As photographers, we often get to witness the most amazing of human emotions and it is this part of our job (among others!) that we love so much.

Whether it be capturing that first look of the groom seeing his bride in her gown for the first time on the day of their wedding, or that touch between a couple in love, or that oh-so-happy look of a child freely playing, being behind the camera allows us to capture those moments as they happen. We also love being a part of these moments which is what continues to inspire us each time we take that next photo.

With mother's day coming this weekend, just thought we'd share one of our favorite images that captures so well that special connection between mother and child.

It has been quite busy around here and because of that, and the fact that I think he is mellowing in his old age, Sam wanted a nice quiet birthday. That usually means something relaxing, throw in a good nap somewhere in there, and of course, good food.

So, we took a trip to the sugar bush this morning, had a wonderful pancake brunch at Fulton's, and spent most of the day outdoors there and at home in our neighbourhood. Later, we all went out for dinner and had one of Sam's favorite spicy chinese dishes, Deep fried salt and pepper shrimp.

To top it all off, Sam got to pick up his own cake for himself, and thought it such a wonderful self-affirming experience to be able to buy himself a birthday cake and ask them to write, Happy Birthday, Sam. It is great to be able to appreciate and celebrate your birthday, and however strange, I told Sam, I get to pick out my own cake on my birthday this year!

Sam, at 34.

The delicious cake. Loaded with cookies & cream and all that good-for-your-soul stuff. It was huge, but all the better for sharing... :)

Of course, hanging out with Sam, meant rockin' out, so we spent the rest of the evening, taking our "band" on tour with Rockband.

It was a lazy Sunday and although there was too much fun to afford a nap, it was a great way to just enjoy it with someone who rocks my world. Happy Birthday, Sam!

Love, Mary.

Sam and I always laugh at how different we are. One major difference is I love to read books, mostly ones with words. Currently, I am reading books on a variety of topics, everything from business, to life, to interesting topics I want to learn about. With so much information available on the internet, we both do a lot of reading and learning that way, but I still love the feel of grabbing a good book and going off to find a preferably sunny spot to enjoy it.

Sam's criteria for a good book, however, is one with less words and more pictures. Sam's all-time favorite books to read are..., yes, comic books. And magazines, does that count as a book? (We both love magazines!) Back to comics, though, his current favorite is the Ultimate Spiderman series and other super-hero stories.

Recently, though, we've both come to appreciate our differences. Sam managed to read through a whole short book on design, The Laws of Simplicity by John Maeda, that was recommended by a good friend of ours. And I finally read through a whole Spiderman comic, which Sam got for me as a gift, which is actually quite good!

Here's a fun project Sam worked on some time last year that I managed to dig up while "spring cleaning" my files. It is a line art drawing that Sam drew from an actual photo of me. I love the way it looks like a cartoon, and reminds me of Sam's love for comics!

Back to spring cleaning!

With spring's arrival yesterday, i celebrated and ran my first 10K in a long while. I didn't set out to do it, but it just happened, which is why it was such a sweet victory! I mentioned, in this post, we were running with the Nike+ and after 20 runs so far, most of which have been short 5K runs, I can say this has been a fun way to motivate me to run again. Sam has loaded all my favorite "girl power" songs on my ipod and I'm enjoying running again.

Now I recall why I love it. It's the challenge of pushing yourself, or just enjoying the pace you're at. The choice to go hard or take it slow. The satisfaction of doing something that makes you feel good. If that is not running, I would encourage taking time to do things you love or used to love to do (when you had the time!) and make those things a priority. Make time for fun!

Ottawa now has had 410.7 centimetres of snow this winter, the second highest total on record. In 1970-1971, Ottawa had 444 centimetres. ~CTV

Here are some pics we took with the recent snow storm that gave Ottawa more than 50 cm of snow! How fun is that!

We spent the weekend playing deep in the snow, making igloos, snowshoeing, sitting by the fire with hot chocolate, and enjoying nature's snow.

p.s. Nathalie & Pierre: Hope you guys are having a great time in Mexico! I told you I'd show you what you missed! haha. Bring back a nice tan, okay? Have a great week and March break, everyone!