{Miss Ruby Sue and her sweet summer styles}

Eeeps!!  Look at this adorable hair piece by Lori, talented designer behind 'Miss Ruby Sue'!!  When she contacted me about working together I wasn't sure what she'd have in store - since she has so many amazing things in her shop.  When I saw this hairpiece my jaw dropped.  It was so pretty and colorful yet had a vintage flair AND it's YELLOW!  I love yellow!  So I carefully placed it in my staging area (aka my office lol) thinking about what what kind of shoot I wanted to do for it.  Isn't it darling??!  I haven't seen anything like it - I love it!!  It comes with a neck strap but I opted to used bobby pins and tuck the strap in the hat, it's a great option to have.  I just love how it looks!  It's called A Wink & A Flounce.    She also has some super cute styles for the 4th of July - 4th with a Flair is pictured below.  It's a darling crown that ties in the back.   I paired it with the cute 'Miss Ruby Sue' t-shirt she sent.  We are now set for the fourth of July!!  I can't wait - it's one of my favorite celebrations.  I'm still trying to figure out what our plans are that weekend but I want it to be festive and fun.  I can't wait!!  :)

Thank you Lori for sharing your talent with me!!  Check out Miss Ruby Sue's shop and her Facebook page.  She's listing new items all the time and she previews many of them on Facebook :)

{Fun Fall & Winter Styles - Kait Emerson Designs}

I can't tell you how much it means to me to work with such amazing and talented designers.  I've been working with the amazing Feanna, of Kait Emerson Designs of over 3 years now and her work always grabs me.  She's a special person in my book and I'm thankful to have this business relationship and friendship.   When I saw what she has lined up for Fall and Winter 2011 I was smitten.  The outfits speak for themselves.  Check out her on-line boutique.  You can also find her clothing at select boutiques in the Huntington Beach Area of California.  And she's on Facebook, where she reveals her latest styles, special offers, and KE news.

{the nerdy type}

August, our puppy, isn't a fan of this new look.  I personally love it.  Makes me want to curl up with him and talk about pressing issues with him - how to make the earth more green, what to do about the future of my kids generation, to buy or sell in the stock market, etc.  August however, just sat motionless waiting for this humiliation to end.  I tried to reassure him that I'd seen many cute dogs with similar spectacles.  He wasn't convinced and just waited for the pain to stop.  :)

{end of school is near….sniffle, sniffle}

It's bitter-sweet....the end of the year is quickly approaching {only 4 more days left - eek!}.  Every year it flies by, especially this year. This past Friday Brielle's class had a beach day.  How fun is that?!  The playground was transformed  - there were pools, water-slides, sprinklers, sand buckets and brightly colored beach umbrellas.  So festive and fun!  The kids played in the bubble station, built sand castles, squealed going down the water slides, and played games with the huge colorful beach balls. Such a fun day!!  And Tyler's class is having a Publishing Party on Tuesday followed by a day at the Community Pool.  I'm loving all the fun activities but I'm sad knowing that it's all coming to an end.  I have a hard time saying good-bye when things come to an end.  I'm never ready to start new chapters, especially when I'm loving what's happening in this current chapter so much...sigh.  Anyway, these fun days remind me of the fun we'll have this summer and the fun we had last summer.  I dug up some photos from last year that I loved of the kiddos (the last 3 pics) - so indicative of summer afternoons.  :)

The kiddos last night in the pool last year (actually in October) before it was too cold and too busy to swim with school.

Janum's Marie Antoinette

Eeps!!  Majd, the great designer behind Janum, has just released this unique and darling new 'Marie Antoinette' dress!  I'm in love!!  The embroidery stitching on the belly of the shirt (not technical terms I'm sure) is so detailed and beautiful- I love it!! And the attached bubble skirt and coordinating belt (removable belt) top it off perfectly.  The ruffled leggings are sold separately and are also available in her shop.  I'm loving this newest design!  And that's not all!  She's working on more great designs that will be added to her shop soon.  I can't wait to be a part of it!  Check out her Facebook page for the latest 'happenings', promotions, Facebook specials and other Janum information.

{childhood friend}

I was so excited when I reconnected with one of my best childhood friends, Noelle, on Facebook.  We met in the 3rd grade and then I moved away after 6th grade.  Her twin sister, Holly, and I tried to keep in touch (since we were all friends) after I moved but I have to admit - I wasn't the best at keeping in touch via snail mail.  Years passed but the memories and time spent together never withered.  We did so much together:  took many trips to their parent's log cabin in the Mountains, stayed up all night giggling, eating junk food and crank calling random people out of the phone book (bad kids, I know) at the many sleep-overs we had, hot summer days swimming at the local pool, 4th of July's spent on the waterfront, and the list of memories continues.   So when we reconnected on Facebook all the memories came rushing back - I was in touch with one of my favorite childhood friends!!  Noelle lives in California now near Napa - a place we need to visit soon :)  She mentioned a while ago wanting to come out to have me photograph her beautiful girls but I didn't know how serious she was.  Then she did it!  She and her husband booked a stay in Scottsdale on a weekend I had an opening!  I was thrilled!!  I got to meet her beautiful girls!!  And I got to play with them and have her family over for dinner after our session!! Our kids got along as if they'd known each other forever - it was perfect!!  We didn't want the night to end.  So we agreed that we needed to make trips to see each other more.  And we will :)  Here's a peek my our session with Noelle and Michael's beautiful girls!

