Growing up

This cutie is getting so big! At 1 year old he is crawling, standing, and climbing everywhere. You just can't help but smile when you see him (even if he kept me running). Check out the fun in the slideshow:

senior portraits

What a fun senior portrait session. The weather was beautiful (yeah, Arizona sun), lovely green grass, and of course an adorable subject all make for the perfect senior photo session. It was absolutely perfect!

Here are the some of my favorites!

senior portraits

What a beautiful day to have a senior portrait session! Here is a senior that loves horses and his mom enough to get photos taken. :) He was a good sport and a great rider! What a fun way to get photos taken - doing something that you love. The slideshow has a few of the many photos that were taken (just couldn't help myself).

cuteness times 2

What do you get when you combine 2 parents, a set of twin girls, 5 more kids, a set of grandparents, an aunt, a cousin, and even a few dogs in the backyard? A whole lot of chaos and FUN!

When I told my 4-year-old where I was going - she was soo jeaslous and would have come along if she could have figured out a way to stow away. How can you blame her? These 2 month old girls are adorable!

Each of the older kids got a turn holding the girls and getting photos with them as well as Mom and Dad - there was so much love and happiness (may be a litte lack of sleep and lots of tolerance for the camera in the face, but happy still the same). And, these girls knew they were loved. They snuggled into each family member and especially into mom and dad and each other (they couldn't stop looking up at mom when she held them). What a wonderful experience! Thank you for letting be a part of it all for those couple of hours.

Enjoy the photos:

Family photos

Family photos are a lot of fun, but what makes this one extra fun is this family wanted to get photos in the desert. They introduced me to this awesome place. The sun was setting and the desert just looked gorgeous!

Check out the favorites!

family photos

'tis the season to get the family photos taken. :) Here is a family photo session for just the kids. I forgot how easy it is to take photos when the subject knows how to sit or stand long enough for me to get the photos (unlike preschools and toddlers who insist on running away - which gives me about 2 seconds to get the photo. Good thing my camera is fast).

So, check out my favorites in the slideshow!

Family Photos

This family is too cute! It took the kiddos a little bit to warm up, but by the end it was playtime more than anything else - the best way! Hanging out with mom and dad, jumping off rocks, laughing at dad's silly faces - nothing could be better. Check out all the fun:

Birthdays

Here they are - our birthday events of the last couple of months (look how I generalize - I'm in my 20s, slacker? yeah, sometimes :)). So, here it is - a slideshow for Emma's birthday and a slideshow for Austin's birthday (thanks Katie for taking pictures or I would have had 10 from the party. You're awesome).

Austin had so much fun getting the attention - he is the I'll stand in the back, or play upstairs with the toys by myself, and I rate my friends by what kind of toys they have - forget the social interaction - and be good to go. His 5 year old photo shoot was anything but easy - he was more interested in goofy faces and not being there. Well, good memories, right?




Here is a little something to keep in mind for Emma - she aged fast. Because she had 3 parties (friend, family breakfast and dinner with her Uncle Chris and his friend, Winnie) she was 6, not 4 - "I've already been 4!!" (add a couple of tantrums with those exclamation points and, ahhh more good memories.) But she is a cutie and I don't have to worry about her getting walked on ever - she was bossing around 7 and 8 year olds at the doctors last month - "Be nice to the lizards."

and growing

This cutie is 4 months old and cute as anything. He is getting good at rolling and looks like he will be on the move much sooner than mom and dad are ready for it.

This morning we had some fun playtime. One of his sisters couldn't help but be part of the fun - and if the other was home, she would have been in there too. Next time.

Play the slideshow for some of my favorites -

1 year old

The energy of a one year older. The fun and excitement - and running. Anything to capture that adorable face.

Check out the fun!

cute, cute

Newborn babies are so cute and utterly unpredictable. Awake at times they should be sleeping, content and crying all in a matter of an hour. Each new look, snuggle, stretch and movement is all wonderous because it is unique for that baby.

