Adventures With a Family of 6

This shoot was a blast-- when I saw the family pull up, I was truly giddy with excitement. They looked great and their darling daughters arrived ready for a fun family session with a side order of fashion photography. Their clothing choices were fun, spunky yet conservative and worked out great with our rustic location. I have to admit being hung up on this one--it was so hard to not post the whole bunch here-- so I'll just save some surprises for later!! Enjoy~

{my favorite wall in the entire planet! ;) }

{she makes my job easy-- natural beauty, I tell you!}

{blue eyes & beautiful smile . . . she's stunning!}

{she has an awesome laugh and the most darling dimples!!}

{baby sis was so sweet and fun I had to post an extra for her!}

{a little urban texture action here-- so FUN!}

{gorgeous mom with the most sparkly eyes ever!!}

{dad couldn't escape the fun--I really like the GQ look here juxtaposed to the old shed door.}

{the girls with my "aged pecan" processing in adobe lightroom. This could also be an advertisement for studiocharm steaks, but many of you know that I'm a vegetarian, so they'd likely be tofu steaks and not very tasty. SO no steaks as part of your photo session, sorry folks!}

{I literally got goosebumps on my arms when I snapped this family shot in front of the red wall--even before I had seen the results. Something just "clicked" and it felt like an authentic moment was captured and preserved for this family. This is the high that photographers get once in a while--WAHOO!!}

{Last shot of the shoot- COWABUNGA! We all got a good laugh looking at the facial expressions on my viewfinder}.

Thanks H fam for such an adventurous, non-stressful shoot!! I am so excited to present your images to you!!

A Great Thought

A good friend of mine sent me this quote recently. I just love it- and I love the author, Marjorie Pay Hinckley:

"I don't want to drive up to the pearly gates in a shiny sports car, wearing beautifully, tailored clothes, my hair expertly coiffed, and with long, perfectly manicured fingernails. I want to drive up in a station wagon that has mud on the wheels from taking kids to scout camp. I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter on my shirt from making sandwiches for a sick neighbors children. I want to be there with a little dirt under my fingernails from helping to weed someone's garden. I want to be there with children's sticky kisses on my cheeks and the tears of a friend on my shoulder. I want the Lord to know I was really here and that I really lived."


Isn't that great? For me it is so visual, and I can especially relate to the part about being covered with grime.

For our weekly photo news and updates . . . I have a TON of photos to process, SO MANY to blog about, and we are on the mend from a sick spell at our home. In fact, I began the day with my little M. getting "sick" on me at 5:00 a.m. Soooo- as soon as I am able, I will get everything done (in order, right?) and it will be lovely. The fairy canvases turned out amazingly well- I am so excited about what will come next with these designs. Photos of the installation and exciting business updates on the way.

{Sometimes they really act like they love each other to pieces! Other times . . . not so much. I am so happy to have captured this image earlier this evening as the sun was setting.
Technical settings: f/8, SS 1/320 @ 500 ISO. Lens- 70-200mmL (focal length set to 70 mm)}

No. 2

You may recognize this familiar face, as I have photographed him a few times. He just turned 2 and it was a lot of fun to document this milestone. Can't get enough of those curly locks!!

{His big brown eyes are like melted chocolate! So sweet--}

{J. feeding the goats at the farm}

{I love this one- and the great bokeh from the new lens adds that lovely background blur!}

{Big brother is there to help extinguish the flame on candle no. 2}

{Happy Birthday big guy- thanks for allowing me to tag along on your bday no. 2!}

Tulip Festival at 19 Percent

So about the Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving Point . . .

For the last few weeks I've been daydreaming of the arrival of the beautiful tulips, flittering butterflies and the sweet smell of lilacs on the breeze. Truth is, springtime around here has been a slow poke. One day it is 80 degrees, the next day 40 and snowing. Yikes! For good reason, the tulips have been delayed-- and I am no horticulturist, but I understand that it just isn't prime tulip season. We only have one tulip bulb in our yard and it just bloomed. It was a tulip left over from the previous owners about 4 years ago. (Go figure?) Lacking in tulips, we rely upon the Gardens at Thanksgiving Point to fill that need.

