The Urtuzuastegui Family

Yep, that's the last name. It's Basque, my favorite region in France. It seeps with orange clad Eustakel fans during the Tour de France and it's an amazing place. But, I digress. Here's a sneak peek to the Urtuzuastegui kid's session! I'm sure you'll agree they are really cute! Sign up here to receive a notification via email when all the photos are ready for viewing.

Here's big sister Sienna freezing to death while I tortured her in the cold. Thanks for hanging in there Sienna! You look beautiful!

Little brother Isaiah:

Brother and Sister toes:

Isaiah LOVES his Mickey Mouse!

Sienna reminds me a little of Christina Ricci; very beautiful!

Sienna and Isaiah's Aunt Kristen came along for the shoot. Here she is with her new Gibson Elvis Presley guitar. It was pretty sweet!

What beautiful eyes!

My beautiful friend Ellie

Ellie has been waiting a long time for these photographs and I really want to thank her for her patience! I think they turned out beautiful, almost as beautiful as her giving, sweet soul. She is a tremendous friend and I am thankful she is a part of my life! You can check out the slideshow here. Here are some of my favorites from our wonderful day playing in the sunflowers!

The McMillan Family

When Tracy called for me to photograph her family, I was really excited. Her little boy, Angus, is a big slice of Sweetie-Pie and so cute! I've known Tracy for about a year through my volunteer work with the Coconino County Safe Kids Coalition. It's a chapter of a worldwide organization dedicated to keeping kids safe. My work is focused on bicycle safety with kids, teaching them about helmets and how to ride safely on the road. Tracy is also a member of Stroller Strides, which is an awesome organization dedicated to keeping moms active and connected. I thought about joining and dressing up my dog as a baby in a stroller, but then decided that might be silly. :) I didn't know her husband, and when I met him he told me that he coached athletes for a living. The funny thing is that when I was developing the photos, my husband said to me.."You did Greg McMillan's family photos??!" His excitement made me curious. It turns out that Greg is a premier running coach for premier athletes. All I know is that they were wonderful to work with and a very loving, sweet family. Angus was ridiculously cute. So cute, that editing this session down was almost impossible! You can check out their slideshow here. Here are a few of my favorites from our day in the woods:

Angus was a HUGE fan of the leaves. He loved eating them too:)

And finally the happy family! Thanks for letting me be part of your FIRST family session! Congrats!!!

Meggan & Eric

My computer is finally up and running and I'm feverishly trying to get caught up with all the blogging and image processing from all my sessions scheduled in the last two weeks. Here's a sneak peak of Meggan and Eric's engagement shoot! Meggan and Eric met at the Monte Vista lounge, so we thought what better of a place to meet for their photographs! Check out the slide show here. Here are some of my favorite's from the day!

Meggan had on some super cool shoes; I loved them! Of course, I'd have to buy 4 sizes bigger than her's and then they probably wouldn't be so cute, but oh well :)

I love this look of complete adoration on Meggan's face. They were so much fun to work with!

We headed up Snowbowl Road to find some aspen trees. I just love how the aspen bark really pops in photographs.

And finally, the happy couple! Thanks for making the day so great and for being so patient with my computer problems! You guys are the best!

ARGH!!! Computer Down!!

OK, for everyone who told me to get a Mac, this is the time to tell me "I told you so...!". My brand new, super, smoking fast PC collapsed on Friday and despite all attempts from every IT professional I know and the Dell support team, I am going to have to strip it down and rebuild. (Well, I'm not going to do it, but you know what I mean) For those of you that are waiting on photographs...DO NOT WORRY! You're images are very safe in external hard drives! The computer is being built back up right now and I hope to be back in editing mode by tomorrow or Wednesday. Thanks for your patience!

Dr. Cyndi Banks's new book

Dr. Banks called me recently because she needed a photo for the back cover of her new book. It's going to be a book about the experience of institutionalization for juveniles in an institution in Alaska. She was wonderful to work with and had a beautiful home with collections from all her travels around the world. Aside from being busy with her SEVENTH book (seriously, talk about an Over-Achiever!), Cyndi is Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Northern Arizona University where she teaches courses on a range of subjects with a special focus on criminal justice ethics, juvenile justice, gender and crime, as well as comparative criminology. Yes, that's a mouthful! More than anything, she was a lot of fun to work with. And look at those eyes! Wow! Which one would you choose for the back cover of her new book?

Cyndi kept telling me not to make her laugh...but she has a great smile! Thanks Cyndi-I had a great time!!

From way up North

Grant and I were lucky to have his parents visit last week. About 2-3 times a year, the Dunstan's make a pilgrimage from their home in Northern Minnesota to visit us, and his sister and her family in Texas. Due to hectic work schedules, Grant and I hardly ever get to make the trip to our homes, so it's a real treat when family comes to us. These photos were taken up at Schultz Creek tank. We had enough rain and snow in Flagstaff this year to actually fill it up! The dogs always have a great time swimming and this was actally the place where Banjo learned to swim, thanks to Cameron's dog, Kaibee, teaching him!

Here's some photos from our hike that beautiful day! The pond almost reminds me of home:)

There's a guy from Timberline that brings his horses up to the tank every day. By now, we've come to know them.

Molly, with algae on her nose!

And, finally, Jim, Connie and Grant. We already miss you! Have a safe trip to Texas!