Bill & Lindsey {anniversary}

I have done countless shoots with these two, and already have two more scheduled with them for this summer.  This shoot was to celebrate their third wedding anniversary.  We met up at the Depot, which, admittedly, is my least favorite venue for ANY type of shoot. However, I do have to say, we got some amazing shots, including several that Lindsey found on Pinterest.

The Braces Adventure: 1 year post-op

Well, it's officially been one year since my surgery (surgeries if you count the second, emergency surgery, and then the extraction several months later for the one bottom front tooth).  I had two gaps to close, both of which are now completely closed. The bite looks great, though I still have another full year in braces to do all of the fine-tuning. My entire mouth is different than it was a year ago.

 

I have also lost 50 pounds and consider myself a gym rat now. This entire process has been quite the ordeal and I'm still not sure I would EVER recommend it to anyone whose orthodontist and/or oral surgeon suggest this course of treatment. It's been a battle, a struggle, a challenge.....you name it. But I do feel like the end result will be completely worth it. I guess in one year, I will make that final determination. For now, here's a small video kind of documenting the progress, to date.

Steck Park Adventure

The kids got quite an adventure at Steck Park yesterday. It was a day trip solely for fishing, but included things such as running over 5 foot long snakes in the road, 5 trains that went right by our fishing hole so loud our teeth were rattling, an impromptu ice cream stop on the way home, and seeing a car on fire along side the freeway with people running from it. Seriously - what a day!

 

Kendall chills by the river with a beer.  ;)

 

 

Within the first 10 minutes, there were two fish caught.  The following 5 hours, not one bite.

 

 

 

Nice job, bud!

 

 

Kendall was NOT impressed with the trains. Every time we saw one coming, she would run and jump into my lap. Granted, we were very close to the tracks and those train whistles are LOUD.

 

 

 

 

 

Carter and his catfish.

 

 

 

Kendall wouldn't come near the catfish, and I can't blame her. They aren't exactly the cutest fish in the water.  Carter snagged this tiny little guy right before we left for the day and Kendall was happy to touch that one. She even called it "cute".

 

 

 

 

 

 

Baby Ashlyn {newborn}

My friend, Jenny, has been going through the adoption process for what seems like forever. I can't even imagine being in her shoes and going through some of the heartbreaks she has endured. They finally got a call for a baby and immediately went to get her. She is the most adorable little thing. Oh how I miss those little newborn baby noises! 

 

Time

Kendall had some sort of bug the other day and I'm glad I was able to be home with her. She woke up with a high fever, so we spent the majority of the day cuddling together. She slept quite a bit throughout the day, which meant she was fighting something off. She refused to eat, but was taking in plenty of liquids, so at least there was that.

 

 

 

I also spent Friday morning volunteering with Carter's class for their walking field trip. The class walked to Rosauer's for their community in action portion of class. I really had a lot of fun with the kids, though it's quite similar to herding cats!

 

I have three shoots this weekend, the first of which was completed this morning. I had a newborn shoot with my friend, Jenny, who recently adopted an adorable baby girl. We nailed the shoot and I can't wait to share some of the pictures.

Carlos, Amanda, and Family {Family/Newborn}

I met up with this family recently to get some family/newborn pictures. The baby was about two weeks old at the time of the shoot, which is a little beyond the ideal time to do newborn pictures, but I still had a great time with her. I wish I could do ALL of my newborn shoots outside! I have another one coming up this weekend with a tiny little baby and I'm so excited! Here are some shots of our evening by the river.