The Adventures of Jenn, Eric, Carter & Kendall

{Concert} Brad Paisley and The Band Perry

2012-01-27T18:48:00.000-07:00

So last night, Eric and I went to the Brad Paisley concert. We LOVE him. One of our favorites, for sure. Scott McCreary (I'm not even going to look up the spelling of his name, sorry) from American Idol was there, along with The Band Perry. We didn't get there in time to see Scotty, but we did get to see most of The Band Perry, and Brad was simply amazing, as usual. This isn't our first time seeing him and once again, it was an awesome show!!! We had floor seats and I took my camera...here are some shots.

At one point, he walked around the entire floor area and was literally within arm's reach of us. Crazy!! Aisle floor seats definitely paid off!

Kendall {9 months}

2012-01-24T21:16:00.000-07:00

I took some 9 month photos of Kendall the other day. While I thought they were cute, Eric noticed that the black shirt and tights with the black backdrop probably wasn't my best choice. He says it looks like her head is floating around in a sea of black. Oh well....it is what it is! :) And she's smiling and showing off her teeth, so I would call it a success.

Project 52: Week Three {Inspiration}

2012-01-22T20:18:00.000-07:00

This week's theme was quite challenging for me. Obviously there are a lot of things that inspire me in life, whether personally, creatively, at work, with my kids, etc. One thing that I kept coming back to was symmetry.

Symmetry:

A sense of harmonious or aesthetically pleasing proportionality and balance.

Things that are geometrically symmetrical catch my eye. And since I don't have (quick) access to a stunning architectural example, I had to find something in my life that represented symmetry. And this week sucked for that with all the sickness in my house. But here is one example I found around my house:

Project 52: Week Two {Life}

2012-01-14T09:33:00.000-07:00

This week's theme is "Life". I actually took several photos to be considered for this week. I have one favorite, and another that I really like. So I'm cheating by sharing two. But that's ok - it's my blog and I can do it. ;)

Here is life, to me.

These two make up everything that life consists of for me. They are in my every thought throughout the day. I love the weekends the most because they come into my bed and the giggling begins!

Here is another shot from this week that I really liked.

Cute

2012-01-09T19:06:00.000-07:00

No further explanation is required.

Project 52: Week One {Resolution}

2012-01-08T17:29:00.000-07:00

So I decided to participate in a photo challenge for 2012. One for just me, and one that will, hopefully, boost my creative juices. They are seriously lacking right now. I don't feel ... challenged. I need to change up a lot of things with my photography - angles, locations, website, to name a few. So over at this awesome lady's website (http://myfourhensphotography.com) is a Project 52 Photo Project for this year (52 weeks, 52 photos). There are many different kinds of Project 52. However, since I get most of my Photoshop Actions from this site, I figured I might as well give some props to them and participate in their challenge.

This week's theme (though the week is over and I'm sneaking this one in) was Resolution. I actually made three resolutions this year (I never make any): lose 25 pounds, be financially responsible per Dave Ramsey, and travel more. The following is a photo I snapped that represents these three resolutions:

Stay tuned next week for the new theme!

Sarah & Tony {engagement}

2012-01-08T10:25:00.000-07:00

This shoot was last weekend and it certainly wasn't one of my favorites....I'm not a huge fan of the location (MK Nature Center), the lighting was not ideal, to say the least, and I just didn't have a good vibe with the couple. So when it came to editing, I wasn't inspired. This wasn't my best work and I really need to kick it into gear for everything I have coming up this year.

Here are a few samples from the shoot.

Goosebumps

2012-01-04T21:52:00.000-07:00

Music moves me and this song is incredible. Sounds like his "old" music, which was so well written.

Christmas Project #4 - FINISHED

2012-01-02T15:07:00.000-07:00

Uh, Christmas is over, isn't it? I still had one more project to do with Carter that we just couldn't cram in before Christmas arrived. The gingerbread house! And it seems like I have been telling him for days that "we'll do it tomorrow". Well, today was finally the "tomorrow" I had been promising. Better late than never, right? RIGHT?

So the little kit that he picked out so long ago was a little "townhouse" - no joke, that's what it really said on the box. And you had three different designs you could choose from, or you could design your own. I don't think I've ever done a gingerbread house before, so designing my own seemed out of the question. I will forever regret that decision. I let Carter pick the design, and of course, it was the most complicated out of the three. Naturally. So here was our blank slate.

First we had to do the beginning preparations. We rolled out the fondant, which was actually quite tasty.

Then we began construction. The door was first, per the instructions. And let me just preface the rest of the construction photos by saying, whoever designed the house for the photo on the box must have been a pastry chef....or they photoshopped the hell out of that house. No way was my frosting going to look all smooth and shiny, as depicted in the photo on the box. So already I'm a little pissed, but I keep reminding myself "Carter won't even notice, just keep going."

Next we rolled out and cut down some of the gum drops for the accents around the doorway, and for the windows. By this point, I'm thoroughly pissed off at this house. This was WAY more work that I thought it would be! At one point, I told Carter "this is just like scrapbooking, except you can eat it!" I was ready to stop construction and just eat the stupid house.

But we forged on. More icing, more candy. More damn windows.

A thousand little dots on the roof. Really? Was it necessary? Yes, Carter told me....it has to look like the photo on the box, mom!

So I dotted the roof.

Both freakin' sides. ;)

And suddenly we were done. DONE!

It's not a perfect house. I will admit that. It was a royal pain in my ass, but Carter had fun and that counts. However, I will never, EVER buy one of these things again. My Christmas season is complete without them. It will now go on the list of things to keep hidden from my children. Also on that list are Pojos and Chucky Cheese. ;)

A Year in Review: 2011

2011-12-31T15:48:00.000-07:00

This is my third "year in review" post and I thoroughly enjoy these. It gives me a chance to look back on our year and everything we have done, gone through, and achieved. Not everything is 100% positive, because we all experience highs and lows throughout any given year....this year was no different. We experienced the highest of highs, and we also experienced some challenging times. And we made it. And here is a recap of our year, in pictures of course!

We began the year as we traditionally do - up at the cabin in the snow!

February brought the achievement of a long-time goal of mine: being a published photographer.

March brought along several things.....massive baby preparations, my baby shower, and lots of baseball practice for Carter. We spent many week nights and weekends either in our back yard or at parks/schools practicing with Carter. It was fun to watch him develop his skills.

