Quick Trip to SLC

I dropped Cody off at EFY this morning, (embarassed the heck out of him by asking this guy if we could take a picture of our reflection in his glasses - haha!)and then had the afternoon to take my time getting back to Elko, so I stopped at a couple of places and took some pictures...






I have driven by this place a ton of times, and thought, "What a cool place for a photo shoot", but I have never stopped because We are always in a hurry and I don't want the kids to play around there and get hurt. But this time it was just me so I stopped.

There was a group already doing a photo shoot there, so I didn't get all the ones I wanted, just cuz I didn't want to get in their way. But the other photographer told me that they are going to tear in down in a month or so :( ! So, Shari - you are close by - go do a shoot there before it's gone!





The Salt Flats are so amazing - I could shoot there all day!

Oh the Cuteness!

Ten on Tuesday

1. Alyssa's hair is growing! I almost hate to say it, because I'll jinx myself, but I think that she may be growing out of the hair cutting phase. Finger's crossed!



2. I love this kid. He gets so much joy out of silly stuff, like happy meal toys, or coloring pictures, or this green fuzzy ball.



3. This is a cheat, because it is from Saturday, but that is some true pancake artistry right there. Plus I used my flash on it & you can't tell, can you? Haha!



4. Lacie & I started the Wave today. I'm a little sore!



The cute kid in the red pajamas? We have been exercising together since she was pregnant with him! Holy cow - that's a long time!

5. I have been wanting to get this shot all year:



He's leaving me. Little by little, he is growing out of me, and it breaks my heart. Why do they have to grow so fast?

6.


Yay for clean floors!

7. And for pretty pink buds on my tree!



8. And Diet Pepsi!



I am so addicted :P It is a really good thing that I don't drink - I would totally be one of those people that stach little bottles of booze everywhere and sneak it between loads of laundry or something!

Dang, I only made it to eight today, but I will try harder for next Tuesday!

First Sunday of the Year

I really love the freshness of a new year. I love the Christmas season and I am always sad to see it go, but I love the feeling I get when everything is cleaned up and life gets back to normal. It feels like starting with a clean slate. So far, I have read my scriptures every single day this year! And I have blogged every single Sunday!

So I am going to try to find something clever or insightful to share here at least every Sunday this year. Or if I can't think of anything, maybe I will just check in with a photo or two, cuz I do that better. I hope all of you out there have a wonderful new year!

Sam & Lyric

These guys are getting married on my birthday! Congratulations :)













Thanks for letting me hang out with you for a while - it was too fun!

It's Not Too Early

Every year I pass this shed covered in these gorgeous red leaves, and I think - "I have GOT to do a shoot in front of those!" But they are really short lived, so I have missed them a few times. Not this year! Poor kids - I ran in the door with new shirts and yelled "everybody put these on - we are going to take pictures in 15 minutes!" They were all such good sports - even hubby!



It's not too early to start thinking about Christmas card photos, by the way! In fact, I am running a special...



so call soon!

This is my WHY

Family is an amazing thing. These little groups of people that share their lives so closely - all the laughter, all the frustrations, all the mistakes and forgiveness, all the growth and all the joy. I believe with every piece of my heart that there is nothing that can bring more happiness than family.

And this is why I love to do this photography stuff!

Sometimes I think that we can get so caught up in the mundane - the running back and forth to school and work and ball practice, cleaning the bathrooms, the laundry laundry LAUNDRY - that we can miss how incredibly beautiful our families are.



This mom is so awesome! She totally "got it" - the whole "Just Be" philosophy (Tara Whitney - I want to be her when I grow up!)



I love that you can see how much fun they have together.



I love that you can see how crazy they are about each other.



And I love what you can see in those kids - their confidence and their spunk, maybe a little shyness. I hope that when Mom & Dad look at these five or twenty years down the road that they can remember them just how they are today.









Thanks guys so much! It was so fun to follow you around for awhile! I hope you love looking at these as much as I loved taking them!