Paparazzi Wedding Shoot!

I got together with some photography friends last night. Brooke brought along her sister Whitney and Whitney's groom-to-be Shane to pose for us. They're getting married this Saturday. It was great fun working with them and with all the other photogs. I took so many shots and haven't edited all of them, but here are a few of my favorites so far!

Thanks again, Brooke, Whitney and Shane! I had a blast!

Schneider Family

Meet the Schneiders.

Scott is in the Air Force and recently came home from Iraq. I was scheduled to take pictures of his homecoming, but his arrival schedule changed at the last minute, so I wasn't able to be there. I still wanted to do some shots for the family, so we met the other night for a session, along with their kitty Maxwell and dog Roxy. This is the first time I've ever done a sesssion that included the family pets, but getting the cat and dog to pay attention was quite similiar to getting babies and toddlers to look at the camera. :)

Here are a few shots of the fun!

Draper Family and Their Little Hero

When I first met this family last week, I just knew we were going to have an amazing session. And I was right!

I met the Drapers through The Littlest Heroes Project, an organization I volunteer for. Through this group, I do photo sessions for families whose children deal with a number of illnesses and other challenges. The Draper's 3-year-old son Cole was diagnosed with Chiari Malformation last year and underwent surgery for it a few months ago.

Chiari malformation is a structural defect in the cerebellum. When the indented bony space at the lower rear of the skull is smaller than normal, the cerebellum and brain stem can be pushed downward. The resulting pressure on the cerebellum can block the flow of cerebrospinal fluid (the liquid that surrounds and protects the brain and spinal cord) and can cause a range of symptoms including dizziness, muscle weakness, numbness, vision problems, headache, and problems with balance and coordination.

Cole's mom told me that they first noticed something was wrong with Cole when he would grab the back of his head and scream. After a number of visits to the doctor, he was diagnosed with Chiari malformation. The surgery was successful, and now Cole is a happy, busy 3-year-old, who was so cooperative in front of the camera! Yay!

It truly was a pleasure to photograph this wonderful family.


Here's Cole! Who can resist that adorable face?

And here are some of my other favorites from our session:

Those weeds look good, but they don't taste good!

Thing 1, Thing 2, Thing 3 and Thing 4

All of my kids have been busy in their assorted activities and my blog posts have been rather infrequent lately. It seems like May goes by in a blur, and I find myself alternately sweating and freezing (depending on the day) at Parker's track meets, feeling rather cultured as I sit in a darkened auditorium at Mallory's dance rehearsals and recitals and experiencing along with Alex the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat at Mueller Park Minor League Baseball. And not to leave Nate out...each Wednesday I find myself stalking my e-mail account awaiting the latest word from the Canada Edmonton Mission.

Sometimes I wonder how I could possibly be at this point in my life....with a son on a mission, a son in high school, my daughter about to complete elementary school and my youngest...my BABY!!!!! 9 years old and so independent and way too heavy for me to physically carry anymore. (In fact, the other day Alex came up behind me and kind of jumped up on my back and almost pulled me over backwards. I think he weighs almost as much as me...(Well, I'd like to think that anyway!!!)

Here are a few recent photos of Things 1-4...what we like to call our children (a la those mischievous but loveable creatures in Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat)

Nate sent home his camera's memory card a while back. These pictures were taken over the past few months.

Here's Nate with Eddie the Squirrel in Edson, Canada. I had read about Edson online when he got transferred there, and the website include a shot of Eddie. I told Nate he must get a photo with Eddie. Nothing like a giant squirrel statue to make your day!


I love this picture....although Nate does look very cold! Check out the sign behind him. I'm sure Evansburg is a wonderful place!!

And here's Elder Evans decked out for the cold weather!

Parker is eyeing the finish line at the JV Region Track Meet, where he ended up taking first in the 1-mile and 2-mile runs. Yay!


Approaching the finish line in the mile. I missed the shots of him collapsing on the ground after he finished. It was pretty exciting, though!

Next, we have Mallory all decked out for her dance recital.
Here she is at dress rehearsal. They don't let you take pictures at the actual recital...Well, actually they TELL people not to...but there are still those obnoxious few doing flash photography during the performance. Some people!


Mallory looks so grown up wearing her stage makeup! Sniff..Sniff...

Mallory with her cousins Corinne and Katelyn after the recital. Great job girls!!

And last, but certainly not least, here's Alex at one of his recent baseball games.

Sliding into home! Yay!!!

Enjoying the game from the dugout.

Just two more weeks of school...I can hardly believe it! This year has flown by.

Baby Bodie

We have a new little cutie pie in our neighborhood. Bodie made his entrance into the world last week, and he's as cute as can be. I was so excited to do his first official photo shoot.

Bodie wanted to be awake for the experience, so I was able to get some fun shots of his bright little eyes.

Welcome to the neighborhood, Bodie!

The Kids Who Could Fly

Last week when we went to Parker's track meet, Mallory, Alex and I took a little side trip to the Logan Temple so I could take some pictures to post on my temple photos blog.

After I finished with the temple shots, I wanted to do some fun ones of Mallory and Alex. They really got into it after a few minutes and didn't want to leave. Now, that doesn't happen very often when I'm taking pictures of my kids. Usually it's, "Mom! Aren't we done YET???"

The lighting was perfect. It had been raining earlier and the sky was still overcast wtih some areas of sunlight coming through.