Amy Coffey Photography

Good times.

2008-07-05T01:35:00.005-05:00

Man, so I get all sentimental on the Fourth. I just can't help it. I don't realize that it's creeping up on me, and I don't expect it. But, by the end of the night, I always find myself full of gratitude.

July 4th is my gramma's birthday. So, every year, the whole family gets together to celebrate her birthday, as well as partake in all the Fourth of July festivities. The thing about my family, though, is that we get together for EVERYone's birthdays. I mean, party after party after party. In September, there's not a free weekend. Seriously. I always enjoy the time we spend together, but there's just something special... something extra about the Fourth. I guess it's because it's the Fourth, eh? Genius, aren't I?!?

Anyway, it's like, we sit around for HOURS upon hours... lazy day. We swim, we eat, we have a Yahtzee good time, you know? With mosquitoes & sparklers & sunscreen & berries... embarrassing the teenagers of the family with the Thriller dance... It's just too much fun. And, then after we've passed enough time & the sun has set, the fireworks get going. We all sit gazing silently at the sky. Together. You know how silence can be so awkwardly blaring most of the time? But, then, when you reach a certain level of comfort with someone, silence can be so... so serene, so peaceful. And, it's in the silence of the Fourth that I suddenly find myself feeling so overwhelmed with gratitude. It's like my family, my big ol' crazy family, embodies a feeling of camaraderie in that moment. Nothing has to be said or done or whatever... I just know they're there. I'm sure it all makes no sense, but I get it. It's the best I can do to verbalize it.

From there, I move on to feeling so thankful that my family is afforded so, SO many freedoms because we live in America. I look around at my family & my daughters & realize that life is good.
My most favorite time of the night is when we're in the car headed home shortly after the fireworks show. I love the traffic. I call it the if-you-build-it-they-will-come traffic. (Ask Curt. I say it EVERY year. And, no, he doesn't get tired of hearing it, either.) I just love knowing that everyone else is out celebrating the same things as me. I love having the drive time to reflect on it, watching the sky all the while knowing that I'll see at least 20 more random fireworks on the way home. Good times.

These last four are nothing super fabulous. I didn't come prepared... no tripod, no nothing. I just wanted to capture the numbers...

Summer, summer. Where all the girls bare olive shoulders...

2008-06-28T23:01:00.004-05:00

So, does anyone else share an undeniable, uncontrollable love for summer? I just love it. It's my favorite season, and it always has been. It's like the minute the warmth, no strike that... the scorching heat rolls in, I'm happy. I love all that summer stands for. I love the freedom of the summer. I love that it's carefree. This will sound odd, and I don't mean it the way it might initially come off (no pun intended,) but I love the lack of clothes. One of my favorite feelings in the world is feeling the warmth of the sun on my bare shoulders. I love the freckles on my shoulders that appear after enough coaxing from the sun. I feel it's warm embrace, and it's warmth infiltrates my soul. I'm just happier in the summer. There's a spring in my step that just isn't there when I'm chilled through and through in the winter months.

I love summer.

So, today, after picking up Pa from the airport (YAY! He's home!) they (the girls & Pa) went for a little swim in the kiddie pool. Okay, I know you moms out there will know just what I mean by this: Don't you remember that newborn baby smell... fresh out of the bath?!? It's like... I can almost close my eyes now & smell it. I wanted to bottle it up forever back then. It's SUCH a precious time and a precious smell. I remember feeling so sad when those days went by. But, now... now it's been replaced by another smell that I just adore. I'm quick to bury my nose in their hair again, only this time it's the smell of water, warmth & sunscreen. Something about that just floods my heart with that happy warmth that only comes with summer. Gosh, I love it.

So, when we got home this evening, I was just feeling particularly nostalgic. The girls' hair glistened with two swims worth of sunscreen right there at the hairline, you know? Kinda nasty looking if you ask me, but so indicative of a good time, a good day. I just wanted to go out and be enveloped with the warmth, feel the sun on my shoulders. It inspires me to want to pick up my camera which I've so neglected for far too long. So, that's what we did.

One of the reasons that I love our church...

2008-06-22T12:49:00.003-05:00

So, I've just got to say that I LOVE my church. It's so, SO awesome. Curt & I searched for a good church for years. Seriously... YEARS! We've lived here 7+ years, and we've only just found the church for us about a year ago.

Not only does it fit what we were looking for in a church, but it also fits so much more than we thought we were looking for, you know? Ours is a church that serves it's community. Man, we're an active, out there church. I LOVE that. I love that we go out and serve the community. I love that we are constantly, as a church, showing the community the love of Christ. We don't go out and blindly try to recruit or push our beliefs on anyone else. We just go out and fix their roofs. Or, build wheelchair ramps. Or whatever. We show them the love of Christ. That's just so cool, if you ask me. :)

Anyway, today was one of those days. Rather than a regular church service, we came in our work clothes. We broke into groups, and we went out and worked for the community. We worked from 9 - noon. And, many of us worked longer than that.

Emma & I were assigned to run-down soccer fields. They needed mowing, holes filled, goal posts painted, bleachers painted... They needed the roofs of the small buildings (bathrooms, concessions, maybe?) re-roofed. There was a team of us, and we knocked it out. I was so excited to be able to take Emma with me. Curt had to work, so he couldn't go, unfortunately. And, Maya stayed back at the church with the other preschool age kiddos.