So we waited all of last week to allow a little more time for the tulips to wake up. Friday was gorgeous weather and we could wait no longer. The receptionist at the gardens said the tulips were at about 19 percent. I figured that 19% of 250,000 bulbs still adds up to quite a lot. So we went.

There weren't a whole lotta tulips YET. If you can imagine, there will be tulips by the bushel in a week or so. I did manage to get some fun shots nonetheless, and we enjoyed ourselves immensely. My mother was in town and helped to keep the kidlets in one place, allowing me to shoot away.

{My little photographer's assistant: capturing her own piece of the tulip mania}

{Each one facing a different direction. Counting me, we've got the north-south-east-west covered! This is what I call "lack of posing" or "not willing to hold still."}

{Thanks Mom for this shot of my handsome little guy and my wind-swept hair. I love M's expression here!}

{My cutie pies at the fountain inside the secret garden. A. made a wish and plopped a coin into the water. S. did too- though her coin toss was too fast for me to capture! She asked me today with a tone of dissappointment, "Why didn't my wish come true?" I urged her to be patient, as some wishes take a long time.}

{Welcome to the secret garden . . . I can't show you everything inside, as it wouldn't be a secret! I can say that I dream of having one of my own some day!}

{Mmmmm. Springtime.}

{M. crawling down the steep grassy hillside. Most kids rolled sideways, he just met it head on. Atta boy!}

{Grandma won M. over on this trip . . . he's known for being quite the Mama's boy, so it was a nice break for me!}

{Sweet girl- love this one!}

Canvas Fairy Details

A client of mine wanted to see these images, so I thought I would simplify things and post them on the blog . . . plus I get to share them with all of you too.

I absolutely love this little fairy, and she's so gorgeous on this large gallery wrapped canvas. I photographed the little girl last summer and transformed her into this darling little fairy. Here are some images of the photoshop mockup version and original image and below are images of the real-life fairy canvas:

{I just LOVE the mushroom in the background!}

I love to create custom works of art like this- for me it combines my love of photography and painting and children's room decor and illustration . . . and especially children . . . into one simple piece. Ideally, custom fairy artwork is created from my own photography as a starting point, though if given the right photo I would consider creating one with a client's photo.

Here's a collage for the same little girl's room, combining photos from our multiple sessions. Picture this on her buttercream yellow walls . . . so fun!

{detail shot of the back side- ready to hang on the wall, no additional frames needed!}

Finding Color in Winter

I am constantly on the lookout for great photo spots. During this winter season we've been blanketed in the color of white (which I do find beautiful) . . . but as the snow melts our whitescape becomes more muddy, gritty, grungy, brownish. Not so beautiful. So in search of some color, I recently noticed a couple of spots in the area that were calling to be photographed. I convinced my "middle model" to join me on an adventure, with the promise of picking out a treat at the end. {Please tell me most parents resort to bribing their children from time to time?}

{This darling crochet brown hat is from chloereese . . . I just ordered a couple of hats last week and I was anxious to get them. As I was ready to leave for this shoot, they magically appeared in the mailbox and I was delighted. I highly recommend this website for children's hair accessories!!}

{A wonderful friend let me borrow her canon 70-200L f/4 lens for this shoot. I did enjoy it . . . and am even more hopeful that some day I may acquire the 70-200L f/2.8 IS lens. I did "try on" the f/2.8 recently and it was "beauty and the beast" all in one. The f/4 does have an appeal in being slightly less monstrous!}

{This one makes my heart flutter. She's just gorgeous! Minutes after this she asked, "Can we go home yet?" Doesn't she know this is as good as it gets?!?}

{Childhood. Imagination. Surreal. Great location, eh?}

Fur Coats, Polka Dots & Telephones

A fun studio session from this week-- this sweet little toddler is sure growing up! I have photographed her beautiful family a few times. Her first session as a newborn had to be rescheduled, as I went into labor that day with M.! Here are some shots that I can't get over:

{Can you believe those eyes?!?}

{The toes. Gotta love the toes!}

More February Fun

Here are some more photos from the past few days that I'm pleased to share:

{this one melts my heart!}

{just a doll!}

{M. knows I have a tendancy to lose my lenscap. He's just making sure I keep it on!}

