st.louis/springfield????

why the question marks you ask? because i have a serious problem, a major issue with getting springfield, mo & springfield, ill mixed up- i've done it twice thanks to this mornings mix-up. i have three great friends that live in springfield ILLINIOS & so when i accepted an invitation to be in ms. sara's (a friend from highschool's) wedding in st.louis i knew it would include a nice short visit with these friends.

so i stay the night with the soon to be newlyweds -i introduced them to weeds- my favorite show, we drank a few beers, & stayed up late, laughing & catching up. i can't wait for this weekend... it's going to be great!

then i took off this morning for springfield- i'd driven about an hour before justin- called to see if i was almost there- he finds out i'm on 44w when i should be on 55n. doh- so my hour-n-15 min drive turned into a little over 3 :) it's a very unique landscape (lots of cornfields) so i didn't mind too much. plus i miss my east coast road trips- cities are so much closer over here so i jumped in my car more often to visit friends, unlike now which requires a plane ticket cross country.

i got to have dinner with shannon & jonathan kirshner, two amazing newspaper/wedding photojournalist: lovelight photography -whom i have always looked up to... my entire photo career. so sweet & talented! in the morning we'll meet up with justin & have some yummy breakfast before i head back to st.louis to do the purty bridesmaid thang! i love meeting up with kids from wku- we have such a special bond that the photo program at western creates- if you are an aspiring photographer you should check out their program or at least their workshops- mountainworkshops.org

i wanted to post a picture i took from the plane ride here- it was so gray & overcast but beautiful. we don't get many gray days & sometimes you miss them.



i'll be posting pictures from hannah & tom's awesome wedding monday probably- sorry it's taking me so long! & then i'll post some pics of the beautiful sara & her soon to be husband john shortly after that.

i've been tagg'd

my dear, talented friend, jennifer bowen, of jennifer bowen photography tagged me for the 'eight levels of narcissism' where i'm supposed to share 8 things you may not know about me & then tag 8 other photographers. so here goes: click the above link to read a post about me on her blog- she's so awesome.

1. i love plants. i'm completely addicted to buying plants & pots -although i love plants i'm not so hot @ keeping picky plants alive -particularly those that need water. but the cacti can survive anything!! (i go out of town so often, thats really to blame) here's my lil version of a garden & my two pups skye & kylie.



2. i have 6 piercings. 5 in my ears & one on my nose, its tiny. no tattoo's, yet- a friend is designing a hummingbird tattoo for the inside of my left wrist.

3. i dream of having a huge loft with tons of windows or a barn with a great big open door for a studio one day. i'll have a station for my ceramics, jewelry making complete with silversmithing equipment, a bookbinding/album making desk & oil painting. but for now i work in this cramped small space, but it's still all mine :) -the desk isn't usually this cluttered but i'm preparing my gear for a wedding this weekend in ohio.



4. i am still very close with almost all of my exes. i think of them as huge parts of my life & just because the role they play in my life has changed... that doesn't mean i love them any less, just differently.

5. i was caught attempting to breastfeed my brother when i was 5. my mom walked into the living room & found us (he was a few months old & probably very confused) -the reason i bring this up is that i've always, always wanted to be a mother. it will be my greatest accomplishment in life. you can stop laughing now- & john please don't hate me forever for this :)

6. i'd love to own horses one day (the scene from stepmom- i'd love to have that with my kids)

7. a balanced life & day for me would be... waking up & kayaking with kylie (my black lab) on the river that runs past our house. having fresh strawberries, yogurt & granola for breakfast, going to my studio for a couple of hours to throw some pots, watching my kids play in our yard, everyone helping out to cook dinner(since i'm not so good at that) & then playing scrabble & listening to prairie home companion until it's their bed-time, then bryan and i sharing a glass of white wine on the patio- watching the lightening & listening to rain.

8. every couple of years i'd like to go abroad & document a different culture. 3 years ago i got to visit my friend, dave, in honduras & stay a month in the orphanage he was working at (he lived there for a year.) it was the hardest month of my life, but also the greatest experience. i walked away feeling so greatful for what i have & that's something that shouldn't be so easily forgotten. my next trip is hopefully going to be in february to cuba. i've always wanted to go there-

so. my victims are going to be: (most are photographers by profession, but the ones that aren't have taken some beautiful photographs, so they should be)

theresa blackinton
justin fowler
brett marshall
luann rainford
hannah ruefner, soon to be mrs. struder
j.lee
will deshazer
shannon rice

the sunset

saturday night after leaving the kidsu party was spectacular!



sometimes there are perks to living in arizona :) just last night we could sit outside & enjoy our fabulous weather we get most of the year... it's on it's way!!! (now would be the to visit, hint hint!)

