She's One

When we moved into our house several years ago, we were blessed to meet new neighbors who were building the house next door. We were excited that they had 5 kids. Well... they still have them, but one has since gotten married and had her own baby girl.

Lilly celebrated her first birthday, Elmo style, on May 17. I was lucky enough to capture some precious photos.

Another Prom

I was recently asked by a friend of mine from high school if I would take her daughter's pre-prom pictures. I jumped at the chance. Her daughter, M, is quite stunning. They are a beautiful couple!

Seattle: Flora & Fauna

The husband and I had the chance to run away for a few days, we choose to visit Seattle. It was our first time, and it did not disappoint! I took hundreds of pictures, so I will be sharing them in batches. This first one is of all the pretties I found along the way. The colors were AMAZING.

 

 

His Prom

This past Saturday was Alex's Senior Prom. I have been waiting for that day to arrive for 18 years. :) And it was pretty darn perfect, at least from my end. This first picture is of Alex and his lovely girlfriend, Brianna. They were absolutely adorable. The pictures below are of their friends. After a night of dinner, mingling, dancing, and picture taking, they headed to iHop for some early morning breakfast. I am so glad they had a great time!

Since before she was born

Yesterday, I had the privilege of spending a few precious moments with my sweet, sweet friend, Stacey, and her darling daughter, Brook. I've known Brook since she was born... Heck, I've known Stacey for 14 years.

 

Brook has something special going on and her momma asked me if I would take a few pictures in preparation for it.  Of course I would!!

Isn't she just the sweetest thing, that Brook? I think so. Even more? I think her momma is pretty darn precious, too!

First Road Trip of 2014 [Jerome, Arizona]

I know I wrote a similar post back in the day -  maybe for 2009? Either way, I am very excited to announce that yesterday... we got away!

We decided to head 2.5 hours NW to Jerome, Arizona and from there up north a little more to Flagstaff. This time around, Alex wasn't able to join us; he had to work. Bummer. But let me tell you, Isabel and Nico were on their very best behavior (thank you Mr. Steve Jobs) and we had a blast.

Personally, Jerome was a little more artsy-fartsy than I normally like... I was really missing the history of the place. I wanted more ghosts, less sculptures. But, it is a beautiful town with great crumbling buildings.

After Jerome, we headed out to dinner in Flagstaff. And on the outskirts, we found leftover snow. It's been years since we took the kids to play during the winter. Shame on us. I think we've decided to head up there just as soon as they get another snowfall. Nico was so hoping to build a snowman, but the snow was pretty hard and icy. They were able to make a few snowballs and throw them at each other.

We had dinner at one of our favorite places, albeit new to Flagstaff, Someburros (Mexican food - quick and delish!). We stayed there for well over an hour, just relaxing and eating all the free chips we could handle. After that, we may our way back down to the valley. And after a quick pitstop at Culvers for some frozen custard, we were back home in just over 3 hours.

I will say, for once I wasn't the one asking for all of the bathrooom breaks. Nico had us stop TWICE. I think he drank too much lemonade. :)

While we missed the heck out of Alex, we had a great time. We plan on doing a whole bunch more intra-state road trips this year!! Cheap & fun entertainment! 1 tank of gas and a dinner for 4... not bad! :)

A Plethora of Photographs

I've been busy. And cranky. And going 200 miles an hour. But I've managed to take on a few clients over the past 8 weeks... here are a few of the outputs...

Cheese is the Word

Since just before my birthday earlier this month, I've had the privilege to do a few photo shoots for friends and family, and family and friends of those. I have been bitten by the shutter bug, I have.

Yes... even my aunt's doggie was a client! ;)

Coming up, I have a maternity shoot and a new born shoot. Both very new to me. Can't wait to learn lots!

Back 2 Reality

We are home and I am hoping we are back on track for LIFE come Monday. In the meantime, here are a few pics.... I have a gazillion more to edit... (among other things to do, like pay bills, spend time with the kiddos, and get food back in the house).

Cali sure is pretty!

Witness

I  love witnessing skies like this:

Straight from my cell phone.
Such beauty.

A Thousand Words

It's true, you know?! A picture is truly worth a thousand or so words. I grabbed my camera tonight and found the following pictures:

Uh-oh. It appears he may take after me. You know, the self-portraits?!

Nic loves the camera... and quite honestly, I love finding his random pictures.

Not so random... My mother-in-law was over for a visit today. She had to fill out paperwork, so my husband helped her complete it online. She had several pieces of important documents, along with a picture of her and my father-in-law from when they were about 20 (after she just arrived in the United States).

I wish the picture of my FIL was in color... you all would LOVE his eyes; they were green! Sadly, I never got to see them in person. My FIL passed away when he was only 29; my husband was only 3. I am glad that my MIL had the pictures in her wallet today; I finally have these (pictures of those pictures) to share with my kids and to archive into our history.

I am so glad technology has evolved as much as it has; especially in the areas of  photography and archiving. Now my kids will have something to remember their Tata by. Their Nana is still alive and kicking... :) We get to see her often.