Mr and Mrs.

Just about a year ago my cousin and I were just chatting about my love of photography when she asked if I would ever consider shooting a wedding.  I said wasn't looking to do that because of the fear that I would mess it up and the bride/groom would have no pictures of their big day!  Well several months later the conversation came up again when she asked if I would be the photographer for her upcoming wedding.   I was nervous, honored, excited and scared all the same time!  I immediately knew I couldn't do it alone so I contacted my friend who had been taking photography classes with me and has such a passion for photography that I knew together we could do it.  Lisa agreed to shoot the wedding with me and we officially told the bride that we would be her photographers!

Well last month the big day was upon us, the sun was shining, the weather was perfect and the day went perfectly!  The bride and groom were so incredibly easy to work with and their wedding party was just as cooperative.  Things went as smooth as I could have ever dreamed and we even finished pictures early which allowed everyone some down time before the ceremony.  I have spent the last 6 weeks editing pictures and can't wait to share the pictures with the bride and groom this weekend (and give them a special gift that Lisa and I made as Thank You for trusting us with their big day)!  

Here are just a few of my favorite pictures from my first wedding adventure as a photographer!

 

 Congratulations Stephanie and Jared! 

Boys in my House

"Boys in my House"

There are boys in my house – and Spiderman shoes
And 200 papers in various blues.
There's Bob (he's a builder) and Thomas the Train,
There's a fireman coat to wear in the rain.
They have cars on their shirts and frogs on their hats
There's a glove and a ball and a red plastic bat.
There's dirt on a face and a smudge on a nose;
Grass stains on knees and sand between toes.
There's bathtime at night with bodies to scrub,
And when we're all done there is dirt in the tub!
There's bandaids and bruises and curious bumps,
There's smiles and laughter and sometimes there's grumps.
There's odors most icky; there's boogers so green
There's more yucky things than I'll ever get clean.
There's piles of laundry; there's stories at night;
There's bedtime and bathtime and dinnertime fights.
There's cars and there's trains and there's books about trucks
There's Scoop, Lofty, Dizzy, and Travis, and Muck.
Sometimes there are bugs, and sometimes there are frogs;
Sometimes they are lions, or dinos, or dogs.
There are cute little vests and darling neckties
Dragged right through the mud – oh what a surprise!
There's running and climbing and jumping and falling
And laughing and crying and hugging and brawling
And rolling and losing and finding and creeping
And whining and stealing and sometimes there's sleeping.
There's tantrums and time outs and extra loud noise –
There's love in my house shaped like two little boys.

Author: Erin Jo Kilmer

Happy 8th Birthday Colton!

Today my first born turned eight years old.  I still remember the day he was born and now here we are eight years later celebrating his birthday and I have no idea how it happened so fast.  Colton has turned in quite an amazing young man and I couldn't be more proud of who he has become.   Colton is a passionate, loving, caring and thoughtful boy.  He is also a determined, strong, competitive, stubborn and adventurous boy.  He always thinks of others before himself and will be the first to help anyone in need.  He has really developed some strong friendships over the last year and it is fun to watch him grow socially with his classmates and teammates.  He still has a love of sports and is always willing to trying anything new.  He is determined to be the best and hates to lose (he gets that from him mama)!  He is helpful around the house, taking on new chores all the time.  I couldn't have asked for better son and I think Mason would say that he couldn't have asked for a more amazing big brother.  I love you to the moon and back Colton and look forward to watching you continue to grow and find our your own path in life.  I will always walk beside you and will do everything I can to be sure all your hopes and dreams come true.  Happy Birthday to one of the best little boys ever, Love You Bubby! 

Sand and Smores

The boys and I spent the weekend at the lake with my parents!  The weather wasn't perfect however that didn't stop us from having a great time.  They had new sand delivered to the beach which the boys thought was the coolest thing ever!  They played on the sand pile for hours.  We made Smores more than a few times, you just can't go camping without have Smores (for breakfast and after dinner snacks)!  And we even enjoyed a watching the full moon rise on Friday the 13th.  It was a very relaxing weekend... hoping for many more just like it as our summer continues!

