Sports Fanatic

Here's a cute shot I came across today of Brennan playing t-ball when he was 4! Not bad form for a 4yr old huh? He was so cute and could always hit the ball into the outfield and it would take forever for a bunch of 4&5yr olds to field it, so often times he could get a few bases, that is IF the kids in front of him remembered to run! T-ball for this age is incredibly comical! =)

Today he found a baseball game on tv and was so excited that he just had to call his Daddy at work to tell him to come home and watch it with him! He'll be our little sport nut, I guess my days of not watching Sportcenter are numbered!

Spring break...

Today was a fun filled day, all for my kids! A rare occurence since I always have so much work to do, but since I am taking a little break with my new baby, and because it's Spring Break, I am trying to spend time with the kids. We started the day heading out to McCormick Stillman Railroad Park. It's a super fun park with lots of space, a couple of trains and a carousel. It was a beautiful, warm day and I even got a little farmer's tan, which I think is better than my current ghostly skin =) I was going to bring my camera and had visions of great photos I could take, then I realized I was completely delusional since I had taken a couple extra kids and that meant I had one 5yr old, a 4yr old, TWO 2yr olds and a newborn and stroller so a camera wasn't in the cards...just one more thing to stress about losing! =) The kids had a blast and I realized how I need to go out there more often, its seriously such a huge park and has lots of fun stuff to do!

Tonight was date night for my kids, Brennan with me and Dawson with Dad (he got Emery too, they needed some bonding time). The boys love having date nights and we've been out of the habit for awhile so we are starting back up! I highly recommend doing it with your own kids, it is seriously so huge to them and it typically takes me an hour or two and sometimes only costs me time and maybe an ice cream cone!

Brennan and I went bowling! It was sad cuz the first place we went to couldn't take us cuz they had leagues and he was SOOOO bummed. So we found another place and bowled two games. I bowled probably my best game ever, 120, nevermind that the gutter guards were up...we'll pretend I earned it fair and square =) Actually right off the bat I got TWO strikes and both were fair, straight down the middle! I never get that lucky. On my first date with Reuben we went bowling and that was my WORST game ever, a MERE 42!!!!!!!! Nerves must have been high on the first date with my true love...I can't believe he took me out again! The second game I got 102 and Brennan scored 80! He did good beating me the whole game except at the end...I told him he still beat me since he didn't see it add my final score in. I FORGOT to bring my camera, I was so bummed, Brennan was SUPER cute bowling and SUPER excited, all he could say was that he wants to go bowling for EVERY date night now! We finished the night with Ice Cream at this FABULOUS place called Desert Swirl, it has frozen yogurt that is only 8 calories per ounce and it tastes SO GOOD! It also has no fat, no cholesterol and low carbs!

Anyway, I will report more spring break fun later! Hopefully with pictures this time!

Cultivating imagination

HAPPY EASTER a day late everyone! We had an eventful Easter spent at church and with family, both were great Easter Sunday activities. So, this year the Easter Bunny brought something a little different for our two boys! Possibly against my better judgement (too early to tell) I indulged my kids in full cowboy get up!

Now I definitely think the cowboy look can be worn well on certain people, but it's definitely never been a look I craved for my boys. However, a few weeks ago it became apparent to me that, for a boy, being a cowboy is much like being a princess for a girl! This was proven to me after Brennan got ahold of a VERY SMALL Woody costume from Toy Story (thanks Janet) that he couldn't live without and wore all the time despite being 4inches too short on the bottom...I will spare you the pictures cuz I actually couldn't bring myself to take any, even if it would be great blackmail for later in his life! So Reuben and I secretly giggled as our scruffy redhead ran around in a costume that was high waters, too short in the crotch and incredibly goofy looking for a boy almost 6yrs old! It was then I realized I have deprived my kids of a necessity in life because of my own insecurities not wanting them to take on a persona that didn't reflect my own style. Maybe I was scared since I recall long ago, my little brother was in LOVE with his cowboy boots at a similar age and we seriously couldn't go anywhere without them, I wasn't sure I could take on this responsibility with my own boys! So, I decided it was time to let boys be boys and let their minds be creative in their role play of cowboys!