{Spun Candy's Mad Hatter's = Swoon!}

I've been friend for Melissa on-line for a while and was so excited when she recently expanded her talents from a thriving photography business to the brilliant creation of her  'Spun Candy' shop.  In such a short time she has listed  and sold an impressive array of children's accessories, scarves and Mad Hatter's.  They're irresistible I have to warn you!  So when she contacted me about photographing one of her Mad Hatter's - the 'Fancy Nancy' I was giddy and my mind started working excited for the shoot!!  Below is a sample of  images from the Mad Hatter - Fancy Nancy shoot.  Check out her Facebook page for the newest listings (some before they're posted in her shop), news, promotions and special offers.

{Game with the Major Leagues}

This was a busy weekend.  So much to do but thankfully all fun and work (yes work - but work is fun for me).  On Saturday morning the kids rose early - just as the sun was popping up.  They were so excited to leave for 'Little League Day' at the big Stadium with the Diamondbacks.  Brielle just gets excited whenever Tyler's excited so she was giddy for the day to begin too.  Ty & Brielle spent the morning making signs to hold at the game - it was a good way to pass the time since they were beyond excited!

When we got the stadium you could feel the excitement in the air.  Kids everywhere wore their teams uniforms excited to walk the field and high five kids and adults in the crowd and to greet some of the mascots and players.  While we were waiting to see Tyler enter the field with some of his teammates Brielle and I stood close near a crowd trying to catch fly-balls (home-runs) from the players during their batting practice.  The fans were electric with energy and anxious to catch the next fly ball that came near.  Brielle and I just stood watching, waiting and enjoying all the action around us.  A ball was headed several feet away not quite making it to the crowd - the fans were going crazy trying to reach and scramble for the ball that was really out of reach for all of them.  But one of the Chicago Cubs players ran for the ball waved it up to the roaring crowd and sweetly handed the ball to Brielle.  Brielle just looked at me not knowing what to do so I said 'Oh Brielle, he's giving you the ball.'  We thanked him as he walked away.  Brielle was sooooo excited she kissed the ball.  I'll never forget it.  We tucked it in my bag.  More balls were headed our way.  And one of the fans caught a ball with a loud smack - perfect placement in his glove.  A moment later, I get a tap on my shoulder asking me and Brielle if we want the ball.  The gentlemen who caught it wanted to give it to us.  How sweet is that?!  I didn't want to be greedy since the fans were going crazy trying to get balls, so I declined saying, we had one and that he should keep it since he caught it.   Of course I could've given it to Tyler but I knew Brielle would offer hers to her brother since she knew he wanted one. So fun!

Above is a picture of the ball given to Brielle, Tyler giving the fans high fives and  Ty with his team mates walking away.  What a great day at the ballgame!!

{beautiful} Scottsdale Family Photographer

I love my job.  I love that I get to meet amazing and wonderful families.  I love that I get a peek into their lives and I get to capture sweet moments shared.  I love families like this - families that are real, that are genuine, so natural and loving together.  The playing and interaction we do during a session tells so much about each family.  And my gosh this family was so connected and loving.  I feel so lucky to be able to capture that closeness, fun connection for them!  How many people can say that about their job...capturing and witness that special bond?  It's awesome.  And this beautiful family was up for anything too - so we were able to photograph some fun, artsy images for mom & dad :)  I LOVE that!!

Little Emerson...she melted me.  When I arrived to their house Emerson was pretty adamant that she didn't want her picture taken. She was so sweet about it but was firm in her decision.  Within 20 minutes she was dressed, her hair was done and she seemed excited about the session.  She and I became buddies and before I knew it, she was hopping in pictures that I was taking of her mom and dad.  No longer did she want to be my assistant, she wanted to be in the pictures.   And the camera loved her.  Here's a little look into our time together.  :)

{Sweet Violet Jane - Vintage Girl Crowns}

Meghann is at it again.  Yes, she's busy with both her photography business and her awesome shop ' Sweet Violet Jane' creating amazing crowns.  Last time I photographed something for boys.  This time it's all about the girls.  If you want a vintage look,  she's got it.  If you want a playful and colorful look, she's got that too.  She adds new looks to her shop all the time so be on the look out. As always, I'm so impressed with her talent and my kids love the results of her talent- including them in every day play.  Dress-up is just not complete without a crown. :)  For new items, promotions and special discounts check out her Facebook page.