Elaine and Aaron

I got to be the second shooter this past weekend at a wedding with Jamelle in Flagstaff. I love working with other photographers and learning from them. It's been a while since I've had the opportunity to hang out with the groomsmen and I was thrilled that they were up for just about anything! We went down to the old train station and played around and I think, got some really great images. Aaron is a Hot Shot with the Mormon Lake District and Elaine is an RN at our medical center. They were such a sweet couple and I'm so happy that I had the opportunity to spend some time with them both. Thanks Jamelle for letting me help!

DWF Convention

Based on a recommendation from Cameron, Jamelle Kelly and I headed down to Tampa, FL for the DWF Convention. I had no idea just how much information I'd get in just five days! The hotel we stayed at was secluded from the rest of Tampa, which is just as well since we didn't have much free time to ourselves. My head is still spinning from all the information that I received. Mostly, however, it was inspiring, which, to me, is just as important. It was really cool to be around so many talented photographers! Below are some the photos that I took while I was there with my little travel camera.

Here's where we stayed:

And Jamelle and I at the annual DWF party, at the Florida Aquarium:
Driving up towards the hotel were palm trees that lined the drive!
I hope this photo looks confusing because we were in brain overload!
Ah...Tampa Bay, 80 degrees and perfect! Made it hard to miss Flagstaff!!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! It's this time of year when I always get really nostalgic and start to realize just how lucky I am in my life. I have a wonderful husband, family, friends, a great career and live in a connected, caring community. Thanks to everyone for adding so many positive things in my life. I hope everyone has a joyous holiday!

Emily's Red Hat

One of the hardest things for Grant and I to come to terms with is living so far away from our families, especially during the holidays. He's from Minnesota and I grew up in Georgia. Both of our families are far away, with the closest one for him being his sister in Texas. This photo is of our niece, Emily. We recently sent her this book with a matching red hat. It's a sweet story of a little animal who gave away his only present to a friend, only to have that same love returned to him. I would have given anything to read this to Emily, but I'm glad that she liked it. To all of our friends and family that live far away...we miss you and think about you every day!

Puppies and snow...

This weekend brought our first snow of the year! The peaks were magnificent and Grant and I couldn't resist taking the dogs out for a hike. It was a nice reprieve from my otherwise hectic life. However, Snowbowl Ski closed the road up the mountain so we hiked down near the Ft. Valley trail. We had at least 4 inches there, which was plenty for the puppy's first time out. Speaking of Molly the puppy, my friend, Cameron, recommended a book "The Art of Raising a Puppy" since this is my first experience with one. You can tell by the shredded cover just how impressed Molly is with the concept! Ha! Oh well, at least it was only the cover.

Wedding Albums

I just got back the wedding album from the Van Peursem wedding and it looks absolutely fabulous! This album is 10 x 10, has a leather cover and is 40 pages (each side is a page) and the images are mounted on archival board to resist damage. Do you remember those board books as a kid? It feels like that, except so much nicer! This album is by Willow and although I'm going to be going through a new vendor soon to get these albums (it took over 10 weeks to get this one!!), I do love their high quality and am looking forward to my future orders. They are expensive, but, in my opinion, something to last for a lifetime.

Kristen and Gary

Ahhhh...Flagstaff in the Fall. You really can't ask for a better backdrop then hundreds of golden aspen trees quaking in the wind. Kristen and Gary were married on the Aspen Nature Loop at the top of Snowbowl Road and despite some gale force winds, the ceremony was perfect. I think what stood out to me at this wedding is just how sweet they were to one another. Thanks for letting me be part of your day!