NEW BLOG

Announcement Time: We have a new and improved BLOG... so that means we won't be updating this one any more. Don't worry this blog won't self destruct or anything. It'll stay right here for your viewing pleasure should you want to reminisce. To continue on with our story, click on the link below:

http://www.garyandcourtney.com/blog/

Make sure you bookmark the new blog's web address (as it has changed significantly from the old one) and check back often for weekly updates. Cheers.

Moving 2 SoCal

Hey there party people of the digital world, we have some exciting news for everyone. We are officially MOVING to beautiful and sunny Oceanside, California (in North San Diego County)! We have secured a casa near the beach and will be moving our little family sometime in the next few months. We found out we were moving to SoCal during our visit to Maui... I swear, every time we are on that island something big happens!!! We met there 3 1/2 years ago, found out we were prego on our last visit in '08, and this most recent visit we found out that we got a house in Oceanside and we're moving. Crazy.

Why Move?
It makes perfect sense to us right now. We feel a total peace about moving from Bend, and we're extremely excited to be near the Keating side of the family. Our time in Central Oregon has been everything it needed it to be, and we'll be back to visit every couple months to see all you burly people that live in Oregon.

What does this mean for your business(es)?
Nothing will change... other than our physical location. We've been extremely busy with all our businesses (Photography, Harp, Design and Emote360) and we will continue to work on all of them in the same capacity we have been... just from SoCal instead of Oregon. Most everything we do is completely virtual (or we travel for work) so it wouldn't matter if we were in Oregon, California or Spain... which is the dream someday... to live abroad and work remotely with design and photography. One step at a time though, right? Keep us in your prayers regarding all the logistics that go into moving... it's never very much fun, but we're excited to become "Californians" (so far we've been "Hawaiians" and "Oregonians"... and we hope to be "Spainians" or "Portugalians" someday :)

So Long Maui - Mahalo

Here's some parting shots from our time in Maui. What a perfectly perfect trip. We're rested and ready for the next few crazy months filled with photography and design.

Joelle ate her weight in sand over the past 2 weeks.

Mike killing it at P. Bay

My camera getting barreled.

Sweet reflection from a random snorkel session. So stoked that we got our underwater housing for our camera just in time for this trip... worth every penny!

Up Country Maui

We spent the afternoon in what is known as "Up Country Maui"... it's the higher elevation part of the island. We went up to take some portraits of the Woodard family and some engagement photos of Matt & Michelle. You wouldn't know it, but Maui actually has a mountain on it that's over 10,000 ft, so "Up Country" is somewhere half way up the mountain. It's pretty much a completely different climate and culture - more country western and cooler (weather wise). We loved going up there when we lived on Maui (to escape the heat and the beach). So yesterday we all went up to "Pat's Property" (Ciara's dad has property up there with cows, horses, campsites and whatnot - it's amazing). Here's some pics of the beautiful afternoon.


Some random trailer on Pat's property

We heart eachother

One of Pat's horses.

Joelle couldn't figure out the horses and cows.


We've been having some really intense storms move through Maui during the past few days... beautiful though.

SCUBA

Diving Maui 2009 from Gary Christenson on Vimeo.

We spent the afternoon scuba diving - just the two of us and it was unbelievable. We shot some video and snapped some photos of our two different dives... so click PLAY on the above video and see what it's like hangin' out 55+ feet deep underwater in the Pacific Ocean (If you have a slow connection, pause the video and let it load all the way, then press play).

We swam / paddled / dived (however you say scuba-ing) out to this outer reef and sat on the edge looking out into deep blue nothingness just listening to the whales sing (it's humpback whale season right now in Maui and it's like "whale soup" out there (tons of them around)). They were extremely loud and we thought we'd see one swim on by... but we did not... bummer. They were seriously soooo close. Maybe next time. But we did get to see TONS of fish, awesome coral life, countless turtles and one lonely eel. Thanks to Nate & Jenna for watching Joelle so we could get some more dives under our belt! Courtney got scuba certified in beautiful Cancun, and Gary got certified in the frigid waters of northern Oregon... we love sharing these kind of adventures together! And bringing a camera along made it even better! Enjoy.

