Restoring An Old Family Sign

Over the weekend I restored this old Fandrich family sign. 

It originally hung on my grandparent's house, where I remember it most vividly as a little kid hanging off of their front deck. It then ended up in Calgary, then on my uncle's house back in the Hat, and then eventually in storage. This summer my cousin uncovered it (looking a little worse for wear) and asked if I wanted it. 

Following a cleaning, thorough sanding, complete restaining, and a little paint - this decades old sign has found a new home on the wall in my entryway. I think it turned out pretty good? It's always nice having a story attached.

Christmas Snapshots 2016

It's been another fun, exciting, hectic, exhausting Christmas season. I spent much of December catching up with friends, celebrating with family, and rushing to finish year end projects. The time always goes by so fast that it's during this week of downtime that I finally feel like I'm able to reflect on everything that happened. Here are a few of my holiday snapshots (many of which I featured on Instagram) from my Christmas in Medicine Hat, Alberta this year.

Posing with my new Red Ryder BB Gun / only pretending I shot my eye out.

My gifts wrapped and under the tree.

I shared a brand new photo series featuring Disneyland at Christmas.

Listened to my favorite Christmas record.

Finished shooting my documentary with the school kids this month.

Christmas Eve tradition of Pictionary with the family.

The twins (my friend's kids) first Christmas.

Christmas morning at my folk's place.

One of my Medicine Hat images was on Christmas postcards this year.

Had the family over to mine for games and drinks.

Loved the decor of Inspire Cafe. Had a lot of meetings here in December. 

At my friends Tom and Jaycene's - hours invested in Super Mario 3 on NES Classic.

My tree looked pretty good this year.

I re-watched some of my old Christmas videos I made with friends.

I had my major awards on display.

We went to see the new Star Wars movie on Christmas Day.

I braved the cold for some freezing exterior film shoots in December.

Our small, but delicious, Christmas dinner.

It was a great Christmas.

Here's some real Christmas nostalgia featuring our family back in 1989. This year I gifted my parents a box of nostalgia inspired by the Christmas day gatherings we used to have at my Grandma's house. This video provided a lot of the inspiration. I hope you all had an amazing Christmas as well and found time to spend it with the ones you love. Merry Christmas! 

Sunset Sail in Hawaii

A beautiful sunset over Waikiki Beach is that stereotypical scene that everyone pictures when they think of Hawaii. Wanting to soak up that experience, on our last night in Honolulu our family enjoyed a sunset sail on a catamaran. Leaving directly from Waikiki Beach we sailed out to enjoy the epic sunset, ocean views, and panorama of Oahu. It was as incredible as we'd imagined it. 

It was a great excuse to continue sampling Hawaiian beers.

My mom and sister singing some jaunty sea tunes.

A great view of Diamond Head.

A rare candid of me without a camera in my face.