April.....what happened in April? Oh yes, this:

And the beginning of this:

It has been such a joy to watch my two kids develop their bond over the course of the year. Carter has been such an amazing big brother and I am SO proud of him!

In June, I got to see my mom achieve one of her goals - skydiving!!

We spent many summer nights at the softball fields with my family....Carter spent a lot of that time in the dugout with the big guys.

In August, we introduced Kendall to the cabin

We really stuck close to home this summer and fall, considering we had a new baby. No big trips were in our plans as we wanted to focus on down time with the kids.

August was another big month for a photography achievement....I won an award at the fair!

And we also brought another new addition to our family: Kya!

Carter also explored swimming lessons. At first, we thought it would be such an adventure for him, but the further we got into the lessons, the more it became clear that he was not going to cooperate. We will try again this coming summer!

I also got to see one of my life-long friends get married this year....and not just as a guest, but as her photographer. It was my honor to do the photos as a gift to her and I hope it was a day she will always cherish.

It was also another highly successful year for my photography business. It wasn't as jam-packed every single weekend like it was the year before - it seemed to be more gradual and spread-out this year. And that worked out quite well since I'm now juggling two kids.

On the downside for the year, I lost my job. It wasn't expected, especially considering how the whole thing played out. But it did allow me more time at home with my kids. And I have found a new firm that's just fantastic! I'm hoping to stick with this place for the long-haul and I'm glad I was able to find something right before the holidays. It was certainly a life saver!

And that's pretty much our year. We didn't go on any super big vacations, but we did welcome a gorgeous baby girl into the world, and watching my two kids grow up and play together is far better than any vacation, hands down!

I hope you all had a great year, and here's to 2012!!! Happy New Year!

A Christmas Summary

2011-12-26T21:38:00.000-07:00

I am combining the Christmas celebrations into one post this year. We pretty much had three big ones.....one with my family, one with just the four of us, and one with Eric's family. And I will provide plenty of pictures, naturally.

Kendall has officially outgrown being swaddled for her naps and overnight sleeping. She also rolls out of her sleep positioner, so we took that out of her crib and advised her daycare to do the same. So sleeping free of all restrictions is fairly new to her. But it seems to work just fine and she is back into her normal schedule.

I did a lot of holiday baking this year. I tried two new recipes - a shortbread thumbprint with black raspberry filling and a glaze, and the second recipe was white chocolate macadamia nut bark. Both were fantastic and I received many compliments.

On Christmas Eve, we went over to my parents' house to celebrate. We had some great fingers foods and open gifts.

Don't Break the Ice was one of Carter's favorite gifts, and Dana challenged him to a game. Carter actually won! I have a feeling we will be seeing a lot of this game in the future - certainly brings back memories of my childhood!

Kendall was somewhat active in opening presents. She loved the bows and would occasionally pull on the paper.

My brother brought his girlfriend over. They are moving to Alaska in a matter of weeks, so it was nice to spend time with him.

Dana got Carter an awesome bike helmet. It is quite fitting of Carter's personality, that's for sure, especially since he sported a mohawk for quite a while this summer.

On Christmas morning, Carter came running into our room, showing us the sword that Santa brought him. He also received a VTech learning game system from Santa. He and Eric spent quite a bit of time playing around with the different games (there were 8 total).

Santa brought Kendall a stand-up music table. Carter had one of these when he was a baby and absolutely loved it. So we figured we (I mean Santa) would get her one too in the hopes that she would get as much enjoyment as her brother did.

Peek-a-boo!

Chewing on her phone.

One of the gifts that Carter received this year was skiing lessons up at Bogus. We needed to make sure he had all the proper gear to go along with the lessons, so we got him some snazzy goggles and a ski helmet. He also got new gloves.

Kendall received lots of little toys to develop her manual dexterity. It's so fun to watch her manipulate the toys....though they usually end up in her mouth to be chewed on.

She also got some new books to add to her collection. I need to find her a bookshelf!

Once we were done opening gifts, I sent the kids to their rooms to play with their new toys while Eric and I finished cleaning and prepping for the big celebration later.

After her morning nap, I got Kendall all dolled up in her third Christmas outfit. She was such a cutie!

Once Eric's mom, stepdad, sisters, brother-in-law, and grandma showed up, we began another round of gift opening.

Ashley, David & Kendall

Janelle and Kendall

Ashley and Kendall

Mr. Handsome and me

After we were done opening gifts, we got ready for the big dinner party. I was hosting 17 people this year! Much bigger than what I'm used to, and I somehow managed to keep my stress level under control.

Eric, his Grandma Dort, and Bill discussing how to make the prime rib.

Game time!

Grammy Michelle and her grandbabies.

The Idaho Botanical Gardens: Winter Gardens aGlow

2011-12-18T22:10:00.000-07:00

We were invited by my brother and his girlfriend to go up to the Idaho Botanical Gardens: Winter aGlow this weekend. We've never been to the Botanical Gardens (even though we were married right next door), let alone for the Christmas lights display. What a show! It was really neat - they had vendors, a reindeer, and Santa was even there! (Carter still didn't want anything to do with him) Accordin to the website, there were over 250,000 lights. Amazing! Here are some shots of our adventure.

A Visit: Monkey Bizness and Santa!!!

2011-12-17T09:36:00.000-07:00

Last night, Santa was at Monkey Bizness, so we packed up the kids and went on over! Last year when I did this, I was there on the dot and let me tell you, there was a massive line. This year, we had to wait an extra hour at home so Kendall could finish her evening nap. And that's the way to go! By the time we got to Monkey Bizness, everyone had already seen Santa, so there was ZERO line. Excellent! The play rooms, however, were totally packed. One side had all of the out of control, older kids, who were basically running wild, knocking over little kids, etc. So we stuck to the side that was less populated and more family-oriented as far as playing went.

Kendall and I stayed in the toddler play area, even though she's clearly not a toddler. She did take control of this little circle mat, and she totally loved it!

Carter stayed with the biiiiiiiig slide, of course.

This was so cute! She stayed on the little ducky for quite a while, rocking back and forth.

Eric decided to put her up on the slide at one point, which really made me nervous.

But let me tell you, this kid, just like her brother, is totally fearless. I'm surprised she didn't pick this point in time to start talking, because I can guarantee, she would have looked over at me and said "mom, chill out, I got this!"

She was squealing the entire time - so cute!

