Life news from Paul Retherford Wedding Photography

My Clients and I need to connect in order to make beautiful images on their Wedding days, “Be You” sessions, Engagements, Senior images, Family images, and even pet images. Some of my Clients follow me on Facebook at my personal profile page, http://www.Facebook.com/paul.retherford or my Wedding business page, http://www.Facebook.com/paulphoto.  Others might see what is going on via Twitter at http://www.Twitter.com/paulphoto.

This Fall in Northern Michigan there was a TON of rain and wind.  We had some really nice days and a bunch of wet days.  I think the plants were really happy this Fall, and I am sure that Spring will be amazing next year.  Our family found ways to get out and hike a lot and take scenic trips around Northern Michigan.  Luckily, our son enjoys being in our Deuter backpack while our family, including the dogs, walk the trails.   In early Fall we made a few trips to the beach on the warm days.  We attempted a trip on Grandpa Ed’s boat but it was gale force winds, so we spent the afternoon fishing in the harbor.  We spent a lot of quality time in our yard and new drive riding bikes, playing basketball, kicking balls, croquet, swinging on the tree swing, playing in the sand box, throwing the ball for the dogs, etc.   Here are some Fall images (disclaimer:  most images taken with point and shoot Panasonic waterproof camera~ great pocket camera that is rock solid):

The Fall colors were really nice but spotty.  Unfortunately, they were not good for long since we had so much wind that blew the leaves off before they all got amazing.  I took full advantage of numerous Engagement sessions, Family sessions, and more.

Our silver 2000 Saab 95 wagon was aging at 240, 000 miles and we wanted to drive it in the ground.  We were hoping that would not end this Fall.  One Fall morning I started the car and white smoke started pouring out the tailpipe.  I immediately stopped and had the car towed to the mechanic.  It was confirmed that the turbo had blown.  This fix alone was going to run almost $1000.  We decided it was time to move on.

A little back news on the car, I purchased this vehicle off of Ebay 7 years ago with 85,000 miles from Pennsylvania.  I flew out, test drove the vehicle to make sure it was fine, and drove it home.  The total cost of the vehicle was around $7000.  We paid cash for the vehicle.  This car owed us nothing and was a luxury driving vehicle and very dependable.

I sold the Saab a couple days after the blown turbo on Craigslist for $500.

In the meantime, I was stalking the web to find another Saab wagon for our family.  I had an eye on one near Cleveland that I called the dealer and made an offer.  I put down a deposit to hold the vehicle until I could come down to test drive the vehicle.  This Saab is a 2006 95 wagon with 85,500 miles.  It is dark grey and has all the luxuries, and more, of the other Saab.

I rented a one way car from Enterprise car rental and headed down to Ohio to check over the vehicle.  Originally I was going to have them haul it up here but I decided that I needed to look it over.  This turned out to work in my favor.

When I got there and test drove the vehicle I took it to a Saab mechanic and he helped me assess some issues with the vehicle.  I was able to negotiate the price down $600 more to purchase the vehicle.  So far we love the vehicle.

This is the dealer photo.  No, I did not drive the car into my living room.:-)

Halloween was a hit with the kids this year.  Our oldest picked the costumes for both of them.  They were Pirates since she loves Jake and the Neverland Pirates.  The only downer was that it rained.  We still managed to find time to stomp around for some trick or treating with the umbrellas.

It is wonderful being a dad with small kids and watching them grow and learn.  I am enjoying every day and appreciate my career choice every day.

We live in a wonderful location in Northern Michigan and we try to take advantage of all that is available in our area.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog.  I will leave you with a cute image from our front picture window.