{She's sure growing up! She has really been into styling her own hair this past week. She told me she wanted "bangs" the other day, so I clipped a few really subtle ones. This morning at breakfast she said, "I really like bangs." She is such a little carbon copy of me at this age, I can't believe it. Stubbornness and sweetness mixed into one!}

{We recently moved M. from his high chair to a booster seat at the table. Here he is letting us know that he's done with dinner, even though we had just begun eating. He reminds me of a little cowboy here.}

{sassy lass!}

{these eyelashes were handed down from his maternal grandfather- my Dad.}

{My photography assistant! She is really loving her camera- and was so cute yesterday setting up a tripod and requesting that I be in a "photo shoot."}

{Sweethearts! This was a very spontaneous shot, as you can see I am holding the camera at arm's length. Please forgive the wide angle distortion! Photos of the two of us are lesser in number, so I have to insist on a few now and then. }

{my little snow people . . . we've had more snow than ever this winter and the kids know the routine of getting geared up to play outside. We currently have at least 18" in the front yard!!}

Where We Get Our Kix

Ahhhhh, the sound of light fluffy balls of golden corn delicately bouncing on the wooden floor. I hear the rustle as hundreds of them are shaked from an upside down box onto the floor. I hear the crackle, as tiny toes pulverize them to cereal dust. This is where we get our kix. Got milk?

So the babe was responsible for the shaking and dumping, but it was big sister who left the pantry door ajar.

Here's the discussion we all had while cleaning up the cereal mess:

A: "He's a mean little guy."

Me: "No he's not. He just did what babies like to do, that is get into stuff. You left the pantry door open and that is how he got the cereal."

A: "Oh."

Me: "S. did this same thing with cheerios when she was a baby."

A: "Was I the big sister then?"

Me:"No, you weren't born yet."

S chimes in: "They were still working on making your body."

Me: "You were in Heaven waiting to come down."

S: "This is going to take like an hour to clean up!"

Me (holding a large bowl filled with kix cereal): Who wants to eat this BIG bowl of cereal with a BIG spoon?

A: "I do!"

(I didn't give it to her, by the way. She had eaten plenty by the time we had it all picked up.)

"I'm the baby and I endorse this message."

{Brought to you by Kids In Xcess . . . KIX. I'm a bit disgruntled because they cleaned up all of my cereal. All that work!!}

Enchanted

Here's a little something I've been working on for one of my clients. This beautiful little fairy will be printed as a big gallery wrapped canvas, sized at 20"x24" and I can hardly wait! (This is a mock-up version of the canvas). I will post some photos of the real printed canvas when it arrives!

The original photo is of a client's daughter from this past year. I created all of the other elements, added texturing, blending and a little "amy magic." This is my favorite fairy image to-date! This canvas will be the perfect complement to this sweetie's bedroom decor!

Many of you may know that I am also a mural artist, painting directly on walls in playrooms, theme rooms and such for over a decade. I continue to accept projects on a very limited basis, as family and photography fill up my available time, however, I still feel a bit of that mural magic when I create something like this. To me, it just speaks "childhood bliss." I just love it!

{the original fairy girl . . . straight out of camera (sooc)}

{the full image including the allowance on the edges for the 1.5" gallery wrap}

If you are interested in commissioning fairy artwork (unique to your child's portrait) send me an email for more information. Prices for original gallery-wrapped fairy artwork from $500 based on image, size, details (can be up to life-sized!). I prefer to work with my own original photography, however, if you have a high res. photo of your child we may be able to use it.

Episode ONE of Brown, Pink & Grey

Three sessions today . . . going backwards, we'll start with "Brown" (based on what they're wearing). These kids should be familiar faces by now if you have followed my blog or the website. They are growing up so fast and I just love what we captured in a quick session today.

{Where'd the doggy go?}

{He's just thinking about it . . .}

{Isn't she dazzling?}

{Killer good looks. Can you believe those curls?}

{I'm loving the catchlights here. He's got such beautiful eyes!}

{Lovely}

{My favorite! Catch me if you can!}

Three Little Ladies in Red Peacoats

I've been so anxious to post these photos from a session this week! I've had the privelege of photographing these little girls on many occasions . . . the first time was when the twins (now toddlers) were itty bitty newborns. It has been amazing to see how they have grown up in such a short time, and big sister has really grown into her role too.