And when it was time to see Santa, she did very well.....until she looked up at him. Then she started crying and screaming. She was NOT pleased with this man. He is very nice, I do have to say. He's the same Santa that was there last year, and his beard is real, and Mrs. Claus was even there this year! She was giving it her best effort, trying to distract Kendall with bells and toys, but Kendall just wasn't having it.

And Carter wouldn't go near Santa either. He would go give him knuckles and hi-fives, but then run off. So when it came time for pictures, it was clear that the kids weren't going to sit by themselves, or together, for any sort of decent photo. So a lady offered to take a picture of all of us, and while I was nervous about handing the camera over to her, it was the only way a photo was going to be taken this year. So, here is what we got!

Merry Christmas to all!!

Project 2011: Through His Eyes, Part 49

2011-12-16T09:25:00.000-07:00

Here are Carter's pictures!

Christmas Project #3 - FINISHED

2011-12-15T13:01:00.000-07:00

This really WAS a project....as any mom with kids will tell you, coordinating for photos is.....an ordeal. And even more so when you are the one taking the photos! Here are some Christmas photos of my kids that I snapped this morning.

Christmas Project #2 - FINISHED

2011-12-11T20:36:00.000-07:00

I've told a few people about this project, but here's a full description of what I did:

Last weekend, I attended several Holiday Bazaars with Eric's family. We had a great time hopping around to various places, finding treasures. One item I stumbled upon was an old window. Judging by the wood and the paint and the glass used for the windows, I would say this is from a very old house. I decided that I wanted this window for my house - for decoration. It's old. It's rustic. I figured I could find the perfect place in my house for it. So I bought it.....and then Eric's grandma got mad at me because she had planned on sneaking the purchase when I wasn't looking (she knew I had my eye on it) for a Christmas present. So we tore up my check and she wrote a new one, and the window was still mine. ;)

So I brought the window home and decided it needed to go up above the fireplace. Perfect location. So We hung it up and instantly decided it did NOT go there. Or, at least painted as it was. It was a light cream color, as are my walls in the living room. It totally blended right in and I wanted it to POP. So it came back down and we happened to have some paint out in the garage. So the project began.

Here is the original window (which, by this point, I had determined it was actually half of a door....but I needed it to be a window, so it's a window) with the paint it had on it when I made the purchase.

Took it out to the garage where I sanded it down.

The paint we had in the garage was brown, so I decided to just go with that instead of spending money on a new can. Plus, brown would go well with the cream colored walls and carpet.

I'm not a big painter, so I don't know the rules on painting this way or that, or how many layers, or how thick of layers to do. So I just slapped some on and called it good. It was going to have a rustic look anyway, so perfect painting was far from my mind. In fact, the more imperfections, the better!

Once the entire thing was painted, I had to let it dry. Once it was dry, it was time to distress it all over again. So I took the sandpaper off of the sander and started sanding away, by hand, adding emphasis in some areas.

Here is the finished product - please excuse the reflection of the Christmas tree!

I put it back above the fireplace, though it's sort of outdone right now by all of the Christmas decorations that are up.

Some detail shots.

Overall, I love it. I think once all the Christmas stuff is taken down, I will try to find some other items that can go up there with it, to give it sort of a mood or theme.

Project 2011: Through His Eyes, Part 48

2011-12-09T18:30:00.000-07:00

Here are Carter's photos from last week:

Rooarrrrrr!!

Spill the beans, anyone?

Lunch time!

Wrapping presents!

That's My Girl!

2011-12-05T22:09:00.000-07:00

The other day, I went out with Eric's mom, aunt, cousin, sister and grandma to hit up some Holiday Bazaars in town. I actually got some things that I'm quite pleased with (more posts on that before and after project later), but I'm quite fond of the little BSU headband I got for Kendall. She's the cutest little BSU fan I know!

Project 2011: Through His Eyes, Part 47

2011-12-04T20:20:00.000-07:00

I am behind on this.....these are last week's photos, and I will have this week's photos up tomorrow or Tuesday.

He was getting "the look" and wanted a picture of my eye, lol!

We got this Santa letter with one of the packages that came in the mail for delivery.....I wonder what would happen if we stuck a stamp on it and sent it out?

Christmas Project #1 - FINISHED

2011-11-29T21:55:00.000-07:00

I finished project #1. It was a royal pain to track down the foam core circle that I wanted to use. Craft Warehouse was totally out. The dollar store by my house was out. I finally ended up at Hobby Lobby, where they had ONE left, and then I had to stand in line for 40 minutes because, even though it was CYBER Monday, there were still a million people out and about.

In case you want to make your own.....first, go find a round foam core. And ornaments. You will also need a glue gun. I found my ornaments at Walmart - I know. Don't judge.

Second, take all of the metal tips off of the large ornaments. Press/screw them into the foam core, creating a hole. Fill the hole with glue and then replace the ornament back into the hole. Do this all around the foam core.

Now to be perfectly honest, I WANTED this to be off. I'm trying to not be so.....symmetrical in all that I do, i.e., photos, scrapbooking, hanging pictures, etc. I have decided that while some things look fantastic when organized in a symmetrical fashion, some other things look even BETTER all scattered and in no apparent order. I decided to try that here. While I stuck with a general pattern, I really tried to mix it up.

After you attach all of the large ornaments, it's time to dig into the medium size ones. Some of these can fit into the foam core, but for the most part, they will be glued to the large ornaments, or to each other if you are grouping some together. Again, I really had to tell my brain to NOT do a pattern of dark blue, light blue, silver, repeat, repeat. It killed me at first to have two dark blues touching each other. OCD? Maybe a touch - but hey, I'm trying!

And once you are satisfied with the placement of all of the medium ornaments, it's time to move to the small ones. These are more like fillers - to fill in the gaps, cover any of the metal tops from the medium size ornaments, etc. Group them together....spread them out. Whatever is most eye-appealing to you. And you don't have to use ALL of the ornaments. I did, but I also had lots of gaps to fill....since I wasn't being symmetrical and all. ;)

Ta da!

And I tied a silver ribbon around what I deemed to be the "top", and I will hang it in my house when I do all of my Christmas decorating soon.

Christmas Project #1

2011-11-27T11:28:00.000-07:00

A former wedding client of mine posted a photo on her Facebook page of a Christmas wreath she made at a craft night. I loved it so much that I had to ask her how she did it, and did a little research of my own. Here is her wreath:

And here are some other ones I have found on the internet:

(I LOVE this one)

Seems like there are two different ways - using a foam core circle, or using a wire hanger. I think the foam core and glue gun option would work better, so that's what I am going to try. I will post the final product when I'm finished!

