Forty and Fabulous

I came to Kansas City just after my sister-in-law's birthday. She just turned forty.

"Oh", you say, "you can't broadcast that to the blogging world".

Actually, if I look half as good as this at forty I say flaunt it.

Getting some portraits to celebrate isn't a half bad either. We were driving along downtown and saw some cool patterns and decided to hop out for a quickie.

I don't know which I adore more, her coat or the vintage tile work.

Happy Birthday Cheryl, and THANK YOU for everything.

You rock!

9 months

Not THAT nine months.

Nine months old.

I got to do pictures of this guy when he was brand spankin' new.

Look how far he's come.

I'm a little sad how far he's gone, moving off to Alaska and whatnot.

Good thing I've got some images to keep me company.

And finally, you want to know what causes this?


This...

"Rise and Shout"

You may not be aware. But we are BYU fans. The post title is the first three words of the fight song.

I, unfortunately, fail my Alma Matter in how the rest of it goes, but my niece probably will not. She has beat the odds and will attending BYU in the fall. Multi-talented and kind of a hoot to hang out with, she might need a stick to fight off the boys (said stick kindly being provided by my husband...)

She packs up and moves closer to our neck of the woods (yay!) and leaves behind the most photographically inspiring Kansas City (boo!)

We couldn't let her leave without a downtown hurrah, right?

Hurrah!

Apple-bottom Jeans

Is Apple-bottom supposed to be two words or one?

When in doubt, hyphenate.

I've been dying to get to these images for a few weeks now.

This is my niece who spent 18 hours in the car (in one day!) with me and my children driving back from Kansas City. The least I could do is some portraits when we got back to the beautiful valley we call home. (If any of you are still confused as to where I live, watch A River Runs Through It. That's home.)

We had a great trip, with grand adventures. How many girls can say they spent their sweet sixteen in a mini-party-van driving all day?

Not many I tell you. And they would be jealous if they only knew...

Happy Sweet Sixteen Hunter, you are absolutely beautiful.

A great perk of having Hunter here was her ability to get the pack of boy cousins that live here together for pictures.

Have I mentioned there are LOTS of cousins between our families?

And yes, good looking just comes with the genes.

See the grid...

I'm totally falling off it.

Don't worry, it's just a couple of days and then I'll be back and rip roarin' and ready to rock some more images.

Until then...

Busy Bee

I've have more than a few people tell me I'm busy lately.

Um, yes. Thank You.

Nothing I haven't brought upon myself And nothing that can chase away that stifled desire to close my eyes and nap every warm summer afternoon.

You don't know heaven until you've experienced Montana summers. They're perfect for afternoon napping.

Back to the busy.

I like to let my blog world know I'm a person/Mom/wife too. And to say in most circles that photography is not the center of my universe is heresy, but it isn't.

It is a huge part and very important to me. But there a lots of other parts that make up my whole.

Take for instance the newest teeny tiny part.

Meet Po.
My husband insists he isn't a real dog.
I insist he's perfect for us.
And travel sized to boot.

He likes the mustard...

And my youngest insists on dumping spoonfuls of milk and lucky charms. Do you see the X?

My daughter is old enough to catch on that I'm a photographer and do "sessions" with other people.

She and her bear dressed the same and wanted a "session". Could I really say no?

She also wanted some pictures of her and her cousin.
(there might be a pattern forming here)

A picnic on a dirt hill in Montana.

So you see, I'm busy.
But it's the best kind of busy there is.

*(photoshop geeks...all these were edited in Lightroom, and Lightroom alone...I heart Lightroom)

Kiera, Kiera, Kiera

I know they look familiar.
I took their family pictures last fall.
We're friends now.
They babysat my children for over 10 hours.
With three kids, that's like 30 hours really.
The least I could do is get Mom and daughter pictures.
THANK YOU!

There's no place like home...

My niece returns to Kansas (as in the city...) tomorrow.
We'll miss her a bit.
Ok,
maybe a lot.