So here they are again- in their dazzling Christmas dresses and red peacoats. Enjoy!!

{mesmerizing beauty}

{Just turned . . . one, two . . . three.}

{curiosity mixed with serenity}

{The girls were fascinated with the salt on the steps- placed there to melt the ice or as supplemental minerals for children. :) }

{Sweet smooches.}

{Snatching Mom's jewelry and trying it on in front of the mirror . . .what a little lady!}

{Lovely family photo next to the cozy fireplace. This was actually one of the first shots of the session, and the girls knew just what to do.}

{I love being a photographer when I feel I blend into the scene and just observe as a fly on the wall. I LOVE to see how families interact and the bonds they share and create. This photo does that for me.}

{Nearly zonked. Toward the end of the session this little one fell asleep in her daddy's arms}

{Alone time? What is alone time when you've got three little kids at home?}

To the D Fam: thanks for a fun session and for trusting my artistic judgement. I am so flattered to see the growing gallery of photography in your home that you have allowed me to be a part of. One of my favorite parts of the whole session was when sweet J. wanted me to hold her. That was great! Your cards will be here Monday . . . I can hardly wait! I am as excited to see them as if they were my own family's cards. They are going to be gorgeous!!

Newborn Love

Saturday morning we awoke to a nice, fluffy blanket of snow outside. This made for a very snuggly, cozy 8 am photo shoot inside the home of this beautiful family. It was so fun to see how the girls had grown since I photographed them a year and a half ago, and baby brother was just as gorgeous and sweet. At two weeks old and with bushels of hair, this little guy has captured the hearts of three big sisters and his mom and dad.

{This little babe is just perfect. I love how soft and cuddly he looks in this one!}

{Don't ya just love baby feet?}

{These girls sure love each other!}

{One of my favorites from the session! I love how Dad's arms completely encircle his son, and it shows the scale of tiny newborn and protective father.}

{Here's a moment of "crowded happiness" for this family.}

{Beautifully . . .}

{Breathtakingly . . .}

{Gorgeous . . .}

{. . . Family. I love sessions like this.}

Loving the Blues & Browns

Here's a family you may recognize! Time for the annual photo shoot~ this time we went for a more studio look, even so, we were able to get a few shots that really spin, jump and point to fun. Meet the D Fam!

{the measure of a great dress- how does it look when twirled?}

{ready, set, JUMP!}

{Mom demonstrates one effective way of keeping a toddler on the backdrop: the upside-down maneuver}

{Hah! Joke's on you! ;) }

{and back to picture perfect!}

Downtown Family

I've been so excited to post these shots! This session was the perfect combination of great weather, superb lighting, fun location and a beautiful family of seven.

{Can I just say I love these shots? Great job C-fam . . .thanks for a fun session!}

My Blue Eyed, Blue Armed Girl

Here's the story in a nutshell. My two girls were acting scrappy so I sent them to their shared room for a little quite time on their bunkbeds. All was peaceful and quiet for a while. Mothers know this is usually a sign of trouble.

Just then my oldest DD yells out, "Mom! A. has BLUE on almost her whole body!"
I jump up and run upstairs to their room. Sweet A. was sitting quietly on her bed as instructed, with a blue crayola marker and apparently not enough paper to scribble on. She did this instead:



As you can see, she is devastated at the consequence of coloring her body smurf-blue. Unfortunately, she doesn't even know what smurfs are . . . so I couldn't even use that one.

I was faced with a dilemma. Do I scold? Laugh? Cry? Get the camera? I got the camera . . . and told her we needed to take a picture to show her dad what she had done (trying to be stern, but holding in my laughter).

She was striking the poses, I tell you. Admiring her artistic creation. Amazingly enough, she didn't get ANY marker on her bedding. I don't know how, as you can see she was pretty thorough with this. She is also a lefty, as you can see her right arm was the more "artistically rendered" one.

Enough admiring. Off to the bath. As she smiled while the blue water filled the tub, I told her, "You're going to be blue for a really long time."

"Oh." She casually replied.

Big sister added, "That's not going to look very good at church!" (Always thinking ahead!)

Eventually the blue did come off and my darling A. emerged from her brief smurfdom.