I told Emma on our way that she could play some, but she needed to work some, too. She surprised me, though, when she told me that she thought she'd just work the whole time. :) She was such a great servant. She had a fantastic attitude the whole time, and she absolutely DID work the whole time, too! It was so great to be able to serve side by side with my 5 year old daughter. I'm thankful for moments like this... teachable moments, you know?

Spring Break 2022!!!

2008-05-25T00:31:00.004-05:00

Ummm... yeah... I've always said that these cousins are NOT allowed to go out all together as teenagers. I'm serious. Here's why:

I'm thinking this is what Spring Break 2022 could potentially look like if we let them out of the house together. Bikinis? Overloading the car? Riding on the hood? And the trunk? And, what is Maya even doing!?! Ay yi yi.

With that out of the way... Seriously, though, today we celebrated Camden & Kyden's birthdays. The big birthday bash was over at Jimmy & Heather's backyard. And, man, what a bash it was! Okay... think of just about every mother's nightmare, and, chances are, it was there. Cupcakes, candy, ice cream, play-doh, bubbles, a pinata, musical chairs, a sprinkler, a pool, soda, a jeep... Yeah, you get the point. It was super duper fun for the kiddos, and honestly, it wasn't so bad for mom & dad either. Since everything was outside, and the kids were running around in their swimsuits all day, all the mess stayed outside. These kids had a seriously good time.

I took tons of pictures, but I'm just gonna share a few of my favorites. :-)

Miss Maya-
Emma & Cam-the-three-year-old-man waiting for pinata time-
Jo takin' a bat to it-
Checkin' out the loot-
A little more Jeep fun-
A little play-doh fun-

Ky, Ky-the-two-year-old-guy waiting to start a game of musical chairs-
Maya waiting for the music to start-
Maya hauling herself around those chairs. Man, she looks quick-
Camden showing off his guns. Ha!
Emma. Jumping.
Again-
Blowing bubbles-
And, this next one... it's my MOST favorite picture of the day. Tell me it's not the cutest!
Happy Birthday, boys! I love you!!!

Can I EVER run on schedule?

2008-05-15T19:09:00.001-05:00

Okay, so I told my Aunt Rob to be watching for this post on Monday night. It's Wednesday. Yep. I'm always, ALWAYS late. I hate that about myself, but I'm not sure I have the discipline to change it. Ha!

Anyway, so, I'm finally getting it blogged, though it's not even HALF the pictures that I WANTED to blog. I have many tales to tell about this photo shoot. No, seriously. If only you could see what I had to work with! Haha!

So, my cousin Alison graduated from college this past Saturday. Woooot! Congrats, Alison! Her sister Katie- the fourth of the fantastic four :-) - flew in from California with her two adorable kiddos. Their mom (my Aunt Rob) wanted photos of her three grandkids together, as well as her four children together. THAT'S the back story for this shoot.

I don't have any processed of the three grandkids together yet, so I'm just gonna share some individual shots. Here's sweet miss Callee: (did I spell that right? Why can't I remember this?)
Handsome Kru:Congrats again, Alison!

Sweet Jo & mama:

Luke, Katie, Alison & Jesse:

(Let me just note that the formatting of this post is ALL kinds of wonky, and I'm really irritated by it. HOWEVER, it was the ONLY way I could get it to post. Ugh.)

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

2008-05-14T22:05:00.003-05:00

Thanks, you guys, for showering me with the comment lovin'! I'm always astounded & so encouraged by all the fabulously kind comments I get from you guys. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it! :-)

I'm trying to be better about posting more often, and, in fact, I tried to blog today. BUT... stinkin' Blogger!!! I tell ya... it makes me want to pull my hair out some days. I got my post together & started uploading pictures, and then what? It tells me it's taking longer than expected to upload my pictures, blah, blah, blah. Well, as you can see, they never actually loaded today. Maybe tomorrow...

Anyway, let me say thanks again! You guys are the absolute BEST!

OH. MY. GOSH.

2008-05-10T08:58:00.002-05:00

I think I might be in trouble down the road with miss sassy-pants Maya. Good grief. Just look at her at barely four years old. What the heck am I gonna do with her when she's fourteen?

This is actually a little bit of commercial work. Anyone who knows Maya knows that she's not a cowgirl. BUT, she definitely has the real-life attitude! Ha!

I also needed some shots of some SERIOUS princess attire. I used Emma for that. It just suits her. Sweet little thing...

And, one final one of the red headed bandit modeling some froggy gear. I had about five minutes with him in the middle of the road, but I managed to snap one I love! :-) Plus, check out the awesome brick road! My parents just bought a house on this super cute little street.

The Lab

2008-04-26T14:20:00.002-05:00

Okay, so, I've been wanting to blog this for the past few days, but man... there's TONS to blog. It's kind of daunting, actually.

So, The Lab Workshop was earlier this week. Can I just say that it was one of the single most fun experiences I've had in a LONG time?!? It was the busiest, craziest, most sleep-deprived time, but I wouldn't have changed a thing! The group of photographers that attended were ALL so stinkin' fun, talented, and so diverse. I really grew quite fond of our little group, and I was sad to say goodbye on Wednesday. I felt like I was saying goodbye not knowing if I'd ever see some of them again. And, well... I don't like the thought of that.

