A beautiful day at the farm...

This family was so much fun, and the location was beautiful. We met at The Farm at South Mountain for a session in the beautiful time right before sunset. Lots of trees, flowers and just a gorgeous place for a photo session! I also made a new friend who is 4 years old and full of energy - he seemed to enjoy climbing in the trees and flying like Superman, and I hope he enjoyed his after-session ice cream because he sure earned it!

Precious Payton

Welcome little Payton! What a beautiful little girl she is. She was so good, not fussy at all - and she loved playing with all of the textures on the blankets and towels. She also has the softest, most beautiful hair I've ever seen on a newborn.

Ashely - class of 2008

Ashely is graduating next month and has big plans for her future - plans involving a school whose name I won't mention, since they were MY college rivals! Congratulations, Ashely, enjoy your last few weeks of high school!

Welcome Baby Noah - sneak peek!

Baby Noah is just 3 weeks old and he's already so curious about the world around him. He was awake and alert throughout our entire session, but it was a good alert - no crying or fussing at all.

Congratulations to Noah's parents and a big welcome to Noah.

Memories of the NICU

I was at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center yesterday to do a session in the NICU. Sierra and Jackson are 30-weekers, now one month old. They are doing great and now growing and learning how to be a baby!

Visiting the NICU brought back a lot of memories of the time when my son and daughter were in the NICU. Some things have changed - the entire NICU has been redone so that instead of one big unit, there are individual patient rooms. But some things will forever be the same - the isolettes, the little signs put up by the nurses, the oxygen monitors, etc.

Lexi - class of 2008!

The weather is beautiful now and it's time to start thinking about graduation! Lexi is going to be graduating and we were lucky to have a gorgeous evening at Sun City Grand for her senior photos.

Congratulations, Lexi - graduation is a huge accomplishment and hopefully the first of many happy milestones to come in your life.

Happy Easter from Max

Max is playing with the gift the Easter Bunny brought...a cute little chick! Of course, it's not a real one - that wouldn't last long enough to take a single picture of him!

This chick is all that remains of 2 chicks, three ducks and two rabbits. Unfortunately, they are made with rabbit fur and thus very attractive to dogs. Our dog Mocha disposed of the bulk of the animals last year, I'm hoping this one chick will last a bit longer.

Mischief? Maybe!

Isn't this little girl the sweetest thing? I love the look in her eye - it's the same look my daughter gets when she's about to do something mischevious - something that will probably mean cleaning up a mess, but that you'll just have to laugh about.

St. Clare photos - 2008

The Easter Vigil was on Saturday, March 22. If you were baptized, confirmed, and/or took first communion, you can see your photos HERE. You will need to enter the gallery access code "Vigil08" (no quotes needed). Photos will arrive within 1-2 weeks of ordering and you may choose to pick them up at the St. Clare's office, at the studio, or sent via US mail.

Baby Arianna...coming soon!

My recent run of newborn boys is coming to an end...this couple is expecting a little girl! I can't wait to meet her when she makes her grand appearance.

Happy 60th anniversary!

This past weekend I photographed a family reunion/60th wedding anniversary. For some reason I'm doing quite a few 60th anniversaries recently - not 50th, but 60th.

I have to say I'm happy to do these, as it is so inspiring to see these couples who have been through it all and 60 years later love each other more than other. My husband and I were rather dismayed to realize that every single wedding we've ever attended has ended up with the couple divorcing a couple of years down the road. That's a sad realization for us, as every one of those marriages started with love and hopes for the future only to end in sadness and disappointment. So I'm thrilled to photograph couples who have made it work, and someday I hope to be one of those couples celebrating 60 years of love and happiness.

So congratulations on your wedding anniversary!

Welcome baby Kyler!

Little Kyler was born on the best possible day - February 26! It's also the day my oldest two children were born, so it's a wonderful day for a birthday.

Happy birthday, Kyler - and congratulations to your family!

Adam shoots his mother

A big thank you to Keith Carson, who arranged for my son Adam to try out the flight simulator at Luke Air Force base.

Adam is obsessed with all things related to aviation. He loves to play flight sim at home, Wii games like Heatsinker and Blazing Angels, and he watches the movies Top Gun, Pearl Harbor and Flyboys over and over. When he got the chance to visit the simulator where the "real pilots" train, he was so excited! He wore his child-sized flightsuit all day so he would be ready to go, and he's still wearing it now even though we've been home for almost an hour.

He had such a great time. Keith showed him how to use the throttle and the landing gear and how to turn the plane, then let him fly. The first thing Adam wanted to do was shoot me! I was flying in the adjacent simulator, so he could see me. Typical little boy, shooting anything he can - even his own mother! I told him he's grounded, but he said it was worth it.

So once again, thanks to Keith for giving him such a wonderful experience! I'm sure I'll be hearing about it incessantly for the next months.

The Dread Pirate Roberts has arrived!

This little one is called Westley, after the hero of the best movie of all time - The Princess Bride. And he wasn't at all dreadful as one would expect from a "dread pirate." No, he was sweet and cuddly and all of the wonderful things that newborn babies can be!

I wish him happiness and prosperity, and I hope someday he will find his Princess Buttercup.

Happy Birthday Grady!

Grady is now one year old. He has such beautiful blue eyes, and he's such a charming little guy. Today he had one thing on his agenda: cake. He tore into the little birthday cake like no other baby I've ever seen! So I did what every responsible children's photographer does: got him all sugared up and then sent him on his way to spend some quality time with mom and dad!

Happy Easter!

Is this not the cutest little bunny ever? She's three months old now and has sure grown since I saw her as a newborn! Such big beautiful eyes, and she didn't even try to fight the bunny ears.

Welcome, little Devin!

Devin was due on Superbowl weekend, but luckily for his dad, he was born a little early! Isn't his smile just the cutest thing ever?

Huzzah from the Renaissance Faire!

It's that time of year again - the Renaissance Festival is in town! We've been going to the fair since it was a tiny little street with only a few entertainers. In the 20 years it has been around, it has grown to a pretty big event with a permanent location.

We did all of the typical stuff - buy the flower headbands and the wooden swords, eat the cinnamon almonds, etc. We saw the vegetable justice guy get hit in the face by some ripe tomatoes, and we pet some of the animals in the little farm. We also got a chance to take in a few shows - a tightrope walker, a juggler/magician, and the pipe and drum group Tartanic. As always, they were great! Now Marie has a crush on one of the pipers and she's decided bagpipe music isn't so bad.

The festival will run through the end of March, so if you're looking for something fun to do, stop by.

Welcome baby Natalia!

Baby Natalia was a big girl when she was born - 9 pounds 14 ounces! She was a total sweetheart, though. She didn't fuss the entire time and I was amazed at how alert she was. No sleeping baby shots, but lots of beautiful shots with eyes wide open.

Congratulations to Natalia's family, and a happy welcome to Natalia.

Two little ones on the way!

I've been busy with maternity and newborn sessions lately. It's normal for this time of year; most families did their portraits for the holiday season, but babies are born all the time!

I've had a rush of little baby boys coming into the studio recently, and one of these is going to be a boy as well. The other one will be a surprise, which will make it all the more fun.