The moral of the story: Beware the quiet child, as she is more likely to get into mischief.

Cowgirl Portraiture

Tonight {this morning?} I was feeling creative and apparently was having enough fun to forego sleeping and here are the results . . . my little cowgirl, taken from a photograph of my dd. I created this oil painting via corel painter and my wacom tablet . . . and I think I have just rediscovered a love for oil painting!


Some of you may know that my degree is in art education. I taught junior high art and photography for a few years, and have been a mural artist for the past 10 years. I only took one oil painting class in college and honestly didn't fall in love with the mess, the long time oils take to dry, the fumes, the clean-up. Needless to say, my murals are all painted with water-based acrylic. My DH enjoys painting once in a while and prefers oil to acrylic, but not me.

Until now. {Here's a close up of the texture and blending}

So I can't wait to create my next portrait! I had never installed this program until tonight. As an artist, I am surprised at how intuitive this program is. I really created this image in the same sequence that I would a 3-d painting. It takes quite a bit of time, and many layers are involved. There isn't a magic button or setting to create a realistic oil painting . . . that is why the process was so rewarding for me. I think I may have this one printed on canvas masonite! I'll let you know how it works out!

{I kept her face on the smooth side and the background/ bandana pop with a bold texture. Does she pass the test?}

What Season Is This?

For those of you who live in Utah, you know that we cycle through seasons quickly. For instance, one day is summer, the next winter, and the next autumn (in that order). Here's are first dose of winter . . . and the kids could hardly contain themselves. It was all gone by the afternoon and we still have some green leaves on trees. Utah.

{mush! mush!}

One For the Money . . .

. . . two for the show, three to get ready and four TO GO!

I can't help thinking of that when I see this photo!

{Don't you love the expression on this little guy's face?}

Here are more fun picures from the P. family session. Enjoy the show!

{What a great family!!}

3 Tutu Beauties and 1 Big Brother

It is cold and rainy outside right now. I love that photography can happen anywhere, including in the comfort of home when the weather is too too cold--too wet--too windy--too dark. I am an on-location photographer which means I shoot at outdoor locations or I go to the homes of my clients. I love to find great places (often overlooked) to shoot within the home. I also love the simplicity of a pure white backdrop for fun, candid-type shots. It just makes the colors pop and eliminates the idea of a backdrop all together.

Here are some bright and cheery shots to bring a smile to your face!

{I love her curled toes and sweet gaze}

{Here's a shot of lomo with a warm bkw overlay. Going for strong hues and contrast--perfect for a tutu shot!}

Autumn Shoot

A fun autumn shoot from the past week- a beautiful family, beautiful home, beautiful season. I am so excited for this family to see the results from our shoot. I promised the mom that despite the efforts of her sweet {and precocious} 2 year-old to avoid the family photo shoot all together, we'd have some really fun shots. There are plenty, starting with . . .

{You may recognize this mother-baby duo from his March newborn session.

Check out their pictures here: Sweet Three Weeks

{...and see you latyer! I 'll end on this note, though I'd love to post more from this session!}

Raising Them

{I guess I'm on a digi-scrappin' kick. I have too many photos of the kids that I love from our urban photo shoot. }

Storybook Action

Here are a few samples from a storybook photoshop action I am working on. It goes especially well with grassy, nature shots!

and one "non storybook but definitely child friendly shot":

{Hope you loved one big dose of summer photos, as we are now in autumn mode!}

Counting the Days

Excitement for any holiday, any cause to celebrate and eat more chocolate is growing around here. Now that my dd understands how calendars work, she keeps very close track of the days--and especially the holidays. Today was rainbow day at school, in fact. It was quite the thrill! Here's S's punkin drawing with a little Halloween festivity courtesty {me}:

She's a Winner

I have to document many "firsts" that happen around here. Here's a little something that may often be overlooked on the list of firsts:

FIRST TIME TO WIN A PRIZE.

My dd received a call from our local library yesterday to inform her that she had won a contest. We were to pick up the prize at the library. I don't think A. knows what "luck" is, but once she saw the prize, she was feeling like one lucky duck! Here she is!

