Ammon and Bella are in Mrs. Crouch's room. They all ended up in the same classrooms together. Strange!