Abby & Nathaniel

We had a bit of a unique twist during Abby & Nathaniel's engagements.
This sweet Grandma locked her keys in her car at the park where we were shooting, so not only did Nathaniel and Abby give her a ride, they also helped to get her out of the jam she was in. Abby wedged her little fingers into the door as best she could and Nathaniel gave it his best shot with a coat hanger. Already they are a perfect pair! The determination was so intense I had to snap off a few quick shots. ;)




After some fine-tuning and a little finesse, we hooked it just right, and Grandma saved herself a $50 bill from the locksmith.

As we were leaving, Nathaniel stayed back with her, chatting and making small talk. Abby shook her head with a smile, "This is Nathaniel. He could stay and just chat for an hour."

"These are good signs Abby," I said, "He's helping people and he likes to talk. The guys you worry about are the guys who'd rather stick to themselves and don't care to help anyone."

Here's some favorites from the rest of our time together.

Janey

We shot Janey & Eric's wedding a couple of years ago, and it was great to see them both again, only this time Janey's not the bride. She has a new title.... Mom :)

Grass Fire

My mom called two nights ago from Oklahoma, packing a few boxes of her most precious valuables. Oklahoma was burning up in wildfires, and the news was talking about residents near her home being forced to evacuate with only 10 minutes of advance warning. She was calling me, worried about some old photo album she couldn't find, making sure she knew where it was, just in case she had to leave it all behind. Sigh....moms. :)

Well, the wind turned the other direction and the fires went with them, and life began to get back to normal.

Fast forward to today. My boy and I were out in the back yard cleaning things up at the studio, when my son pointed to this plume of smoke in the sky just down the road. Last year, in almost the same spot, we saw smoke and called the police. It turned out to be just a local farmer with a controlled burn, so this time I didn't think anything of it.

Then came the sirens, and more sirens, and more sirens. We heard the firetrucks rushing up the road towards the next town over, then we heard them racing down the Highway next to the studio. Just as I was starting to get that feeling in my stomach, a fire truck came screaming up and stopped right across the road from the studio.

My boy and I took off running for the front, thinking we might have to grab a hose, and came out to see policemen blocking off the highway at our corner.
It was a grassfire, and they were stopping traffic as the fire approached the highway.



It was a blessing really. The fire was only about 3 or 4/10th's of a mile from our studio, and only about 1/10th of a mile from our church. But the wind was just a slight breeze out of the north, and the fire didn't have a chance. The firemen went right at the fire, and really did a great job. It was impressive to see them responding the way they did. They even brought out the old trucks with the bells on them, and we could hear them clanging and ringing along as they scooted across the field like we were in some kind of time warp and it was 1950! It had the perfect flavor, a small town feel, watching these engines come together from nearby towns.



They were going to stop that fire before it came near any homes or people, and that's just all there was to it. They huddled up on that stretch of road, policemen and firemen alike, and it was a beautiful thing to witness their practiced, rehearsed workmanship.



Most days we have a strong wind out of the southwest coming up from the riverbed to our studio on the ridge, and if it would have been most days, that fire would have ran straight up the hill, but this wasn't most days, thank God.

And a big thank you to the firemen and policemen, for all you do that we don't even see. The news didn't even hardly cover the story, but just so you all know, we appreciate you.

My little 5-year-old said it best,
Instead of a disaster, I watched her run to the corner where the policeman was stopping traffic, saying, "Thank you! Thank you Police Man for protecting us!"
He got down at eye level with her and said he normally would have had a nice sticker for her but that they left them in the fire truck down the road. :)

Danielle

Kari and I came to Monica's & Ryan's home for Danielle's 6 month session, just to change things up a bit. It was a day-in-the-life type shoot, so me mixed in a little bit of filming with the photography. We had an awesome time. I loved it so much I'm thinking we're going to be adding this type of session to our family packages. Mom whipped up the cake mix while Dad went hunting for cake pans, and Danielle got to have front row seats to the whole show. :) It was magical, and Miss Danielle was so cozy and comfortable on her momma's back that she nodded off to Neverland.

I came home and tried like crazy to put together a slideshow and finish the images before the holiday, but now Easter is upon us and the family can't come in until Monday.....sigh. Don't they understand that I have the patience of a five-year old? I'm like a kid, Monday is a year from now, the same way a $10 bill means you could buy all the gum and candy in the world...sigh.

Here's a few shots to tease you with until then, Monica... ;)

Lindsey & Landon

I had a great time with these two. We've got their wedding coming up this summer, and yet they are just comfortable and easy going, especially with each other.
We shot Lindsey's sister's engagements and wedding also, and we really love it when we get to revisit the families and work with people we've already had the pleasure of getting to know. Kari snapped a few shots of Lindsey and Landon way back at Nicole's wedding, so I had to go dig up those shots just to see.



And here they are today. Still together. Still in love, and ready now more than ever to take that next step that says this is for keeps.

The Graduate!.......(barely)

Crunch Time

(Sometimes we just gotta break from the normal hum-drum folks...)





Well...sigh. My test is today. I've done my best to get a paw on every possible book that might help me, Critical Thinking, Phonics, Restless Journey, Something about the Alpha...but I stare and stare at the pages, and all I see is garble!

I just don't have the focus and....sigh, I'm a little worried it might not go so well....




I think I'm coming down with something....cough, sniff. I don't know if I'm well enough to go tonight.
Do the other dogs at puppy school feel like this??
Is there such a thing as puppy stress syndrome???



What if I fail?? How could I ever break that news to my mom and dad.... I mean, I come from a family of CHAMPIONS!.....sigh. I just don't think I could take that kind of rejection!