{Halloween Night 2010}

I can't believe it's already November!!  I'm not ready for Halloween to be over.  I struggled getting the Halloween bins out of the garage and filling them with all of our spooky, fun decorations.  The house felt clean though, I must admit.  Something about de-cobwebbing, dusting and putting away skeletons & grave stones, will make a house feel a little fresher ;o)  So Halloween night was great.  We were so happy to have Grandma & Grandpa join us {for the 2nd year in a row and we loved that they got all dressed up this year too!}  We wanted to start traditions here since we're all relatively new to the neighborhood.  So Jeff and I brought out the chiminea, roasting sticks, marshmallows,  camping chairs, and drinks and invited neighbors over throughout the evening to hang out and enjoy this fun celebration.  Next year maybe we'll incorporate a pot-luck dinner, just wish Halloween landed on a Saturday night!  Anyway, we had a great time.  The kids were very content...they had taken 100+ glow sticks and made a track in the street with them.  Then the scooters came out...hours of entertainment :) They didn't want the night to end.   Hope you all had a wonderful Halloween!  Thanks for stopping by :)

Note:  The picture above was taken before school on Friday.  Brielle was in the Storybook Parade with her matching 'Ten Little Ladybugs' book and Tyler was showing sports spirit by dressing up for the Sports Assembly they had that day.  He also had a publishing party in class while Brielle had fun Fall centers full of activities of the season.  I loved being at school all day with both of them.   Moments I'll always cherish :)

{just playing with the light above...we were waiting for the rest of the trick or treaters to get back and enjoyed each others company - while roasting marshmallows of course.}

{Monster Mash Birthday Party for my boy who's turning 8}

My first born baby boy is growing up.  He's turning 8...yes, really!!  I remember the first day I held him and now I'm celebrating his 8th birthday, Halloween style.  His birthday is in early November but he's always wanted to have a Halloween costume birthday party.  So this was the year... We managed to get things together despite being sick and being gone second shooting a wedding a day the day prior.  I woke up early, the sun was shining and I began making the cupcakes, cleaning, adding more decorations, preparing games, wrapping the prizes, and getting the kids ready for the party that they were beyond excited about.  I was thankful to have some parent volunteers help me out at the party. {thanks Shellie & Matt} :)  Tyler had some school friends and neighborhood friends over and once the festivities began we were busy, busy, busy.  We started with crafts and began the games {freeze dance, mummy wrap & a pinata}.  The big hit....'Freeze Dance'!  The kids wanted to play again and again, so we did.  I have to say, the kids were really good at this game - Jeff was the music man and made sure to only play Halloween songs but included the 'StarWars Cantina' (same tune as Barry Manilow's Copacabana) - one of Tyler's favorite songs.  Ty had a blast with his friends and wants to do it again this weekend.  Um, we've had to break it to him that he's going to have to wait till next year to have another one.  :)

{Holiday Magic is Blooming}

The weather is slowly starting to change here in AZ.  I was so excited to wear boots, jeans, a light cardigan and a hat the other day when I felt a touch of fall in the air.  Yay!  That only lasted a day :( and I'm anxious for more.   As the weather changes we're thinking more about the upcoming holidays.  And Trendie Treasures just released some of their holiday dresses!  I'm in love with the the red dress & hair wrap {Holiday Magic} below, but the pink & white dress  {Blooming} with the matching hat is awfully cute too.  Check out her whole line here.

{There Here! Holiday Card samples}

Eek!!  Are you ready for Halloween?  I'm not quite ready yet since we've had a house of sickies :( and we spent some time out of town so now I'm playing catch-up.  But I'm excited and LOVE this time of the year.  Our house is decorate...all things Halloween and the kids excitedly await Halloween night.

Well, I know it's only October, but this is a time for my clients to think about Holiday Cards.  A preview of some of the cards available are shown below.  Those who've already had their session, you will get a link to the e-store to purchase sets of 25 with your chosen photos.  Each card allows for an image on the front & the back and a greeting personalization.  This year I'm offering some funky fun cards that double as an ornament.  That's right!  A keepsake ornament for family & friends.  The first 4 below are samples that are also ornaments {more will be available in my e-store}.  Simply string a ribbon through the hole at the top and family and friends can easily hang them.  How cute is that?!

NOTE:  The Templates are not for sale to Photographers since the elements used in some of the cards were not created by me.  I may however be offering some templates for photographers of  Ornament Cards.  Stay tuned... :)

{Little beauty & my fun Goodwill find}

I donate to goodwill at least once a month and not long ago my kids asked why we never go inside. I explained that I'm donating and they have this handy-dandy drop-off drive through so we didn't need to go inside. This was followed of course by...'let's park and go inside, can we mommy?' So we did. But I warned, 'we aren't here to buy, just to look'. They gave me forced sad faces but said okay. And to my surprise in the very back of the store was this lonely little chair. The kids saw my face light up when I saw it, the hopped in it and squealed, 'Can we buy? It's so soft'. I didn't need much more of a push than that but it squashed my 'consistence' effort deviating from the planned 'we're not here to buy'. Sigh... I couldn't resist. It was $20 bucks so I took it - I mean bought it.Anyway, I finally decided to use it during a session (it's been stored in my garage).  I met this little beauty at some nearby groves and she was such an amazing subject.  Happy, up for anything and excited for clothing changes!  We had so much fun- we shot until we there was no more light.  Here's a peak at our session!