I have SOOO much to say about this group of photographers... SO much. I have so much to say about the workshop & the models & the fun, fun times. BUT, I've also got to get the Norwood family back to the airport. So, this is gonna be a quick post. I'll be back later, though, with links & more photos. :)

Okay, here's our AWESOME group:
And, some models from the first day's shoot. Here's sweet Makenzie (Michael's daughter.)
And little miss Kora. You may remember her & her beautiful curls.

And, a special thanks to my sister Heather who secured the next three gorgeous models for us. :) Here's Kelsey:
Brooke:
And Mandy:
And, then from day 2, here's the gorgeous Ainsley:
And my current camera bag: Ha!
This is Ashley & Eric. They've been married since August, and they were kind enough to stand in as our "engagement" couple.
And, from day 3, this is Fred's oldest son Harrison:
Rockin' the Chucks:
Our beautiful bride, Hannah. Man, look at that bone structure... this girl is AMAZING!

And, yeah... so there's that. :) I feel good about finally getting something blogged, though I feel rushed. I really want to tell you all SO much about the workshop and the amazing photographers that came. But, that'll have to wait for now. Soon, though. You'll be blown away by their work. :)

Play along?

2008-03-29T22:33:00.002-05:00

Let's just pretend that today's date is March 10th, okay? You'll notice, then, that I'm on a two day in a row blogging streak. That's right.

So, with that out of the way, I'm sharing a couple of sweet Emma. This new little mischievous grin is one of the recent additions to her "grin repertoire" that I've really grown awfully fond of. I like to see it. There's a glimmer of sincerity in her eyes when she shoots me this look... a glimmer of a more mature understanding than that of her little sister. It's just sweet.
Okay... I just can't begin to tell you what my past few weeks have been like. It's been SOOO nice having my parents home. Busy, too. :-) It's a good busy, though. We've had picnics, egg hunts, work projects, dinners out, dinners in, shopping trips, birthdays, Christmas. It's just nice. Nice to have them home, you know?

Lots to blog...

2008-03-09T21:51:00.003-05:00

Oh, man, so I've been a lazy blogger. I've had a few things to blog, but I just haven't sat down to do it. It's not that I've been very busy. It's just that I've been very lazy. :-)

First, though, I want to give a shout out to a few folks. To Julie, precious friend & Chinese sister, congrats on the pregnancy! That is so exciting! I am so pleased for you and your husband. You are in our prayers as you begin your family. I miss you much! Thank you so much for the beautiful sweaters that you made for the girls. I am touched by your kindness! They're a tad big yet, but hopefully they will be able to wear them this coming fall. :-)

To Alicia, Julie & Shelly - thanks so much for your kind words about my blog (and my hair!) It was great to see you all throughout the course of the past week. I appreciate your visits to the blog, and I'm feeling slightly self conscious in my nerdy-ness now. Haha! :-) I'm sure I'll be seeing you all more often these days. Thanks for being loyal friends, supporters, encouragers, etc., to my parents over the past several years.

Chelsea - Update your blog, girl! (This coming from me? I know, I know! But, at least I've blogged THIS month! Ha!) No, really, though, I've enjoyed your pictures & watching you evolve as a photographer. You're gonna love the 85! I KNOW it! I can't wait to see what you capture in China! We should get together again sometime soon. :-)

Okay, okay. So, is there anyone out there that's been reading this blog from the get-go? From day one? If so, you'll remember what I said in my first post ever. For all the rest of you (that would be about everyone!) I talked about my reasons for starting the blog. The big reason was for my parents. They'd recently been here for the holidays but were headed back to China where they lived. I wanted this to be a way for them to stay connected, to watch the grand kids grow & change over the days, weeks, months that it would be until we saw them again. And, THAT is why I started this blog.

I can remember what it felt like when my parents first told me they were moving to China. It was late fall of '99, and I had just turned 21. Curt & I had just started dating that August. I was absolutely astounded. Seriously. It just threw me for a loop. I remember crying often. After they left, I remember feeling an emptiness in my heart, almost like grief. I mean, I guess it was grieving the loss of them in my day to day life. We've experienced a lot of losses... a magnitude of losses... while they were gone. If it weren't hard enough in and of itself, how must it have been for them clear across the world without family? We've also experienced a wealth of new life, as well. My goodness! Four grandchildren, 3 great nieces & nephews... all born while they were away. There's been a lot of change... this family has changed. The fall of '99 seems an eternity ago, both in time & life stages.

We've missed them tremendously, as they have missed us. But, that season has come to an end, and I'm just beyond pleased to be able to say that they are home! The girls & I have been counting down the days for a few weeks now. Let me tell you, trying to explain how long 16 days is to a young 4 year old... not fun. No, really.

On Friday, I think maybe there was some sort of kink in the time-space continuum causing the day to last about four zillion hours rather than the standard twenty four. Do you remember being a kid on Christmas Eve? You know how the day seemed to drag on FOR. EVER? Remember how it was impossible to get to sleep that night because of the anticipation? Remember that? Well, that was me on Friday... the day before my parents flight arrived.