Can you remember the first thing you ever won? Mine was a cakewalk at the Halloween carnival when I was in first grade. I was wearing strawberry shortcake sandals (she was popular back then as well) with my pink bunny rabbit costume. I won the biggest cake EVER, and I even shared it with my siblings. I was on cloud nine. It was covered in chocolate frosting, and I felt like I had won the lottery (or at least the cakewalk)!

Downtown collage

Here is a design I am having printed as a 24"x36" gallery wrapped canvas. Yesterday I took the kiddos on a photo adventure "downtown" in our hometown. There are some great old brick walls with chipped paint and old wooden doors that make a great backdrop. I love the urban-vintage feel it creates, even with the silly expressions and poses offered by my darling, wiggly children.

Someone said to me today, "I bet your kids love having their photo taken." I wish I could say I never resort to bribery . . . but my kids know me all to well. Our little field trips always seem to coincide with photo shoots. Needless to say, I brought along a bag of peanut m&m's for this shoot and we did have a great time. I will post a photo of the finished canvas when it arrives next week!!

I must mention that my oldest dd really gets into it when I allow her to shoot a few photos with my camera. She snapped the one of baby brother on the lower left corner. Looks like I've got a great assistant/ competitor in the making!

There She Goes

. . . growing up so fast, like they said she would. She's off to kindergarten and there's no turning back. Please allow me to get a bit sentimental, as I am not prone to crying but I do feel the same emotions minus the tears.

This girl is normally not so chipper in the mornings, but all last week she was eager, giddy and just so excited to get to school. After summertime boredom at home, I think she was ready for a solid routine and some action-packed fun and learning.

So the first day of school arrived- and it took almost a month worth of her crossing out the days to get here! On the way to school I told S., "Do you know that you could make 20 new friends today?" Her eyes widened with excitement at that amazing possibility. Here are some images that capture that first day of school:

{Ready}

{Time to go?}

{Giddy. Anxious. Sweet.}

{There she goes. She gets so focussed that she almost doesn't look back, but she knows that I need her to --and for my sake she does.}

Here's to the next 13 years until her HS graduation . . .

Note- I didn't have time to cry after dropping her off, because it immediately began to rain and we had to quickly run for cover.

My LBFF

The son keeps us on our toes these days. He is a stair-climber, potting-soil digger, unidentifiable crumb tast-tester, emotion detector, and true sweetheart. It has been said of M. that I am his "BFF" (ie. "Best Friend Forever"). I can attest to this, and I will be the first to admit, I do make a great friend. I keep this boy safe, fed, clothed and loved, and that is HARD WORK!

{This is M's "I'm drooling, I'm teething. See my two-teeth grin, with eyes bluer than blue" look}

{This is M's "laugh-out-loud, how can you resist me mom, I'm a sweetheart" look}

{This is his "catch me while you can, don't you love my beautiful lashes" look}

Love you, my little best friend forever.

Puppeted Woodland Fairies

My two girls have a vast collection of hand puppets. This is because I love puppets and secretly wanted to be a puppeteer after attending a puppet show as a child. So I buy them. They come out to play once in a while. One day they became the ultimate fairy fashion "must-have" and I just had to document them. The following fairy wardrobes were completely designed by my 3 & 5 year-old daughters. I hope you get a laugh out of them, as I surely did!

{You may recognize the stylin' curly hair-do. It was a vital component of Daddy's Napoleon Dynamite Costume a couple years ago. He even won a costume contest with it!!}

Bonita Chiquita

Watch out for this spunky toddler! She is quite the sweetheart with such beautiful eyes. She is modeling a beautiful collection of hand-embroidered dresses from Ecuador. Meet H. . .

{Who could resist this sweet smile?}

Super Boys

Time to post these fun photos of a great trio of boys. They were such good sports with the August heat and plenty of photos! I love how they have many differences but a definite thread connecting them as brothers.

{I HAD to post this one of J.--he looks like a superhero!}

{This is called a "wrestle-hug."}

{I love the varied expressions the boys have, especially in this photo!}

Going Somewhere

My darling S . . . she is quite the girl. She has so much determination that it is a daunting task raising her at times!! The wonderful thing is that I know it is what makes here strong- it will be hard for me now, but great later when she will not fold to peer pressure. She is going somewhere, and there will be no stopping her!