Project 2011: Through His Eyes, Part 46

2011-11-26T12:09:00.000-07:00

Here are Carter's photos from last week:

We had a night last week where Eric was at work and I reallllly didn't want to cook dinner. So we ended up here.

His movie shelf

We went out shopping yesterday and I got the cutest piggy bank for Kendall - totally matches her room.

Motorcycles = Death Traps

2011-11-23T09:21:00.000-07:00

Let me preface this story by saying that those who know me know that I hate motorcycles. I find them highly unsafe and, frankly, stupid. I don't understand the appeal of the big Harleys, or the crotch rockets. I can tolerate dirt bikes for riding on trails in the mountains, mostly because that's at a much lower rate of speed. But even then, I'm still not a fan and you won't see me on one - as a driver or a passenger.

So the other day, one of my neighbors from a street over was riding his new motorcycle - a crotch rocket...a speed machine. At one point, he was seriously speeding through our streets, which really pissed me off becauser we have a lot of kids in our neighborhood and it was time for them to be coming home from school. In fact, I was tempted to walk out and either say something to him, or alternatively, just throw something at him as he zoomed by. I did neither. He eventually stopped.

Last night, I put down an incredible book I was reading at 11:30 and went to bed. Eric went to bed long before me because he had a 4:30 shift to work this morning. So when I came to bed, it woke him up. We stayed awake for a minute, talking about Thanksgiving, and that's when we heard that stupid motorcycle again. I told him about the previous day's joy rides up and down our street as the dude went flying by our bedroom window, AGAIN. He made one lap down the street, and was making his return lap - I'm not kidding, I bet he was going at least 70 mph. In a neighborhood. Well somewhere along the line, he lost control and we heard an incredibly loud SMASH. Both Eric and I said "oh shit!" and flew out of bed. I ran past Eric and told him to call 911 immediately, and we both ran out into the street. We saw the guy in the driveway of our neighbor across the street, the motorcycle was imbedded into the side of their van. Several other neighbors were also running over there to see if he was ok. He was a bloody mess, that's for sure - huge laceration on his arm, and he had a shaved head so it was obvious to us that he also had some head injuries as the blood was flowing everywhere. We had him lie back down, at which point we could smell that he was totally drunk. He kept yelling out for his friend, who lives around the corner, and he came running up. They insisted that we didn't need to call the police, but I told him that we already had them on the line and the ambulance was en route. Once we established that the guy was going to STAY conscious, another neighbor and I really chewed his ass for riding around like that in a neighborhood with children. The owner of the motorcycle, the one who actually lives here, said he completely understands how we felt and I said "actually, no I don't think you do because you were doing this yesterday as well. You are all damn lucky it was just him who got hurt, but you have destroyed someone else's vehicle and ruined everyone's night of sleep." That shut him up. An hour and a half later, one ambulance, one firetruck, seven police cars, and one tow truck finally left and I think Eric got in maybe two hours of sleep before he had to go to work. What a night!

(1) Don't drink and drive

(2) If you insist on driving around a motorcycle, wear a damn helmet. You can do without a thumb or an arm or a leg, but you are pretty screwed without your head.

(3) Whether in a car or on a motorcycle, neighborhood streets aren't the place for hot-rodding/racing around. Trust me, I'm one of those people who likes to feel that "need for speed", but I'm not going to punch my car to 100 mph on a neighborhood road. (not that I would ever go that fast anyway...hi dad!)

Be safe, people!

The "V" {family}

2011-11-21T21:46:00.001-07:00

Here is another one of my shoots from this last weekend. I had a hard time editing these because I'm entering the "slow season" and my motivation to finish up the last couple of shoots us just....lacking. But I finally finished this shoot and got the discs all mailed off to the client. Here are some samples:

Project 2011: Through His Eyes, Part 45

2011-11-20T12:54:00.000-07:00

Here are Carter's pictures for the week - not many as we had a lot going on.

(as a side note: I hate this movie. I cringe every time he picks it out. It disturbs me and I'm tempted to just throw it away and claim it's "lost forever" from his movie shelf.)

Stacey and Chris {Engagement/Family}

2011-11-17T16:37:00.000-07:00

I met up with this family last weekend for a hybrid shoot - Stacey and Chris are getting married next year, so I am doing their engagement and wedding photos, but they also wanted their kids and dog involved. So we did a variety of photos. I just have one more shoot to edit and I'm officially DONE for this year. Time for my holiday break to enjoy time with the family, and George will be sent off to Idaho Camera to get a good cleaning.

Family Photos

2011-11-12T09:51:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, I had a few photoshoots and one was my own family. We haven't done family pictures since Carter was two years old, so it was time to update. We met up with Eric's mom at Kathryn Albertson Park, since we were both there for shoots anyway. I had my hair done a couple days later, so I kind of wish we had waited! But nonetheless, here is what we ended up with.

And yes, we had plenty of "goofy" there.

Project 2011: Through His Eyes, Part 44

2011-11-11T14:33:00.000-07:00

Late again! I've had a lot of other posts scheduled for this week, so this one is just now making its way to the front of the line. Here are Carter's photos for the week.

Our backyard is a solid blanket of leaves - great for Carter to play in!

His lunch one day

One fun thing we have been doing is letting Carter go through the toy magazines we have been getting in the mail. He circles the items he wants Santa to know about.

Good morning!

Blurry - but it's the wood basket next to the fireplace.

Two Goofy Guys

2011-11-10T09:42:00.000-07:00

This last weekend, I did a shoot for my two cousins. My aunt has actually hired me to do a variety of scenic shots of Boise (coming soon!), and also wanted some updated photos of her boys. So I met up with them last Saturday (my second of three shoots for the day...yikes!) and we took a few photos. And let me tell you, this shoot was NOT boring! We had an impromptu boy-band photoshoot moment that had me laughing so hard there were tears running down my face! Never a dull moment with my two favorite cousins, that's for sure! Here are just a few samples from the madness.

A Birthday Celebration

2011-11-09T11:51:00.000-07:00

This last weekend, I was hired to photograph a birthday party for a pretty 10 year old girl. There were approximately 20 ten year olds at this party.....oh boy! The girls met at the birthday girl's house and they were all transported via an Escalade Limo (yes, a 10 year old) to a salon, where they all received manicures and pedicures (again, yes, 10 year olds). What a 10th birthday for this girl! The shots were nothing fancy, as the mom just wanted the event documented, and didn't really want a lot of editing. So here's what we ended up with as some highlights.