Let me try to convey to you just what I mean. I had to get up at 6am to get myself & the girls ready & out the door to the airport on Saturday. When the alarm went off, I hopped outta bed. Ha! For anyone who knows me, you understand the seriousness of that statement, right? This is the girl that MUST have a minimum of eight hours a night. I would like to have ten hours. Pure bliss would be twelve. I don't hop outta bed. I usually sorta roll out shuffling my feet & rubbing my eyes all the way to the bathroom or the kitchen or wherever. And, that's only after Curt's told me to get up at least a half a dozen times. :-)

ANYway... this is getting way too long. Whatev. We all headed to the airport to welcome them home. I, of course, took pictures.

Waiting...

Waiting not so patiently...
Finally...

Okay... and this. This is gonna take a lot of 'splainin'. Did anyone notice the dog sitting on top of Craig's luggage? Yeah, that would be Spike, Craig's dog. Spike is not a real dog. Spike is a life-sized stuffed dog. Craig thinks Spike is real. Sigh...

He got this thing in China & sent out pictures to all of us of him with his new dog. We'd hear tails of his new dog. He would strategically place the dog around their apartment, whether it was to scare my mom or to find other such mischief. Spike is apparently not house trained fully and would have an occasional "accident" on the floor. At least, this is what I hear. Craig would reprimand him. There were times, too, when Craig would return home from a trip to find that Spike had chewed one of his slippers. I think Craig probably deserved that given the fact that he would place Spike in places to frighten my mom first thing in the morning. Good, interesting family fun. ("Interesting" is such an ambiguous word, isn't it?)

Apparently Craig felt the need to bring him home. So, he carried him on. To all his flights. Ay yi yi. You can imagine how that must have gone for them in all the airports. I see hours upon hours of family fun with Spike in our future.

Headed home, grand kids in tow:
We're so thankful that they have returned home to us, though we know it was a bittersweet decision for them. There's lots more I could say, but my goodness, this is an insanely LONG blog as it is. Oh, one last thing... ignore that nasty white balance issues. :-) Please.

Do you hear that?

2008-02-28T22:33:00.004-06:00

Sing it with me, now:

It's the eye of the tiger,
It's the thrill of the fight,
Rising up to the challenge of our rival,
And the last known survivor
Stalks his prey in the night,
And he's watching us all
With the eye of the tiger

Bwahahaa! Oh yeah, baby! Guess who had her first track meet of all time!?! And, guess who ROCKED it out!?! That would be Summer!

So, yeah, I got to go to it, and I brought my camera, OF COURSE! I was hoping to inflict a little embarrassment on the girl since her mom couldn't be there and all, but she played it pretty cool. I'm pretty confident that I did embarrass her on some level, but she wouldn't let on. So, yeah, I didn't feel that satisfaction. Oh well... I'll have to try harder next time.

Anyway, Summer ran the 800 meter relay, the 200 meter, and the 1600 meter relay. I only got to see the 800 meter relay because, well... track meets take FORever. BUT, Summer ran the final leg of the relay, so it was super exciting for me. She was MEGA nervous beforehand. She admitted that. She may deny it now that she's a rock star, but she really was. Here are some "before" shots: (this first one's my fave.)

Like I said, she was the last leg, so it made it more exciting for me. This girl is F.A.S.T! I'm sure you're supposed to measure the magnitude of the wins in seconds, not feet, but, ummm... I'm no good at that. I have NO concept of time. So, I'm going with how far AHEAD Summer looked compared to the rest of the girls. Ha! I'm gonna guess that she came in a good 12 feet in front of the second place girl. That's right... Summer brought it home for the big win! Woot! So, here she is approaching the finish line:
And crossing the finish line...
Way to go, Trooper! You made me proud! :-) But, hey, even if you hadn't won, I still woulda been proud of your mad runnin' skillz. Unfortunately you cannot be as cool as me. With my... "you know, like numchuck skillz, bow huntin' skillz, computer hackin' skillz..." :-) Keep at it, though.

Love ya, Summer!

Okay, okay. I guess it won't get better than this.

2008-02-25T10:40:00.002-06:00

I know I should have posted a haircut picture before this, but I just kept hoping to get a better one than this. I don't think this is a good representation of the whole cut because the back is shorter than the front, and you can't tell from this photo. Oh well. I just love it, though, because it's SOOOO stinkin' easy to manage. This has probably been my easiest haircut for styling. YAY!
So, that's out of the way.

Also, thanks for all the support about the workshop. I really appreciate it! We've had several register already, and we haven't even announced our sponsors yet. We've got some REALLY cool stuff in the works! Keep watching for news on that. We'll be launching a workshop website soon, too, with full details.

Finally, I took some photos of Maya the other day. It warmed up, so we headed out midday while Emma & Curt were at school. She's such a nut, this one!

I can't wait for it to warm up regularly. Thanks for stopping by!

Exciting News!

2008-02-19T22:16:00.007-06:00

Well, for starters, I cut my hair tonight! And, yeah, no picture yet. It's just plain mean to post that without sharing a picture, but... ummm... you KNOW you always come out of the salon lookin' a lit-tle funny. Am I right? Hopefully soon, though!

Next, check it out... I've made mention of this in passing over the past couple months, but it's official now. I'll be joining the most incredible & talented photographers Michael Norwood and Fred Egan in hosting a workshop. Let me tell you that these two guys are absolutely the BEST of the best, and I'm not sure how I ended up in their company! Ha! No, really though... we all have something different to bring to the table, and I KNOW we'll make an awesome team! It's gonna be TONS of fun. So, yeah, read on for the "official" announcement with LOTS of info.