 

10 Years

Ten years ago today we celebrated the start of our lives together as husband and wife!  10 years! It doesn't feel like 10 years have gone by already but here we are celebrating our 10 Year Wedding Anniversary.   

Ten years ago I walked down the aisle to stand next to my best friend and say "I do".  That walk started the journey of a lifetime.  That walk lead us to our first home together, our first pets, several job changes and eventually lead us to the birth of our two beautiful boys.  That walk has brought us to good times and bad, to hard times and easy ones, to trying moments and celebrations, that walk has brought us 10 years down the road of life.  We don't know where the walk will bring us in the future but we are looking forward to the adventure.  

Last night before bed I was telling Colton that we would be celebrating our 10 year Wedding Anniversary today, I asked if he could believe that we have been married 10 years (and then joked that I must be very old).  He thought that was pretty cool and I decided to dig out my wedding scrapbook and look through it with him. How awesome to share the moments and memories of one of the best days of my life with my first born.  

Ten years ago I didn't know where life would lead us but knew what I was dreaming of for our future.  So far all my dreams have come true!  We have a home of our own, we have two beautiful healthy children, we both have jobs which we enjoy and we have a little extra money in the bank so we can enjoy the fun things in life.  I don't know where the next ten years will take us but my hopes and dreams include my family staying healthy, moving to our forever home (with a gourmet kitchen for my husband), lots of traveling, continued career growth, winning the lottery and most importantly laughs and good times with the ones we love.  Also just a note that in 10 years when we celebrate twenty years of marriage we will also be celebrating Colton's high school graduation!  There are no guarantees in life but I can promise that I will do my best to live each day as the best day of my life and enjoy every moment because I am sure the next 10 years will go by just as fast as the past 10 years! 

Happy Anniversary to my husband, my best friend and the best daddy in the world!

My Slugger

Well Baseball season is in full swing!  Colton is playing Pitch ball this year and it is so much fun to watch the boys, it is so different than Tee Ball.  Colton seems have just figured out baseball overnight too.  He is one of the stronger hitters on the team, he has only stuck out once so far this year and we are about 6 games into the season already.  He is getting quite good at playing in the field as well.  Last year he would still shy away from the ball when someone threw it to him but this year he is doing everything he can to make the plays.  He played second base tonight and made two outs at his base.  The next inning he played first base and he got another runner out at his base.  The boys play only 6 innings at this age which is probably enough as that already take two hours and anymore than that can be tough for 7 and 8 year olds!   It has been so much fun to see him grow and excel with this sport, I think we might have found his calling as far as sports are concerned but only time will tell.  He told me sad when going to bed tonight, I asked why and he said because baseball was over.  He said he loves baseball this year which was so good to hear.  Sometimes I think as parents we push our kids to play sports because we want them to so for him to say that he loves it made me feel much better about this choice!  

 

 Mason has also been a trooper this baseball season.  We always bring a stash of snacks, a supply of toys and books and sometimes we are lucky enough to have a park right next to the field where he can play while Mommy watches the game and can still see him!  He is such an easy three year old considering we spend two nights a week at the baseball fields (for up to 2.5 hours some nights).  Gotta love this kid.  He is Colton's biggest fan!

Beautiful Mommy-to-be

I had the honor to take some maternity photos for one of my oldest friends!  I met Margie when I was 12 years old and moved from small town MN to big city.  She lived just two doors down from me and we quickly became great friends. We spent everyday of the summer just hanging out, talking about boys and course getting into trouble (yah right, we were angels)!  After high school we kinda lost touch a little as we went our separate ways but have reconnected lately (thanks to Facebook)!  Anyways, I was honored to help her capture her first pregnancy and here are some of my favorites! I look forward to her little one making his grand entrance sometime in the next couple weeks, I need some baby snuggles and already have some fun ideas in mind for his newborn photo shoot.