So, that's what the Easter Bunny brought this year, full cowboy get up, guns w/holsters (yes I too said I wouldn't encourage gun shooting for my sons...) It's still a little weird for me seeing them run around with cowboy hats and boots, but I must admit, they are just cute in anything they wear and they've loved being able to play "dress up" in their own way! So, lesson learned, it's time to LET GO even if it means having Brennan in shorts and black cowboy boots at the grocery store...

The Easter bunny was thoughtful and even brought Emery her own basket with a binky and hair bow! I forgot to recall that as I was later asked at church where I got that cute bow and I explained where as Brennan quickly interrupted and corrected, "no, mom that's the one the Easter Bunny brought!"

Emery was unphased by the day but she did look cute in her first Easter dress. I bought this many years ago on a sale after Easter from Gymboree and always hoped I'd have a girl to put in it, I never guessed I would have not only gotten the girl, but had the dress for the right SIZE...lucky me =)

Here's my brother in law and sister Tim and Stephannie with Hannah, Aidan and Ashlyn, her oldest Marissa was out of town!

And a cute shot of my nieces in there polka dot easter dresses!

Parenting drama...

Well, instead up putting up Easter pictures of my cute kids from our Easter Sunday experience, I am sitting here unable to get my memory card to download and nearly two hours into a bedtime routine with a pretty stubborn two year old who hasn't given up his battle to stay awake! Dawson is pretty determined, sadly I think he gets it from me! Tonight he raised the stakes on the bedtime fight and we raised the stakes as well in our fight to win! Sadly, I think we've lost the battle but hopefully as Tammy says, I might actually WIN the war over him! He gets up unlimited number of times after being put to bed. He renegotiates EVERYTHING we do and consistently calls for us from his room or comes out to discuss something random just to have an excuse to get up. Tonight his cousins were over so we couldn't do our typical "close the door" routine and after everything we tried didn't work, we moved him to the playroom and shut that door! Over an hour later we had a long "talk" with him and calmed him down and let him go back in his bed so long as he promised to go to sleep! That promise lasted about 1 minute and he's back to the same game we started TWO hours ago! Needless to say, we are frustrated, but I am smarter than he is and I will devise a plan to consistently implement and hopefully keep him in bed without all the drama every night! If you have any great ideas, send them my way =)

On a funny note though, Dawson is quite humorous with his nighttime negotiations right now. This past week he starts crying and comes out complaining that we didn't take him to Home Depot and that for his birthday he wants and I QUOTE, "a blower, a tractor, a saw AND A DOGGY" and he wants us to get a trailer to bring the tractor home with our car, yes, he wants a REAL tractor! And he hasn't asked for this only once, he cries about it every night convinced that we should give it to him for his upcoming birthday! You gotta give him credit for creativity and determination! Hope your Easter was a great one, I'll have pictures from ours as soon as I get my new card reader working! =)

WPPI

I am OFF to VEGAS for the Wedding and Portrait Photographers International Convention! YIPEE! This is a HUGE convention where I get to eat, sleep, talk and breathe photography for 4 straight days, what could be better?? Some of the worlds best photographers are there giving classes on everything you can think of from photo techniques, lighting to business sales and marketing! It's such a motivating trip for me and really puts me into focus mode to review where I am at, where I want to be and how I need to get there! The best part, I get to go with a few other great photographers and friends! My friend Lindsey Bennett is coming for her first time after starting up her business this last year! And Marnee Marriott a great photographer from Scottsdale whom I have LOVED getting to know over the past year and will have SO MUCH fun with both of them! This will be my 3rd year going to the convention. It's HUGE and so exciting! Every year has been SO TIRING though, classes start around 8am and the last ones usually end at 10:30pm. There's a big trade show during the day where I can do a one stop shop for all of my FAVORITE vendors! You wouldn't believe how huge the tradeshow is, it's precisely the reason I HAVE to go this year...I need to research new products and new vendors and this trade show makes the research SO MUCH easier! I can see and talk to the vendors, view the products and their quality, and decide what new things to offer to my clients! I also have a long list of MUCH NEEDED new items I need for the business and I've been waiting for this since there are usually much better specials on the products! Some of the things I need are a pocket wizard (a cordless device that remotely can synch my flash with another), a new Canon 5D, a macbook, a large reflector and who knows what else! I won't be able to get it all, so I can't wait to see what's there and what deals there are so I can make smart purchases!