Fred Egan: Portraits
Amy Coffey: Kids
Michael Norwood: Weddings

We're three photographers who love what we do and want to share it with others. Come hang out with us and learn how we work, how we shoot, how we interact with clients. Come be stretched technically and inspired creatively. Change the way you think and look at your photography and leave with the knowledge you need to continue growing and some killer images to add to your portfolio.

WHEN: April 20-23, 2008
We'll get together Sunday night to meet, eat and get to know each other. Monday morning everything begins with some classroom time covering marketing and the technical side of shooting. After lunch we'll head out for a live shoot and then to dinner. Tuesday we'll cover post-processing and the artistic side of shooting. After lunch we'll head out for another live shoot and then to dinner. Wednesday's schedule looks the same... classroom time, lunch and the workshop concludes with the last live shoot.

WHERE: Glen Rose, TX... a little town outside Dallas with a lot of charm and a million places to shoot. You'll stay at a charming lodge on the bank of the Brazos River.

COST: $1500

Tuition includes 3 days of in-depth training with Fred, Amy and Michael, lodging and all meals, 3 live shoots, one on one portfolio critique.

We'll cover the technical and artistic aspects of shooting (camera settings, composition, seeing the light, being inspired, working with clients during the shoot), workflow (from raw files to finished product), post-processing, marketing, getting published.

Space is limited so reserve your spot soon! Email info (at) thelabworkshop.com

(photos by Nick Onken, Curt Coffey and Trever Hoehne respectively.)

A quick one...

2008-02-16T23:38:00.002-06:00

Curt & I were able to spend Valentine's Day on the Riverwalk in San Antonio by default. He had a music convention to go to during the day and early evening hours, and I shopped during that time. That evening, though, we went to dinner on the river & just had a really lovely time. This is a quick self-timer snap on the balcony. Nothing fancy, but I have to have a shot of us together anytime we're away from home overnight.

Me & my valentine:

We had a nice Sunday...

2008-02-11T09:12:00.001-06:00

I've got a few random photos to share with you. But, first, I want to thank you guys for weighing in on the hair thing. Mom says no to the side burns. Okay. I can handle that. I'm not sure that I would have gone for that particular part of the look or not. Of course, when I first looked at the cut, I wouldn't have called them sideburns. Now that she has, though... Ha!

Also, there were a couple questions from the ballet post that I thought I'd answer. First, both Tracey and Jordan asked about the age difference between the girls. They are very close to the same size, and, in fact, they wear the same size clothes, shoes... everything. Emma's a tad taller, so she can go between 4T & 5T in pants while Maya wears a 4T all the time. It's pretty awesome that I can buy one big ol' wardrobe (and believe me I do!) for them to share. Oh... the age difference is 17 months. Emma is five and a half, and Maya turned four in January. Poor, sweet little Emma is INCREDIBLY small for her age. She always has been. She's fallen to the 10th percentile for height. And, well, Maya's just about right size-wise for her age. Thus, they're about the same size. People often think they're twins even though they look almost nothing alike.

Second, Amy Chamberlain asked if I had any tips for those that can't get outside to shoot. Well, let me be honest with you, Amy. I think the weather played a LARGE role in my recent photography slump. I know that's not what you were looking for, but it's the truth. I will say, though, that when the desire DID come over me to actually take pictures indoors during the short, short cold season (that's debatable,) I'd just stick to nice window light. Find the best natural light in your house and work it, girl! Ha! Really, though. Also, a good flash can be your friend. I didn't believe it for a long, long time, but my good photographer friend Michael Norwood taught me otherwise. Thanks Michael!

Oh, and speaking of Michael... if you haven't headed over to his blog in a while, you should definitely go check it out. The man is on a roll! He's going on something like nine blogging days in a row. Showin' me up, that's for sure. Also, he's hittin' the big time. I always knew he was big time, but it's just a matter of others noticing. Well, they have been, for sure. And, this month, he's got a photo in Vogue! Yeah! Vogue! Rock on, Michael!

Okay. So, yesterday the girls & I went to the coolest birthday party EVAH! Seriously. It was a themed party. The girls were asked to come dressed as princesses. Ummm... my girls are ALL over that. This party was so jam-packed full of activities & games that there was NO way my girls would slow down for pictures. Bummer, too, because it was at a tree farm. A. MAZ. ING.

Anyway, here's a quick one that I DID manage to snap. I think the level of fun directly correlates to how filthy she is. So, yeah... based on that theory, you could say this was the most rocked out fun party of ALL time! Ha!
And in B&W:
When we got home from the party & I started looking through some of the photos, I realized I didn't get any good ones of Emma. And, after that, I realized I haven't been taking as many of Emma lately. So, we went out at sunset to play with some backlighting. Just she & I... I LOVE those golden tones & long shadows.

She was actually jumping off the curb in the next one. There was one of her in mid-air, but this one appealed to me more, I guess. She's watching her shadow. :-)
And I last quick snap. Goofy little thing. :-)
Thanks for stopping by!

Should I do it?

