Sedona

Well, its officially Winter in Arizona so we decided to head up 2 hours north to Sedona so we could feel a bit of a chill in the air if nothing else! It was beautiful! Leaves in various colors mixed with desert and red rock mountains! We actually had to use the heat in the condo!

Happy Halloween

I just realized I never did blog some Kauai photos! I've been a bad blogger. We all go through that stage. My hubby is off to Hawaii today again for business. I am soooo jealous!
We had a nice Halloween, the weather even cooled down just a tad!
Our Thomas the Train costume was recycled for the third time this year! LOVE THAT! And Hubby and I shared a blown up fat ballerina costume...it had a little fan in it and I wore it while he stayed home and handed out candy and then we switched. Quite an economical Halloween. Oh, and we scored the motorcross costume randomly at Marshalls for $9.00. It was a few sizes too big, but it had a tie belt that solved that problem!
And I found this darling little bag/purse for $9 at a candy boutique. I only wish I would have found it earlier in the month!
Blogger photo upload isn't working again...so I will post photos later. Finally got photos up!

Hawaii is calling me back

Had the fabulous opportunity to take a 6 day trip to Hawaii as a gift from my fabulous husband. We went alone and let me tell you, if you have not been to Kauai or Maui.....GO! Its been a month since we went, and I can't quite get it out of my mind. Hawaii is calling me back.
In case you are wondering, we spent the first few days in Maui at the Maui Prince on Makena Beach. The best part about it was the peacfulness. Its smaller than some of the other resorts on that strip, and its just a little farther down the strip of resorts which makes it much quieter. The hotel staff was soooooooooooooooooo kind and helpful and pleasant. We had the same waiter at breakfast every morning eaten out by the koy pond and we met wonderful people who we ran into everyday as it was not overly crowded. I HIGHLY reccommend it, and it is cheaper than some of the resorts down the road too! I wouldn't recommend bringing children to the Prince. The Grand Wailea might be a better choice if you have kids in tow....they have miles of awesome swimming pools!and its very very big and grand.
Photos of Kauai coming soon.

Some senior pics

We were lucky these turned out! The ONE day that it rained and then stayed really dark and cloudy. The sun was hidden behind a dark cloud the entire shoot! But we managed. J has such a happy and fun personality and she is really easy to tease!

JIGGLY BOTTOMS AND PENCILS

So I went for a run/walk yesterday morning. Its finally getting cooler in the mornings and evenings here.....cooler as in 80's yeah! Let't face it. Its been awhile since I ran. I mean, I ran in college and I could run up big hills and such. But I didn't have a post baby bottom then. It didn't hurt to run. So there I am speed walking down my street and I get the urge to run....well, more like a jog....and then it hits me...that's right, my bottom dollar, my big old booty hits me....right in the back of my thighs!!!! So not only am I getting slapped by my booty on the back of my thighs, but the weight of my bottom slapping is pulling on the upper bottom and lower back skin...or shall I say unwanted fat....and that is a little bit uncomfortable. Needless to say I only ran for about a minute. Its a start. I will add one additional minute of running each day to my walk. Baby steps people. Did I mention its the babies ......the gaining of the weight required to have the babies...that put me in this position in the first place! Gotta love it!
Okay, so on to pencils.
Have you ever taken the pencil test? You know, where you stick a pencil between the bottom of your butt cheek and thigh and let go and see what happens? I did,for no reason whatsoever. I think I failed. The pencil didn't fall when I let go. It just stayed right there being held by my butt cheek and thigh....no I didn't try to run and I didn't lie down sideways and try to write...although I thought about it. I wonder how long it will take to make my booty rise so it doesn't drag when running and it won't hold a pencil. I will let you know when that day comes.
Oh, and I also thought about taking a photo of pencil in said position.....but that could come back to haunt me at some point in the future. Besides, I didn't want you to gag.
I hope someone out there can relate.

Is the journey over????

Well, if anyone is still checking this blog........if you are like me you have a list of favorite blogs in my favorites catagory and you click on them each day out of habit ...... I am still here. I have been lazy in posting...like that is new news....but rest assured, I have been loyally lurking on your blogs each day! Life has just been busy.
As for my photo journey....its at somewhat of a stand still right now....the journey is taking somewhat of a snoozer.....I got too busy....so I sent all my clients to other photographers....and when life calms down in a few years, I will go back.....but for now I need a snooze. But that doesn't mean I am laying down my camera. It just means I might be posting other things than photography stuff on this blog. My mom may be the only one left who checks this blog. And that is fine with me!

Cooler Weather

Ahhhh....just returned from a vacation in Colorado. There is nothing better than being in nature and being able to actually hang outside! It was 116 here while we were away....and we were living it up in 75 degree weather! Playing around with some new actions. I really need to be doing things like grocery shopping....etc!

