Love to my fellow Bloggers!

I thought I would share some of MY favorite blogs!!

First, let's start with my Best Friend in New Mexico.

Marlowe's Loft is quirky and well written blog.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW MARLOWE'S LOFT.

We can't leave out my own son!

CLICK HERE TO VIEW KAYDEN'S BLOG.

Now, a few of my favorite fashion blogs!

Londyn is SO classy and stylish and I think I love every single outfit she's ever worn.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW BLOG FASHION.

Kashmira puts together the most amazing outfits.

She's vibrant and fun and isn't afraid to take risks when it comes to fashion.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW WHAT I WORE 2DAY BLOG.

Another favorite fashion blogger is Reva.

She has a completely unique look and she owns it like nobody's business.

She's just as adorable as can be and has such an eclectic fashion sense. I just love it.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW REVAS RAGS 2 ROSES

I am not going to post all of the professional photography blogs that I follow because

that would be WAY too many. I am, however, going to post an amateur photo

blog that takes some THE funniest and/or cutest photos.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW 'YOU TOOK A PICTURE OF THAT?'

Paintings

Most people know that I prefer black & white photography over color.

That does not mean, though, that I dislike color.

I actually LOVE color!

Here are some of the paintings I have in my house.

I love this tree of life painting that I have in my dining room.

This was the first real piece of art that I purchased.

I found this at a local Mexican import store.

Karson painted this one a year or so ago.

The canvas and paints were sent to him by our dear friend Kate.

Blue Man, painted by a local artist named Amanda Welch.

Click here to visit her Myspace page.

I love these two paintings, both by a local artist named Josh Bennett.

Click here to visit his facebook page.

Wait...KEL was up to see a sunrise?

I am NOT a morning person. I honestly can't even remember that last time I was up before the sun. The only reason I was up that early this weekend was because I had to set up for a boudoir photo party at the hotel in downtown Portland. I love (L.O.V.E.) boudoir photography, especially the parties, so getting up that early was a piece of cake. Then, to see the sun come up was such a great bonus! I took this out of our hotel window on the 9th floor.

Random cell phone photos

I was going through some old cell phone photos and found this one that I took of Oscar and I a few months ago. We are SO cool in our sunglasses.

I also found one that I snapped of Kayden right after his Holiday band performance, back in December. Doesn't he look like a handsome little businessman?

This is from November of last year, but aren't they cute?

I took this yesterday. It's a tent (not a house!) that Oscar made at pre-school. He really wanted to show it to everyone, but also really wanted to eat it. He had the smart idea of taking a photo so he could eat it and show everyone the photo later. Love that kid.

Thank you, Miss Katie!

Oh my gosh, I meant to post this MONTHS ago and completely forgot until today, when I ran across the photos. One of my wonderful friends (and client) gave me a thank you gift for photographing her children. I got this wonderful cookie dough kit in a jar and it could not have been more perfect. I can not bake from scratch, nor can I read a recipe to save my life, so this little gift was just perfect! It's always a joy to photograph her children and she does NOT need to give me gifts, but I don't think she's ever greeted me empty handed.

Thank you, Katie, for being so thoughtful!

I sure am going to miss you when you move.

Ahhh yes...we are officially in the age of technology

I gave Oscar one of my old medium format film cameras to play with one day and I had to laugh when I saw him looking at the back of the camera so he could see the photos he had taken. When I explained FILM to him, he looked at me like I was crazy!

After School Stuff

So, anyone who knows me knows that I am no June Cleaver.

I can't bake, so the whole 'milk and cookies' after school thing doesn't really happen at our house. I can make a mean glass of chocolate milk, though, that my kids seem to appreciate!

Why is it that my 5th grader hasn't had regular homework in years, but my 3rd grader has had it the last three years? It's stressful. I have to sit with him just to keep him on task. It took us nearly 2 hours to get through four math worksheets and the kid is good at math. He just doesn't like to sit down and do it!

As much as I hate homework, though, I do love when he sticks his tongue out while concentrating. He does this with anything that takes focus. Sports, homework, video games, etc.

Oscar loves having after school snack when his brothers get home.

(Kayden is in the background...I didn't completely leave him out!)

First Track meet!

Karson had his very first track meet (ever) today!

He participated in javelin, long jump, and the 100m race.

He finished in the middle of the pack for javelin and long jump and got a fourth place ribbon for the 100 meter. We are SO proud of him! And if you are familiar with our gene pool, you know that having a runner in the family is a miracle.

Here he is warming up for javelin. See Ben off to the right?

Competing.

Here is the only shot I got of him doing long jump before my camera batteries died. Seriously, what kind of professional photographer doesn't charge her batteries before leaving the house?! Again, can you see Ben in the background?

And sadly, I didn't get any photos of the 100 meter race.

Destination Imagination!

I spent a VERY long Saturday in Corvallis at the Destination Imagination state tournament.

Our team of 6 competed in an improv challenge, as well as an instant challenge.

They did REALLY well and got second place (out of 8 teams) in their division! Kayden is pictured in the back and Karson is in the orange shirt. I'm VERY proud of our DI team!

Good job, Magical Draktonz!

(Yes, I took this photo, but in my defense it was not with my own camera, lol!)

Never too old for sidewalk chalk.

Yes, he is only five, so he is obviously not too old.

But if you were familiar with his artistic abilities, you would know that he did not draw this. And if you were familiar with MY drawing abilities, you'd know that this is the ONLY thing that I can draw, other than stick figures.

Meet my boys. My loves. My life.

I have decided to start a personal blog!

I need a place to post random photos of my kids, my husband, my daffodils, recipes (okay, who are kidding with that one?) and just silly stuff that does not belong on my business blog!

So, let's start off by meeting my kids!

Oscar is the baby of the family and he just turned five!

He is such a funny little guy. Okay, not so little, as he's ginormous for his age.

He has a contagious belly laugh and when a photographer friend of mine from Australia described him as a "giggle pot" she hit the nail on the head!

He's a flirt. He's outgoing. He's nice. He gets easily frustrated. His dad is his hero and his Mama is the prettiest woman in the world.

Karson just turned nine few days ago.

He is creative and imaginative and one of the funniest kids I've ever met, but without even trying to be funny. He's naturally athletic, but is also a good reader and a whiz when it comes to math.

Kayden just turned 11 and is so gentle and kind towards others.

He has a special bond with each of his brothers and is very much the older brother.

He likes to make things...board games, obstacle courses, and contraptions of all sorts.