Winnipeg 2016 HS Football

It's not just family photos that have been keeping me busy.  

I also became a football mum for the first time this year!  I generally make no secret of the fact that hockey is my favourite sport to watch, but I would gladly watch my son and his teammates play football any day of the week!  These boys have worked hard all season long, and it's been a privilege to be witness them grow as players and young men.  

It's also been great to reconnect with the parents of some of my son's teammates whom I've known since they were all in preschool together, and to meet new people as well.  

One way or another, our season ends on Wednesday and no matter the outcome of the big game - I couldn't be more proud of these kids!  Proudly a member of the OP Raider Nation!

GO RAIDERS!

Winnipeg Autumn Family Photos

September and October are always popular months for photos, and this year was no exception.  Although the weather was particularly unpredictable and overall pretty rainy, I was still lucky enough to catch some time with these four families!

Some of them you'll recognize from previous photos, and a couple of them are new to the Zaniac family.

more after the jump.

Winnipeg Party Photos

You might recognize this beautiful family from a previous wedding.  Barb is an incredible teacher at the school my son attended during his elementary years, and now she's someone I consider a beautiful, wonderful friend.   Her son was married to his sweetheart earlier this autumn and I was lucky enough to be included in the pre-wedding festivities.

Spending time with this family is truly a gift.  They are kind, welcoming and hilarious!

More after the jump.

Rainbows and Love and Friendship - Oh My!

July 9, 2016 marked the first ever Pride march in Steinbach, Manitoba.  This was an event surrounded by no small amount of controversy, but that's not what I want to focus on here.

It was a privilege to participate in this event and witness the coming together of humans from all walks of life and many different beliefs in a celebration of love, friendship, community and togetherness.

When I say that Zaniac Photo is For Every Family - I mean it.  <3

More after the jump.

Winnipeg Graduation Photos

High School graduation is such an exciting time.  You've worked hard for at least 13 years to accomplish this goal - and you deserve to be celebrated!

With that in mind, I'd like to congratulate Shay on her hard work and perseverance and wish her the best in this next stage of her life!

You are a courageous and beautiful young woman and you will no doubt do big things in your life!

Assiniboine Park Zoo January 2016

What to do on the last day of winter break?  Hit the Zoo of course!

I think the last time we went to the Zoo might have been during winter break the year before, so it seemed fitting.

The polar bears surprisingly weren't terribly active while we were there, but we got a chance to see plenty of other animals.

I think this is probably my favourite series of shots from that day:

More after the jump...

December Family Photos in Winnipeg

C has been my neighbour and friend for about 10 years, but the only time I've ever done any photos for her was the time that she needed a single photo for her son's school project!
This year she decided that photos of her and the kids would make a great Christmas gift for her family - and she was right!

We found a little window of time that they were all free in between trips to the rinks and headed off in the cold.

More after the jump...

Winnipeg Family Photographer December 2015

This was a really fun shoot!  Not only did I get to catch up with mum, who's been a friend of my sister forever, but I got a private concert from her extremely talented sons!

Seriously, these guys are amazing!

More after the jump.

Surprise, we're getting on a plane!

So, my mum is the president of the Manitoba Federation of Union Retirees, and occasionally she gets to has to go out of town on business trips.  My son always asks to go with her and the answer is always, "no" because he has school/she has meetings or conferences the whole time/his airfare would be expensive, etc.

Well, this time she was going at the end of November, and I thought - "hey, why not".  It was in between terms at school for my son,  and the stars aligned for the rest of the usual issues and I decided that he and I would go with her to Ottawa, but it would be a surprise!  Neither he nor I have ever been, so I was really excited.

I booked tickets and hotel rooms, coordinated with his teachers and even managed to pack our suitcase without my son having any clue.  I told him he had an orthodontist appointment on the morning of our flight, but we had to leave early so we could take Grammy to the airport.

When we got to the airport, I told him that we were actually there to catch our flight (Grammy was taking a later flight on a different airline) because we were going to Ottawa.  He was very surprised, but just as excited as I was.  I even managed to get him to take a selfie (albeit a kind of reluctant one, lol) at the airport before we boarded our flight.

We had a blast though and we walked sooooo much.  Downtown Ottawa is very walkable.  They're currently building a light rail system (lucky!) though, so I think the construction actually rivalled that in Winnipeg this year, which is a pretty significant accomplishment if you ask me!

Parliament Hill is absolutely stunning and it was incredible to see - something everything Canadian or fan of Canada should have an opportunity to see at least once in their lifetime.  

We ended up trading camera favours with an adorable couple who were also visiting Parliament Hill for the first time.

We're big fans of poutine, so we made it our mission to try a different poutine every day, since we were so close to Quebec.

Really though, the star of the experience was the sightseeing.

The remains of Canada's unknown soldier.

More after the jump...