{a Summer weekend in Autumn}

Sounds strange hu?  It kind of is :)  Being in Arizona, Autumn doesn't start when much of the country does (sad to say).  We've had unseasonably hot weather that has  finally changed this week.  Knowing that the change was coming we took advantage and had a 'day of summer' playing in the pool and laying in the sun. The kids, being fish, were begging from the moment we woke up to go swimming.  I was a little under the weather so I watered plants by the pool and sprayed the kids and daddy with the hose making them each do a dance.  It was fun.  I had fun.  I think they had fun LOL.  The dog ran around the pool and played in the wet bushes making himself very comfortable when he was ready for a nap.

Last night the rain clouds moved in, and the sound of raindrops began to pour down.  Today I nearly thought the flood waters from the down pour were going to take my car away.  It was crazy.  The news was warning valley residents of tornadoes & floods.  Amazing how quickly the weather can change around here.  Last week we were in the 100's and this week we're in the 70's and 80's.  I'm loving this change!  The kids begged for hot cocoa and marshmallows after school - I was easily convinced :)

Here's some pictures I snapped when the kids were laying on the grass waiting for their sunscreen to soak in.  They're so goofy, I wonder where they get that from?

{a little bit warm....for Autumn}

It's a lazy weekend and we're all recovering from being sick.  At the kids school Strep was going around like wildfire and both Tyler & Brielle caught the nasty strain :(  then they passed a bug {not the strep part as far as I can tell} to me so I've been laying low this weekend trying to recover for the busy week ahead.  But if it the temp hits a 100 degrees today we are however going to take a dip in our pool since it may be the last of the season. It's been crazy hot here in the valley - we're breaking records and it's much warmer than it should be this time of the year.   So when the Tripp's came out to Scottsdale from Nevada they enjoyed a lot of pool time and tried to stay cool in the 107 degree Fall weather we were having last weekend.  We've known the Tripp's for 10+ years and it was so great to see them again and catch-up.  They also wanted to incorporate a photo session into their visit and of course I was thrilled about it!   I hadn't seen their twin girls since they were toddlers!  They were so shy when I first saw them... but soon they were giggling, climbing trees, telling jokes, and being silly seven year old girls (well, a week shy of being 7).   We had so much fun -- Jeff and I agreed that we need to plan a trip sometime soon to Reno to see them and take the kids skiing.  Here's a peek into our session.

{Little bit Sassy - Oh So Sassy!}

The temperatures are crazy insane around the country; sizzling in LA, blazing in the Arizona Valley, and average temps around most of the country 10 degrees higher than normal for this time of the year.  But I'm so ready for some 'Fall'  weather, I could honestly cry {but I'll hold back as long as possible}.  The kids are giddy that Fall is hear but they don't understand how it can still be in the 100's during Autumn.  I have to shrug and agree that I too want cooler, crisp weather.  So to get in the fall mood we went to the 'Trader Joe's Pumpkin Patch' yesterday.  It small but the kids were literally jumping up and down exploring the little patch TJ's had set up.  We stood there and soaked it in - and went a little overboard getting 6 pumpkins.  We couldn't resist.  Of course we're going to hit as many Pumpkin Patches as possible so we'll need to refrain from buying so many at each patch.  But it was so exciting for the kids and myself -- nothing says 'Fall' like pumpkins.   Okay, I digress....onto some sassy designs {{{I'm in love}}}

Once again I am thrilled to be working with Michelle, the designer of  'Oh So Sassy'  clothing line.  I literally squealed out loud with excitement when I opened the package she mailed to me.  She is truly talented and I'm always giddy when she asks me to work with her.  And she's from AZ too!  Another designer that I would love to meet in person someday I'm in love with her cute ruffled skirts.  And her prices - crazy reasonable!!  She's going to sell out quickly!!  I can't sing her praises enough, I'm in love with her work...sigh.... ;-)

{wagons, skateboards & a fun family}

First, I want to start by saying that I had so much fun during this session.  Seven year old Weston was so great with his little brother, helping get his attention, tending to him, getting him water.  It was really impressive and showed how much Weston loves his little brother.  Also, Weston was amazing in front of the camera - he was so full of energy and spirit.  I loved it and could've been there all night but we were loosing daylight quickly.  Weston's parents were fun too - just going with whatever came next.  I loved their interaction with one another as seen in a few of the shots below.  The sun was bright and hot for September here {5 degrees warmer than normal during this time of the year}.  The sun flare I captured with them was really cool.  I was amazed how in the picture above the light is just streaming over them.  It was beautiful!!  Anyway, here's a little peak into our session.

{Fairy Dust, Friends, Cupcakes & Musical Chairs...}

What more could a birthday girl want?!  Okay, I know Brielle's birthday was in August, but things were crazy and hot in August so we post-poned her party.    She's never asked for a party, never asked for presents and just enjoyed the celebrating with family.  Since she's never had a 'friend-party' I thought turning 5 was the perfect time.  She was elated!!  So we set to make this party, and her day memorable.  She enjoyed helping me decorate everything in light pink, dark pink, pink, pink, pink ;o)  Tyler was a huge help on party day hiding on the balcony and sprinkling fairy dust (glitter) from the balcony into the courtyard as each fairy entered.  I wanted to get sprinkled too but I refrained ;o)  And he assisted like a pro in all the games.  The games we played brought me back to my childhood birthday parties.  We began with the cotton ball scooping game (my favorite as a kid, and now Brielle say's its her favorite), we played musical chairs and we made finger puppet crafts.   It was a magical day with friends for Brielle.  I loved seeing her excited and over-joyed to have her friends at her house celebrating with her.  And WOW, I have a 5 year old! Here's a peek into her birthday party.