KidsU

is this awesome "campus" for kids. the owners kim & jonathan got married this past january & i was the lucky one to photograph it! we got along so well & i clicked with their kids sydney, cole & mckenzie so they called me up & told me all about this super great project & asked if i'd be interested in hanging some of my photographs on the walls. i love kids -in fact my professors were always yelling at me for "not broadening my horizons." it seems i always turned in stories with kids as the focus! oops. i can't help it, i love hanging out with kids.

so. kidsu had their grand opening this past saturday & it was so much fun! we climbed around on the jungle gym until we had bruises on our knees & bounced on the trampoline till we all needed a nap. if you have kids between the ages of 9 months & 11 years old you should definitely check out the classes they offer.

here are a few pics from the party.

here's my pictures :) and a cute family slowly getting the courage to run around like a wild child!




isn't she precious...





the climbing wall was awesome.


funny face time!


triplets!


and these are the kids that inspired them to open such a cool facility for kids.

no sleepy...

i woke up around 4:30 this morning & could not fall back asleep for the life of me. one of those nights where a thousand things are running through my head, and there's no amount of deep breathing or counting sheep to relax me. so around 5:30 i finally get up & go to my studio to do something, anything other than try to sleep.

i am not normally a morning a person- i'm happiest if left alone to sleepin till about 9 oclock. but, that means i have only seen a handful of sunrises -ever. this mornings sunrise had some beautiful clouds. i shot this out the window of my studio. i may be tired tonight, but it was totally worth it.



i'm preparing for a busy fall of family portraits- so email me today to set up a time for your family!



hope everyone has a great weekend!

moments to remember

i just finished reading this amazing article by matt mendelsohn, photojournalist turned wedding photographer. i cried a soft sob, it was such a powerful story. he speaks of why he's a wedding photographer & it's as if he read my mind. i feel so lucky to have found a career that let's me tell a story. that let's me document someone's life or at least a very important slice of their life. we are all put here on this earth to find love, give love & receive love & that's what i've always loved to photograph. the simple act of love. sometimes it takes place around a kitchen table, or on a swingset. sometimes it takes place in your mother's bedroom- while you give her pain pills & run your fingers through her hair to help distract her from the pain. or meeting your dad for a beer & dinner, knowing his goodbye hug will turn you back into a little girl, if only for a second. or running into a friend you've known & loved since 2nd grade & seeing her with her boyfriend, so in love, so happy. or maybe it's watching an amazing sunset together. love. love. all we need is love.

in moments like these i feel i have the patience to take on anything, because i'm reminded that life isn't easy & we should all be as nice as we can to one another. we are all precious babies put here on this earth to live & celebrate together.

please click here & take a few minutes to read matt's story.

Bittersweet weekend.

i was supposed to be in l.a. over labor day weekend with a girlfriend of mine from highschool, sara. she had her bachelorette party there & after hearing the full report they had a fabulous time! her wedding is in three weeks (eek, so close!)and my bridesmaids dress hasn't arrived yet!!!

but, my mom had a herniated disc & was in a lot of pain & i couldn't handle her sad voice over the phone so i flew home to be with her. she had a very successful surgery on wednesday & i flew home this morning. she's feeling much better now & in three weeks she'll be as good as new.

a lot of things happened over the weekend. my brother is a senior in college at thomas more & he is a wide receiver on their football team. i know i'm a proud big sister but he kicks some major booty. i was able to go to his first game of the season and shoot from the sidelines. i got some awesome pictures (i took over 300 so my mom would feel like she was there) but i wont make you look through all of those :)

saturday was also my mom's birthday. some of her sister's came over & we had a nice relaxing dinner for her. not the greatest birthday ever- but we celebrated with a pinata & spice cake, yum yum.

my sister's boyfriend, jeff, was in town. he lives in new york city & it was his lucky weekend to meet my mom. my family is a lot of fun, but perhaps overwhelming for newcomers... so it maybe wasn't horrible my mom was subdued... he'll get to see the real us sooner or later ;)

here are a few pictures from the week and a half i spent at home...

yeah no. 3!

the ohio river... hanover college (where the game was) is the only place you can see 3 bends in the river. it was a beautiful day.



great uncle bill, aunt michele, great aunt lois & my papa, steve. it was great to see you bill & lois!!



me, my brother john, my sister stephani, her boyfriend jeff & her best friend stephanie.


my aunt karen, aunt teresa also known as teecee, and my mom on her birthday. my mom is one of eleven & they are all very close. i'm one of 31 cousins... we have very large parties.



my grandparents passed away two summers ago & left us a beautiful love story. my grandmother died 6 weeks after my grandfather of a broken heart. we've adopted the hummingbird as our family mascot -so to speak, because a hummingbird started to come to my grandmother's window the last week she was alive. when she slipped into a comma... 2 hummingbirds started to appear at the same time "to check in on us" and now, we are obsessed with them. this hummingbird never left my mom's porch the entire time i was there.


these next few weeks are going to be crazy but great!

i'm shooting hannah & tom's wedding (her bachelorette party was hiking havasu falls, an earlier post) in ohio. the next weekend i'm in a wedding in st. louis & the weekend after that i'm in dallas, texas for another wedding. so stay posted because i'll be posting a ton of stuff!