Another digital layout with a new line of my digi stuff (apple rake garden) overlay and brushes. Enjoy!!

Stand Out

Here's my sweet A. plus a digital scrapbook design by me. I am creating some fun stuff for our digital scrapbooking website (to be launched in the near future). I am lovin Adobe Photoshop & Illustrator CS3. Perfect for making some fun new brushes. Here she is!

{When her daddy saw this photo from last weekend, he said this is one he would like to draw a charcoal portrait of. I couldn't wait to play with it either . . . looks like I got first dibs!}

Sunkissed

Three sunkissed girls. A photo session during the hottest part of the day and luckily we found some nice shade and fun places to explore. These darling girls have some genuine smiles and were so fun to photograph. Mom & Dad were great too!

{Here's a little storyboard sized to 8x10. I loved these giant dandelion (of sorts) that we found along the path. J. did too!}

{three sisters nestled in the tall grass}

{Li'l sis was a bit cautious about being photographed. I think she wanted to be on "my" side of the camera. }

{I just love it when the forced smiles disappear and that true grin shines through!}

{I love the casual, comfortable feel that bare feet add to any photo- especially a family shot!}

Junebugs

A quick post of my sweet A. who recently celebrated turning three. We went to the zoo on her birthday and it was her first ever time to see this lovely creature:

{I vividly remember these same tall giraffe doors from MY first trip to the zoo as a child.}

{Our little biker chick--she picked out her main gift this year: a scooter with a helmet & knee/ elbow pads. Other favorites included a set of horses, a tea set, and $$ from some special loved ones.}

{Most of the flower giving that happens around our place is when our biggest rose bush is in full bloom. Mom gets flowers. Dad gets flowers. The girls receive and give flowers. Isn't summer great?!?}

{A rosy captures: on of the last picts of the day before sundown. The girls were stylin' in polka dots & shades. M. didn't have dots & shades to wear to the party.}

One More

Okay- I had to throw one more layout up here. This is my little cutie (posted the photo a few months back on this blog) and a new digital scrapbook design. All accents & backgrounds are made by me and will soon be available on our new website. What d'ya think? Thanks for looking!

{"She knows how ot make an easy transition from season to season."}

Beautiful Eight

As a mother of three, I am quickly learning about the new adventure that comes as my children reach each yearly milestone of a new age. Age five is the latest addition in our household. Five has many new benefits and challenges . . . and I've still got time to prepare for the teen years, so it is a pretty comfortable place.

Then there's age eight. Halfway to sixteen. Almost a decade old. Wise yet innocent. Adventurous yet cautious. Childlike and maturing every day.

A few days ago I photographed a newly turned 8 year old who has a lot of spunk and sweetness all mixed together. So many favorites from the session (I "narrowed" it down to 66). Here are a few that really strike me. Enjoy!

{Striking Beauty}

{Carefree. Lovin' the wind in her hair & the sparkles in her eyes.}

{Ponder. I'd love to know what she's thinking.}

{A window in her smile. Eight year olds are know for having these.}

Sweetness in a Silver Dish

From today: two little redheads & a blondie. You may recall them from an earlier post. Baby E. has the most incredible blue eyes, they are piercing. Enjoy browsing!

{baby sleeping soundly in a . . . silver dish? I do love the light streaming in from the sunny window. What do you think?}

{Snuggly. Soundly. Sweetly.}

{Three sisters: you can see how close they are. You know that they are there for each other. You know they love being sisters.}

{This image really speaks to me. I am caught up by her intense gaze, yet it is peaceful and calm. I love her beautiful eyes.}

A Crop of Cuties

More beautiful children- it has been so much fun this week to photograph these little cuties! I have photographed 21 children in the past several days (excluding my own!) so I promise there will be more photos to share in the next few days!

{This shot reminds me of an old victorian photo- even though A. is wearing shorts & a t-shirt}

{S. is just as handsome as can be. You may recognize this cutie from my website gallery}

{A sweet little apple blossom fairy . . . darling V. just needs a pair of wings}.

{A sly smirk from I. makes me really wonder what he's thinking. I love that look in his eyes!}

{Perfectly willing to be photographed and so photogenic, S. has a great smile and so much personality!}