Emery is coming along too, much to Brennan's dismay! He can't quite understand why she has to come because "Daddy can just feed her a bottle!" Even if that was the case, I couldn't leave something so tiny, cute and cuddly behind! =) She's so sleepy and good that she can hang out with me, plus Marnee brought out a sitter (and she's bringing a friend) to have in the hotel room since she's bringing her baby girl as well, so the babies will hang out with two girls in the hotel room when we need them to! It's the best of both worlds =)

Anyway, I will be out of blogging mode for a few days since I don't have a laptop (although I might try to steal Marnee's if we have internet access).

Evergreen Idol

Last week Reuben and I went to his company's annual dinner which is always an enjoyable and often unpredictable evening. Reuben works for a smaller Commercial Real Estate Development company. Most the time when we tell people that they have no idea what that really means or what he really does...I wouldn't either! Reuben's company develops various commercial real estate including Walgreens, shopping centers and their newest client, Fresh and Easy stores! Reuben is a manager of Project Managers, where he helps his team work with the various cities, contractors, land owners etc to complete these commercial projects. We feel very blessed cuz he really loves his job, and they are a great company to work for. The event was located at the Tempe Center for the Arts, the funky shaped building right by Tempe Town Lake. There were cocktails and appetizers and also this magician that wowed us with his talent! He had this girl right her name on a card and managed to have the card with her name written on it come out of all different places like another deck and even this sealed envelope. There were seriously 6 of us right in front of him watching and we COULD NOT figure it out...the handwriting was too unique to have a duplicate, not to mention he wouldn't have known her name ahead of time...anyway, fun and baffling at the same time!

One of my favorite things about this company is all the creativity they put into their annual meeting and other events for the employees. Past annual meeting dinners have had very funny and whitty skits or "game show" reenactments as our entertainment. Here's some of the past entertainment they've done, "Jeopardy" complete with sound bites of the music a perfect rendition of the blue board and dollar amounts and hilarious questions asked to the 3 "contestants" which were the 3 Partners of the company! Another year was "Partner Olympics" where they made the three partners perform various olympic challenges on video ahead of time and we got to vote who would win each task. The funny part was the different tasks...3 adult men riding a tricycle, racing on one of those small jumpy balls kids play on, jumping into a cold pool to retrieve an object etc etc. It's funny cuz the partners are such great sports and make it so funny. Last year they played "deal or no deal" complete with silver cases, a pretty good Howie Mandell (one of their talented employees who comes up w/these ideas and impersonates all these game show hosts VERY well) and of course 10 "ladies" (a few ladies from the office mixed with some guys from the office in dresses and heels with wigs and make up)! Of course the game had all kinds of funny jokes and twists. I am always amazed at how real and similar they make these to the original shows. Well this year they did "Evergreen Idol" another funny rendition of the original show. They had "judges" who played pretty good Paula, Simon and Randy and they had about 50 of the 70 employees in the office go in front of the judges with their "talents" to include some singing, juggling, hoola hooping, dancing, piano etc! All of the acts were previously recorded and put together into a lengthy presentation for us. Of course it didn't disappoint in entertaining and making us laugh, 4 people received the "golden ticket" to come to Phoenix and those 4 people actually performed that night for us. Here's a few shots from the night. Evergreen's Company logo "American Idol" style! See how real this is to the original logo?

One of the acts that performed after recieving a "golden ticket."
Emery was too young to leave so we brought her along and she slept the entire time! Of course she also got a lot of attention too!

Reuben was recognized by Bruce, one of the Partners for his 5 years of service! It's actually a few months shy of 6 years but they celebrate every year AFTER you reach the milestone. They said many great things about him, his personality and service and again they always make recognitions funny as well!

