fall foto fun {babies}

this past fall i photographed three of my friends and their adorable daughters.  i took a break from blogging and never had a chance to upload these.  i'm hoping this spring to photograph these girls again!  they are all growing up so fast!   

"the soul is healed by being with children"

       

 

 

europe trip: beer, wine, arcade fire, castles, countryside, new friends and old {travels}

 “to awaken quite alone in a strange town is one of the pleasantest sensations in the world.” 
- freya stark 

so i wasn't entirely alone...i had the lovely cortnye and paul for parts of it but we did go to four different countries and many new cities and this quote definitely embodies much of what i felt on the trip.  it had been a while since i had traveled internationally.  this trip was big for me in terms of adding to my list of the 30 international cities i want to reach by april 23rd. this trip is way past due for blogging!  

brussels was quaint and beautifully quiet.  cortnye and i were able to meet up with a friend of mine (mark that i met in fiji).  he is completely insane at times..but in a good way.  the first day i think we only tried out different belgian beers, waffles and fries. i am not complaining!!!  we met some great people and much appreciated the history and architecture in this old city.  you can see most of what you need to see in brussels in two days and we did just that.

   

and then we were off to the netherlands.  after a quick train ride we arrived in the city of bicycles to meet up with paul.  there are more bicycles than there are people in amsterdam (fact).  the juxtaposition of amsterdam compared to brussels was almost too much to handle.  all i can say is what you see there and what happens there most certainly stays there.  one day we took a boat tour of the city that was both educational and allowed us to start to grasp the breadth of it all.  this was the first place that we saw arcade fire play on this tour.  they definitely rocked it but the dutch weren't having it for some reason.

we also took a tour of the holland countryside....it was beautiful and well worth it!  we went to a cheese farm and a wooden shoe farm (yes they call it a farm...)

from there we went to scotland.  i wasn't prepared for the awe inspiring beauty of scotland and edinburgh (ed-in-burr-a).  having been to ireland i thought it would be similar but it was not.  the first morning we woke up in edinburgh was like a dream.  i just wanted to wander for hours with my camera.  the castle in the middle of city perched up on top of this hill is majestic and out of a fairy tale.  this was the second place we saw arcade fire.  they played inside the castle grounds!!!  the show was phenomenal..again we met some great people.  we walked ALL over that city up and down the hills...the hills are INSANE and at one point i thought my legs would fall off.  we toured the queen's palace and hiked up arthur's seat.   the views of the entire city from up there almost don't compare to anything else i have seen.  after a few days in the city we ventured out into the countryside and went to see nessie.  i didn't get a great picture of her but it was worth the trip to try to find her and hear the stories of the lochness monster.  overall we were sad to leave scotland.

but we were off to paris....the first afternoon we went to the market and had wine and cheese in the park across from the eiffle tour.  then we met back up with mark and also the other mark.  i met mark and mark in '09 while they were traveling around the world for 10 months.  there is nothing better when you're traveling then meeting up with old travel buddies.  paris is another city that you can just spend days wandering aimlessly around and never know what you are going to come across.

  

overall it was a phenomenal trip.  i'm lucky to have spent it with some wonderful people.  
until next time....

shelly & donovan {engagement}

shelly & donovan got engaged under the 4th of july fireworks and have been loving every minute of their engagement since.  the one thing that is obvious when you see them together is that they are very much in love and they have an amazingly fun time together. 
 donovan makes shelly laugh a lot...and i think that's a real important part of a relationship!  and let's not forget the happy, tail wagging, puppy, gruber, who seemed to enjoy getting his picture taken.  this photo shoot let me explore some lighting techniques and i love the results!


wishing you both all the best and many, many years of happiness!   

'laughter is the language of the soul" - neruda  

 

  

more shelly & donovan engagements

madeline anne {babies}

i've known jen my entire life...literally since the day i was born.  how many people can say that?  we have been through every major moment in each other's lives.  when she told me she was pregnant i don't know if i've could have been happier for anyone.  it was a long road to meet madeline anne but it was worth the wait.  she was born on may 31st, weighing in at 6 lbs, 11 oz and put a huge smile on everyone's face.    

congratulations to my best friend , i can't believe you're a mom!   congrats to her saint of a husband and good luck with the even longer road ahead =) love you both!  

'making the decision to have a child is momentous.  it is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.'  ~elizabeth stone

finley and cole {babies, families}

many of my friends are having babies this spring/summer and i'm taking the opportunity to work on my newborn photography.  as you can imagine it's completely different from photographing an adult.  i can't get over how cute their little hands and feet are!  

one of my friends at work had a little girl, they named finley.  don't you just love that name and this little pink angel?  i'm sure finely and big brother are keeping mom and dad busy but you'd never know it.  they were glowing and it really puts a smile on your face to see.  congrats to nick and annie on their beautiful addition to their family!  

'a new baby is like the beginning of all things, hope, a dream and possibilities' - unknown

graham abigail {babies}

 precious graham had her baptism a few weeks ago.  she was so funny, laughing and clapping during the service.  she loves to smile and she loves to chew on her hand when having her picture taken =)  it was wonderful to be a part of her special day!  


'every good and perfect gift is from above' - james 1:17

more graham baptism photos