I CAN Cook...

So my friend Sarah and I threw a surprise baby shower for our very pregnant friend Andi. She started to be a little difficult by saying she didn't want to go out with us cause she was tired.... what a pregnant lady! We did get her out of the house though by enticing her with lunch at a place with all you can eat bread :) and she was definitely surprised when we got to the party!

My favorite part was when she saw the bear cake that I made (inspired by my mother). She said, " JOY! YOU made that?! Wow! Isn't that a little outta character for you?" Hahahahaaaaa! Apparently I come across as not very domestic... I swear though I DO cook. I have baked a cake or two in my day, and I actually cook dinner several times a week (it's just dependent on whether or not Brian is home cause one cooked meal lasts me all week... the leftovers that is).

I think Mr. Bear looks pretty darn good being that he is my first one an all...

The Lewis Family

Fun family pictures on a rainy day. This little guy, Elijah was a bundle of fun. Lots of energy and happiness. Always much better than a sad little boy :) He definitely didn't want to hold still, but we got him to hang in there long enough to get some really great shots. He did get tuckered out in the end and was definitely ready to go, but we all had a good time. He really loved Shugo until after the shoot when we let him in the room... Elijah got a little worried when daddy and Shugo started to play. Big dog and big man = a lot of ruckus. Needless to say Shugo was sad to see them go, but I think Elijah was happy to say good bye to the large doggie :)





This was nearing the end. Such a cute sad little face!
And then silliness resumed... not so close daddy!

A Goal

I have a plan, or rather, a goal... I know no one really reads my blog. I don't even think my own mother reads my blog, it's just dear friends that stop by. I check my stats to see how many hits I get and it is clear that my blog is no Jasmine Star, but really, I don't want to be J*. She is however, an amazing photographer and from reading her blog she seems also like an amazing person.

My goal is to post more. Mainly as a creative project. I want to post an image with every post (not necessarily something new or recent... maybe someday I will get there, but for now I will just do any image... that I have taken of course). I have been wanting to do a daily photograph kinda thing, but know that I would fail within the first 4 days. So for starters I think I will just try to post more and have an image everytime. Maybe I will get more traffic to my blog, but if not I am ok with that. I would just like this to be a place where people can come and see some recent work and get to know me better and for those who already know me better to at least keep in touch and know what is going on.

So that is my goal. To post more, and always have a picture. I realize that "more" is not really measurable, but I have been avoiding making this a real goal for a while now, so this is a start.

Disappointment

So I am a little disappointed right now. I was planning to be leaving for the states next week, but plans have changed and I am no longer going. I am too rational and logical to go just cause I feel like it, and since the reason for me going has been canceled, I cannot rationalize going. I would love to be in America again. I miss my family. I miss the country. I miss my horse. So many reasons that I should go, and yet I know it will logically be better if I stayed. I don't actually have time off work, and if my sisters come visit (which I think they will and really hope they do) I should really save my time off so I can take it when they come. Not to mention if Brian goes to a cool port I would really like to take the time to visit :)

So after all the preparations and madness of the last two weeks, I will after all not be leaving town Tuesday. That's ok cause Shugo will be happier with me home, and I will get to see Brian when he comes in for a week or two. Since every post is better with a picture... Shugo is up there enjoying a day at the beach on the small island of Jogashima.

Happy Farmer

So, I am taking piano lessons. I REALLY want to learn how to read music and read it well. At the moment I am pretty terrible. I tend to memorize things cause it is easier and that is what I did as a kid. Yes, that's right, I took lessons as a kid and despite ALL the adults that told me to learn it otherwise I would regret it as an adult.... I did not learn. This song below that I recorded is from my learning days with Suzuki. I had piano recitals every so often and I can't tell you how many times I played this song. This was the one song that I learned the best and I will never forget it. Straight from memory... Happy Farmer. I went home to visit my family once and heard my dad's cell phone ring and what tune did he choose? Happy Farmer. Who'd a thought that would even be an option! He didn't even know. He just liked the tune and my mom laughed when she first heard it. That is how much this song was played... too much. So, I force myself not to memorize the music I play now and do my best to read every bit. Today I have my weekly lesson and hopefully I pass the song I am on cause one more week of it and it will for sure be committed to memory, and I am not even trying!

MacMillan Family

How stinkin' cute is this little girl?! I think this is about my favorite age. Right when they can sit up, and even when they can start crawling. Walking babies are pretty cute, but something about this age is just a bit cuter to me. She was a simple girl. She wanted some food about midway through the session, but once she got some she was happy yet again. I really love photographing families. It is so sweet to get a little glimpse inside a family. This is their first little girl and it is so sweet and fun to watch parents with their first child. Parents always get all silly trying to get their child to smile. Once you have several kids, you tell the older ones to make the baby smile. I think it's more fun to watch parents be silly though :)







Daddy's little girl...

Beautiful family

Kevin Kesler Retirement

25 years. 25 years is a long time to be in the military. It's not an easy life to live. Picking up and moving every couple of years can be pretty rough on kids and spouses. So much time apart from your spouse. So much time away from your children. The military life is not easy. I realize it is a choice and no one is forced to be in the military, but regardless of that I give MAJOR kudos to those families who have survived 25+ years with the military, because that is what it is, surviving. Kudos to the spouses. Kudos to the children. Kudos to the spouses who are essentially single parents. KUDOS to the military people. Kevin and Priscilla, thank you for allowing me to photograph this huge step in your lives. It's an enormous change to a new chapter of your lives. Almost like starting a whole new book really. Enjoy it.

This was my first retirement ceremony. I had never even attended one before this. I loved it. The traditions, the honor, the pride. It was great. I feel like America doesn't have many traditions. We are not as old as so many other countries, and we are also the melting pot of the world. In the military though, that is where you will find all the traditions. I LOVE the shots below. You can see the emotion, the tradition, the pride and honor. The look on Priscilla's face says it all. I don't really have words for it, I just love it.

Lark Tergeson

I know I haven't been posting lately... I have been really bad. I haven't had too many portraits, but I have been shooting for fun a lot, but just haven't had time to post anything. So... this is the Tergeson Family and their lovely little girl Lark. They came out on Saturday and as I was preparing for them I noticed that it was snowing out. It wasn't sticking, but it was definitely snowing, and it was sure cold. The studio (*ahem* my living room) was nice and cozy though. As you can see below she wasn't the happiest little thing, but she was good for long enough and w got some adorable shots of her looking around enjoying the view from my table :)