So now you know a little more about what my husband does and where he works in case you cared =) I am definitely grateful for his great job, they truly care about their employees and their families, something you don't get very often these days!

Happy Birthday Emery

Ok, so one month old isn't really a "birthday" but I'll use anything to talk my husband into coming home from work, "honey, it's your daughter's birthday, you should come home to be with her." He says, "are you kidding, she's already 4 weeks?" It's funny how fast it goes for the husbands who are less sleep deprived, not still trying to physically recover and definitely not dealing with the daily struggles and soreness of nursing =), but hey, you gotta love the dads and as mentioned in my previous post, he's a great helper!

So, our little munchkin is already a month old, I have to say while I am dying for her to get bigger cuz of all the cute outfits I want to put her in, and also to get some personality and smiles from her...I really just love my little cuddle bug and how she's so sleepy and how she keeps her knees curled up when you lift her (MY FAVORITE PART OF BABIES) and how super tiny she is! To properly celebrate her one month "birthday" Emery smiled in response to looking at someone for the first time today!! The only problem with that...well, Mary, my wonderful friend was over today and she was holding her and Emery didn't just smile at Mary once, she did it OVER and OVER and OVER again...I was thinking how unfair that is since CLEARLY I was more deserving of this special moment with my daughter, not Mary who really had only held her once or twice =) Thankfully it was right when we were taking pictures so I was able to grab a shot of these first smiles from her for her one month photos...
She's already changing so much. She's filling out more in her face, more aware of her surroundings and promptly breaks out into a really mad, sad, scared cry when startled! Her eyes while still really dark are looking like they might go blue, that'd be our 3rd blue eyed kid despite Reuben's brown eyes! Her hair while still brownish seems to be lightening and I think it's got a reddish tint to it. She's got a great "scowl" look she often sports and continues to just look exactly like her brothers did at this age...just with pink and bows rather than blue and hats =) I'll try to find some photos to compare of the boys and her at similar ages!

Tim and Sydney Davie

This is Tim and Sydney, newlyweds who were incredibly fun to work with for their January wedding. They are both so cute together and they photograph so well...except they could never realize how photogenic they were even though I tried to tell them! This is another family I have photographed now 3 weddings for and I absolutely LOVE them! The funny thing is, I was VERY pregnant just weeks from delivery for 2 of their 3 kids weddings. I told Sydney's mom that her kids need to get off my 3year baby schedule. Needless to say we pulled it off, I didn't go into labor early and we got amazing images of this fun couple! Let me post some of my favorites if I can narrow it down. Here's a fun shot of Sydney...

Here's Tim. He has such a great smile and was such a trooper putting up with tons of photos and never once complaining.
I really enjoyed having these two interact and capturing it, you could just tell how much they love eachother!

A few shots on the area streets before sunset...

Here's all three girls I got to photograph for their weddings.

I couldn't resist posting this funny image of Sydney with her girlfriends. It reminded me of my roommates and a few friends back in college, we did a reenactment to the Bradie Bunch dance "keep on" and did this same pose!
I loved this shot of the cake and chandelier at The Wright House, it's such a beautiful venue for weddings!

Thanks Tim and Sydney, especially for your patience since I didn't get your editing finished before my baby came, you guys are so great, thanks again!
If you'd like to see a slideshow with more of my favorite images, click here.

Cameron and Kimberly Davis Wedding

Alright, I am TRYING to get back up to speed after the new baby and many other things we've had going on! This is Cameron and Kimberly Davis who were married in January in the Mesa Temple. This wedding was fun for a couple of reasons, first of all, I have worked with these clients before as I shot Kimberly's sister Natalie's wedding a couple years ago. But what also made this wedding so fun is that sisters Kimberly and Natalie both married brothers!! This is actually a little more common than you'd think, I have had 2 or 3 of these and it makes the family photos easier because the siblings and their families just stay up there while we swap parents etc! I imagine it is fun for the girls too! Here are some of my favorite shots and a slideshow of the favorites from Cameron and Kimberly's wedding. Here's a couple of shots when they first saw each other, I love the smile you can't wipe off his face!
Kim makes a gorgeous bride, I especially love the red hair contrasting with the dress!
Here's a cute shot of Kim with her mom Lori.
Maybe it's because I am hungry, but I couldn't resist posting the gorgeous chocolate fountain they had at their wedding! To watch a slideshow of more favorites from their wedding, click here.

