Happy Mother’s Day!

This beautiful friend has been wanting updated family pictures for years.  And years.  And years.

Last year, her sweet hubby entered my Mother’s Day photo shoot giveaway and enlisted the help of his family and friends (give a shout out if you are one of them!).  His efforts paid off and he won the photo shoot for his lady.  Isn’t that adorable?!  Trust me, it is way cooler than winning a stuffed unicorn at the fair.

For the last seven years they have been waking up in the shadow of the beautiful Superstition mountain range and decided that since they are moving far away (boohoo!), they wanted it as their backdrop.  We spent the evening out in the desert awaiting just the right light to capture the red rock at its finest.  It was so beautiful.  This IS Arizona, and don’t you dare forget it!


Here are 5 more reasons why I am so glad Geoff won this photo shoot for his wife.  My family and I are going to miss these faces SOOOO much and now I have tons of pictures to make up for their absence.  I also have some great blackmail pictures incase they forget to come visit or put incorrect postage on the box of my favorite cookies they will send at Christmas.















Happy Mother’s Day Rhonda!  You are certainly one of the busiest, most organized, kitchen accomplished, selfless and kind Mothers I know.  Gonna miss you!

Little Man

 

Last year he looked like a little boy with his baby face.  This year he turned from a little boy to a little man. 

Oh my!  He nearly killed me with his blue eyes and funny personality! 

 

 

His mother is still as beautiful as ever,

 

 

and they still have a sweet bond that made my heart wanna follow them everywhere!

 

 

 

 

What a lucky mother.

 

What a lucky son.

 

Thanks for a wonderful evening in a magical spot!

Pretty Smart. . .[mesa, gilbert, chandler, scottsdale, higley senior photographer]

At first glance she looks like a pretty girl with a violin, but what you don’t know is that she is a pretty SMART girl with a violin.

 

 

Yep. 

She is going to BYU Provo next year on a violin scholarship and is studying Violin Performance and Music Education. 

See! 

Smart AND Pretty!

 

And funny.

 

With class and personality.

 

 

 

A real keeper!

 

I wish you my best Kristen.  Go knock those cougars socks off!

Wit or Wit out?

 

Howie is a Philly’s fan and he has one convert.

The girls, they are true blue Yankee fans. 

So basically it is a great recipe for ‘boys against the girls’. 

 

Speaking of recipes, I hear Howie has a great recipe for Philly Cheese Steak.

I am not sure if I believe it. (hee hee wink wink)

I think they need to prove it by bringing me one next time they buy the special rolls (not buns), thinly sliced meat and what ever his secret ingredients are. 

 

Despite their friendly sports rivalry, they all have two  things in common—million dollar smiles and great camaraderie.  

They have incredibly busy lives but they work as a team and support each other thru it all. 

They put my “busy” life to shame.  Keep up the great work guys!

 

 

 

 

If you don’t know what wit or witout means, this link explains it.

 

I like mine wit, no whiz.

M’Kayla all grown up. {Mesa, Higley, Gilbert, Chandler, Scottsdale Senior Photographer}

 

This gorgeous grown up blue eyed blonde used to be a tow headed little neighborhood tot. 

We moved away from that neighborhood 10 years ago and just look what happened!

I am still in shock. 

Someone better check my pulse,  cover me with a blanket and elevate my feet!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As you can see, she is happy, spunky and can’t NOT smile (notice the double negative, meaning she can ONLY smile!). 

We tried to do that kind of serious, contemplative look, but the smile was not far away.

What a great characteristic!  Smiling through life is not something just anybody can do.

Smile on M’Kayla!

Rocked. {Mesa, Higley, Chandler, Gilbert Senior Photographer}

It was just a few short months ago that Marisa was behind my lens.  She was being featured for her skill as a swimmer in a local magazine, Go Gilbert .

She really rocked the pool on that shoot and so I knew this would be a real treat to do her senior photos.

 

I was right!

She basically rocked everything. 

She rocked the blooming Palo Verde trees,

the dried weeds,

the dusty desert floor,

the concrete columns,

the Tuscan fountain,

and the green grass! 

She pretty much rocks life and I am pretty sure she is going to rock college. 

Go get ‘um Marisa!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blue Moon

In the last 2 years since I started my photography business I have taken hundreds of thousands of pictures.   From those,  I have file of starred favorites that has over 1,000 images that I just adore.  Every once in a while I enter a photo contest or join an assignment and share some of those favorite images.  And every once in a blue moon, someone I admire and respect chooses one of those to be recognized.   The blue moon has risen.

 

http://thepioneerwoman.com/photography/2011/04/your-brother-photos-group-1/. 

 

Mine is the third one.

 

I know it really isn’t that big of a deal, but it makes me very happy that a unique moment of some cousins I love and was blessed enough to capture, gets to be shared with just a few more people.

 

Now, if only I could lure those boys back to play some more sweet island music for me. . .