2008-02-09T03:20:00.000-06:00

So... uh... it's that time of year again. Okay, okay. Maybe it doesn't happen exactly yearly. But, I go through phases, and anyone that spends much time with me in real life is probably rolling their eyes about now. See, this is the way it works. I get a hankerin' (yes, I said hankerin') to chop my hair. I chop it (usually in some close variation of this style,) and I grow it out. It gets to be about as long as it is now, occassionally a tad longer, and I get the hankerin' again to chop it. Over & over & over. When it's short, I wish for it to be long. It's just a mess, really.

But, I don't know... there's something about this cut that just keeps drawing me in. I guess I'm hoping maybe one day it will magically look better than the last time I cut it short. I don't know. This time, though, if I do it, I'm going all the way. No more wimping out at the last minute and asking the stylist to do a "longer version." You know what I mean?

I thought I might go looking for pictures of me in the past with my various short haircuts to share with you guys. But, alas, my billions of pictures are strewn about on several different external hard drives. It makes that task seem quite daunting. Maybe some other time.

Anyway, chances are that even if you say, "NO! Don't do it!!!" I'll still do it. :-)

***Oh, and by the way, I did NOT take this picture. Just need to say that.***

I'm keeping my promise.

2008-02-04T22:22:00.000-06:00

Last week I told you I'd take some pictures of the girls in their dance garb, and today I deliver. Just know, these are nothing fancy. They're just a few quick snaps as we were running late (as usual) out the door. Now, tell me they're not the cutest stinkin' things on the face of the earth.

The INSTANT I got my camera out, Maya started her ballet posing. (Or so she thinks it's ballet.) Emma was giggling at Maya's pose & trying to imitate it. She couldn't quite figure out exactly what Maya was doing, so Maya was directing her. (Notice her sweet hand.)

I just love the way Maya looks at her big sister.

The sun was too bright for Maya, so this is what I got from her. (I'm needing that eyerolling smiley right about now.)
So, yeah... that's my girls. They've got some mad hot ballet skillz!

Success!

2008-02-02T23:05:00.000-06:00

Remember my pictures from last weekend when Heather, Jimmy & the fam. were over? Remember how Kyden wanted NOTHING to do with the camera? Well, we spent the last half of the day with them again today. I got some alone time with the boys, so I grabbed my camera & tried again. Success!

Check out these cute, mischievious little guys:

The Ghetto Bento.

2008-01-30T21:22:00.001-06:00

Just call me super mom. No, seriously.

Okay, so I've never really considered myself much of an over-achieving mom. I mean, I'm a decent mom, for sure, but I'll never win the MOTY award (mother of the year award. Bwahaha!) Although, this year, I just *might* be in the running. I'd have to keep up my antics, though, in order to stay in the running.

Remember how I started the girls in dance? That was step one. Tonight, I unveil the next step in my plan to win the MOTY. That's right, fellow moms. Try to keep up. (I kid, I kid. Ha!)

I'm potentially late to the party, but I've just recently discovered Bento Box lunches. You really should check out the link if you'd like to know more about Bento because I'm just beginning to research it & understand it. Apparently, though, it's a Japanese thing. They pack small amounts of lots of different foods in a Bento Box. If the food is chosen & packed correctly & according to the Bento formula, the size of the box directly correlates to the number of calories in the meal. For instance, if you were to pack it correctly, a 350mL box would equal around 350 calories. (I think.)

It's more than just packing a lunch, though... it's an ART. SERIOUSLY! You should head over to flickr and search for Bento. You'd be absolutely AMAZED at what people do with their food.

So, anyway, like I said... it's Japanese. This is why I call what I created Ghetto Bentos. :-) Ha! My Bento is completely American-ized. In fact, I'm not even sure that you could call my lunches Bento at all. I guess they're Bento in style. Basically, I crammed a little bit of a lot of different foods into a box. That's what my lunches and the Bento lunches have in common. I liked the idea of it, though, because it creates little to no waste. That appealed to me. Working in a preschool classroom, you should SEE how many little sandwich baggies one single class goes through in ONE day. It's CRAZY! Multiply that by all the classrooms in America. WOW. So, yeah... in my first set of Bento style lunches for the girls, the only thing that will go in the trash is the little piece of Saran Wrap on the end of the banana. Many days, though, there will be no waste at all. Yay!

Oh, I do have to point out that I cut the sandwich into two little hearts. :-) Aren't they cute? I guess that's a little bit of the "artistic" part, right? Each girl got half a sandwich.

So, yeah... I've rambled on and on AND on about this. I've got pictures to share. I do wish, though, that there was a tad bit more color variation in their boxes. But, I let them pick what they wanted in there this first go around. They'll also take little bottles (reusable) of water.

Emma's first Ghetto Bento:

Maya's first Ghetto Bento:
Aren't they so fun & cute!?! :-) The containers that they're in are made to hold a single sandwich, so that should help you visualize the size. Anyway... let's see if I can keep this up!

Thanks for stopping by!

Four parts.

2008-01-28T20:39:00.000-06:00

Curt woke up yesterday with the idea to have Heather, Jimmy & their family over for dinner last night. I was afraid that with the last minute invite, they might not be able to hop in the car and make the hour & 15 minute drive, but they did! YAY!

