Dealing out Dinosaurs and Fruit Snacks

I got the awesome opportunity to take some family photos a night or two ago.  This family has been our neighbors and friends for a while now, but they are leaving us and moving to Boise.   As I knew that I would be taking pictures of 4 young children, I decided to pack a bag of bribes, yes, bribes.  At some point, even the best kids, get sick of smiling for pictures or following the silly instructions from the photographer.  So I knew I need some kind of reward system.  So in between each sweet shot of this beautiful family that you see below, imagine the munching of the snacks and the collecting of toy dinosaurs.  Memories like that make the picture taking experience even better.

Happily Ever After -- A Two-Part Engagement Shoot

There are those annoying "just engaged" couples that, with whatever they're doing, just make you want to gag.  You know the type.  Cutesie little pet names, constantly making out in places no ever makes out in, like the line at McDonalds (yup, seen it!), and even though it's nice that they are getting married and they are in love or whatever, it's just....well...annoying.

Gladly, the couple I just did a two-part engagement shoot for was NOT like that.  They are one of those couples who are cute simply because they seem meant for each other. He is so sweet to her, and she is obviously gaga over him and they're just...cute.  You can tell that they are in love, but also best friends.  You can tell that they have their own brand of weird together and they sync, not match, just sync together perfectly.  Anyway, I'll stop all that lovey dovey talk and let you view the photos.

Here is part one:

 Part two of this engagement session was to be a themed one.  This cute couple decided for Halloween that they wanted to be Cinderella and Prince Charming.  So we had some fairy tale costumes and wouldn't it be nice if we has something here in Idaho Falls that resembled a fairy tale castle?  Oh yeah, we do!

 I wish Alisa and Logan all the best.  May eternity be awesome!!

P.S:  Thank you, Alisa, for designing my sweet new watermark.  So profesh!

The 31st of February

It has been way too long since I photographed a band on stage.  Almost my entire high school and college life was spent going from one concert to another, mostly of local bands.  My husband was in two of the bands that occupied my weekends for years on end.  I love going to local shows and rarely get the chance anymore.  Arik, my husband, and his band mates in college all had to eventually get jobs and do other things (well almost everyone, one still plays and makes a good living doing it) and for a while going to shows and jumping up and down in a busy crowd was a thing of the past.  However, Arik, many years ago, decided to start this after school club called Rock Band.  He intent was to teach budding musicians how to play in a band together.  They learn cover songs and perform at school assemblies.  Just this last weekend, his latest collection of musicians put on a show and I got to go, along with the kids, to enjoy the music.  They did a great job!!  Some of these kids have been in this club since 8th grade and are showing some awesome talent.  Arik loves it because it gives him an excuse to act like we are both much younger than we are.  

So here is my little collection of photos from the concert on Saturday.  They hope to have another one next week, this time with some sweet lights.  Oh yeah, their band name is The 31st of February.

And Baby Makes Three

This last week, I got the opportunity to do a maternity shoot.  I got to meet a fabulous couple who were a mere 5 weeks away from meeting their first child, a boy name Brantley.  The moment I saw mom, I could tell that she had had it up to "here" with being pregnant.  The third trimester, especially those last weeks, are no picnic.  I would describe those last weeks as a festival of random pains, no comfortable position standing, sitting or laying down, and swollen tired feet.  But mom was determined that she document this time her life.  And your first pregnancy is a very special time.  Most mothers at the end of their first pregnancy start to toy with the idea of it being the ONLY pregnancy.  So I was happy to oblige and help mom and dad photograph this very important first in their lives. 

A Family Outing in the Park

You'll remember Rebecca and her family from earlier posts. This time she wanted very candid shots of her and her cute, cute family in the park this last Saturday.  

Her daughter is unbelievably cute and so so precious when she looks at you with those gorgeous blue eyes. The evening was fine, the sun was warm, and the wind was tolerable.  Perfect night for some pictures of an outing to the park.

Love those little legs marching up the hill.

Who needs to wait to peel an orange, am I right?