Long Overdue...

It's high time I take a minute to brag about my fabulous husband! I intended to do this on Valentines Day until I was in the hospital and the hospital had no internet connection!! It's no wonder I'd finally get to it after he's been stuck in bed for two days leaving me to be mommy and daddy. The thing is, he is a REALLY good dad leaving some big shoes to fill...especially since I am still less than 100% myself! He is by far my favorite person in this world...of course my kids are right up there too! He's a man of many talents and is constantly juggling many different HATS in life! This past weekend he found himself getting sick and by Sunday afternoon was in bed with a fever, body aches etc. He ended up having a bad case of Strep and hasn't been able to do much for a couple of days. This was especially traumatizing for both of our boys who are obsessed with Daddy & will stop at nothing to be and do everything he does! Keeping Dawson away so Daddy could sleep was a trial in itself. So, Sunday it really got me thinking as I started to be the best "daddy" I could be. First it was playing football with Brennan, something that usually Daddy does. I wasn't very good at this although it's my throwing that's lacking so I was actually winning Brennan's game of "catch" cuz he throws better than me and thus I could CATCH his throws...but I found my arm sore VERY quickly from our play...time to hit the gym! Then I had to take out the trash, something I almost NEVER do! Next, the wind was blowing REALLY hard and we just assembled this new gazebo...10ftx10ft and the wind was bound to destroy it ONE day after we put it together! Reuben said the cover had to come off, sure, I can do that! Well the middle is like 12ft high and had to be unscrewed to get the cover off...hmmm...thankfully my neighbors teenage son came over to help me lay the gazebo on its side and completely remove the cover. Dinner and bedtime were to follow...he almost always puts my boys to bed...by 8pm I was EXHAUSTED and really missing my honey! No rest for the weary though, I had to do the late night store run for some much needed medicine. Reuben ALWAYS goes to the store in the 10-midnight hour to get milk, bread, medicine or whatever else we desperately need, it took two stores but I found some meds to hold him over!

So over the past couple of days I keep thinking its no wonder he's sick, he is CONSTANTLY going and never sits, I think he's the most productive person I know! He has accomplished SO MUCH over the past year with our new home especially! Here's a short sampling of some of the things my handy husband has done just since we moved into our house 6 months ago!

PAINT...boy's room, playroom, bathroom a few times to get the right color and the nursery!
ELECTRIC...install 5-6 light fixtures/fans, replace most old outlets and light switches in entire house, install and connect all new smoke detectors.
WOODWORKING...cut and install new baseboards and door mouldings in entire house.Take off the new baseboards in nursery to put up tongue and groove wall paneling for me...then put baseboards back on (and he didn't even complain too much about this vision I had!)
REPLACE...countless interior door handles, put in all new locks throughout exterior doors.
YARD...Cut down and pull out countless large bushes, a huge ground cover cactus (using a tractor for much of this...see photo), never-ending weeding, lawn care and yard clean up on nearly an acre of land. Replace broken drip line, broken sprinkler heads and replace the water timer a couple of times!

POOL...fix vaccuum and keep up on the pool maintenance.
ENTERTAINMENT...Cut, stain and build a huge swingset for the kids...no small task!

Despite all of his handy work, he works long hours every day often into the night on his laptop, he's always troubleshooting and fixing things, especially my computer, he teaches the youth every Sunday, he plays with his kids EVERYDAY and puts them to bed MOST nights, he cooks dinner some nights, cleans, folds laundry and keeps up on the house without complaint and he EVEN SHARES nighttime responsibility often putting Dawson back to bed or changing Emery's diaper!

So, it's no wonder that he's sick!! Really, I feel that his illness is LONG OVERDUE along with my recognition for all of his work to keep my family happy and make my house a home! Here's a few favorite photos of him, surprisingly with as many photos I DO have...I have none of him and I that I really like!




I love you so much honey...thanks for all you do for our family!