(birthday girl and her brother)

(birthday girl and her Gucci purse cake)

(10 year olds with cell phones.......we all know how I feel about that)

(birthday girl and her little sister)

The Babiak {Family}

2011-11-06T09:13:00.000-07:00

I met up with this active family last weekend for some fall family photos. The kids really do make me wonder what my own are going to look like in a few years. I had the boy's photo up for editing and Carter walked in and said "is that me?" While they certainly aren't twins, the resemblance is there.

The Meier {Family}

2011-11-03T09:43:00.000-06:00

I met up with this cute little family this last weekend at my old default location for shoots when clients can't decide where they want picture done. Fortunately, it was a gorgeous fall day. Gorgeous! Unfortunately, everyone else in the valley was also there to cram in their fall photos before the cold settled in. It was a nightmare...often waiting in line to use a specific spot. And I'm not kidding, there were so many people running in and out of shots, I have managed to "erase" one, two and three people out of some of the shots from this shoot. And tell me this little girl is not just adorable!!

Project 2011: Through His Eyes Part 43

2011-11-02T14:24:00.000-06:00

Here are Carter's pictures!

Admiring his hard work on those pumpkins!

I'm not even sure when he did these, but they make me giggle!

We also made Halloween cookies! Ghosts, bats, and pumpkins (oh my!)

Halloween!

2011-11-01T17:34:00.000-06:00

Halloween this year was a hoot! Carter was super excited and we decorated the house more than we usually do. And we had a countdown....and two kids for costumes! Carter decided long ago that Kendall was going to be Tinkerbell. For a while, he was going to be Peter Pan, but then he changed his mind and decided that Batman was a better choice. So we actually ended up borrowing a Batman costume from my friend, Abby. Her son is taller than Carter, so the costume was actually a little bit big on him. But for the sake of saving money, it worked out just fine.

Earlier in the week, Carter and I made Halloween cookies to celebrate - just basic sugar cookies in the form of pumpkins, ghosts and bats.....frosted and decorated with sprinkles and candy corn. They were awesome!

So when Halloween arrived, Carter was ready to go. He mowed through dinner and got his costume on in record time! Kendall didn't actually wear her costume out for trick or treating, as it was quite chilly outside. So we got the necessary pictures, and then bundled her up in the stroller.

Here are the pictures....in no particular order.

Sir Batman.....so serious

Miss Tinkerbell - apparently EATING the pixie dust wand works, too

She decided to get smiley after we took the stockings off, so I grabbed one more.

Kendall and I got bundled up in our BSU gear, and we all headed out! It sure was chilly - the wind didn't help matters.

These last five are phone pictures, so excuse the quality.

Kya came with us to get more leash training. We received countless compliments on her - the best looking dog in the neighborhood, that's for sure!

As soon as the bucket was full, we headed home.

Kendall's glow-in-the-dark halo. Some people were handing these little bracelets out in lieu of candy. So we put a couple together and made her a halo.

And Kya is quite fond of Kendall. Here she is, cuddling up next to her.

Julie & Marshall {wedding}

2011-10-31T18:35:00.000-06:00

Last weekend, I had the opportunity to shoot a gorgeous, country wedding. The ceremony and reception were at the bride's parents' house, which is out by Lake Lowell, and sits on a few beautifully maintained acres. It was country, through and through.....with hay bales in lieu of chairs for the guests, cowboy boots for the entire wedding party (bride included), and some twang at the reception. I loved every minute of it! Here are some shots from their big day.....though it was hard to narrow it down. I think I took more photos at this wedding than any other I have shot before.

(I usually don't post pictures of the cakes, but this one was fantastic!)

A Pumpkin Carving Adventure

2011-10-29T09:26:00.000-06:00

This year was another year with four pumpkins - one for each of us. Which means a lot of pumpkin guts....barf. And a lot of carving and hand cramping. So we went for some basic carvings this year. And one Batman pumpkin, naturally. We even let Carter do some drawing and carving - which is why there aren't too many pictures. When the kid is holding the carving knife (though small and relatively harmless), my eyes are on him and not behind the camera. So we have some before and after shots this year. :)

Project 2011: Through His Eyes, Part 42

2011-10-27T17:24:00.000-06:00

Here are Carter's pictures!

All of the darts on the ceiling fan.....makes for good target practice, hee hee.

We are counting down the days 'til Halloween!

We had to pick all of the tomatoes and bring them inside now that it's freezing overnight. So these are out on the table to ripen for more salsa!

The Halloween candy bucket is full....maybe it will stay that way until Monday. Maybe.

One of his favorite drinks from the gas station.

Randy & Issabell {wedding}

2011-10-24T17:18:00.000-06:00

Last weekend, I shot the wedding for Randy and Issabell. It was pouring rain, and super cloudy.....neither of which are conducive for taking great photos. They only wanted me there an hour, so I wasn't able to get nearly the amount of pictures I usually take....nor were they as good due to lighting. Here is a small sample of what I did get.

Kendall {6 Months}

2011-10-22T08:57:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, my baby girl was 6 months old. How time flies!! We watched the sky all morning, and when the lighting was just right, we opened all of the blinds on the windows and had ourselves a little mini-shoot. Carter was quite the little helper too!

Project 2011: Through His Eyes, Part 41

2011-10-21T13:35:00.000-06:00

I'm late!! Here are Carter's pictures.....Halloween-themed, of course.

We put up quite a bit of decorations this year.....and we might add more! And we have a pumpkin carving party scheduled for next Thursday evening, so stay tuned for those pictures!

School Photo Time

2011-10-18T16:58:00.000-06:00

When did this happen?

When did Carter get old enough to have school photos taken?!

The kids' preschool/daycare did photos a few weeks back and we just got the prints back. And of course, they cost an arm and a leg. So I just got two pictures....since I happen to take my own of them, why pay someone else? But I DO want his school pictures, so I will fork over a small fee, I suppose. And there was also one cute one of both kids....so I got that, too. Here they are. :)

Moments

2011-10-14T18:17:00.000-06:00

When she falls asleep in my arms....those are moments I will never forget. The sound of her breathing....the way she smells....the way her eyelashes flutter. Such a sweet girl.

(excuse the fresh-out-of-the-shower hair)

Fun With Food

2011-10-13T13:36:00.000-06:00

To spare her poor hands from being eaten alive, we have been offering Kendall a variety of things to help her gums through the teething process. While there are no signs of teeth yet, the process really can take quite some time....fortunately, she hasn't been too horribly fussy. Don't get me wrong - we have had some crummy days....but it could be worse, I know that.