Shredding the Gnar

We've been doing a lot of surfing / slashing / shredding the past few days. The arrival of a new Northwest swell has revealed it's glorious self to Maui, and we gnarsupials have shredded the gnar of the gnarness. No. Big. Deal.

Here's a few quick shots that Matt Stru's fiance (Michelle - from Canada, eh) took while we surfed Honulua Bay... eh.

Taking off on a nice little wave at the bay. Thanks Stru for not dropping in.

Gary is now an ambi-turner (can turn right and left). For the last few years he's only really surfed backside (left) with his infamous barrel stance, but now he is surfing more and more frontside (right)... he's also joined Courtney in sporting the infamous stinkbutt stance while surfing frontside.

Such Haoles (how-lees)

Stru getting into a barrel... sa-wheat.

And some parting shots from the girls at Shell Beach... such beautiful ladies.

More Photos Please

I absolutely love this photo (above)... thanks to Jenna Strubhar for capturing this shot of our little family. Love it, Love it, Love it.

Okay, here's some MORE random photos for ya. It's been a little windy and cloudy, but still pleasantly warm. We've been catching up with old friends, playing in the Ocean, eating amazing food and seriously Straight Kickin' - It like it's no bodies business. It's good to be here.


Some random Joelle face

Joey hanging out while daddy catches some waves at Honolua Bay... Joelle's mommy didn't get any shots of daddy "Shredding The Gnar" b/c her mom loves taking pictures of Joey more :)

Gary "Shredding the Gna... I mean, the Surf Lineup"... still a cool shot though. Nice work Court!

Mike skimboarding at Makena

Love the tongue... too cute.

The Woodard & Strubanhogen Show

Matt, Gary and Nate having a little surf comp: "Paia Bay... 3 burrly men from Oregon, 2 fishes and a longboard... one champion... which was Nate - he KILLED it!"

"Strubhar & Strubhar Painting and Associates" board meeting... "uh, maybe we should have been painting that house instead of surfing"

Joelle made friends with Mikaela (Mike & Ciara's little girl)... but then got sad for some random reason once we started taking pictures of them interacting.

Makena (Big Beach)

We spent the afternoon at Makena Beach... our favorite beach on Maui, which has some of the best beach break on planet earth. We tested out our new underwater housing for the camera (which worked awesome - I was seriously like a kid in a candy shop... just stoked on life) and we also introduced Joelle to the WARM beach (as apposed to the COLD California beach) and she LOVED it. She was completely confused by the sand, but genuinely stoked the whole time we were there. We've been seriously RELAXING so far, and Joelle has been a SLEEPING CHAMP since we arrived (Praise the good Lord in heaven). Life is good my friends.


Joelle + Makena from Gary Christenson on Vimeo.
(Click on the PLAY button to play the above video)

Trying to figure out the sand

My beautiful, relaxed and happy ladies.

The Stru-brothers & Gary - 15 feet deep in the Pac Ocean... I love this time of year b/c any time you go under water you can hear the humpback whales singing to you.

Matt jumping off the sand bank (which you can't see from this angle, but it was "somewhere between mid to large in height" - as quoted by Matt Strubhar)

I am completely at home in and under the water... it just makes me so happy to be in the water every day playing, exercising and exploring... makes me wonder why we live in Central Oregon :)

Hello Maui... meet Joelle

It is time for our annual pilgrimage back to the islands... except this time, we have a crazy baby with us!!! It's pretty mind blowing to think that at this time last year, while sitting in front of a north shore surf break, Courtney and I found out (to our surprise) that we were becoming parents... what a tremendous gift that we didn't realize we had at the time. I wonder what surprise awaits us on our trip this year? It's always SOMETHING :) Well, were ganna terrorize the Island and all of our friends with Joelle... so watch out Maui... here we come.

