double teaser! : Ann & Jim [modern portraits] // Ann & Greg [modern wedding]
- July 26, 2010 -

On Saturday, I headed downtown with Ann & Jim for their e-session- while most of their session is NSFW (not-safe-for-work) because of Jim, I was able to find a safe one ;)

Then Ann & Greg tied the knot on Sunday- and I’ll tease that one with one of the more timeless moments of the wedding day: the father-daughter dance.  Enjoy!

be sure to visit the contact page if you’re looking for a chicago wedding photographer, available nationwide.

natemathai | filed under: Couples Lifestyle Sessions, Modern Portraits
ann & greg, ann & jim, chicago illinois, chicago wedding photographers, e-session, meadows club, modern portraits, Modern Weddings, nate mathai, navy pier, rolling meadows illinois

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26 and counting…
- July 20, 2010 -

For some reason, life has gotten extremely hectic all of a Sunday, and I realize that I’ve not shown my face on the blog in quite awhile, so here’s a post for you! [For those looking simply for my wedding and portrait work, oh get ready- the blog will be EXPLODING over the next month or so ;)]

So this past weekend I hit another milestone: 26 years of life. Can you believe it?! I guess most people can, because I generally get assumptions that I’m at least 2-3 years older than that. Not sure why it is…I’ve convinced myself it’s my maturity and wisdom, and not my receding hairline. :) And even though it’s not a “big” number in any sense of it, it was a great birthday nonetheless. I feel like over the past year my life has taken quite a bit of twists of turns of which I’m so thankful for, which makes me even more excited to start this new year off. Obviously, the biggest change was that I got married last August (goodness…it’s almost been 1 year!), and my wonderful wife decided to gift me a great birthday weekend!

It started on Friday, July 16th, the day before my actual birthday. I woke up with a note on my phone (the first thing I grab when I wake up) wishing me a Happy Birthday. And that morning my wife revealed my first gift:

Now, I LOVE video games. And I’ve been talking about getting a PS3 since before we got married, but kept putting it off because I could not justify the purchase (to her or myself). She took all the hints though, and got it for me! This is really a big deal for me, because…well…I went from this:

To this:

To all of you who are freaking out right now…don’t worry. I’m keeping the original NES. It’s sitting nicely right next to my PS3. :)

That night my wife and I helped babysit my nieces, as my sister and brother-in-law took a trip to celebrate their anniversary. And generally, babysitting a 5-year-old and a 2-year-old can be quite a handful. But this time, it was a breeze! Mainly because everything surrounded my birthday so I didn’t have to do anything. They spent the night making me birthday cards, meaning I could not be in the room with them as it was a surprise. Then in the morning, they were ‘surprising’ me with breakfast, so I had to avoid the kitchen at all costs. Much love to my wonderful wife for truly watching the two little ones the whole time :)

We then hit a bit of a snag on birthday weekend- we went to a dealership to possibly purchase a new car. The bad news: within the week, they had sold the car we looking at! Can’t fault them, but it put a little bit of a downer on the day, now that we’re back on the search.

In the evening on Saturday came the 2nd celebration, where a few of my close friends got together at Dave & Buster’s for some good food, fun games, and good times.

\

They had a rather big birthday ice-cream-cookie thing…I barely made a dent in it.

We started out with some bball…

then did some racing…

…and a little bit of shooting…

At the end of the night, we used our winnings to get some candy for everyone, and I came away with a few prizes of my own:

I think the green care-bear will be my new mascot- you think I can pull it off?

Then came Sunday- CUBS GAME! For 3 of the past 4 years, my wife and I have gone to the Cubs game for my birthday, and this was the best one yet. We had great seats and it was my first night game. Truly beautiful!

We started out with some poor looking swings…

I told the wife that I wanted to try to capture a HR swing (preferably by Lee, but I would take anyone at that moment). And then Soriano came up and this happened…

It was a great night- a bonus because we broke our curse of going to games and having the Cubs lose :)

All in all, I had a great birthday weekend. I’m officially 26 years old and counting…counting my blessings for all the goodness, grace and mercy that God has shown me. He’s been faithful when I chose not to be, and has continued to be an anchor in the every changing storm of life. And because of that, I’m so excited for what’s to come. Because it’s truly not about anything I’m going to do, but what He’s going to do with me and through me- and what’s more exciting than that?!

be sure to visit the contact page if you’re looking for a chicago wedding photographer, available nationwide.

natemathai | filed under: Personal
birthday, chicago cubs, chicago wedding photographers, cubs vs phillies, dave and busters, madden 2010, nate mathai, night game, playstation 3, ps3, wrigley field

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Fourth of July Fireworks (Ribfest in Naperville, IL)
- July 5, 2010 -

Fact 1:  I’ve lived in Illinois for almost 26 years.
Fact 2:  I’ve never been to the Taste of Chicago.
Fact 3:  This was the first time I went to Naperville’s Ribfest.

Yes, I’ve lived a deprived Chicagoan’s life, but I’m slowly improving on it.  A group of friends decided to head out to  Naperville’s Ribfest on the 4th, so we headed out to get there just at 7:30pm (when the gates are free) for a little meat and fireworks. After driving through a little rain, it cleared up by the time we got there, which was a plus.  We had a little over an hour to get whatever food we’d like before the fireworks began.

My wife and my meal consisted of: Beef Brisket sandwich from Hog Wild (great!), Funnel Cake (alright, no ice-cream or fudge), Chocolate Covered Strawberries (the wife said it was alright, I don’t like strawberries), and a Strawberry-Banana Smoothie (Refreshing, but not amazing)

And here’s a couple frames from the fireworks:

Enjoy the 5th! :)

be sure to visit the contact page if you’re looking for a chicago wedding photographer, available nationwide.

natemathai | filed under: Personal
2010, chicago wedding photographers, fireworks, illinois, naperville, ribfest, ribs

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