On the farm...

The boys absolutely LOVE it out at Allen's dad's farm. Sam was so excited last night. He was playing and then heard one of the goats making the sound goats make and he went to find her just in time to find she had just delivered her baby! He called everyone over to see this new little life. We left them alone after a few minutes and then one of the other kids called us all back...she had delivered a TWIN!! It was amazing! We are hoping to be here when their horse has her calf...hopefully any day.

Visiting Iowa

The boys and I headed out last week with Dannie and her kids for an almost endless road trip! They were on their way to Trace's new assignment in Ohio so we drove as far as Iowa with them. I introduced them to my hometown and various family members, took them to have a canteen of course, and showed them all the places that have been a part of our lives for the past (um "30 something") years. They made it safely to Ohio despite lots of flooding throughout Iowa. I have never seen anything like it. Places that are normally farmland, look like enormous lakes now. So many crops are ruined. With the econonmy in such bad shape anyway, this was about the worst thing that could happen to farmers AND consumers.
We are staying here for a little while and will be helping my parents get their house ready to sell before they move to Colorado. I had not planned to, but I may stay long enough to go to my upcoming 20 year high school reunion. I have several photo sessions lined up and may get to do my first maternity shoot with my sister in law who is expecting their first baby next month. Here are some of my favorite shots I have gotten so far...

Every difficult shoot has a silver lining!

We took all 5 boys to Garden of the Gods to try and get some shots. It was a nice day. Lighting was good. The boys on the other hand were ALL OVER THE PLACE!!! It was extremely difficult to get good shots but I managed to find these gems in the mix.

Avoid Distracting Backgrounds

hmmm...well...on a photoshoot with 5 boys, that is pretty much attempting the impossible. I was trying to get a nice shot of Alec at Garden of the Gods today. I had him sitting comfortably, he was not complaining too much and his smile was somewhat natural. Click!!! Then I get home to edit and find "Spiderman" in the back! Boys!

Cutie Pies!!!!

Another session from Arizona. These cute girls are Dannie's nieces. They LOVED the tutus that Trace's mom had made. I am about halfway through my editing of all the photos and this afternoon we are headed out with Stacy and the kids to Garden of the Gods for hopefully a very cooperative session with 5 boys! Is there such a thing?

A Quick Getaway and Lots of Work!

The kids and I just got back from Arizona. What a fast and busy trip. We met up with Dannie and her kids and did several photo shoots for friends and family she had lined up. We met such nice people and the area we were in was so relaxing. I ended up photographing 3 families, 2 senior picture sesssions and a bunch of kids! The weather was pushing up into the 90's so needless to say, at the end of each day, I was hot and tired. Here are some of my favorite shots of one family I did. I will post a few sneaks of some of the other sessions soon. In all, I did around 1200 shots! Thanks to everyone in Arizona for helping me build my portfolio!

Fun at the Pool

Tons of pictures! The kids had a ball over at the club. It started out kind of cool and windy but warmed up quickly. Sam of course opened up the scab on his knee for about the 6th time. The lifeguards fixed him right up and after some chicken strips and fries he felt magically better.