Nate and Aprill {Engagements}

This week my oldest son Nate is getting married to Aprill, a wonderful, amazing girl! We are so happy for them.


When we were in Arizona at Christmastime, I did their engagement portraits. And now....here they are!! :)


And I also posted on my Margaret Says blog  about how it feels to have a son getting married this week. :)

:)

Munchkins in AZ

Some more cute faces my camera and I captured on our AZ trip.
Derek's sister Denae has two adorable little munchkins. Morgan and Mallory really wanted Luke to smile for a  picture. We finally managed a couple!

And little Ila Jane, who was almost 3 months old when we visited, was one of the sweetest little butterballs I've ever seen. Don't you just wanna pinch those cheeks?


:)

Cousins in AZ

These girls don't get together very often, so they have a lot of fun when they do. 


We heard plenty of giggling, whispering and squealing when they were together.


And they're all pretty cute, too.


:)

Spiers Family in AZ

One of the best parts of Christmas is being able to spend time with family, especially those that we don't get to see very often. Even more fun is being able to take family pictures, which I did for Derek's sister, Alicia, and her family. 


There is a trail behind my in-law's house. Alicia and I enjoyed walking/running (well, probably more walking than running) each morning while we were there. I also thought it would be a great location for their family pictures. We scoped out the best locations as we walked and then dragged the whole family along when it was picture time. We all agreed the area near mile marker 1.25 was an excellent spot.


Here are a few favorites.


Enjoy.


:)

Temple Lights in AZ

Christmas Eve found us at the Mesa Arizona Temple enjoying the Christmas lights. The weather was wonderful. It had been about 70 degrees earlier in the day, so the evening temps were perfect!


:)

Aaron and Mindy and their cute family.

My crazy kiddos

Our family. The six of us together for Christmas!

Sunset in AZ

There are some wide, open spaces near my in-laws home. That's where I captured this sunset. You can see it's not a totally pristine area, as there are lights from houses and some power lines in the distance. I could have photoshopped those out, but I felt that leaving them gave more a true view of what it's really like there.


Oh, and for those who asked about my processing on the shots of Mallory I posted yesterday, I did a little bit of curves adjustment and then did further processing with Totally Rad actions. Some of my go-to actions are Yin/Yang, Oh, Snap, Burn Out and Claire-ify. 


:)

Mallory in AZ

Happy 2011!


It's been forever since I've posted.


December was full of harried, crazy, fun-filled Christmas preparations, followed by a trip to Arizona to visit the in-laws. 


Mallory was willing to pose for me while we were there.


Doesn't she look oh, so grown-up?


:)

Christmas Vacation -- Evans Style

Every year on the day after Christmas, we pile the kids in the Suburban and take a road trip to Arizona to visit Derek's family. While we're there, the men and boys spend a few days riding their ATVs at the sand dunes, while the girls stay back at Grandma's for some quality girl time -- shopping, eating out, etc.

This year, we had the added bonus of a stomach virus that was making its way through the Arizona relatives. I thought we might get lucky and escape unscathed, but unfortunately, we were 3 for 5. Mallory, Derek and I all got sick. Somehow Parker and Alex managed to avoid it.

(Oh, by the way, I forgot to mention in my post yesterday that we had a wonderful phone visit with Nate on Christmas Day! He's doing great on his mission in Canada. It was SO GREAT to hear his voice!!!)

So while the stomach flu did slow us all down a bit here and there, we still managed to have a lot of fun with the fam. I didn't take as many pictures as I intended to, but here are a few depicting some of the highlights of our trip. One thing I don't have pictures of is our fun night out at the musical Annie. Mindy, Paris, Mallory and I went together to see it at Gammage at ASU. It was a top-notch performance. The only downside was I was starting to feel sick that evening, so my headache and body aches prevented me from enjoying it as much as I had planned. But that's okay. The girls loved it, and my uber-talented sister-in-law Mindy even sewed Annie look-a-like dresses for Paris and Mallory's American Girl dolls. :)

Here's my cute little nephew Luke....son of Danny and Denae. Whenever he would see me get out my camera, he would yell, "Say Cheese! Say Cheese!"

Mallory and Paris had so much fun. Here they are reading American Girl books together.

Danny took Spencer and Parker to Fuddrucker's to see if they were man enough to conquer the one-pound burger. Parker looks a little intimidated as he comes face to face with the massive meat, but 29 minutes later, he came away the victor. (Spencer and Danny finished theirs, too.) Parker's appetite is just now beginning to return. ;)

My mother-in-law started a tradition years ago where everyone in the family gets a walnut on New Year's. Inside is a dollar bill -- and for a couple of lucky winners -- a five-dollar bill or ten-dollar bill. That way, no one starts the New Year being penniless. :) Mallory and Paris helped Grandma fill the walnut shells this year. The first year I was in the family, I got the major award. Ever since then, it's been the one-dollar bill. I think it's about my turn to win big again. :)

New Year's Eve we all had dinner together -- except Derek who was feeling sick that night. :(  Then we played Rock Band and had a White Elephant gift exchange. I joked with Mindy beforehand that I always try to 'accidentally' leave the white elephants we receive at her house when we head for home. This year, Alex and Parker left theirs -- and not even on purpose. (Sorry about that, Mindy!) Parker was so disappointed to come home and realize he had left behind his fabulous Michael Jackson retrospective calendar. Yeah....I'm so bummed that won't be hanging in my house this year.

Denae's thinking, "I can sing "Walking on Sunshine" way better than that!" ;)

The kids all in a circle awaiting the white elephant exchange....The excitement in the air is palpable. ;)

Doesn't Parker look thrilled with his gift? Well, who wouldn't?

Mallory and Alex ring in the new year by blowing noisemakers and banging pots and pans.

We had a wonderful vacation....and were sad to leave the family and warm Arizona sun. Wish we could have brought some of that warmth home with us. BRRRR. :)