She has tons of teething toys, but on our last trip to the store, we got her some Baby Mum Mums, which are basically rice crackers for babies who are teething. Carter had these when he was a baby and they were a huge hit. They are easily dissolved in the baby's mouth, so there is no choking hazard. And it also gives them practice "chewing". Kendall has really taken to them.

But boy are they sure messy! They pretty much go from cracker to soggy mess in about 2.5 seconds. But it's sure fun watching her manipulate the cracker and get it to her mouth.

In fact, not much misses that mouth, lol! The girl takes her food quite seriously.

Project 2011: Through His Eyes, Part 40

2011-10-12T11:07:00.000-06:00

The dogs, and the blanket Kya drug out of her house.

Pancakes, hot on the griddle.

Some fall crafts Carter did at school.

Brandon & Abby {wedding}

2011-10-11T21:54:00.000-06:00

This last weekend was one of my oldest and dearest friend, Abby's big day. This is a day she has waited on for a LONG time, and earlier this year, Brandon finally put a ring on it. As my personal gift to Abby, as a token of a friendship that has spanned over 24 years now, I offered to do her wedding photos. I knew exactly what she would want for her big day, and there were numerous times I was crying happy tears for her.

Here are some photos from her big day.

Moving Up to a Big Toy

2011-10-09T12:27:00.001-06:00

When Carter was about 5 months old, we introduced him to a Baby Einstein jumper/exersaucer. It was an awesome toy and he totally loved it. Unfortunately, we didn't save it. We didn't have a ton of storage space at the old house, nor did we know when we would be adding another member to the family, so we sold it on Craigslist as soon as Carter outgrew it.

And now that Kendall has enough muscle control to hold herself up, we decided it was time to introduce her to the same type of toy. However, these suckers are expensive and we aren't exactly living a lavish lifestyle at the moment. So I used my trusty back-up.....Craigslist. And I've been looking for the right one for a couple months now, and I finally found it! It's the same set up as the one Carter used to have, only a little more girly.

Still has the same features....music, mirrors, toys, and the seat turns all the way around. So she can move herself to whatever toy meets her fancy for the day.

And she loves it as much as Carter did - I'm so happy about that!

Learning to Sit Up

2011-10-07T13:18:00.000-06:00

So, over the past couple of weeks, this gorgeous child and I have been working on getting her to sit up on her own.

Because in order to fully show off her Halloween costume, she has to be able to sit up! ;)

So we started out with the boppy.....this was a huge help with Carter when we were teaching him how to sit up. And it has proven to be just as effective with Kendall.

However, the main distraction is that dang hand!

She just can't leave it alone!

She is constantly chewing on her thumb or her pointer finger. No sucking. Just chewing.

But we finally managed to get her to sit without the boppy. Now we just have to work on keeping her from tipping over to the sides!

She's quite enthusiastic about this whole process, can't you tell?

Project 2011: Through His Eyes, Part 39

2011-10-06T15:41:00.000-06:00

Here are Carter's pictures from the last week.

His bats he made with his Grammy....and the first Halloween decorations up in the house.

I had to lift him up to take this picture, but he wanted one of the monkey shower curtain holders in his bathroom.

Kendall, trying to devour her toys.....as usual.

I wonder who would win this battle?

Goofing around with Captain America's shield.

Super heroes are the current obsession in this house. Of course he wants to be ALL of them for Halloween....but he does have it narrowed down to just one.

Doing our preschool lessons for the day.

Coming Soon......

2011-10-04T13:04:00.000-06:00

Saturday was one of my oldest and dearest friend, Abby's big day. I offered to do her wedding photos as a personal gift to her, and I will be spending most of my time this week editing her photos. In the meantime, here is a candid moment sneak peak.....stay tuned for more!

Project 2011: Through His Eyes, Part 38

2011-09-30T12:36:00.000-06:00

Ok so I only have 2 photos to post for last week.....this week has been awful, at best. So I will try to get the camera out more for our next round of pictures.

Even though we are still clinging on to summer, Carter feels the need to wrap Kya up in the blanket from her dog house. I'm sure she's totally roasting, but she's good about letting him do it anyway!

His somewhat scenic shot from the other morning.

Tummy Time and....wait, did that just happen?

2011-09-25T12:53:00.000-06:00

So there are certain things I do with Kendall every day - "reading" her books, practicing sitting up, tummy time, etc. And everyone knows you don't do tummy time right after eating because...well, duh. So I usually give her an hour, at minimum, after she eats before we venture into tummy time.

So we got down on the floor, as usual. And she doesn't usually stay right on her tummy. She will roll back onto her back, either way.

And I will put her back up on her tummy. She usually lasts several minutes before she's done with it and wants to move on to something else.

Like trying to EAT this ball. Seriously - it's on one of her floor toys, that dangles right over her face, and she will get a death grip on that ball. Look at the focus in her eyes - she wants.that.ball.

And after a few minutes, I will put her back up on her tummy. And yesterday, apparently one hour and two minutes wasn't long enough for her belly to settle that bottle, because THIS happened:

Now, is that timing, or what?!

I guess today, we'll give her more than one hour and two minutes! ;)

Is there Something in My Teeth?

2011-09-24T12:13:00.000-06:00

I think we started the feeding game with Kendall a little later than we did with Carter. I think by four months, he was already on to baby foods such as bananas, peas, carrots, etc. With Kendall, we are at five months and still just on baby rice cereal and oatmeal. I think the next trip to the store, I will grab some baby food and see how she does. She's not wild about the rice cereal or the oatmeal, but she does manage to get some down. I can't imagine it's the best tasting stuff on earth, but it does get her introduced to some flavor and texture.

Here is how we start out - she is clean and dry, the bib is clean and dry, her Bumbo is clean and dry, and MOM is clean and dry. ;)

And here is how we end up.........MESSY!

She's trying, I give her credit for that. We'll see if she does better with some actual baby food.

Project 2011: Through His Eyes, Part 37

2011-09-22T18:50:00.000-06:00

Here are Carter's pictures!

His Disneyland gun

The ceiling in his room....and the glow-in-the-dark solar system. Well, some of it.

Oh my, underneath his bed

Bookshelf/movie shelf

Mommy and Kendall

Shucking some corn for dinner

Eric froze all of the peaches that our neighbor gave us. We have 6 huge bags of them now!

