Sunday Clothes (Durham Family Photographer)

umm.. he is FOUR people. Not fourTEEN.
Hope your Sunday was great!

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Our Little Familia

Aaron and I (okay.. maybe not Aaron) decided it was time to take some updated family pictures. I decided I would shoot a mini session of my friend's family in exchange for setting up my own shots and having her click the shutter. (Holy cow. I underestimated how hard this is!)

Here are a couple of my favorites from their session.



Our first round of pictures was not good. Luke was tired and grumpy, and it turns out Park had to pee the whole time. No WONDER he was so wiggly. After 10 minutes of whining, yanking and threats we bagged it. My sessions are usually pretty fun and I was so bummed that ours was an ornery nightmare.

We ended up with 2 decent shots.

#1.

#2
Round 2 (two days later) was a million times better. We took 10 minutes to get ready and had happy kids, happy hubby and a relaxed momma. I never thought my first re-takes would have to be my own!

#3

#4
#5
Thanks for taking these, Leanna! You rocked the focus and were shooting almost wide open. I knew you were a closet photog!

#6
(The only downside was that my hair was a little bit orphan Annieish on day two. It was humid, okay? Ah, well!)

Vote for your favorite and I'll give you a cookie!

Have a good day!

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Oh, Fer Cute

Did anyone else's grandma say "for cute" on a regular basis? Man, I miss my grandma!

Today I was able to shoot a couple of mini sessions with these cute kids.

I want this print in a giant canvas.

Do you guys remember this little guy? It's amazing how much a baby can change in 7 months!

And here is proof that I am always able to work my magic with kids.
Sorry Allison! It was too cute not to post! :)

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We are nerds...

Last Friday my mom and sisters and I got together for a super fast mother's day mini session. Though it was really fun, I learned some disturbing things about myself.

Here is our before pic. I'm only looking like big bird a LITTLE bit here.

Seriously.. Tara (on the left) and I are the same height.. why do I look so tall?

Now tell me if you pick up on a recurring theme in the next pictures. And just in case you don't know who I am.. I am the crazy ape looking one on the right.

I love that Em and Steph look like they are about to drop a brick. :)

Unfortunatly, my memory card went crazy and a lot of the files corrupted. But I promise you that I looked like an angry ape in every single one of them. Why can't I jump with a normal expression on my face?

And who says white girls can't jump!?

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I really don't have time to post this...

but as I browsed through my pics this morning I HAD to post this. It sent me into a texture/color euphoria that I don't think I'll ever recover from.

And then I saw this...
and this...
Guess where we found this grass?
(this is where you say, " a beautiful little meadow.... a grassy field??")

WRONG! Would you believe I found this in a parking lot?
(This is when you say, "Shut. UP!")

I know, crazy. And she's crazy beautiful, huh!

Many more to come!
(This is when you say, "GET BACK TO WORK, MELISSA!")

Bye!

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Strep Through Makes me Loopy

My eyebrows and I had the pleasure of meeting Carey and her family last weekend. We have been blogging friends for couple of years (is that right, Carey?) and I could not WAIT to meet her. And after spending two days in a strep induced coma, I was extra jazzed to shower my crusty self and make an appearance to the outside world. (unfortunately brow plucking was last on the list of to-dos).

I didn't think it was possible, but Carey was even cuter and sweeter than I pictured.


Now let's see... what happened after these pics? Oh yes. This is when I realize my keys are in my camera bag which is locked in my trunk. Faaaaantastic. We improvised, and I drove with Carey's entourage while frantically coming up with a plan for key retrieval in my head. (My husband was gone, and my kids were at my mom's.. I knew the plan would be tricky). Her family could not have been more kicked back about the whole ordeal.

I laughed so hard when I looked at their jumping pictures. I think they totally show off their fun personality. Look at Cal's poses (on the right). Disco? LOL!

The C fam drove me to my apartment and I got out of the car feeling like a 12 yr. old being dropped off from a babysitting job. How's THAT for professionalism?

How did I get back to my car? I'll tell ya.

Now in the 3.5 years I have lived here, I have never cleaned my sliding glass doors. That is, until last Saturday when I got the random urge to clean those bad boys. It's a good thing God sent that little prompting because that unlocked door was the only way I could get back into my apartment!

My friend Leanna (bless her heart!) drove me back to my car and I was able to go collect my kids at my mom's.

Carey and Co, you are the BEST! Thanks for being so kicked back!

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I *love* seniors.

Hannah and I were able to hang out the other day and take some senior pictures. She and her mom were so fun!! And I was jealous of her ability to rock the skinny jeans.

See the converse hanging from the rear view mirror? Thanks for the idea Melissa!


Gotta love the motherly love.Thanks, C Fam!

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Say WHAT? Engagements?

I know. I KNOW! I started this gig swearing I would never do weddings. "High stress, big time commitment, diva brides, blah blah blah."

But then Scott called me.

Scott was one of my best friends in high school. We used to have looong phone conversations while he "worked" at a wrangler shop in a grocery store. Who buys their jeans at a grocery store? Apparently no one. Hence the long phone calls. :)

Scott introduced me to Christina a couple of weeks ago and I found myself kind of, sort of considering shooting their wedding. I couldn't help it! She was so sweet and nice and non-diva. And she's marrying Scott!

So here we are. Their engagement session. It was a dream. They were candid and so naturally in love.






Thanks for a fun night guys! I can't wait for the big day!

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Aaron woke up late this morning.

Which means one of two things. I pack up the kids and drive him to work, or commit myself to a car-less day. I took one look at the TWO INCHES of snow outside and told him he could take the car. Who wants to run errands in the snow?

We have a problem though. I left my phone in the car! My phone (which was used as a last resort form of entertainment for a crying baby on the way home from Moab) is probably lodged underneath the passenger front seat after being thrown by the tired baby.

A phone-less day leads to a myriad of problems. I thought about calling Aaron to tell him to bring the phone home during lunch. (duh). I can't call Park's friends to come over. I can't return client calls, or call my sisters to rant about politics (you're missing out on an earful!)

All I am left to do is work on an unusually prompt blog post about our weekend in Moab. Oh, and I have a little more time to play with my new SHORT hair. (which look in a little butch. Let's be honest).

Sooo... weekend recap. Aaron's half marathon! Let me tell the tale with pictures. (and I am not any of them.. as per usual.)

Here are the spectators/cheerers. (minus A's parents)

We passed the time with a little hula hoop action (I've still got it) and snow cone slurpage.Aaron ran 13 miles in under two hours (with no nipple bleeding!) and I got a sweet tan. It was a win/win/win.
Parker LOVED playing with his cousins. Especially little Chase. Here they are "fishing."

His brown eyes kill me!
How cool are these instruments? This park is the best.
This hug lasted for .04 of a second. It's a good thing I am speedy!

umm.. I think Luke needs a haircut.

We had a great time and were bummed to come home to snow. Are you kidding me!?

Have a happy week, everyone. Let's hope your temps are warmer than ours!

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