We have a lot planned for the next 2+ weeks: Scuba diving, surfing, eating THE BEST sushi ever, hiking, photoging some portraits and engagement sessions, more surfing, hanging with the Woodards (our gracious hosts), seeing our "Uncles & Aunties" that we love so much, kickin' it on the beach and just relaxing, whale watching, boating, body surfing at Makena... oh man, the list is endless!!! Alo - Friggin - Ha!

VIEW THE VIDEO BELOW: Just press the PLAY button (or click here to view in a different window). It's just a bunch of random old pictures from when Courtney and I used to live there. We met, became friends, dated and got engaged all while living on Maui... a dream come true. Here's a little taste of what it was like.

Birds Need Bird Houses

One of our overly artistic friends Lori LaBissoniere painted this for our daughter. Lori's work is beautiful, we love her style and use of color. We feel very honored that she gifted us this piece in celebration of Joelle's birth. Joelle has a bird theme going on in her room and this piece is the finishing touch to the decor. We love it! And we love our friends that make up the artistic community here in Central Oregon. It's inspiring being around such "creatives" all the time.

Also, here's a recent pic of Joelle in her teething phase. Mmm, she loves chewing on fingers. As you will notice, she's lost most of her deep dark hair. However, she's rockin' the BEST mullet / grandpa hair style ever right now, but she's still getting cuter and cuter each day. Other than her having a hard time sleeping (which is normal), she's doing great. It's been a huge blessing having Courts mom here helping out and giving Courtney some much needed time off from the daily grind of motherhood. THANKS MARSHA!!! We love you!

The Bee-FF

Meet Joelles BFF. This little stuffed animal brings her an unmeasurable amount of joy on a daily basis. While driving in the car or sitting at home, it's nonstop smiles when she spots this bee. We don't really know what it is... maybe the white and black stripes, or the blue wings that have a crunchy texture to them, or maybe the bright yellow head and those big white eyes... who knows. All we know is that Joey hearts her bee... and she loves it even more when the bee's head is in her mouth getting gnawed on by her gums.

Good to be Home

Wanted to post some recent images of our little girl. She's developing more and more each day. Right now she's really into eating her hands, giggling and playing with anything in sight. Her smile is beautiful, she's getting more and more curious about her surroundings (and our cameras), and is extremely vocal. She's also starting to get quite a little attitude :)

Asia = Conquered

Well, our travels through Asia are over and I couldn't be happier to be home and with my beautiful girls (man, I missed them). Over the last two weeks we pretty much traveled every way imaginable: 747, small crappy Indian planes, first class, coach, bus, motorcycle, train, subway, taxi, rickshaw (motorbike taxi), ox & trailer, and loads of walking. And surprisingly enough, there was only a FEW times during our trip that I thought I would die... Indian drivers are NUTS :) In all, India was an amazing experience and very eye opening. It'll take me quite some time to process everything that happened - but I'm looking forward to it. Thailand was a real breath of fresh air after our time in India. We stayed in Bangkok for several days and I appreciated every second of it.

Although Bangkok is basically like NYC (huge, tons to do, and massive buildings), my favorite part of it was when we explored the city via small wooden boats. We cruised through the canals and witnessed some very peaceful life on the river. Also, at 3am when we were heading to the airport, I saw a dude riding an elephant through the city streets... that was sweet. I would go back to Thailand at the drop of a hat and want to explore it more in the future. I just loved it.

We also flew into the small international business hub called Singapore (a tiny Island nation off the coast of Malaysia) and it was insanely beautiful, clean and modern. It's 200+ square miles with close to 5 million people living on it. We stayed there for two days to recoup at the beach and hotel before our long travels home. It reminded me a lot of Honolulu, Oahu minus the rugged terrain.

To learn more about the trip to India and why we went, please visit the emote360 blog. I'm thankful to be home. Thank you all for your prayers during this trip. God really protected us and watched over all our production gear. There were many situations that were on the verge of quickly "going south", but thankfully did not. I believe that was the power of all of our prayers - so thank you very much.