Pizzzzzza

We got Carter a subscription to Zoobooks via Idadeals.com a few months ago....so when these come in the mail, I sit down with Carter and we learn all about the specific animal. This week's was panda bears.

I see you!

Lindsey & Damon {wedding}

2011-09-21T18:06:00.000-06:00

I did this couple's engagement shoot a while back, and their big day was 9-10-11 out at Sawtooth Winery......clear out in the middle of nowhere! Here are some shots from their day.

And now, I have a small break before the fall weddings in October hit - oy!

Fun With Four

2011-09-18T09:16:00.000-06:00

Here are the pictures from Carter's birthday parties.....just us with him, and then the family party we had yesterday.

Carter is huge into action figures right now. I'm not sure where he even heard about Captain America, because there aren't any shows or movies right now that he knows of that even have Captain America. But regardless, Captain America is the man in our house right now.

We also got him a fitted helmet and a real bat - he was so excited to get these!

I also put four dollars in his birthday card - which are now in his piggy bank. Usually we give him all of our spare change, so he almost didn't even know what to do with actual bills!

Eric brought home two cakes from The Cheesecake Factory - a chocolate tower cake and a carrot cake. Carter picked the carrot cake, so we stuck a candle in for him to make a wish and blow out. I don't think he understood the wish part, but he sure loved the part about blowing out the fire!

Yesterday, we had a small party with our families. We usually do a big party at a park somewhere, but I wanted to keep it low-key this year because of Kendall and her nap schedule, and limited funds. So we put together a nice dinner and invited immediate family only. It turned out to be a very fun party!

One of Carter's favorite things up at the cabin is the binoculars, so I was sure to put them on the birthday list since he needs some down here, too.

And a broom. I kid you not, the first thing he wants to do at my parents' house is get their mini-broom from the trailer. He will sweep out the trailer, the back patio, etc. So they decided to get him one of his own for our house - and of course, he set off right to work! I think this present will come in handy for ME as well if he wants to be a little helper!

In addition to his Spiderman and Captain America action figures, he also got Ironman. The kid is pure boy!

Ashley and David went to Disneyland for a vacation recently, so they got him a Pirates of the Caribbean play gun that displays a lighted skull on the wall. It's so fun! Hopefully he doesn't break that gun, because I would hate to have to go to Disneyland just to get a new one! ;) (This trip is actually in the planning stages for when he's 5)

As usual, we let Carter pick the design for his cake. He opted for dinosaurs this year.

And he had a hard time blowing out all FOUR candles!

And we all discovered that the colorful frosting gave us all quite interesting tongues, too!

Pick Me

2011-09-17T11:18:00.000-06:00

Last weekend, I shot a wedding out at Sawtooth Winery. What a gorgeous location! All of the rows and rows (and rows!) of grape vines were packed with bunches of grapes, ready to be picked. Here is one little bunch I captured while waiting on the wedding party.

F-O-U-R

2011-09-15T18:41:00.000-06:00

My little guy turns 4 today! I can't believe how time flies....seems like just yesterday, we were here:

And whoever it was that gave him permission to grow up? You are fired.

He wasn't too sure of the cake on his first birthday...but he warmed up to it. A kid after my own heart.

And by the time 2 rolled around, he LOVED cake. It doesn't take long to acquire that taste! ;)

And the Spiderman cake last year was the best ever! (until he sees his cake this year)

Happy Birthday to my sweet boy. I love you more than anything in the whole wide world!

Project 2011: Through His Eyes, Part 36

2011-09-14T18:27:00.000-06:00

Here are Carter's photos from last week.....which were limited in number due to some shoots I had....meaning I took the batteries from his camera for my external flash.

Some foliage in the back yard

Brittany

He must have been out in my flower beds to take this shot.

Only because I watched him do this do I know what the picture is.....super zoomed, a cherry tomato between his front teeth.

Kya taking a nap.

Take a Back Road

2011-09-12T17:57:00.001-06:00

(totally one of my favorite songs right now)

Last week was mine and Eric's third wedding anniversary. For the first time since we have been married, we were actually IN town and not on vacation. We were actually supposed to be on vacation, in McCall, but with the new puppy, the trip just wasn't possible. So we had more of a stay-cation last week. On Wednesday, we dropped the kids off at their new school/daycare and we headed out on the road. Our destination - Leslie Gulch and Succor Creek area, in Oregon. The drive was fun - we are always goofballs on roadtrips where it's just the two of us. We stopped many times to check out the scenery and take pictures....ok really, Eric drank a lot of coffee and had to stop and pee about as often as our 4 year old.

Most of the drive was on country dirt roads - we hardly saw any people, we were literally in the middle of nowhere. And BIG country, as my dad would call it. Who knew all this gorgeous-ness was less than 2 hours from Boise?

Here are some pictures:

Turkey vultures.......yikes!!

Moooo

Once we got down into the Leslie Gulch area, the scenery changed dramatically. What you see in these pictures are volcanic tuff towers.

Over time (a LONG time), wind and water have created these masterpieces.

On the drive out, we took a different route, and drove through the Succor Creek campground area. Though it's hard to tell from this picture, I'm actually on top of one of the cliffs, looking down at the creek. Where we pulled off was actually a campground itself.....though I don't think I would want to camp so close to a cliff.....especially if there are adult beverages consumed around the campfire. Which is pretty much a given on any camp trip! :)

I highly recommend taking this drive - it was gorgeous! Leslie Gulch also has a huge reservoir, so if you have a boat, this would be a great place to go boating/fishing/wakeboarding.

Her

2011-09-10T06:00:00.000-06:00

The girl - the baby of the family.

happy FUNNY stubborn temper

chubby smiley kisser PLAYFUL

cuddler snuggler LOUD piggy-piggy

SOFT kicker talker THINKER

Him

2011-09-09T06:00:00.000-06:00

My son - the oldest....though he will always remain my baby

funny fast LOUD hungry

SMART helper fearless kind

gentle attitude temper LEADER

PLAYFUL singer creative

Pulling off the Impossible

2011-09-07T06:00:00.000-06:00

So a while back, I talked about how my goal this year is to get over to the OTHER side of the camera. You know, actually be IN the pictures instead of just this phantom as I flip through my scrapbook albums. My kids DO have a mom, right? Where is she? So this obviously leaves Eric in charge of the camera, which doesn't work for two reasons.