They got to our house just after 4:30, so we rushed the kiddos outside in an attempt to get some photos before it got dark. It seems rare that I get to take pictures of their family. Plus, my gosh, if they don't have the single most cooperative two-year-old-red-headed-maniac-child in the world, I don't know who does! And, honestly, I think I'm gonna have to stop calling him the maniac child. He's not so much a maniac anymore. He's settled down quite nicely, although I think he's passed on his mania to his little brother Kyden. The thing about Kyden, though, is that he already had his own share of mania before acquiring his brothers. So, yeah... he's doubly maniacal. Haha! Sweet little guy. He's just as cute as he can be. He's just... well... busy as ALL GET OUT! Plus, he doesn't seem to like me much.

ANYway. So, like I said, we went out front to try to get some pictures. Camden was perfect. Seriously. I wouldn't think a two-year-old could be that cooperative for pictures. My girls never were, that's for sure. He'd stay put but give you the most genuine interactions. I got several sweet shots of him.

One of Camden with big brother, Ryan. I'm pretty sure Ryan was trying to reason with him about something. I'm not sure what. (This one looks fairly dull. I must have forgotten a step in post processing. Ha!)
A quick one of Summer & Ryan. I say this every time I mention them, and I'll say it again... they're growing RIGHT up. Man. (They share such an interesting eye color. It almost looks fake!)
And then there's the four of 'em. Summer, Ryan, Camden, Kyden. I just thought it would be nice to get a picture of the four kids together. Unfortunately Kyden did not. I tried to bribe the kid with Smarties. That didn't work. But, Heather says this is pretty typical of their family dynamics. Kyden cries, the rest sit patiently. Haha! So, I snapped the pictures. You've GOT to notice Camden's eyes in this first one. Ha!

So, yeah... now you understand why I don't have many pictures of Kyden, right!?! :-)

Anyway, dinner was nice. We made manicotti, which is a treat for our family. We were raised thinking manicotti is too much work. And it is, really. It's something that Mom makes only occasionally, but always for Heather's birthday dinner because that's what she always asks for. Heather said she hadn't had manicotti in years. You know... since my parents have lived in China & all for the past several years. We cooked together, and it was fun. I'm finding that as I get older, I really, really, REALLY enjoy cooking with others. They don't even have to help. If there's someone hanging out in the kitchen with me, I'll be pleased as punch to make all the "time consuming" dishes! Ha! But, Heather did help. Thanks Heather!

*********

On to part two of this post. So, Maya woke up yesterday & dressed herself. Because, you know, I don't like to get out of my pajamas if I can help it? Remember that? Anyway, she dressed herself. She chose a pale pink with white polka dots three ruffle tiered skirt. (Got that?) She likes that skirt. A lot. And, the funny thing is that she's decided that the skirt goes best with a polka dot top, too. And, why not? You know? Well, it inspired me. The outfit looked JUST like the little setup I we had going on for the "super sweet family" shoot. It mirrored it perfectly. So, what did I do? You betcha... I headed out to the garage & tacked the fabric to the wall, put the stool in front of it & called sweet Maya Papaya out to sit for me. Thankfully, she was happy to oblige (this time,) and I got some of my most favorite (recent Ha!) pictures of her.

New fave:

Isn't she just the cutest stinkin' thing? I can hardly stand it.

And, on an unrelated note... Emma & Maya started DANCE today! Wooohooo! I've never been much of a girly girl mom. I really thought I'd try to steer them towards soccer or something. But, yeah, they guilted me into the whole dance thing. Funny thing about it, they never asked to take dance. They never said a word that guilted me. It was the endless hours of "dancing" that goes on around our house. They try SO, SO hard to do ballet, especially. And, they're SO proud of themselves. Poor little things dancing around in the kitchen... that's when the guilt kicks in. So, yeah. They went. They LOVED it. My gosh, you should have seen them. Today was one of those days when my little mommy heart swelled with pride. You know, when you watch your kids so intently as they try something new? Every little move, every step or misstep... you can't take your eyes off them. And, you realize that you're smiling from ear to ear, giggling audibly at their cuteness. And, not a soul around you cares one iota. Haha! It was one of those days. I love those girls, and they love dance. Ballet and tap to be exact.

I have to say, though, that we were running so late that I didn't get to take any pictures today. Rest assured, though, that there WILL be dance pictures soon. :-) Watch for that.

*********

Did you know what you were getting into today by stopping by my blog!?! That's right... part three! I have to tell you that I'm counting down to February 1st. I'm anxious for it to get here. Do you know why? Because, on February 1st, I'll be able to say that my parents are moving back home NEXT MONTH! Yay!!!!!! They've lived in China for several years. They moved there for the first time less than six months after Curt & I got married. In March, we'll be married for eight years. We've missed them so much over the years, always selfishly wanting them to be here. With us. We're in the home stretch. It's almost unbelievable to me! Seriously... do you know how long we've been waiting for them to come home?

I remember just crying & crying & crying when they told us they were moving. There have been countless moments along the way when I so ached for their presence, when just being in the same room as them would have invoked a sense of safety, security, comfort. I know why they went, and I'm at ease with that. The other side of the world borrowed them for a time, and you should see the way they're leaving it... such a better place. I'm just so selfishly happy to have them coming home. My girls adore them from afar, and it makes my heart happy to know that soon enough they'll be a constant in their day to day lives. So, yeah... February can't get here soon enough. :-)

And, on a side note... I was able to ask my mom to babysit on March 14th! She said yes!

