The bestest of friends

My bosom buddy, Lacy, is here visiting me for a week. We have been friends since we were little so we go way back. Check out this AWESOME picture of us in 4th grade. I am the one of the left with the awesome clip on my T-shirt and the radical (had to throw in that word) permed hair in the side pony-tail. I am also wearing some sweet biker shorts with checkered sides. I am lovin' the neon colors too. We were pretty hip if I do say so myself.

We have got big plans including a photoshoot of her ADORABLE little 1 year old. So be on the lookout for that one. We are also going to go see the movie, Mamma Mia, which I've already seen and LOVE! It is the perfect chic flick to go to.

Sick on the first day of school

This is what the cake was SUPPOSED to look like:This is how it turned out: LOL!

Luckily, it was NOT my 6 year old (who is now a first grader!) who got sick but it was ME who got a sinus infection over the weekend and am still fighting it. That was NOT good timing since the first day of school is a BIG day full of new routines and schedules.

Somehow we got through it all (thanks to my DH taking off work) and I of course, was not too ill to take photos of her first day. She looks so grown up to me. She was SO ready to go though. I even had to follow her into her classroom to get a kiss (I know, it's pathetic but I obviously can't do that when she's in 7th grade so I'm gonna do it while I can!) I thought I would cry but I didn't. Mostly because she was so happy to be there that it made me happy more than sad.

I also promised my kiddos that I would make the beloved pencil cake (see recipe in previous post) which they were looking forward to all day. I didn't really feel like baking it since I just wanted to sleep all day but I really wanted to do something special so I just sucked it up and did it. It is made from a brownie mix and since my son is allergic to eggs I had to add applesauce. It made the cake a little TOO moist so this is my version of the pencil cake. Oh it makes me laugh so hard! I wish I could blame it on the fact that I was sick but my husband knows the truth. I don't do cakes. One time I ATTEMPTED a Nemo fish cake and my husband asked me if the kids had decorated it. No, hon, I did it.

It's the thought that counts, right?

{Wall of the Week}

I decided to start doing more Walls of the Week since I have more to share so for this week, I am sharing this little boy's images. He is the big brother to the newborn that I recently photographed (see last Friday's post) and I've had the privilege of photographing him since he was a baby as well.

I am in LOVE with the Storyboard and frame that his Mom chose for his room. It fits perfectly and is so fun because his Dad is a train driver. She is doing a girly one for the baby's room that I cannot wait to show you when it's finished and hung.

Above their fireplace they also had some images of this little guy. I love the simplicity of the display. Canvas Wraps are nice because they do not need to be framed and add a clean and simple look to any decor.

P.S. On a different note, I decided that to make Back to School special (thanks everyone for your cute ideas!) I am going to make them a pencil cake each year (well, at least while they are young). I thought I would share in case you'd like to do the same. Here is the recipe: PENCIL CAKE.

New product: Christmas Ornaments

Last year for my children, I bought them special ornaments with a theme that corralated with their age. My plan was to buy one every year and then give them to them when they get married. But then I got to thinking, that since I am a photographer and all, I should incorporate their pictures, duh!

So this year, I am ordering them each a double-sided photo ornament for with my 2 favorite images on them from that year. Here is how one looks. I squeeled with delight when I saw it! I'm going to put them at the top of the tree so they can't touch them!

Oh and I will be offering them for clients who book this fall and also as bonus gifts in my top portrait collections.

What do you to make the First Day of School special?

School starts back up in one week! I will be the first to admit that I am SO ready for it! Of course, I am torn emotionally because I will miss them yet, I can't get a darn thing done and I think we could all use some space from each other, KWIM. I will be sad that my 6 year-old daughter will be in school full-time though. It seems almost worse than sending them off for Kindergarten. It means that she won't be eating lunch with me or playing with the baby when I need a break. Gosh, they grow so stinkin' fast!

Anyhoo, enough of my rambling. I know all you cute Moms have some great ideas so this slacker Mom needs some cute ideas to make it special. Please share!

Don't look if you're baby hungry.

This newborn was SOOO good. I don't think I heard her cry once. I'd like to think that it is my Baby Whispering techniques but mostly it was because she was an angel baby... an angel baby with thick, jet black hair. The top image makes me laugh because her Mom told me she tried to comb it down and it just went right back to vertical. It's so lovely though. Her skin tones and hair were the perfect contrast for B&W images.

