they met on the reality tv show: extreme makeover, home edition. you know, “m o v e t h a t b u s !” She was the photographer, he was the head carpenter. the first show they worked on together, they bonded. they worked long hard days and nights, and that week, a beautiful old walnut tree was chopped down so that a family could have a home. tony kept the tree, cut it up, dried the slabs of wood out for three years and three years later, he built – with his own two hands – the table that they would set up for their wedding dinner.

her mom is a seamstress, and made her dress by hand. they picked out the fabric together, and stevie could have never imagined another dress. This one had meaning so much deeper than something off of a rack in a bridal shop. her sister is a baker, and made the best cake i’ve ever tasted – with lavender and sage carefully placed by hand, exactly what stevie imagined. tony made the planters for the succulents on the dinner table, and the grandpa’s and dad’s strung up the twinkle lights for that evening’s celebration.

as the pastor began the ceremony, he turned to them and said “stevie and tony, welcome to your build!” and I couldn’t help but think of how true that was. every item that had been made for this wedding day, big or small, was not just about a wedding – they were about to build a marriage. the cake would soon be eaten or frozen, the dress would hang in a closet until generations later when someone wants to wear “grandma’s dress”, and the table would become their dining room table – where they paid bills and had fights, and told their children to eat with their mouths closed and where they hosted and loved other people. this really was their “build”, their most important one.

and it all started with a walnut tree, chopped down to make room for a home, and later turned into a table.

oh my goodness, how excited and honored and humbled we are that you are here, and that you have found us!
over the past years, and especially the past few months, we have been so shocked at the outpouring of interest and support for the don’t give up project!

the Don’t Give Up project is something so big, so powerful, and such an increasing guiding force for the people who call it home that it is difficult to put into words.
it’s difficult to tell you what it’s going to be like because everyone who attends, including us, says it’s one of those “you had to be there” things.
it is more than just a workshop, it’s a time to come and gather at a big lodge home in the rocky mountains of colorado, to bring your fears and your hopes, to live behind your camera, to make new friends and sleep in bunk beds and tell stories around a campfire. it’s a time to vent and rejuvenate. to hope and plan for something better in the days ahead. to be a part of a new community. to join in on a movement of photographers searching to find life in places more beautiful than the rat race of wedding and portrait photography. to find your why. to leave different than when you arrived.

and so, it is because of that fact that we kindly and excitedly extend to you the invitation to join us!

y o u a r e i n v i t e d : to come and share in the Don’t give up project with us, and we hope you take us up on our invitation!!!
if you’ve got that nudge deep in your gut, and you are ready to take the leap into something new and wonderful, please come join us for an adventure like no other.

t h e d e t a i l s :

t h e w h a t :
with open arms, we will welcome you to the huge, rustic, beautiful Lodge in Divide, Colorado that we and multiple other photographers who have joined us over the years have grown to call our “second home”. We will spend nearly 3 days of our lives having an experience that is quite honestly, nearly impossible to put into words. But there will be people there, good people who care about you and want to see you leave different than you came. And there will be new friends who you will feel like you’ve known for much longer than half of a week. And there will be a killer view of the mountains. And bonfires. And laughter. And inspiration. And maybe a few good cleansing tears. And a time to reflect, to re-focus, to ask questions and give space for the answers to come to you. And food….oh, goodness…there will be amazing food. like UH. MA. ZING.

t h e w h e n :

the adventure starts the afternoon of Monday, July 1st, 2013 and will finish up around noon on Wednesday, July 3rd, 2013.

t h e c o s t :

the cost for the Don’t Give Up project is $1600 per person, and includes shuttle to/from the Colorado Springs airport, all meals and drinks, lodging, and the entire workshop experience…more than we could list here!

h o w m a n y :

In order to spend the attention and time we need on each attendee, we are limiting this workshop to 15 spaces.

it’s time for me to take the leap! how do I make it official??

first, we can’t wait to meet you!!!! now, please email us at hello@wearetheparsons.com with the subject line, “I WON’T GIVE UP!” please be sure to include:
1. your name
2. why you think this is the right time for you to attend the Don’t Give Up project
3. if you want to register by paying 100% or 50% down. – if you pay 50% down to secure your spot, the remainder will be due June 1, 2013 the 50% down payment is non-refundable, due to high demand and limited spots.
4. what email we should send the paypal payment request to.

I still have questions, how do I ask them?

please email us at hello@wearetheparsons.com with the subject line “I STILL HAVE QUESTIONS” and ask us anything you need to know. we will try and write back immediately, but keep in mind workshop release day fills our inbox with a constant frenzy of emails, so we will do our best to get back to you soon! :)

Ok, friends, have fun! and we hope to meet 15 of you very, very soon up in The Rocky Mountains of Colorado!!!

and just in case you need a visual to go with the questions in your head, here is a little of what it looked like at the last one, so this time, just imagine leaves on the trees and replace the snowball fight with water guns or something. :)

Don’t Give Up Project Home Video from Anecdotally Yours (Jeff Short) on Vimeo.

and a few images from the last one:
(thanks a million to amanda, athena, nate+amanda, kristin, and the starks for the wonderful images you made – a few which are shared here. we love y’all)

see you there, friends! we cannot wait to meet you!

we searched craigslist, found the following ad, and said, “hey, let’s just go give it a look…just in case!”

we went, gave it a look, and were a bit shocked at how much work this trailer needed, and how much the owner was asking for it. but we are dreamers, and this was a 1964 vintage shasta travel trailer, so we fell in love with the thoughts of what it c o u l d be, went to the ATM at our bank, and we returned to the owner with $300 cash in hand. She took it, and we drove away with a rotting hunk of metal and wood, and a small rectangle full of possibilities.

this is what it looked like when we first brought it home, the “before” . . .

over the next 12 months, we went through the process of completely gutting every square inch of the rotted old trailer and rebuilding every square inch. if you are on instagram, we kept a visual log of our renovating under the hashtag #shastarenovation . most recently, our friend sean helped us by finishing out the walls and electric. then jeremy built a bed, and a fold down desk for the perfect little quiet work space. and just like that, the dream is a reality!

we modeled the “feel” of the trailer after our favorite family book-turned-movie, one our kids frequently overly-quote:
the fantastic mr. fox.
we wanted it to resemble and feel like the tree that the fox family lives in, and to feel like our own little “tree house” – hence the lovely cedar walls (they smell amazing) -a place where we can retreat and relax as a family, and where jeremy and I can clear our heads and get work done . . . or have a glass of whiskey after a date night.

so, without further ado, the “after”