simple like fruit: New Year's Eve

We spent the New Year weekend in Pitkin, Colorado...our family's very special gathering place where my parents have a cabin and both my mom's brother and sister have a cabin. It's a place where 3 generations (I think there's about 28 of us now) gather at least a couple of times per year. It keeps us all close in an otherwise spread-out world...and for this I will always be grateful.

Happy New Year to you! I hope wonderful things are on the horizon for you in 2012!

We started the weekend out right by having a 50's party at my parents cabin - complete will all the relatives in town. My mom made a 50's-style dinner of sloppy joe's and mac and cheese. One of my aunts brought over a 3-bean salad and a marshmallow salad. My other aunt brought over a cake that my grandmother used to make...yummy!! What 50's dinner would be complete without some Coke in some original-like Coke bottles? One of the good things about Pitkin, CO is that you can chill your drinks outside in the snow.

After dinner my dad set up a movie screen and projector and we watched movies from my parent's 1950's childhood...so much fun!!

Before heading to Gunnison for some New Year's Eve ice skating, I talked my twin girls in to exploring the streets of Pitkin for some late afternoon photography. It couldn't be any easier to find photography inspiration in this beautiful place! Below, Holly is holding a dog that she opened at our annual Chinese gift exchange the night before.

I spotted this old, old phone booth on the side of one of Pitkin's streets last summer and have always thought I'd like to stick one of my kids in front of it for a photograph! Thank you, Lauren, for (once again) putting up with your mother's photography antics!