Oh and the pictures with her brother...were a little miracle. I am still in awe at how still this 2 year old boy was while his li'l sis was on him. My kids would have NEVER done that. In fact, I think I tried that shot and never got it. Oh, the photo gods must have been helping us that day. Did I mention that I LOVE newborns?!

My oven is broken!

Seriously, I put a casserole in it one night and it burst into a big flame and just shut down. Bummer. Guess we'll have to eat at In-N-Out all weekend ;0). I had a repairman come and look at it and he told me it would be better to buy a new one. There goes $600.

I am having a Scentsy party tonight and was trying to figure out what to make that I couldn't bake. Of course, it has to be easy and inexpensive and yummy. Then I remembered this recipe and thought I would share. http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/recipes/spring-mix-match-pudding-91559.aspx

Speaking of Scentsy, they have the COOLEST candles. They are wickless and burn in the cutest burners that you plug in so there is no fire hazard if you leave it going all day. I always have people commenting on how yummy my house smells and that's my secret! If anyone wants to purchase any Scentsy products, I will be closing the party on Sunday night. Oh and everything is 10% off in the month of August. Check out their website and call my good friend Trish at (775)297-3330 or email her at trisharcampbell@gmail.com.

Archives: My Babe

I was browsing through some old photos and came upon these gems. They might not seem like anything special to you but to me, they are priceless. Especially since my baby is 18 months old now and walking! Aaaaaaaa!!! Where did the time go?

I told my husband this morning that our Babe is no longer a baby because he woke up with morning breath! My theory is that once their breathe stops smelling like perfection, they are no longer babies.

Ashlee is gone

So Ashlee is gone and I am sad. I told her she was like my own Mary Poppins. Now I have to go back to functioning on my own. It was nice to always have someone to chat with or leave a kid with or someone that quietly did the dishes without being asked. We did everything together while she was here and now... it's just me and the kiddos. Oh and the part that KILLS me is that the only pictures I took of her are the goofy ones of us two (see post below.) We were so busy taking pictures of everyone else that I neglected to take pictures of her with my kids. Which is why I didn't put one on this post. Oh, I am kicking myself!!!

So since I am a little bummed I thought we could play a game to cheer me up. My friend unofficially tagged me on her blog but this is a little more fun. It's a Memory Tag. Here's how it works:

1. Add a comment on my blog, write about a memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next (if you choose to), re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.(Even if you don't want to re-post this on your blog, leave a comment anyway.)

It's that easy. Okay and if there aren't many posts, I'll assume that I'm a LOOOOOOOSER and no one likes me. So COME ON NOW!

P.S. I just ordered this image as a 20x24 canvas wrap because it is one of my favorites pictures that I've taken ever and I can't WAIT for it to get here. I'll post pics once it's on the wall.

Family Session #2

For this family session, we wanted to do something fun that fit their personalities so when the Mom told me that everyone in her family played baseball but her, this is what we ended up doing. We seriously ADORE this family. They are the kinda people that you just wanna go to their house and hang out with.

P.S. This ended up being our last family session since we took on an additional Senior and newborn session (pics coming up next week). We just didn't have time to do more before Ashlee leaves.

Working Hard...

...or hardly working? Seriously, Ashlee and I have been working our booties off getting pictures and orders ready but one night we took a break for some photo fun and took some sexy self-portraits of ourselves in these awesome headbands. I am going to have major withdrawals when she leaves on Sunday!

Engagement Session Part 2: Barbie and Ken

We took some of these pictures on my pink Cruiser bike (that's why they are all B&W-LOL!) on the streets in my neighborhood. My neighbors kept driving by and staring as these two rode back and forth between two photographers. It was pretty funny.

I totally think they look like Barbie and Ken. Aren't they sweet?!

Abercrombie & Fitch models??

I don't normally do Engagement sessions but since my brother-in-law is getting married, we did this session and I SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO enjoyed it! I will totally do Engagement portraits again if anyone ever needs it. It's like doing Seniors but two of them...with chemistry. And oh, was there ever chemistry.

I ADORE my new sister-in-law. She is EXTREMELY beautiful, not only on the outside, but on the inside. My kiddos followed her everywhere while she was here to visit. They kept drawing pictures for her and wanting to sit by her. She was so sweet and they totally sensed that.

Kay, and we had to do a couple "Abercrombie-esque" shots just for fun. Can you feel the love? Ashlee and I were joking that Ashlee captured the "ultimate kiss" shot and I got the "ultimate hug" shot. We make a good team.

I'll be posting some more tomorrow too so check back because there are some more seriously cute ones.