1: He can't hold the camera still to save his life. Almost every photo is blurry, because I leave it on manual. I don't want it on automatic because then the flash goes off and I don't want flash. So herein lies my problem - I get blurry pics.

2: I hear this every time: "I don't want to be a damn photographer!" Seriously, dude? I'm just wanting some pics with my kids - buck up and snap a few. It's not like I drag him to my wedding shoots for hours on end. Just a picture here and there to actually document me in their lives.

So we tried a few - they came out blurry. Here is the best.

It'll do for now, but let me point out the obvious - Carter's smirk. Attitude, much? And Kendall is blurry because she literally was caught in the act of punching her brother in the head. No seriously, look. I know, it's completely involuntary right now - but I know the inevitable battles that will soon become my life - she really WILL punch him in the head some day. I did it to my brother. It happens.

Have no fear, however. We have a date with my MIL when she returns from vacation to get REAL family photos done. Ones where Eric doesn't have to be the "photographer". Where we can get Carter to give us a real smile. And where we can hopefully keep Kendall out of arm's reach from her brother.

*sigh*

We're just the picture perfect family, aren't we? ;)

Project 2011: Through His Eyes, Part 35

2011-09-06T12:11:00.000-06:00

Here are Carter's pictures from last week!

A summertime snack

One of the mile high tomato cages - we have TONS of tomatoes this year. Can you say SALSA?

Eric cooking dinner - this was actually our anniversary dinner......we didn't go out and do anything fancy this year.

And of course, we had to mess with some of the goofy features again.

I'm sure the puppy was attempting a nap here....

And by far his best picture to date, lol!

Work With Me, Kid

2011-09-04T11:58:00.000-06:00

I've yet to acclimate Kendall to the fact that a camera in her face is just part of her life, and will be for a long, long time. Carter is used to this, and though at times, he really makes me work for it, he's usually pretty good about giving me what I want in a photo. The girl, however, is going to take some work. Can't you just tell how thrilled she is in this shoot?

Clean

2011-09-02T21:54:00.000-06:00

Bath

Squeals

Giggles

Clean baby smell

'nuff said

Project 2011: Through His Eyes, Part 34

2011-08-31T21:59:00.000-06:00

Total fail last week - total. There were four pictures on his camera. Four! We just have a million things going on in our life right now, so the camera took a back seat. Shocker, I know! But we will get back on track.

Well, That Didn't Work Out as Planned

2011-08-28T09:28:00.000-06:00

A couple weekends ago, we had an end-of-the-season BBQ with the softball folks. A family friend usually hosts these BBQs at her house because she has a big pool. This year, Carter was all about the swimming- as he is with every single pool, lake, river or body of water he comes across. So Cyndi, our family friend, suggested that Carter take private swimming lessons with her. She has been teaching swimming lessons for 30 years now, and we were certain that Carter was ready. So we made arrangements to be at her house every evening after work, to cram in the lessons before we headed out on vacation. The first lesson was wonderful!

Doing a tummy float for 10 seconds

Waiting his turn while the other boy learned.

Doing back floats - which was huge because he HATES to float on his back.

Kicking

And doing a sitting dive into the water, to glide into a tummy float.

And after the first lesson, it all went to hell. We're not sure what happened, but he suddenly claimed to be scared of the water, and that the water was hurting him. Both of which we KNEW were not true because the kid is a fish in the water. He would spend every waking moment swimming if we let him. So the second lesson was somewhat productive, though he stopped listening to Cyndi - at which point, we pulled him out of the water and took him home. He pulled the same stunt the third lesson, which we also cut short. And the fourth lesson, last night, was the final straw. He was literally screaming bloody murder, and to the point where he was about to hyperventilate. It was AWFUL. So Cyndi and I had a talk, and decided it was probably best for everyone if we just discontinue the lessons for now, and pick them up at another time when Carter is feeling a little more ready to learn.

I'm quite confused as to what happened because Carter LOVES the water. But he has himself convinced that swimming is the devil right now, so there's no point in making him miserable or pushing the issue to where he actually does develop a fear of water.

So, until the time is right.....no more swimming lessons. :(

Introducing Kya!

2011-08-27T08:57:00.000-06:00

Well we added another member to our family. I have to say, I have spent years and years browsing the internet, trying to find a husky that was both local and affordable. Sometimes I would find one that was local, but definitely not within my price range. And other times, I would find one that was within my price range, but it was too far away. Well, last week I finally stumbled upon someone local, who had a litter of five husky pups AND the price was right. So I practically drove like a maniac to the person's house, because I knew these puppies would go fast. And they did. They were all gone within 2 days, so I got there just in time and still got the specific puppy I wanted. We played with her a bit and then brought her to our house - her new home.

I have seriously wanted one of these dogs my entire life and I am beyond excited to finally have one! She is the cutest little dog and so fun to play with!

The first night, she slept inside with us....because I'm a softy and all. But after that first night, she has been an outside dog at night, and she has done really well. No whining, no barking, no chewing. That makes me a very happy mama!

And Carter just loves playing with her - she is pretty much his size right now, so they make good play partners. And she totally snuggles up to Kendall, too. Melts my heart!

I got her a collar last night and we'll be going to the pet store Monday to get more stuff for her, including ID tags. The person who sold her to me told us that one of the other pups had been stolen right out of their front yard. Seriously - who steals puppies?!

So that's the newest member of our family. And we are nuts, right? A baby AND a puppy? Yeah, we have our work cut out!

Project 2011: Through His Eyes, Part 33

2011-08-24T21:55:00.000-06:00

Here are Carter's photos from this last week:

Kendall and her Grammy

His dinosaur flash cards

Bringing Kya home

Hannah

Run, Carter! Run!

Can't forget about Brittany!

Adventures at the Fair

2011-08-22T22:04:00.000-06:00

Today was family day at the Fair, so we bought our advanced tickets early last week to take advantage of the good deals. It was hot, but the crowds were quite minimal, considering. There was a lot to see, so we were busy and moving the entire time. Here are some photos of our day!

Me with my second place bridge photo. I was so proud!!

The butterfly exhibit was a lot of fun!

We tried to go to the stingray exhibit, but they were closed for about an hour, so we decided to just skip that and go get a puppy! Stay tuned for a formal introduction, soon!

Jaci & Mike {wedding}

2011-08-22T09:26:00.000-06:00

I shot this couple's engagement photos a while back and a week or so ago was their big day. They went on an extended honeymoon, so I've had a little extra time with the editing process. Here are some samples from their day.