*********

And, unfortunately, there is a part four. I wish with my whole being that there was not a part four. To my two very, very dear friends who are independently dealing with major heartache, know that my heart aches with you guys & for you guys & your families. I'm really bad at knowing what to say in times like these. Please just know that I'm deeply saddened. You guys are in our prayers.

Family Fun Time

2008-01-27T00:11:00.001-06:00

Oh, yeah! We were seriously ambitious today. Most winter Saturdays are spent being LA-ZY! As much as I dislike the cold, I have to admit that I love being forced to stay inside. In my PJs. All day. Yep. I admit it. We like to stay in our PJs ALL day. Well, what I should say is that the girls & I like to stay in our PJs. Curt will only stay in his all day about 20% of the time that the rest of us stay in ours. Confused, yet?

Whatever. That's SO not the point of this blog. Oh, and, yeah... I live in Texas where the winter isn't really very cold. It's cold to me.

ANYway... today it was unseasonably warm. It surprised me, really, since we had a chance of ice yesterday. I asked the hubster what the temperature was outside (he'd been out jogging.) He says, "oh, it's hot. Like, 80 degrees hot." And, then remembering that he ALWAYS overshoots the temperature, he says, "Well... okay, maybe it's not that hot. It's probably about 75."

That's what he says. What I hear, however, is that it's about 65 degrees out. Even when he compensates for overshooting the temperature, you can count on subtracting at least ten degrees from whatever he tells you before you're even in the vicinity of right. This is also not the point of this post. I'm just amused with the whole thing, and I wonder to myself (and to you guys, now) when the man will figure it out & subtract the extra ten. You know? Because it was actually 63 out...

So, Spring-like temps motivate me to want to get outside & take some photos! Can you believe it!?! I'm actually WANTING to pick up my camera!?! We get the girls dressed & head out.

Curt took his camera, as well, so when we got to our location, we divided and conquered! Ha! Okay... if I'm being honest, we definitely did NOT conquer. I totally thought they'd be more cooperative if we split them up. What I forgot to factor into the equation was just how much disdain they have for taking photographs. So, after a few photos & much frustration, we decided we'd photograph each other.

I thought I'd share a couple of each of us. I made a storyboard for each of us, although I'm kinda bummed that you're not seeing each picture as big as normal. I don't much like change.

Just one more of each of the girls:

Super sweet family...

2008-01-23T23:38:00.000-06:00

So, on Sunday I had the privilege of photographing the sweetest family. It's a family full of girls (except poor, outnumbered dad,) and... well... everyone knows how I feel about girls! They're just so much fun and so stinkin' cute even when they're being rambunctious & crazy! Haha! I mean, with boys it's a whole 'nother kind of crazy. You know?

I know that mom & dad were afraid we wouldn't get what we were after, but it went WONDERFULLY! The girls are all under the age of 3 years old, so I have to admit I was a little afraid, too. But, honestly... they are just the sweetest little things. They seemed to really enjoy the camera, and they're so full of personality!

Anyway, the newest addition to the family was just under two weeks old when we took these. What is it with the newborns lately? They're bombarding me with their tiny-ness! I just love 'em! I've got to say that I've most definitely been enjoying photographing them. I'm finding that the possibilities are endless. It's something new for me, you know? It's just fun.

So, like I said, we did these on Sunday. It was a bit of a challenge, technically speaking. I mean, we had to find somewhere warm & heated for the littlest one, but I also needed the room for my seamless paper & adequate light for my shooting style. Ack! But, we found a room. It was a tad too small for my widest lens (thus the subjects being so close to the backdrop in these,) and it wasn't quite bright enough with the overcast skies. I had to use my flash. I think this is the first time I've used my flash for an entire family shoot. We must be becoming friends, the flash & I. I never thought it would happen. I've still got quite a bit to learn on that whole front, but it's nice to know I can use it if I must. But, what I'm getting at is that these aren't perfect technically. I'm hoping the family will be pleased with them, though. :-)

Love, LOVE this little series of Dad & sweet little one in Gap Crazy Stripes! :-)

Especially this one:
Look at those big, bright eyes! Isn't she the cutest little thing!?! I thought she was getting ready to smile at me.

Okay, and this one. I just love it. I think it's too stinkin' sweet. I felt like this picture did not call for full, bright color. It just overpowered the baby, I thought. So, I like this more muted version.
But, then I converted it to black & white, and, well... it's a really dull conversion for the most part, but I LOVE it on this photo! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the old-timey feel the conversion gives it. So, now I can't decide if I like the muted colors better or the black & white better? What do you think?
So, yeah... this is what I've been up to lately. :-) Thanks for stopping by!

Have I seriously never shared these?

2008-01-23T00:12:00.001-06:00

I was just going through some of the pictures from when I was in China, and I thought it would be nice to share some more. I mean, I do have a TRILLION, yes, a TRILLION photos from that trip.

Anyway, so I was looking through the ones I've already post processed, and I don't think I've shared my two most favorite of Annie with you. I think she is just incredibly stunning, and I had SO much fun taking pictures of her. So, forgive me if these are repeats (though I don't think they are!)

And, Julie, here's one you haven't seen:

I'll probably have plenty more China pictures to share in the coming days. Plus, I've got a fun family/newborn shoot to share. :-)