Happy birthday Niyema!!

Niyema just had her first birthday and we celebrated today with a little cake. She dug right into the gooey, sweet frosting and got it all over herself. Now she's all sugared up and ready to keep her mom busy the rest of the day.

She is growing so fast and is so close to walking. She's standing up with just a little bit of help and you can tell she wants to take that next step, but hasn't been able to do it yet. Any day now, though.

Happy birthday, Niyema!

A video that should make you smile!

Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

This is a video shot around the world - it's a happy video, filled with joy and life. It's a video I plan to share with my French classes during the first week of school. You just can't watch it without getting a smile on your face, even though it's such a simple idea.

This is what I want to share with people, whether it is through photography or through my job as a high school teacher. I want my students to see that no matter where you go, there are people who will share your hopes and dreams. No matter what part of the world you are in, people really do tend to want the same things out of life - they want to be loved, they want to enjoy the beauty of the world and life, they want to see their children grow up and raise their own children. Beauty is everywhere, you just have to open your eyes to see it sometimes.

Bubbles!

Summertime is bubble time! Little kids love bubbles, especially little girls. Marie and Grace had fun last night just blowing bubbles all over the patio. Some of the bubbles were pretty impressive.



Grace hasn't quite gotten the hang of blowing bubbles yet. She huffed and she puffed, but the bubbles just wouldn't come out.

Some more stuff from France

I'm pretty much done going through the 696 photos I took while in France. My room is being renovated this summer, with a fresh paint job and lower ceilings. I'm hoping to have some of the shots framed and displayed, and I took plenty of boring shots of things like bakeries and fruit markets with that in mind. But I also got lots of shots of students having a great time while in France - Miguel is standing in front of the Mona Lisa (la Jaconde is the real name of the painting!) and you can see that she's really not all that big. We also visited the Pompidou center and had some fun goofing around with a shopping cart on our last evening in France.

A smile waiting to come out!

This is Reese, and she's 10 months old. I love the way she is about to smile here - you can see it in her eyes, but it hasn't yet reached her mouth. She was playing a very important baby game - clap! - and that was enough to make her happy. What a great thing it is to be easily pleased!

Class of 2009 - BFF sale through July 26.

Class of 2009, this is your time to shine!

Summer vacation is here and school just got out, but it will be over before you know it! It's time to start thinking about your senior portraits, and Lovebugs Photography has a special deal that will make it even more exciting - a BFF sale!

From June 20-July 26, 2008, book your senior portrait session - studio, on-location, or combination - and a friend can join in for free! We'll even take some shots of the two of you together, so bring a coordinating outfit or two. You can be the best friend ever and let your friend have the free session, or you can split the cost so you both get a great deal.
Sessions must take place at the same time in order to receive this special offer. Call 623-556-1227 or e-mail Heather@lovebugsphotography.com to book your session today.

Back from France!

After a short flight to Frankfurt and a really looooonnnngggg flight from Frankfurt to Los Angeles, I'm finally back in the states! I'll be in LA until tomorrow, then it's back to Phoenix and back to work. As far as I can tell, my very patient husband has been able to hold down the fort, taking messages and processing orders while I was out of wifi range.

We visited Normandy and the D-Day beaches, as well as the Caen Peace Memorial. It's really a beautiful museum, with exhibits well worth seeing. Right now they have a special exhibit on 9/11 - it's called "where were you on 9/11/2001" and has interviews with people from around the world, as well as objects that were recovered from Ground Zero.

We continued to Rouen and saw where Joan of Arc was burnt at the stake, and then returned to Paris for one more evening.

In all, we had a great time. If you're interested in seeing the 600+ photos I took, I do have them online - www.lovebugsphotography.com/Photocart/index.php - enter the gallery access code France. Not that I expect anyone to look at all of them...

More from France

As you can tell from the photos, we've visited the Eiffel Tower. It was a beautiful night and we were there when the sparkling lights came on at 10 pm. We also visited Notre Dame and the palace of Versailles.

Miguel was able to realize his dream of eating escargots and he loved them. Everyone is having a great time, and we are filling every day with as much as we possibly can.

We've now left Paris and are in the Loire Valley. We saw the castle of Chambord today, and we are staying in a little village called Villandry. Our hotel is quite interesting, my room is in the attic and has a V-shaped roof! Tomorrow we are going to continue exploring the Loire Valley by visiting the castle of Chenonceau.

Posting from France

Here are some of the pictures from our first day in France. We had a very LOOOONNG first day/night/day, and finally got a good night's sleep. We're so much happier now that we've had a chance to clean up and get some rest.

The first photo is a statue of St. Michael. We got sandwiches and sat in front of this fountain yesterday for lunch. The second photo is Miguel looking very distinguished in front of the fountain. He's so excited to be here! The third photo is Isabel standing on a bridge over the Seine river. The fourth photo is a candle that I lit for my daughter Marie in the the cathedral of Notre-Dame. It's in front of a statue of Mary, so this was the perfect place to light one! The last photo is the outside of Notre-Dame cathedral.

The weather is pretty nice, much cooler than Arizona. It's been a little rainy with sprinkles coming down from time to time. As always, the food is delicious. We had a big salad with potatoes on top last night - a weird combination, but very good.

Today we're taking a bus tour of Paris, then visiting Versailles in the afternoon. Tonight it's the boat cruise on the Seine and the Eiffel Tower.

Bon Voyage!

This morning I will be leaving on a trip to France (again). It's one of the few perks of being a French teacher. I dread the long flights, but the country is absolutely beautiful. I'm taking several students with me, and their excitement is contagious!

While I'm gone, my husband is going to keep things running on the homefront. I should have Wifi at all but one of the hotels, so I'll be able to check my e-mail every other day or so. If you need to get in touch with me about an order or booking a session, e-mail will be easier than phone for the next 10 days - Heather@lovebugsphotography.com. I might not get back to you right away, but I will reply as soon as I can!

I hope to post some pictures while I'm over there, so watch the blog for those. Also, don't forget to vote in the Fresh Faces contest - there are 2 days left.