This cute boy did great on his back - loved it. But, when it came time to get some shots on his belly, he did all he could to turn over on his back. He is a tough boy - and he is going to need it with his two older sisters. :) They give him so much love! So much in fact, Dad took them to Grandma's during the photo session so Jace could could get some calm baby portraits. We'll have to make sure they get in on his next session. :)

These are some of my favorites from the session:

kids and smiles

I love kid photo sessions! It is all about having fun - and trying to see the world through their eyes. The 2 year old girl kept me on my toes! :) Her bright blues eyes and adorable smile made it all worth it. Her brother was calm and ready and willing to do what I asked him to do (awesome)! We started out with some portraits on the move. The toddler led and we followed - it is all about giving them control. Then, we found some water and rocks, and ended the session with a trip over to the ponds to feed the ducks.

Here are some of my favorites from the session.

growing up

7 months ago, me and this adorable boy got together for his first photo session. He wasn't such a fan. He was more interested in mom and food than the crazy lady witht he camera. Now he is bigger - still loves his mom and food, but know he didn't mind the camera - he actually gave me some fun smiles and lots of adorable baby poses. I can't believe how much he is growing up!

Enjoy the slideshow!

Katie & Micah part 2

Drum roll, please - here is the slideshow. Such a beautiful family - we love you all. Thank you for letting us make the VIP list! ;)

Katie & Micah

This last weekend the sun followed us up to the Utah to see our family and most importantly be there for marriage of two families - my brother and his two gorgeous girls to his beautiful bride and adorable daughter. I have a new sister-in-law and niece! Here are a couple of my favorite photos from the wedding day. Here is a teaser until the rest of the photos are done.

Katie and Micah looked so cute together and couldn't keep their eyes off of each other. :)

Too good not to blog about...

So picture this - I'm snuggled in bed, very comfortable, trying to catch up on some sleep from this weekend. When I hear my 3 1/2 year old tip toe into my room (yes, she and her brother are supposed to be having a nap as well). "Mom, I'm a boy!" I open my blurry eyes and see Emma standing there and she does look different, but it takes me a moment - here is what I saw:

And this is what I sent to Todd's phone...

What!?! The hair cut is compliments of our residence barber - Austin. This hair cut was very thorough - the whole head of hair was cut to about an inch long.


And this is the leftovers - is it a bush? a small mammal? no, it's what use to be Emma's hair.

My Little Pony wasn't even safe from the Austin and his "child friendly" scissors.

It has taken over 3 years of only trims to get Emma's hair the length it use to be.

You don't know how many times I heard, "what cute boys you have" when she was younger and had less hair. I guess there will be a lot more of those comments for the next while. How long does it take to grow hair out? 1 year? 2? 3? Is she going to go to kindergarten looking like a boy? :)

Here are my "2 boys." I told them now I wouldn't be able to tell which one was Emma and which was Austin.

So, let's take a vote. How do you think I should style her hair, now that she has none?

A mohawk?

spikey?

Slicked down?

Or should I just revert back to the little pink bow glued into her hair?!?!?

A big thank you to Miss Kristen who encouraged perfection in cutting at the Funshine preschool. It wouldn't have been as amazing without you! lol

And remember - if you need a hair cut I know a barber - and he is cheap. :)

Wow!

I woke up to a wonderful surprise this morning! This photo is a finalist in a contest on one of my favorite blogs - Me Ra Koh Photography.

This is my "inspirational object" - my place to find inspiration and peace.

So, please if you feel so inclined - go vote (all you have to do is leave a comment, I'm picture #1 - hint, hint) and while you are at it check out Me Ra's blog - voting ends this Monday and there are prizes for those that vote as well.

Merry Christmas Part 2

Well, we finally made it to visit our family for Christmas - we still have coughs that refuse to go away, but we braved the quick trip. Not quick in that it takes 20 minutes to get there, but quick in that once we got there we had 2 days to spend with family before we had to go back home. But it was well worth the trip!