We found a secret remedy

The secret to "un"constipating.
I know, terrible subject to put next to photos of a sweet baby...but I had to share this. This little guy had been constipated for a few days. A lot of newborns get that. Well, we found the secret to ending a bout with constipation. Just roll your baby up in a little ball over and over and over and hold up high in daddy's hands. Worked like a charm over and over and over again! Wouldn't suggest this natual method with anyone other than a newborn...ha ha ha.

A few more

Here are a few more that I forgot to post on the blog! Remember that family of 6, here two of my favorites. Their blue eyes gorgeous, even in black and white. Oh, and the color on the middle one, its on purpose, the mom loved it! Speaking of blue eyes....I think the tutu pulled way up was just her way of accenting her eyes!

Happy 4th

I hope everyone had a fun 4th of July!

Remember This?

Remember my most recent maternity shoot? Well, here is the before and after. She wears maternity clothes no more...and you would NEVER know she just delivered a baby. She looks fantastic. From one perfect little belly to one perfect little baby boy.

I am Back

Well.....after a long time away from my blog.....(I have been checking out everyone else's, just not updating mine).....I am back! I wish I could say that I have been in some tropical paradise or some enchanting getaway....but I have just been here where its 110 degrees everyday... its my own little piece of paradise because I am here with my little family just living a busy life and enjoying summer.
Have had lots of family visiting in town and just really busy.....but I will actually post some photos shortly!

6 kids

Wow, six kids. Six adorable kids. I was lucky to be able to spend time with this wonderful family. The mom wanted a group shot of all six.
I had forgotten how hard it is to get a two year old to stand still for even one second! That is about all I had when shooting the family image. Do you know how many times we tried to get a group shot? I think we wore him out trying. At the end of the shoot his mom found him asleep, on the bottom stair. I had to capture it. He had to be VERY tired to be completely passed out on the uncomfortable bottom stair!

What do you do?

What do you do when its already an uncomfortable 90 degrees at 10 am? You open the door to get the light you need and let your clients still get the AC they need!

Just playing around

Just playing around with some of my new actions. Its funny how something can go from so blah to so wow with just a few taps of a button!
It looks like it was taken in a forest or a meadow of grass or somewhere that is anywhere but where I live!!!

Newborn

I forgot that I never posted anything from this shoot of the baby! I only posted ones of the older sister. I recommend the info on Skye's forms for newborn shoots. The info is very helpful if the mom follows it when getting a newborn to sleep during a session!

Side of the Road

The city where I live currently increases in population by about 11,000 a year. It was the fastest growing city in the nation last year. As a result, I am surrounded by construction and homes. There is an empty lot that I drive by almost everyday. I am sure it will be some kind of office complex in a year or so, but I have always wanted to try some photos there. Its surrounded by two streets, homes, and a mobile home storage lot, so on first look, its not the greatest spot. I talked my sister in law into going with me. I stepped out of the car only to be swarmed on my feet by huge fire ants. I was wearing flip flops as it was already almost 90 degrees at 9am!!! See, growing up in the midwest, I didn't mind ants. They never bit me. Here, even the tiny black ones bite. Ants are a real pain here. So, we moved to another spot and tried to avoid the ants. Luckily the kids had boots on. I think the background turned out pretty nice for an empty lot in the desert!

Belly shots

Oh how I wished my tummy looked this good when I was pregnant! It's their first baby and she is definitely glowing! We have another shoot set up for when the baby arrives and I am excited to find out if its a girl or boy!
I had a lot of really low lighting situations on this shoot.....thank goodness for my new Kubota Actions!

Bug Boots

Found these cute boots at Target, so it was time to take them for a test run! And run this little guy did, until he took a fall and got a mouthful of dirt. He wasn't too happy about that!

Photo Contest Entry

I entered this image in a photo contest held by Skye and Photographic Foundations. (I can post it now that the contest is over) The theme was Childhood Is......! I haven't entered anything in a contest since I was in High School...which was a long time ago. Anyway, it was chosen as one of the top ten and the winner will be announced on Thursday. Click on the Photographic Foundations link above and once you get to the site click on photo contest on the bottom left corner. Take a look at the great entries!

BluDomain's Photo of the Day

Guess what? One of my photos was Photo of the Day on BluDomain's blog Friday! If you click on BluDomain and then click on BLOG when the page opens up it will take you to their blog and you can scroll down and see it.....or you can see it here on my blog. Its the one with the little girl and the dog. I was shooting her next to the door and the dog stood up and wanted to see what was going on. Not my typical photo, but I thought it was kind of funny.

To Be Young Again

What a beautiful little girl! When I look at these photos I wish to be young again! I pulled a leather chair up to an open french door with patio shade. The lighting was fabulous! I am so glad I decided to go on location only this year! I never know what kind of lighting am going to get.......and sometimes.... I get really lucky!