We got to see lots of family, open presents, go to a cool pirate pizza place, watch movies, went to a few family dinners, and even got to play in the snow. When we were traveling home in the snow, Austin and Emma insisted that "It's Christmas!" No matter that it is a week and a half past December 25th. We live in the wrong place for my kids to think that they need to have snow on Christmas. It was a perfect ending to our 2008 Christmas (it stretched into 2009 - but who doesn't like having the holidays stretch a few extra days? :)).

So, be prepared for a few photos:


On the way up we went through Jacob's Lake and stopped so Todd could run out in 18 inches of snow to get some in a cup for Emma and (Austin was sleeping so he missed out this time).

It was could, but not too cold to throw a couple of snowballs at me in the truck.

Emma liked here snow enough to give it a hug.

And then there were presents to open.

It is good thing there are cousins that can help open the presents :).

Here are some of the cutest little pirates that we happened to ran into - there only demand was more tokens for the games.

On the way home we hit a snow storm in Flagstaff. The kids were way excited to see the snow and really wanted to play in it. That meant we could finally use the coats and hats that have been hanging in their closet for 2 months now. So, we stopped off an Aren't they cute?

Oops. I forgot to buy the mittens.

After about 2 minutes of "playing" in the 2 1/2 feet of snow, we asked Emma if she wanted to play some more, or go back to the truck. 5 guesses what she said. lol

I think they like their snow in little doses. :)

It's good to be back in good ole Casa Grande - where 50 degrees is way too cold. lol

Merry Christmas

December has been quite eventful - new pets, some Christmas festivities, a crunched bumper (no, I am not going to talk about this), a little sickness, and a new backyard. What a month and ending to 2008.

So, we got new pets - yes, one for Austin, one for Emma. So, is it a crazy dog with slobbery kisses? A hairy cat, mom is allergic to? Lizards like the ones at the doctor? fish? All exciting choices, but we got some baby turtles. The one that is bigger is Tickly and the one with more polka dots on the back is Sarafena. They are fun and have their own little personalities. Plus we got the turtles that have skills - they ride in carts and hide in boxes. :)

We went to zoolights this year - I've never been, so it was fun to go. The kids had fun. The highlights were being with friends, riding the merry-go-round, touching the sting rays and sharks, and getting cool glow light toys.

Then there was Christmas - which wasn't what we expected or planned on, but it was fun anyways (it is amazing how things can turn out fun even when things go differently than expected).
We were suppose to spend Christmas in Utah with family and see my "little brother" come home after 2 years on a mission in South Africa; however, we didn't make it. Good 'ole cough and cold found its way to our home at exactly the wrong time. I guess this was a blessing in disguise because we really had some great family time here at home.

here are the kids putting the finishing touches on the cake for Jesus' birthday.

And sprinkling some reindeer dust to so Santa would find them.

And the big day arrived. Austin ran downstairs (as mom and dad are half asleep) and started counting the presents and ran to get Emma. Finally we all made it downstairs and started opening the presents. Emma wasn't sure about opening presents at first - she tried to get Todd to open it for her and finally resorted to using her teeth. lol There's got to be a better way.

So here is a glimpse of Christmas:

The kids already decided what they are going to be for Halloween - a doctor and a princess. Let's see how many times that changes before October. :)

So, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year's. I hope everyone had some fun while also remembering the true meaning of Christmas - the birth of the Savior Jesus Christ. As New Year's approaches and resolutions are fresh in our minds, may we remember to be a little better and dedicate a little more of our lives to Him.

Family Photo Session

Here is a another great family photo session. It is really a pleasure to hang out with these wonderful families. This family was no exception. It is amazing spend time with these families - to get a glimpse of their lives - the pouts, the smiles, refusal to be in the photo, running around and getting dirty, playing spiderman and of course, laughs and smiles too.

It shouldn't be surprising that this requires a lot of running for me - exercise is good for you. :)

Check out the fun photos in the slideshow: