The Life and Times of Jennifer Weems

Take Me Out To The Ballgame

2011-03-16T21:55:00.000-07:00

Peanuts, check. Cracker Jacks, check. Small loan for ballgame snacks, still pending. Yesterday, we had the pleasure of going to an "A's" spring training game. Ever since we moved to Phoenix, we have enjoyed going to spring training games. Normally, we go support the home team. Yesterday, we ventured out to a field that we have not been to. One of my clients, Eric, plays for the A's. He's the one doing the super fly man squat there at 2nd base. I'm pretty sure all of the people we were sitting next to knew who we were there to see. The kids were chanting for him the whole first two innings.

We also had the pleasure of going with the Scott clan. Good Times.

Abbey, Sami, Andrew & Madi.

At some point near the 6th inning the kids got their second wind for concessions. Nachos, snow cones, ice cream, and a big gulp Dr. Pepper, what a perfect meal. Eventually, Eric's fiance, Kaycee, got to the game. Abbey referred to her as "that pretty girl". It's always wise to show your clients how well you parent. I'm pretty sure that she was amazed at my skillz. We also had a chance to discuss some on her wedding plans. We even discussed the wisdom of having Little Caesars cater in for the reception. You just can't beat that $5 large. Good times. After the game, Eric brought up some of his balls, and signed them for the kids. He even signed Andrew's Texas Rangers ball. All in all, it was a pretty perfect day.

Be Still My Heart

2011-03-08T10:28:00.000-07:00

To say that I have the best clients is an understatement. I have met some of the most amazing people over the last several years. Many have become dear friends. I am lucky enough to be apart of peoples most treasured moments. They have to trust me 100%, and that never gets lost on me.

When I met Layce, she was interviewing me for her wedding. As she talked about her and her fiance, she never stopped smiling. She told me the amazing story of how the two of them came together. It's always interesting to find out the back story on how these couples meet. She later went on to talk about her wedding and how she wanted everything to look. She pretty much had my heart when she mentioned barns and boots. My kind of gal, totally. She chose a great wedding venue, and she really made sure everyone was dressed to perfection. As fate would have it, her something borrowed turned out to be my boots.

The other day I came home from a long day of shooting to find a large envelope for me on my desk. I had to do a double take. What in the world could this be? I sat down and immediately opened the envelope just like a 7 year old would rip into a Christmas present. What I saw next would make me speechless. Yes, hard to imagine, but true.

Nothing gets this girl like the word "Nordstrom". What the heck? Oh my! She got me a gift card to Nordstrom?! For doing my job?! She went to all the trouble to find my husband from Facebook to find out what I loved. My husband told her my love language was Nordstrom, and there you go. $100 from Nordstrom! Awesome and Amazing. At this moment, I still have no words.

LYLAS

2011-02-01T22:02:00.000-07:00

Next challenge: Find a picture of the person you've been closest with the longest. Wow. Talk about memory lane. Aside from the obvious family, the two friends that stick out to me are both in the photo below.

Yes, the 80's were that blue.

This photo was taken at Roller World in Arlington, TX. In this very building I received my first ever trophy, learned how to play Centipede, and saw baby Jessica get pulled from the well. Every Thursday night was family night. According to the official "Roller World" rule book, the family rate could include up to 5. We were a family of 4, but my BFF Lareasa was normally our family member 5. She is standing next to me in the photo, top row first from the left. We did everything together. I spent most weekends spending the night with her or her with me, if I did not get homesick. We both had Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader coats, we were pretty sure everyone confused us for the real thing. Every summer we would start each day at the door "Can Lareasa come out and play?" and we would end everyday, "I'm never playing with you again!" One of my most vivid memories was announcing to her that she was not allowed to come to my birthday party. With our mom's being best of friends, word got back to my mom. Needless to say, my mom was less then impressed. She cancelled my party all together. Lesson. Learned. Through the years, we never left touch. We were in each others weddings, and we were there for the birth of our firstborn sons. Over the years, our mean 'ole husbands moved us apart, but we can always pick up right where we left off. She was there the minute I needed her when dad was dying. She and her family were one of our most frequent visitors. I'll never forget on my trip back home, exactly one year later from the day my dad died. Coincidental, we had a mutual friend pass away. She was on the other side of the building, and I did not even know she was there. When the usher sat us on the front row, next to the casket, I had to leave. I could not mentally be there, so I walked out to the hall with the overflow crowd. She must have seen me leave from the other side of the church, and she almost beat me to my seat. I crumbled into her arms, without a word, she knew exactly how I felt. I get emotional now just thinking about that. The word friend seems so lacking for things like that.

Akem, next to me in the photo (top row 3rd across) stands my BFF Tammy. I know what your thinking and yes. Yes, I chose her to be my friend because of her cool bangs and super sweet glasses. Everyone who knows me well has heard me talk about Tammy. We were friends while we were kids, but it was not until we were in our teens that our friendship really took off. She was always pining after Chris Moore, but it was while they were on one of their "breaks" we really hit it off. I remember we had some fun times riding in her blue bomber. She would always bring me Junior Mints while I was hard at work up at the movie theater. At summer camp, I also remember shooting her with popcorn kernels through my straw at night and sneaking out the window of the cabin to shoot water guns at people walking by. Did I mention that we were the counselors? Good Times. As newlyweds we would spend more days and weekends together than apart. We would all meet up at someones house after work and do absolutely nothing. She actually cried tears of sadness when we told her the news of our firstborn. She eventually recovered from the news, and has been there 100%. She has been there in the best and worst of times. I feel like I've and a lifetime of bad times already, and she has been a rock. I can tell her anything and everything with ease, she completely gets me. Aside from her poor taste in shoes and Bath and Body scents, she's like the sister from another mother. Boy, do I love these ladies.

Stolen Challenge

2011-01-28T19:34:00.000-07:00

Today on my beloved Facebook, I saw one of my friends post a "30 days of me" challenge. It was a beautiful photo of her on her wedding day, wearing my boots. She set forth a list of things to do for the next 30 days, so I will take that and run. Today's challenge was to post a photo of yourself (gulp) and write 15 facts about you. I will try to find 15 of the lesser known factoids.

Real proof that I am an original red head. No matter how hard I try, I can't find this color in a bottle.

Well, the rules did not specify an age, so I will pick this lovely little gem. This photo has so much going for it. I was dressed in pants that were clearly too big. Seriously, look at that killer "Annie" belt. I rocked that leaping lizards belt. The yellow puffy shirt, a classic. I can't really explain the vest/scarf combo, but I'm pretty sure it looked cool with the cowboy boots I had on. This was taken at my Nanny and Papa's house. I pretty much lived there on the weekends. My sister and I pretty much got anything and everything we ever wanted. Normally, we would hit up the snow cone place down the street and the Five and Dime. We even had our own room upstairs. We would pretty much spend our time listening and dancing to the Michael Jackson "Thriller" record. This room was previously occupied by my dad and uncle, so every time we would turn out the lights, we could see the name "Gordon" painted on the door with glow in the dark paint. Wow, I could talk about those days for pages and pages. Good Times.

OK, back to my 15......

1. If I ask for a coke, I mean Dr. Pepper.

2. My favorite spot in my house is on my balcony laying in my hammock.

3. I fly on a plane like cats ride in cars. As I watch people board my flight, I wonder what actor/actress would play each particular person. My character is always played by Tina Fay. It's a dramody.

4. I'm secretly planning a re-do wedding. I watch every wedding show TLC has to offer.

5. I'm still best friends with my childhood best friends.

6. I'm allergic to planet earth with 4 exceptions: Box Elder trees, the Castor bean, smut and the cockroach. Yes, I'm allergic to that horse I'm snuggling with.

7. I don't love large groups of children.

8. I got my first black eye on my son's 4th grade field trip

9. I love being a rule breaker. I particular love the "over signed" establishment. If there is a sign that says "only take 2" I will take 3 every time.

10. I'm pretty sure I will die violently in the shower.

11. I hate Starbucks coffee

12. I know where every Sonic is in the Phoenix area, and most of them know me.

13. I make sure I tell everyone I meet that I'm from Texas. It's important they know.

14. When I started photography I swore I would never shoot weddings. ever.

15. I can't think of the last time I played a game without cheating.

If It Were Up To Me

2011-01-26T16:00:00.000-07:00

Every time I go to a wedding, I find that everyone is pretty much doing the same thing. Most venues have the same sort of offerings and most other vendors act the same way. Before I jumped into the crazy world of the wedding profession, I never really noticed what all went into a wedding. Sure, I planned my own wedding, but I never went behind the scenes to see how the machine really worked. So many things are done just because everyone does it that way. Very southern baptistish. No one really questions or even considers doing some things differently, but I suggest maybe we should. If It were up to the photographer I wonder how things would change. Well, let's ponder just for a moment.

Thing I would change #1: Every bride & groom would see each other before the ceremony. Look at the below photos and ask yourself "Self, would any of these reactions ever happen in front of everyone during the ceremony?" No. If you want to get a real reaction and moment between you and your future spouse, you will not get it during a stuffy ceremony. Normally, the husband's first glance at his new bride is difficult because he's trying to see around everyone who just stood up. He has no chance to tell her how amazing she looks once she reaches him because the pastor has already started up his rehearsed message. The script continues, and there is no real moment. Seeing each other beforehand gives you a chance for your own special moment. Say anything, do anything, the moment is yours. Not to mention, this is a huge calm to the nerves.

Thing I would change #2: Face your crowd as you get married. Some of my best moments captured during a ceremony, the crown never sees. I'm not sure why, but everyone keeps their back to the crowd. We are all forced to stare at the officiant. We don't know this man, and we may not even be able to hear the guy, but we must stare at him and your back the whole ceremony. If I had things my way, we would look at the back of the officiant and the bride and groom would face him, allowing us to see all the beautiful things the photographer is capturing.

Thing I would change #3: I would only cut out most of the family photos after the ceremony. I would shoot 2 to 4, at the most, with family. You are only dressed in that dress with your man in that tux once. You will only be that young and skinny once. Send everyone to cocktail hour and use every second of that time getting the shots that you will cherish a lifetime. I promise, that photo of you and aunt Mildred will never get printed. You probably won't even remember you have it. Wait until the reception and take as many photos your pretty little heart desires.

Thing I would change #4: The DJ spinney colored ball and crappy lighting during the first dance. If I had a dollar every time the lighting would drop down to nothing immediately before the first dance, I'd be a rich lady. Not too rich, because I enjoy spending money, but comfortably rich for sure. Most of the time the happy couple never notices the DJ has thrown a red light on them, but as I develop the "hot tamale" couple I remember the DJ's choice of spotlight. Camera's need light to photograph. Without it, you will get a bad photograph every time. A bride should talk to the DJ and venue to make sure no one turns out the lights for the first dance. Not to mention, your guest are still trying to eat. I have loads of bad photos on my old hard drive, but instead, I'll show you how nice things look when the lighting is good.

OK, so I realized I could really go on and on on this topic, so I will stop here and do another post. I may do a whole post on "open bar" weddings.

January 1st

2011-01-22T21:22:00.002-07:00

On January 1, 2000 my life changed forever. I became a mom. Prior to that date I thought I knew what the word "tired" and "busy" meant. Everyone told me how different my life would change, but I had no idea. None. I spent most of my time just watching his every move. I must have called the doctor once a week. By kid number two, we only went in for shots and normally a month or two late. In some ways I feel like I've learned so much, in others I feel like I'm about to jump into a bigger pit. One with snakes and creepy clowns. We are getting so close to teenager years I can smell it. No really, the smell is awful and hard to miss. Pungent really.

Staying true to my "mother of the year" title, I had to shoot a wedding on Andrew's actual birthday. We've also realized he has a much better turn out if we can celebrate a little further away from Christmas. He always has a better turn out. Back by popular demand, we did the Mobile Game Cave. What can I say, I know people. It was a hit.

There they are. Everyone loves a group shot. Most of the kids on the left half of this shot are from his class at school, most of the right half are from the neighborhood. Actually, I could probably claim the right half of this photo on my taxes. I'm not sure they leave. They watch for our truck to pull in the driveway. Nick, the little kid in the blue who was obviously too thirsty to wait for me to shoot this picture, helped me clean out the garage. Funny enough, it's also the first time I've ever seen this kid fully dressed.

now that I think about it, I should have lightened this up.

As I walked into the trailer to take the above photo, they were starting up another round of Halo. They were playing 10 against 1. They were all trying to beat Andrew, unsuccessfully. We eventually made it out for food, cake and presents. Andrew had requested Mema's strawberry cake with strawberry icing. He was also pretty excited to have a pink cake. Nothing says 11 year old boy like a pink cake. Being the awesome parent that I am, I only bought a 10 pack of candles. I'm too cheap to buy a second 10 pack for only one candle. Abbey said she had a great idea. She made a number "9" on his cake. What can I say? She's gifted like her mommy......socially. We had the best pink 11th birthday cake with 10 candles formed in a 9. Only in the Weems house. I would have it no other way!

Thankful For New Friendship

2011-01-20T21:23:00.001-07:00

When we moved to Phoenix over 5 years ago (yikes!) I left every friend and family member I ever had. A lifetime of relationships put on pause. I spent the first year mentally and physically sitting in a corner with my arms crossed. I was bored and friendless. Slowly over time my business grew tiny little legs and started to take off. You know, tiny legs like the ones that seem to dangle pointlessly from the drawings of the T-Rex? Maybe like little salamander legs, but not quite as large and proportionate as a camota dragon. I was pretty slow going. Now that I think back, I'm pretty sure I should call and apologize to some people. Any who, I did get a phone call from one client that would stick around.

Lonni was almost as sweet and those little girls. I was called out to do baby pictures of baby Miriam. She was laid back and relaxed. Not Miriam, Lonni. I know I should probably just go back and rewrite that sentence, but that would stop the flow. This was baby girl #3 for her, she was a pro. She let me do anything I wanted with those kids. Once I was done, I went back to her house for her proofing session. I think I stayed for a couple hours. I sat and talked to hear like I'd known her since grade school. I felt like I could be myself and say all the dumb things I wanted. She would sit and listen to me talk and ramble about absolutely nothing. In fact, she probably even reads my blog when I ramble on about nothing too. I went home thinking and remembering how nice it was to sit around with friends and talk about nothing. To make a long story even longer, I was surprised the next morning to see an email from Lonni. She sent the sweetest note about how much fun she had hanging out with me and suggested that maybe we should hang out. I could not be more happy.

Over the last several years, I've watched this woman go through some of the hardest things I could ever imagine. Pretty nightmarish stuff. Yes, nightmarish is a real word. This program took my first attempt at spelling nightmarish, noticted it as wrong, and suggested the spelling "nightmarish". Any way, she made it through, met a man who treats her and her girls like royalty AND started her own business. Pretty amazing to watch.

All that to say, we had the pleasure of spending Thanksgiving with them this year. Since we are Texas refugees here in Phoenix, we almost always spend Thanksgiving as a party of 4. We were excited to crash Lonni's place. I was almost as excited when my mashed potatoes got to sit in her crystal Tiffany's bowl. I was less excited when I had to return the bowl to it's original pretty blue box. For a surprise, she made my favorite flavor cheesecake. White chocolate raspberry. Typing it makes my mouth water. While I run off to take care of my urge for dessert at this very moment, enjoy his handful of photos that I took that day. I like to entitle this next photo series, 2 Frutkins, 1 Weems and a Cheesecake. Enjoy.

I ate these until I was physically ill.

Sweet Caroline

This is Mimi, she's the baby in the basked above.

This is the Weems.

Novmeber Notables

2011-01-18T21:50:00.000-07:00

November was a busy month for me. It could also be directly related to why I stopped posting 1/2 way through. Sometimes I have to drop some balls drop. My blog is always the second to drop. It's the ball right after my cool parenting skills. I pretty much let my kids roam the streets of Phoenix, and I can only assume they are being fed and maintaining marginal showering habits. Any who, I thought I would post a few of my favorites from my November wedding roster.

The first up was a gorgeous military wedding at a private residence. Private weddings are always so much fun and laid back. Shalyn and Cody are based in Yuma, but they decided to have the wedding in Phoenix. As it turns out Cody's family lives very close to my old hacienda in Arlington, TX. Small world.

I always love the brides expression right after she puts on the dress.

These beautiful girls had a toast for everything! I was impressed they were still standing when I left.

This one speaks for it's self.

Shalyn was absolutely stunning.


Dad was not wild about his daughter sitting on the dirt, but this make such a statement. My favorite of the day!

Next up was C.J. & Nelson. I will always remember talking to C.J.'s dad over the phone. Right after he told me about his Charlie Brown money tree he made sure to tell me "Just do a good job." It's always nice to have a little reminder from dad not to screw anything up with his daughters wedding photos. As it turns out, he was a pretty cool dad. I hope I did not let him down.

Nachoooooo!

I've always wanted a red head bride

pretty sure they are laughing at me NOT with me

LOVE a laughing bride

pretty much the best cake ever!

yep, open bar

Next up is Lacey & Shem. My fun memory of this wedding is probably is probably not so fun for Lacey. Due to a really bad party bus insider, she arrived 1 hour late to her 3 hour wedding. She had everything planned out for her little country wedding. When I found her in the party bus she was on her way to melt down. In all the craziness, she forgot her boots. Long story short, I gave her the big thick black socks and cowboy boots off my own feet. I wore her black flip flops and my boots married another man.

It's not everyday you can photograph a bride in a copper tub

my boots are making an appearace

No, this is not Ab Lincoln. It was his brother.

Now, where was I?

2011-01-17T15:27:00.000-07:00

OK, so long term goals are not my thing. As it turns out, 30 straight days of blogging is not going to happen. I don't want to give up, I love to blog. It's just so hard to find time to think of something clever to say. Some would argue that they are still waiting for clever. Rest assured, it's not coming. However, I will continue to blog. My goal this time is 9 days in a row. Why nine, you ask? No reason, just nine sounds like a fun number. Here goes 1 of 9.....

So much has happened since my last post, I feel like I should back up a bit. While the holidays normally put me in a tail spin, they were eventful. As November approached, we noticed there was a weekend that seemed to be uneventful. For us, nothing on a weekend is rare and something that should be celebrated. So, we did just that. We found a cozy spot in Flagstaff to rent out for the weekend. As the day approached, I relished in the fact that I could sit on the couch and do nothing relatively guilt free. If it snowed, a real bonus.

My sweet little boy loves sneaking kisses from Abbey, our little man eater.

We arrived with the promise of snow in the forecast. Day one was spent hiking and exploring the forest behind us. Day two we woke up to snow falling. It was slow at first, but really picked up. We were in business! We hiked around looking for the perfect slope to sled down, but did not have much luck. Most spots had tree stump blocking an otherwise perfect hill. We also decided to check out the Lowell Observatory. It was pretty much blizzard conditions. The wind was howling and the snow was coming down in an almost horizontal direction.


Andrew had several questions. It's fun seeing your kid excited about learning. I have to enjoy this with Andrew since it's not ever going to happen with Weems 2.0

The super rare Weems Family pose. Thank God for camera timers.

After we finished up, we went out for another hike. It was FREEZING, but fun. It's really pretty therapeutic throwing snow balls at your family. Somehow hurling a tightly packed ball made of snow and ice is ok to throw and those we love most. It's even better if you somehow make it into one of the openings in the clothing. There is nothing worse than ice getting trapped into your clothes.

My trouble child

All in all we had a great time. It was good timing and just what the witch doctor ordered. Even though one of us came home with strep throat, it was a success.

You can never have too many marshmallows.

Up to no good.

more trouble

I love that this girl always has remnants of chocolate on her face

this face melts me

One last attempt at a family photo. Guess who has strep throat?

Just Shoot Me

2010-11-16T14:52:00.000-07:00

The classic "Don't touch me!" One of my personal favorites

This time of year, everyone is busy getting a nice family photo for a Christmas card. I spend a good part of my time editing and looking through everyone's nice family shoots. For whatever reason, I always think that having a nice family photo is possible for me too. I'm always wrong. It's not in my cards, and probably never will be. I have one child who is every photographer's dream and I have one that is a photographer's worst nightmare. I have a husband who is somewhere in between. There are always tears before and after every Weems family photo session. We are a true "mission impossible". Here are some "highlights" of our 2010 photo attempt.

Not sure if I love Abbey's smile or my husbands totem pole pose best. It's a real toss up.

With a blister on her foot, newly cut "swoop" bangs and a smile that melts a mothers heart.

did I mention new swoop bangs?

Wow. It's hard to even look at this without thinking "Christmas Card"

So, as the day concluded I realized I would have to think "out of the box" for this years card. Assuming, of course, we decide against trading in one of the kids for a Duggar. All in all, there were a couple keepers from the first few I shot. Enjoy.

But What Should I Wear?

2010-11-10T16:14:00.001-07:00

I get asked "What should I wear" at least once a week. This time it's me asking. The task of shooting my family is among one of the worst things I do. It's hard being mommy and photographer. There is a fine line between threatening them with bodily harm and still getting them to smile. Every year I think it's going to be different, but every year we end in tears. Well, I say "we" but it's normally just me in tears. Why can't these little devils make things easy for me?

Tomorrow, I will attempt to get four happy faces in one frame. Today, the "what to wear" question is going through my mine. I always tell my clients to stay classic and timeless. As I think about my first family photos, I think Olan Mills, roll down libraries and fuzzy carpets to sit on. We would normally wear our most colorful plaid shirt, and if we felt really fancy we'd throw on a hat. As the 80's rolled around we would tease our hair and put on the biggest pattern dress in our closet, huge and heavy earrings along with a pair of nude pantyhose. By the time the 90's rolled around, we decided to stay neutral and all wear a button up white shirt with khaki's. If we really wanted to shake things up, we'd do denim. For the new millennium, we stuck with the minimal theme, but for the most part we did all black shirts. Some "extended" family shots included different colors for each separate family unit. Brilliant. Very creative.

Today, I try to keep all of that in mind. I don't want to date the photos too much by doing anything predictable. I always recommend solid complimentary colors. I recommend that you use tones that compliment each other as well as the surroundings. If a pattern is used, I would just have one small element break up the solids. I also think it's important for your clothing reflect you and your style. If money were not an issue, I'd make the following groupings for my family.

However, since time and money are both issues, we will have to make things work from the closet. Stay tuned to see what we came up with.

Out With "Something Old" In With "Something New"

2010-11-08T14:20:00.000-07:00

So far, in 2010, I've shot twenty-six weddings. At those twenty-six weddings almost 100% of those had the same cake topper. Ahhh, the classic monogram cake topper. Sure, we've come a long way since the "Precious Moments" toppers of the 1990's, but not far. While the Sans Serif letter is classic and clean, they've become a bit predictable. My friend Lea has come up with a fantasitcal idea. Yes, mom, I know that's not a word. So great, "Bride's" magazine was interested in running a piece on her new idea. She takes a simple silhouette picture like one of these.....

and turns it into a custom cake topper/keepsake like one of these.....

Away with the same old same old. This is a perfect way to capture that day that you were young and skinny. OK, so age does not really translate, but it does wonders for your legs! She can personalize them to suit you and your interests. She recently cut a topper for a client that wanted to incorporate their love for beach cruisers.

After the wedding, set out your cake topper as decoration. It will be a permanent reminder of your big day......and how skinny you used to be.

Oh, look how cute that little baby is off to the corner. Can't believe that little chunky monkey will be 8 on Friday!

To check out more, or to contact Lea here: Ohana By Lea

Just To Be Fair.....

2010-11-06T21:24:00.000-07:00

Andrew and Abbey were outside the fairgrounds. It's March here, but the wheel stays up all year.

You have to understand that growing up in Dallas, my idea of a state fair is totally warped. We would get a "Fair Day" from school, and most employers would also give employees a day off just to go to the fair. There are 300,000 square feet of car show alone. Football games, tons of shows and stages and the food. Ahh the food. From almost anywhere in town you can see the Ferris wheel. The State Fair of Texas Ferris wheel is 212 ft high. I recognize it's not fair to judge. Coming from a state where the very name is often used as an adjective, it's really hard not to. I even noticed the "Texas" adjective at the AZ fair!

not helping me with my homesick issues.

Any who, today we went to the fair. Our good friend Jarrod and his band, Phoenixburn where playing. Good friends and all the fried food we can afford, why not. We started out our fried food extravaganza with the obligatory corn dog. It was not a Fletchers, but the best we could find. As we were eating we were greeted by a random stuffed bird. Maybe, not sure, a mascot for the fair? He popped on the stage and asked if anyone wanted to do the chicken dance. Andrew, my child who will do absolutely anything, jumped on stage.

We left the chicken dance stage and headed over to hear Jarrod and the band play their set. Everyone say cheese!

Don't worry Jarrod, this is her response to everything.

Right about the time the concert was over, Andrew's stomach was a little queasy. We knew, being professional fair experts, this was a natural reaction to the grease intake. The fact is, no one leaves the fair until someone vomits. So off we went for more fair fun. We decided to do what anyone with a queasy kid does, take them up on the skyride. We exchanged all the cash we had, for 40 tickets. Wow, the irony of "fair" was not lost on me.

I HATE heights. I have a serious problem. The thought of dangling with my child 100 feet in the air, is awful.

First of all, I almost insisted on stopping by a Wal-Mart after noticing my husbands choice in BLACK old man socks?! Seriously, dude, welcome to the year 2010. The above picture is classic in so many ways. We've all been there when our old man is pointing out irrelevant and obvious sightings to the "oh-so-over-this" child. Not to mention the butt scratch by my first born. There they are, my boys. Weems 1.0 and Weems 2.0.

Once we got our land legs back, we had a handful of tickets left. Not enough for a decent ride, we decided to blow the rest on impossible games. Andrew chose some sort of machine gun game, always appropriate for the fair. Abbey actually won a quarter toss. She got the perfect size stuffed animal.

Overall, a success. Sick tummies and moneyless wallets, time to go. Enjoy some parting shots.

Mary & Jeremy

2010-11-02T21:15:00.000-07:00

Just finished up editing another wedding. I always love the feeling of marking something off my to-do list. I'm so blessed to even have a to-do list. To-do, boy that looks funny. I'm not sure I've ever typed that one out. I'm sure Rossy pooh will let me know if I messed up the spelling. Any way, I'll post a few of my favorites.

Mary and Jeremy were such a fun couple. Very laid back, very easy to work with. Sometimes brides get caught up in the stress of tiny little details. Mary did a good job at keeping things in prospective.

This weighted a ton, but it was so dang cool.

sometimes, you just need to get a lick in.

maybe my favorite of the whole day. So many things going on.

Sandwich Protest

2010-11-01T20:43:00.001-07:00

Working from home has it's perks. I can work in my PJ's, I can wait to brush my teeth until after lunch, I can switch out laundry as soon as it's finished drying and I never have to miss a good long chat with my Mormon friends that come by at least once a month. However, with all of that greatness comes a few downfalls. Spending the day in your PJ's may require you to answer the door in them. Pretty sure the UPS man runs straight to his truck in a full on sprint, after the obligatory doorbell ring. Another problem is the ever present question, "what kind of a sandwich will I eat today?" Well, today I decided to break out of the sandwich rut. I was going to make my own flat bread pizza. Yumm-o.

Behold, (insert angelic voices here "Ahhhhhh")

If you notice behind the sauce, you'll see dessert. Very "where's waldo" of me.

spread EVOO on first, then slather with pizza sauce.

Add cheese. Keep adding until you can no longer see the flat bread or pizza sauce. Eat whatever is left.

Add your goodies. Mine where shrooms, tomatoes, purple onion, oregano and garlic salt. Continue eating cheese.

I cooked mine for 35 minutes on 375. It probably could have stayed in longer, but the smell was too much. I had to pull it out and taste it. Yes, it was piping hot. I've lost all feeling and sense of taste in my mouth.

This is the mess I created. This could happen to you, but I recommend walking away. If you ignore it long enough, the magic cleaning fairies will take care of it.

Adventures in Engagement Shooting

2010-10-31T21:47:00.000-07:00

Being from "out of town" is sometimes difficult. Back home, in God's country, I knew where everything was. I know if I want a cool "urban" look, I would head straight to downtown Dallas. I could shoot for days and days, just in downtown. Cool stuff. Finding cool spots here is a bit challenging. Here in Phoenix, we are so concerned with blending in with nature, that things all start to look the same. We have golf courses, rocks, stucco, several waterfalls (normally prohibited) (not that it stops me) and tons of cactus's or is it cacti or maybe cacky?

A couple of months ago, I took a scenic route home from the camera shop. Truth be known, I was just plain lost. It turned out to be a great thing. I found a great street of "character." Turns out, every time I've shot there, I've found several characters. Most of them scary. Here are a couple fun shots of my last engagement session there. These two were so much fun, and felt safe knowing they were armed.

It Had To Be Done.

2010-10-30T16:01:00.000-07:00

Over the summer I started making goals for myself and my business. I feel like when I started out, I wanted to shoot anything and everything. Over the years, I've discovered my love for shooting weddings. Weddings are so crazy and wonderful all at the same time. They are all predictably unpredictable and I love it. In order to really focus in on weddings, I need to reformat a few things. My website needs a major overhaul. I want people to feel like they know me and what to expect, before they ever contact me. The best way for me to do that, is with video. The thought of seeing and hearing myself on video gives me a small twitch. If I had to name one thing that I hate more than anything, it would be flying. Flying is not really what I'm talking about here, so mentioning it would be pointless. If I had to mention my top 10 things, seeing and hearing myself would be right after those top ten. Seriously close.

Anyway, I went ahead and bit the bullet. Jeff Cools Production, did a great job. When I first saw it, I had to close my eyes when I saw myself. Who is this crazy lady, and where did that accent come from? I chose the most colorful shirt I had ever purchased and put on my pinkest pink eyeshadow, and thought that would be cool. Turns out, when I start talking about color, there is a shot of me talking. All I can think about is how much I look like that lady on the Drew Carey show. Seriously, I never wear that much color. I also love how I'm pretty much dressed exactly like the beautiful lady I'm shooting. In retrospect, I wish I would have added dialog about how I insist on my clients that they dress like me for every shoot.

Jennifer Weems Photography from Ronda Zang on Vimeo.

My Cute Little Devil

2010-10-28T17:25:00.000-07:00

It's messy hair day, so only slightly different from normal style. Not sure where he learned the "call me" pose?

OK, for all of you who hate the generic mom talk, go ahead a "x" on out of here. Normally, this would be me, but I'll try to stick around long enough to write my own post. I have a very lofty goal of 30 post in 30 days, so bear with me. This is post 4 of 30, if you're keeping track. Hi mom. Mom? You there? Tap, tap, tap....is this thing on?

A couple days ago we had parent conferences. Normally, I brace for the worst. Abbey, somehow, has her teachers generally fooled. They always talk about how sweet and obedient she is, and I try not to get nauseous while hearing about it. Andrew, on the other hand, is normally a different story. I normally hear about how disorganized he is and how he does not put in his full effort. I also hear a lot about how he has a tendency to act like a 10 year old boy. I know that boys will be boys, but my kid really puts the "oy" in boy. I always have the night before confessional session. It's only fair that they have the chance to make any last minute confessions. I also like to know so I don't have an "I'm going to go home and beat my child" look on my face.

When I walked into Andrew's review, his teacher was encouraging. He has apparently turned a corner, and stopped using her classroom as a captive audience to the "Andrew Show". I noticed that he had left me a note. I read it on the way out to the car, and I found myself getting all mushy. This little boy has a way of getting my heart in record time. Please excuse the bad handwriting, it's in the gene pool.

10.10.10

2010-10-27T18:17:00.001-07:00

In the wedding industry, triple digit dates are big business. I was excited when I booked my 10.10.10 wedding. I remember it because it was at the bridal show. Apparently I wooed them in with my cute cowboy boots. They never really said that, but I was pretty sure that was it. Any who, apparently everyone was booked because they came back. Always a small victory. These two met in Japan where she goes to school for fashion & design and he designs cars for Honda. After meeting, the couple moved to Cali. I was so happy to be a part of their day, I knew it would be cool.

I love it when people see each other before the ceremony. It's such a cool moment.

Randall had The best reaction so far. You can actually see the words "wow" being formed on his lips. A total head to toe check out. LOVE it.

He was such a proud groom, he gushed over her the whole time.

Some brides just get it. You can always tell when they have been looking through fashion magazines.

a beautiful blend of cultures

I knew I was in good company when I noticed the "wellcome". I think proper spelling is over rated.

For those of you keeping track at home, blog 3 of 30. Booyah.

Homework Makes A Comeback

2010-10-26T16:47:00.000-07:00

It's no secret that homework is not my favorite thing. I did not enjoy it as a student, and I continue to hate it as a parent. It's an almost guaranteed fight. Today, I heard the front door open and heavy stomps to the kitchen table. I pretended to not notice the drama. Papers shuffle, drawers open and shut, then quite. I'm curious, but still avoiding the impending struggle. I hear "oh yeah, baby."

Homework assignment: Choose a snack, hold it, smell it, taste it and describe it. What luck! This whole assignment is completed every time this kid eats. She completely loves the act of eating. In fact, for her birthday she wants to have a "melting pot" birthday party with a gaggle of her girlfriends. Talk about bringing a tear of joy to a mothers eye.

Her food of choice? Ice Cream. Beautiful. Wonderful. Ice Cream. Lucky for me, she did not notice my Blue Bell stash. Upon finishing, she declaimed her love for both homework and ice cream. We shall see, we shall see.

Once the bow was licked clean, it was time to round up the neighborhood posse.

Just a side note, not that I'm counting.....post 2 of 30. Completo.

Up For The Challenge

2010-10-25T15:23:00.000-07:00

So, last week I was challenged after listening to a fellow photographer speak. She really gave me a much needed kick in the pants. She spoke about the importance of a blog. She described it as a window into my life. For the most part, I'm an open book. Writing about the weird things that happen to me on a regular basis, I could do every day. Finding the time to do so with cool pictures, not so much. Any who, in effort to jump start my renewed effort in blogging, I will blog everyday for the next 30 days. So for now, knowing my mom is probably the only one occasionally reading this thing, I will take the challenge.

Enjoy cool post #1 of 30 complete with cool blog graphic. Be amazed.

Slide Rock - The Recap

2010-08-25T16:10:00.000-07:00

July 14, a day for the past two years I try to avoid. Two years ago, that day, I kissed my daddy goodbye. It's funny how a simple date can fire up such vivid memories. For he rest of the world, July 14th is another day that comes and goes. For me, I dread it for weeks and try to keep my mind away from such awful memories. In conversation with Amy, she mentioned that on "Wednesday" she was going to take her kids up to Sedona and we were welcome to go. So being the random spontaneous person that I am agreed. What better way to avoid the 14? We had never done "Slide Rock" so I was up for trying it out.

I left a great pair of sunglasses somewhere in this area.

Handed my camera to a stranger and she took this god forsaken picture of my butt. I'm just going to say the camera adds 20 lbs.

not the truck we drove up in

We traveled up in two cars into two cars. I like to call one pair the karaoke chipmunk singers and the second pair the quiet peaceful travelers. There were equal parts Scott's/Weems in each pair. As we approached the park, we stopped a mile or 3 up the road to cram into one car. They charge by the car, so we tossed two kids in the truck. Yes, there were really children in the trunk. We did treat them to air by pulling down one of the seats 1/2 way. When questioned by the park ranger as to "how many people" we had, there were nervous giggles and a less than accurate number given. Good times. You aren't having fun until you've lied about two children in the trunk.

As soon as we got in, we were excited to hike into the river area. The kids were having a good time taking everything in. In retrospect, we should have spent a little bit more time cautioning the kids to walk and be careful. As soon as Andrew spotted the water he ran and jumped into a slide. It's really lucky for him that he did not get swept down stream.

freaking cold water

The water was ice cold and almost took your breath away. Just beautiful.

This was Abbey's first look of disgust. I also love the exact opposite reaction in Andrew's eyes.

Abbey, almost immediately, had a bad fall and declared this the "worst place ever" and wanted to go back to the car. I forced her to stay and continue, and she did. She pretty much spent the day waffling between loving and hating this whole experience. It's not for the faint at heart. This is real adventure, real fun and real big nasty falls.

Andrew spent about 30 minutes trying to catch a tadpole for his sister. The perfectionist in him kept him busy with this task until I made him stop. He also spent a large part of the day working on this photography skills. His favorite subject was this traveling partner.

He was "praticing" for a while with the same model.

He really has a great "eye". Can't wait until I can him for some free assistant work!

standing, check. stopping, check. parking, check.

This sunset and a promise of a new day.

The Violin: Day One

2010-08-21T10:02:00.000-07:00

Here it is, in all of it's glory.....the violin.

One of the benefits to Andrew's gifted academy is the music program. This campus is offering an orchestra option along side the band instruction. Apparently the instructor called Andrew out to the hall to ask him if he'd received formal training on the violin. Normally, when he's called out to the hall by a teacher it's for less notable reasons. This conference worked out for him. Ever since then, he's been on a full on mission to get a violin. OK, I relented. I don't ever want him to accuse me of not supporting his dreams.

After school we went out to the music store and signed away my credit card for this thing. We had everything we needed. On the way home I asked..."So, do you know any songs?" "Yeah, I do." He answered. "What songs do you know?" I asked. He responded, "All the regulars." Immediately I assume, Hot Crossed Buns, Mary Had a Little Lamb....stuff like that. He continued, "You know, the Hot Dog song and the Arizona song." Apparently, we have different "regulars"

Pretty much as soon as we get that baby home, I want to hear the "Hot Dog" song. We open it up and have a hard time getting that thing to make a sound. I tighten the bow and try again....nothing. Next,I put on the shoulder guard, nothing again. Weird. I pluck the strings and they feel fine, but maybe an adjustment is needed? As I start twisting the first string, I explain to Andrew how important it was to not "over tighten" the strings. Pretty much at the same exact moment the words "over tighten" were rolling out of my mouth, the little string popped like an old rubber band. I smiled and said, "See, just like that." I tried play it off, but we burst into laughter. He's way too old to fall for that.

This was the face he had after a couple minutes of no real sound coming out AND a broken string. He relented and decided to just clean the three remaining strings. Oh well, maybe we'll ask about our "issues" when I take the thing in for repair. I'll be sure to omit the fact that I was the one to cause the damage. Not important information.

Oh Happy Days!

2010-08-16T11:19:00.000-07:00

Growing up, the first day of school was one of the greatest days ever. Square topped crayons, fresh glue ready to be colored via crayon color of your choice, new outfit, cool Kappas with super cool wide laces. Ahhh, those were the days. Now, as a parent, the first day of school is equally fantastic. No sign of Sponge Bob playing from another room, no fights to break up, no "mom, there's nothing to do" comments, no request for friends to come over, and all the time to get some real work done. Perfection, at least for today.

This morning Abbey woke me up at 7am completely ready for school. She was ready. With a closet full of new clothes, she chose to wear a hodgepodge of old mismatched clothing. She also chose to do her own hair. Armed with her own can of hairspray, she apparently let loose. She had somehow created a protective helmet of hair with a single can of hairspray, but I thought she could not be any cuter.

It was time, or really past time, to head out. The scramble to get out the door by 8 was crazy, and will persist for the next 9 months. None of us are really morning people.

This is pretty much the story of my life. One poser and one painfully difficult child. I've decided to photograph what I get, so I have proof when she gets older that I really did try to document her too.

As we were sitting at a red light, we saw HIM. She said "Look, there's Johnny!....and Caden....and Johnny!!"


Johnny is the one in all black. I've called him Grape Johnny since K.

As we got onto campus, I tried to steal some shots. She was not going to make this easy. Of course the only decent one I got of her, she was blinking. Totally figures.

My little poser in the back is smiling, of course.

We walked in eagerly to find a couple of her friends. From across the playground we heard "Abbey!" It was Bella. They spent almost everyday together this summer, but embraced like they had been apart for years. I also realized that my little tootie would smile at me if she had a friend. Note to self.

Here are some shot of Abbey with my boys. Andrew wanted to make sure she got to the right spot.

Here is what her face looked like when she discovered she was sitting at an "all boy" table. Thrilled.

OK, one down and one to go. Good luck Ab's! Now, it was time to take Andrew to his school. He is still going to the gifted academy at Esperanza. With my baby in the 5th grade, we were really pushing our luck getting him to let us walk him to class. Pretty much as soon as we got our parking lot kiss, he was off. If I did not know better, I'd say he was trying to loose us. Nah. :)

Not sure if he was trying to blend in with his camo mix. I'll choose my battles and let this fashion disaster #2 go.

He was pretty anxious for us to leave and stop with the stalking, so I made one fatal request. That's right. I did it. I made him pose and smile next to his teacher. That's right, I'm THAT parent, and I'm totally ok with it. Yes, I will have to answer for that on the way home.


Ms. Barnes was his teacher last year, but graduated up with all of her former students.

Bathing Beauties

2010-07-26T21:40:00.002-07:00

Snuff said. I never realize how cute that face could get!

Who saw that coming? Yes, we did this 13 more times.

Watch out boys.

Not sure what Remini is up to in the background?

I spend a good part of my life documenting the lives of other people. I love coming home and looking at all the goodies we caught in a photo shoot. I always think about how cool it would be to have someone follow us around with a camera and catch us being us. I know it sounds stupid, but sometimes I forget that I should just take the camera out to the backyard and take some pictures of my kids being their own usual weirdo self. This morning I had my youngest weirdo and someone else's weirdo, but I did it any way. I also want to remember that my little Abbey used to never wear matching swimsuits. I think it's little stuff like that gets forgotten. Not much to say, just showing my giant cutie pie next to her vertically challenged friend.

Baby's First

2010-07-23T17:06:00.002-07:00

As a parent there are many milestones you make with your babies. Most notably are normally, baby's first step, tooth or maybe even haircut. If you ask me, the best milestones for us have been the kind that don't make those silly books.

Over the last several months, the Weems family has had a couple. First, was Andrew's braces. We've known for several years that his mouth was a periodontal nightmare or an orthodontist dream, depending on your viewpoint. With much fear, on my part, we went ahead and did it. It took some time deciding on what organ we would donate to make that happen, but we bit the bullet and did it. We all survived, minus one kidney.

A couple of weeks ago I got an email for "Ladies Night" at The Melting Pot. My mind raced trying to think of a group of ladies that I would love to invite. As my mind swirled with possibilities, Ross said, "You know who would LOVE to go with you?" I knew he was referring to Abbey. As much as a kid free evening taunts me, I know she would completely enjoy it. My baby may enjoy the act of eating more than me. She loves trying new things and has a special love for cheese and chocolate that brings a tear of joy to my eye. She makes me proud. I relented and decided to take her. I'm so glad I did. We made a day of getting manicures and pedicures and even a trip to Dillard's for a new "long big girl dress." Abigail Rose I loved spending the day and evening with you. I'm already looking for our next night out!

Super Cute at the LDS Temple in Mesa

2010-07-23T15:34:00.002-07:00

If I were to be completely honest, I really did not know what to expect when I showed up for this shoot. I was a little worried about the heat. I think the official forecast called for high of 185, or something close to that. When I spoke to K about meeting, I warned her of all the things a body does to a person in that kind of heat. She was up for the physical challenge, and so was I. Well, not really, but I told her I was. We met at 7am at the LDS temple in Mesa. If you were there, I would have been the one in short shorts out front, trying to peak in every time someone walking into those rotating doors. Come to find out, with rotating doors, all you really see is the next door? Pretty nifty system.

When J & K arrived, she was easy to spot. Gorgeous. As we started, I played it safe. She is not getting married until the 29th, so I wanted to make sure I did not mess up her dress too much. Much to my happy surprise, she was up for anything. She sat on the ground, walked through puddles, stood in the middle of traffic and even took a chance near the fountain. We had some good times, and I think her session proved it. I can't wait until the 29th, where I will live to sweat another day!

Why yes, I do have a blog

2010-07-06T17:20:00.024-07:00

Well, after three attempts at my blogger password, I'm in! I know it's been way too long, and I don't have the energy to give an excuse (wedding season) I'll pretend like there was no 5 month block out. I did have a cute catchy blog all worked out, but somehow deleted that. Cool, smooth move. Just trust me, it was great.

Any who. I decided that was taking to long, so I'll just narrate this post with one million pictures of our trip to Oceanside. Here goes.

For most of this road trip Andrew and Abbey were heads down in video games or movies. After we arrive home, we discovered Andrew had pretty much documented the whole trip on a little video recorder he kept in his pocket. These clips included: a perfect karaoke number to "Don't Stop Believing" in the backseat, a trip to the bathroom in Olive Garden and several moments in the condo. All pretty hilarious.

Here, Abbey gave her obligatory "I'll just put on this fake smile so mom will leave me alone" smile.

Yes, he was driving. No, not recommended. Yes, this was our third attempt.So we finally made it! Ocean. Here are some pictures I took with no Weems'.

We spent one day at LegoLand. Actually, the only reason we had to go there was for the cars. Abbey needed her driver's license.

Yes, she drives like her mom. Pretty much broke every rule. I'll have to teach her later how to look cute when the police request "license and registration"
Waiting in line pretty much sucked. We are all very impatient people.
The lady said "Everyone put their gun's up." I guess I was the only one not excited about this ride.
Jellyfish display.
Abbey wanted to touch and feel everything. Andrew, not so much.
Yes, I handed my camera to a stranger with strict instructions.
That fish in front of Abbey could not have had any better timing.
I just love this one. Ross was taking a picture on his phone. I just love that profile :)
Waterproof camera, check. Waterproof phone.....uncheck. Close call.
We met up with some friends from Phoenix one afternoon. This was my only shot at a decent family picture. I'm pretty sure I was promising Abbey a puppy and a small amount of cash here. She never cooperates.....ever.
Yay! Thanks Nicole. You can almost not tell I'm threatening my kids behind this smile.
We also pressed our luck by passing the massive camera to my 10 year old. Not bad Andrew.
Yes, he could not resist the stupid shot of mom.
We had tons-o-fun out at the beach. These two kids could totally spend 24 hours out in the sand.

Did I mention Abbey's love for the camera. The lighting could not be any more perfect here. Believe it or not, I have a whole collection of pictures of a face covered mystery child.
We did have one set back. Andrew decided to spice up the trip with a vomiting and fever spell. The day he decided to start that up, Abbey and Ross took the camera and set out. Here are some of their shots.

I took this one from the balcony of the condo.
Later that day, Abbey decided that sand castles were too hard. She got so tired of them washing away to sea. She decided to build a "seaweed castle". I'll have you know this "castle" was still there in the morning.

Later that night we decided to eat dinner at the end of the pier. By that hour, Abbey was in peak performance. He was tired and moody. She declared that she could put her jacket on herself. When I asked her if I could tell her a secret about her jacket, she said "no". So, I did what any good mother would do. I laughed and took a picture.

In desperate attempts for a fun family shot, I put my camera on the ground by the building and set the good 'ole timer.
A nice lady noticed my struggle and constant running back and forth, so she offered to take a couple pictures. Of course, one of us is always looking like a total dork.

Ok, it's time to hit the road back home. Have I mentioned that my husband unpacked my tripod yet? Any way, the only spot to put my camera was about 50 yards away. My camera timer max's out at 10 seconds, so we offically have a problem. We never really made a good family shot here, but the attempts of setting the timer, running in sand, up a set of stairs and not hitting your head are freaking funny. Enjoy our many failures.
FAIL.
FAIL.
FAIL.
FAIL.
One last dip in the water. We will see you next year Oceanside!

Not sure, just weird. One last note, there's no proof read tonight. Please excuse any mispellings or incomplete thoughts.

What Are The Odds?

2010-02-28T13:47:00.006-07:00

Well, I never thought I'd be blogging about another broken arm this soon. Our official count is now 3 broken arms. Seriously. What the heck?

Instead of bore you with the confirmed dangers of dancing in a swivel chair, I'll take the friendship angle on this one. Lily and Ab are always the best of friends or worst of enemies. For the most part, they are true blue BFF's. Yesterday, Lily was over when Abbey broke her arm. She was very concerned for Abbey yesterday when we left, so I was not too surprised to hear that Lily wanted to come over to cheer Abbey up. Watching these two girls is pretty fun and a bit nostalgic. There are only two or three friends that I can sit and do nothing with. I've always said that a good solid friendship sometimes means sitting in the same room and saying absolutely nothing. It seems these two little girls already get that.

Let It Snow, Let It Snow

2010-01-20T11:23:00.005-07:00

There we are. Family pictures are so hard to get but here is a keeper.

Eating snow. for whatever reason, was fun for all the kids.

Seriously, this kid is so hard to photograph. Ugh.

Kinmans: Baylee, Remini, Lorie and Jarrod Kinmans pretending to not be freezing. Living in Phoenix, we don't see much snow. In fact, we see much of anything falling from the sky. For all that Phoenix lacks in winter weather, we can always drive a couple hours north and get all the white stuff we want. So after almost 5 years, we decided to take the kids up to Flagstaff to get our winter fix. To make the trip a little more exciting we cohabited with the Kinman Klan. Good Times.

The kids first reaction to the snow was very similar to a Christmas morning excitement. Squeals and screams of anticipation in the car driving up were fun to hear, but only for a minute. Prolonged car screaming is never cool, just a note to self.

As soon as we got there, and immediately following a conversation about who would bust their butt first, Ross fell on his bokahonkas. Don't worry, other than an injured pinkie and elbow, he was fine. The rest of us, however, grew pretty weary of hearing of these injuries all weekend.

The first day, we discovered a great sled hill. Well, it was great if you don't count Abbey and Remini's minor whiplash, and Abbeys face plant. Soon after this sled trip Abbey decided sledding was not her bag. We also made a small attempt to make a snowman. Eventually our efforts seemed pointless when our ADD crowd decided to just eat snow and climb wood piles.

The second day, we decided to actually leave the house and get some lunch. After 40 minutes waiting for a table and about the same amount of time waiting for our food, we were off to take some pictures downtown. The kids were pretty over the whole deal before we ever started, but I thought it would be nice to get a couple Weems family shots while I had someone there to help. Normally, our family shots involve me setting up the tripod and timer while hurling threats to my children to "smile or I'll spank" while trying to smile. So after some photo advice from Andrew to "suck your butt in Mommy!" I did my best. After getting home, I realized he was very right, profile shots are not for me or my bootay.

A Decade In Parenting

2010-01-03T16:57:00.004-07:00

#1 Every kid needs a picture with antlers. #2 Durango, CO #3 Not real spiders #4 Partners in Crime

This morning someone suggested that I start a blog. That was my first clue that too much time had passed since my last blog entry. So, one of my New Year's resolutions will be to be more consistent with my blog. Here goes nothing. No really, I mean this resolution could be dead and gone within a week. I'm horrible at this stuff.

11 years ago I was in my early twenties. OK, maybe not too early, but not exactly late. I was young and fancy free. Not sure what "fancy free" means but fun to say and slightly poetic. We came and went anytime any place. Heck, we even bought a black convertible. Speaking of black convertible...I remember feeling so sick and miserable waiting for our fiance agent to work a small miracle with our income and lack of credit history. I had been feeling sick for 7 weeks or so, but I was pretty sure I had a bug. Who cares anyway? We are young and now is the perfect time to buy a convertible (at least this is what we told my parents.) Long story short, yep, I was preggers. Telling everyone was fun but met with several odd responses. My mom asked "how did this happen?" I was not sure if she needed me to answer or if she was completely caught off guard, but odd moment to say the least. My friend Tammy, with whom I saw almost everyday, cried. Not a happy cry, just a 'my fun time with you is over' kinda cry. Eventually, we all rolled around to the idea of my parenting a child. Scary for all involved.

After a long night of putt-putt and Mexican food on New Years Eve, I settled in for the night. We celebrated the big millennium starting, and we were thankful that we had power, water and our computers were all working. Around 1am is when my life began to change. After many hours of laboring, pushing and getting to see how the vacuum and forceps felt, my child was out. I can still remember starring in complete confusion and amazement at this perfect child that they pulled out of me. Wow, that beautiful baby was mine.

In just 10 short years he has said his first word, took his first step, made friends and advanced in his education far beyond expectations (obviously, from his mother.) I can't wait to see what the next decade has in store for us. I love you Andrew!

What's Taking So Long?

2009-11-04T21:32:00.002-07:00

I know what you're thinking the first and the last look the same. Well, they're not, you've gotta trust me. Every once in a while I get a bit overwhelmed. I start feeling the pressure to get my edits back to my customers. Normally, I blame those I love most for my delays. Running around kids or messing with someone else's business, or general wifely duties. However, occasionally, I notice me slowing myself down. When I've edited a photo img_9996E, that's a good indicator that I may have edited this photo too much and I should really move on. The most obnoxious part is that I sit and wonder which one is my favorite?

Note to self, this is not professional and completely obnoxious. Move along, just keep swimming.

My Little Devil

2009-10-02T11:19:00.002-07:00

Don't let the puppy dog eyes fool you. Apparently, the bunny ears never get old.

My favorite site, both of them walking to Beth's house :)

Seriously, this front tooth is so loose, it looks like it's already gone.

Sweet Lily
For weeks now Abbey has insisted on being a devil for Halloween. She has three separate devil costumes circled in the well worn Party City magazine. I'm not sure why she can't just wear her everyday devil suit, denim shorts, T-shirt and flip flops. I could do a whole three minute bit on the perfect irony of that child wanting to be a devil for Halloween.

Any who, yesterday I got an eye full when I answered the feverish doorbell ring. I knew it was the girls because I could hear them giggling and plotting outside the door. After pretending to not be home for several minutes (hey, you can hope can't you?) I answered the door. My first glance went to the red sequin halter top that my sweet devil was wearing. She had one arm raised on the door frame exposing more mid section that I ever care to see. Honestly, I'm not sure how my little devil did not get picked up walking down the street? After the initial shock, I did what any mother would do after seeing her daughter in a prostitute devil costume......I grabbed the camera. These two girls are so stinkin' cute, I had to. I'm sure in a couple of days we will have two prostitute devil costumes. How can I resist?

I Might Even Be A Rock Star

2009-09-26T13:40:00.004-07:00

Before the concert, and yes, very aware of the bunny ears. Seriously, who let's their kid go this long with a tooth that loose?!

One picture waiting inside for the concert, and the big picture is in the car before we walk in. Yes, she is screaming.

In case you ever wanted to know what it looks like to watch a concert from the last row in the building.

Thank God for nifty zooms and arm rest tripods. If you were to ever grab my ipod, you might notice my full collection of Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus songs. I might also tell you that they are in there just for Ab's. That, however, would not be the complete truth. She kinda rocks and she's fun to dance to. We are, after all, HUGE dance in the living room with music blaring fans. We even have a huge mirror downstairs that we can check ourselves out while dancing a fool. Again, off on at tangent.

Back in June, I surprised Abbey with news about the concert. She was excited, but not real sure what a concert involved. It was pretty obvious when she had mentioned how cool it would be to talk to Miley and get her "sign-a-ture". After explaining that our seats were closer to roof than Miley, she was a little confused. As the day grew closer our excitement did too. What to wear, how to do our hair, trying to pull that dang tooth out, where to eat......lots to do and talk about.

It's hard to put into words how she reacted. Sometimes, she would just hop around or scream because there were no words for her either. After seeing Miley on stage for the first time she kept repeating "Oh my gosh, that's Hannah Montana!" Her face lit the room. In fact, I spent most of the concert just watching her. We've all been to the concert and seen the many different concert approaches. Some just sit and watch, some sit, clap and sing a long, some sleep but the fun ones really know how to dance it up. Abbey is a dancer!! She swung her arms around the WHOLE time. Toward the end of the concert, she had lots of room to move around so she made full use of that space putting on her own show. One perk of sitting on the last row is the small table behind us. I was able to put my camera down and film some of her moves. I have several bits, but I'll just post one. I'm so excited I could experience her very first concert. She has her fair share of pain in the butt moments, but this makes up for it. Even more, I finally have a good concert buddy that I can take with me and really have a good time!

Rock Those Socks

2009-09-18T10:50:00.003-07:00

Quick photo before school. This morning goofing off is also why we are on tardy #3

No real reason for this picture other than a pretty standard progression to all of our photo attempts. I could line a album with these things. Just yesterday I was out shopping and found a shirt that screamed "Abbey". It was blue, her favorite color, and had the message I love my puppy. I carried it around for a minute, but I ultimately put it down. The reason? Simple. I did not want to see that t-shirt every 3rd day for the next 12 months. If I've learned nothing else (and it is quite possible that I have not) I've learned to buy clothes that I don't mind seeing on a regular basis. If I don't want to see it, I don't but it. Great Rule.

With all that being said, and because I can be a slow learner, we do have those "special" items in the closet that get intentionally overlooked. Up until now, I've grabbed the socks in the morning just because they are the top drawer and I know there are MANY pairs in there that should never see the light of day. In an effort to please me (rare) she dressed and got her own socks. With overwhelming pride she popped around the corner to present herself to me. A very "ta da" moment.

What?! My eyes almost popped out just trying to find a place to look first. Was it the mid-shin length, was it the color, was it the text? Surely it was not the floral print Chucks? Trying to keep her proud of her "achievement", I started with a simple "Wow! Look at you?" "What's up with those socks?" Abbey replies, "They say I love you and I want to wear them to school." I returned with the question that I was pretty sure I knew the answer to. It was pretty obvious to me that she wanted to tell her beloved mom, right? I continued, "Who do you want to tell 'I love you' to?" Abbey grinned and said quickly "Ms. Sowers, I love her soooooo much!".

Seriously, how can you possibly make her take those off? Ms. Sowers, my hat is off to you. We knew you had a tough act to follow with those amazing Kindergarten teachers we had last year. I'm not even sure if you'll notice (although hard to miss) that her socks were sending a message straight to you.

Crop Magic

2009-09-16T10:44:00.002-07:00

Every once in a while I get the urge to do something different. OK, not really every once in a while, more like every session. I've been editing this wedding now for over a week and I feel like I do the same old tricks. I went to crop down this picture and forgot that the last obscure crop was this ratio. The results really blew my skirt up, so I thought I'd share.

Rules To Go By....

2009-09-10T16:28:00.004-07:00

Statistically, 3 out of 4 kids raised by ninjas become ninjas.

Posing rule #42: If you can't see me, I can't see you.

In case the holiday sweater isn't weird enough, throw in the ever so popular bunny/parrot combo.

Posing Rule #67: Matching holiday sweaters never really works out for the men, regardless of color or pattern.

Large creepy heads of your youngest is just weird.

Not only are they engaged, but they are also in hiding.

Is it me, or are there more heads than bodies?

Just in case the shirts and lays weren't enough.....

Posing Rule#23 Make sure the pose doesn't raise more questions than answers.

Posing Rule #98: Crossbows and little girls don't mix. I'll let the logo T's comment go.

See above pose rule #23

Not only do they all work at Sears, but very supportive of mom's playboy status.

Pose Rule #65: Large banana squash and miniature schnauzers should never be paired.

Wow, that was fun. Maybe I should declare Thursday "What Not To Do Thursday"? I'll let it simmer.

Homework - A Natural Progression

2009-08-26T16:29:00.004-07:00

Excited about her first real homework assignment.

One of the cardinal rules of parenting is don't compare your children. However, one of your first instincts as parents is, you guessed it, compare the brood. My Andrew spoiled me, academically speaking. He has always been a "gifted" kid, and never really realized it. This year he's in 4th grade, but starting out doing 5th grade math at his new "gifted" acadamy. He's been out smarting us for years. Of course he has also enjoyed raking me over the coals when it comes to behavior. A real "challenge" that one. Any who, speaking of comparing - Abbey knows that things don't come as easy for her as they did Andrew. She's not big dummy by any means, she's going to have to work for what she learns. She, like 99% of us, has to work at things before she understands a concept. She's more my "socially gifted" child. I could not be more proud.

Today, after school, she was excited to announce that she had homework. "Aren't you so excited mom? My first real homework. Don't you want to take pictures of that?" As soon as we got in the house, she was at the table with a sharp pencil. The first page was a snap, tracing. Easy breezy. Second page, rhyming. Snap, it's done. Third page.....cue the record scratch sound effect. Page three - write three sentences about your picture. "What? That is so stupid! I don't do pictures, and I don't do sentences. I only make rainbows. I'm outta here! Forget this stupid stuff, I'm never doing this again."

Oy Vey.

First Day Goodness

2009-08-19T22:15:00.007-07:00

Andrew would only pose for one picture and this was it. Fascinating.

Quick nervous smile while waiting on the light to change.Craziness in the Kindergarten/First Grade wing. Not sure why, I just really dig this shot.
Settling in, late of course.Nothing beats the excitement of the first day of school. New supplies, new teachers and catching up with old friends. For one particular Weems, this is normally the only day where the teacher is completely unaware any "history" he may have had with teachers past. A perfect angel.

Abbey was "totally excited" that her friend Johnny was in her class. I was totally NOT excited about being in a peanut free classroom. It's never a good sign when Mr. Peanut's picture is crossed out and glued to the front door. Up until this year we have dodged the 'ole peanut blackout. I mean seriously, dang the luck on that one.

Andrew was late being dropped off at his school, but we made it there just in time to cause a scene and snap a couple embarrassing photos. Nothing like your obnoxious mom standing at the door with a ginormous camera snapping away at the door while everyone is already working. I mean really, who would do that to their kid? If I knew someone, their photos would look a bit like the ones posted above. Not saying that I would do that, but I may know someone who does.

Bump to Baby

2009-08-11T19:58:00.002-07:00

I've been in wedding world for a while now, but it was nice to go back to my baby roots. Every time I go out to meet a new couple I use the same stuff, but I always get very different results. Baby Danny was such a good boy and full of expression! Loads of fun.

2009-08-02T19:19:00.005-07:00

Flowers left from unknown person.

In 1975 the doors to Charlton Methodist hospital of Dallas opened. For 34 years this hospital has seen many prestigious doctors, nurses and support staff come and go from it's doors. My dad was one of them. In 2003 they offered my dad a great position heading the Central Service department. His department was responsible for sterilizing surgical equipment and having it to the correct room for surgery. My dad had several employees under him, but he treated them all as friends. He organized to have cookies and punch brought in every Wednesday to boost moral. He picked up employees on snow days and even drove to their home just to start their lawn mower (that he gave them) on more than one occasion. He found a way to get a much needed baby bed and supplies to an employee that had no way to afford such luxuries. The kicker was that he never said a word about doing such things. We only found this stuff out after he had gone. People wrote us letters and came to visit with these stories. The week he passed away, we got word from the hospital that they wanted to plant a tree in his honor in the front main entrance. Wow. Looking back on all the big fancy doctors that must have saved so many lives, they wanted to honor my dad. What a legacy. What a statement.

One year to the day of my dad's passing, we went to his tree. I had not seen it since his memorial last year. I was particularly touched to see that someone other than family had remembered him on that day and left flowers. There it was in all it's glory in the middle of a nice grassy area at the main entrance to the hospital. Andrew went right to the plaque that we had not seen. For whatever reason he sat, stared and touched the stone. He rubbed his hands over dad's name and teared up. We all did. My baby has been a completely different boy ever since my dad left. They were best friends as any best friends could be. He is truly missing my dad more that I will ever fully know.

As we left I thought about how I want to leave my legacy. Will people plant a tree in my honor for being the best average Joe I can be? Will I make such a mark by doing good anonymously? Can I do so much stuff for so many people and never tell a soul that they will one day honor me with a plaque without the prompting of my family? So far, no. So far, not if I lived to be 600 years old. So today and everyday I will make it my mission to do everything well and the best I can do it. I will strive for excellence in all that I do. I will try to be as Christ-like in my every action known and unknown so that when I die (probably in the shower) my children will be honored to be mine.

This is a link to a song that makes me smile and cry all at the same time. I can't wait to run and hug my daddy's neck again!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnTu0i9cj-I

Home, Home on the Range

2009-07-31T21:28:00.002-07:00

In case you ever wondered what happens when you take two 9 year old boys to Ulta.

The gazebo has always been a run around. One stiff wind and this thing is a goner.

Out at her breakfast picnic with Mema. I could not love that face more.

Catching a spider is always first on the to do list when visiting Mema.

The best smiles from these two are always sneak attacks.

When I think vacation I think one thing, beach. If I had two things it would be beach and sand. If I had three maybe beach, sand and ice cream. However, this year our vacation turned into a trip "home". When you move thousands of miles from home and take the grand kids with you, you must go "home" when you get a chance. And after all, Texas has some of the greatest ice cream ever so it's kinda a twofer.

This year I decided to be a Texas tourist. I know it's totally crazy, but I feel so weird taking my camera to my "everyday" activities. OK, now that I really think about this it's not that weird. I really do take my camera everywhere, I'm a photographer. Every event, party or performance done Weem's style, there it is. Wow. What a revelation. Wait, was I going somewhere with that? Not sure, any who, lots 'o pictures this time.

Hanging out at Mema's means several things.....Co-sleeping with my child, waking up early and pretending that I'm still sleeping just because co-sleeping child finally left the room and I just need an hour to myself so I can function for the remainder of the day, bugs and swarms of them, humidity, bar-b-Que, Mexican food but the best part is picking up where you left off with friends and family.

Last Hurrah for Kindergarten

2009-06-25T14:12:00.000-07:00

Every parent/teacher conference this year we heard about our little social butterfly. At the beginning of the year we worried a bit about how well she would "adapt" to life in kindergarten. As it turns out, we had nothing to worry about. She went to school everyday as if she had been invited to an exclusive party of 23 of her best friends. She had super fun teachers, and only minor issues with office staff. As the end of the year approached, it was great to see how far she had come. Way to go baby girl, the world belongs to you.

Super Fun Engagement Session

2009-06-25T14:02:00.000-07:00

This photo shoot was loads of fun. I spoke with Denise and Juan about the upcoming wedding, and found out many exciting details. I'm most excited to see her shoe choice. Right now the choice is red, leopard or blue. All delicious choices!! So much fun and so very easy to photograph fun people.

I'm On A Break

2009-06-17T20:01:00.001-07:00

This picture made us late for dinner. We made the group wait on us downstairs while we got this ridiculous shot. Sorry group.

The phrase "I need a vacation" comes out of my mouth about once a month. On a really bad week, I might threaten a vacation daily. That week is normally predictable and pretty obvious. I digress. We had an opportunity that allowed us a kid-free week. OK, really I traded good 'ole Victoria some wedding photography for some serious babysitting and time served at the Bridal Show. As luck would have it we convinced our good friends Chris, Tammy, Sidney and Melody to meet us in sin city. Most of us have a long history. In fact, I can't remember a time when I did not know most of them. We truly grew up together, and know each other like family. Priceless.

We had a super fantastic time walking the strip in ridiculous heals, loosing quick money to the pit boss and dinning on over priced food. But looking back on the week, my best time was just hanging out in the hotel room with everyone. We always have the best time laughing about "inappropriate" subject matters, and of course we all have fun laughing and making fun of each other. I don't think you're really friends until you can do that. The week came and went all too soon, but we have hopes of doing it again. Hopefully, it won't be another 5 years! Good Times, Good Times.

The Luckiest Bride Ever!

2009-05-26T17:07:00.000-07:00

I can count on one hand the number of times that it has rained all day here in Phoenix. Normally the rain is very brief and very predictable. If it rains at all, it normally spawns a top story on the news with several reporters "on location" reporting on the rain spottings. April 12 was not one of those days. It was raining when I went to bed the night before and it rained all day! I knew this wedding was scheduled to be an outdoor wedding, but I was quite shocked to hear that they were preceeding with the outdoor efforts. As things turned out, the clouds parted and the sun came through. It turned out to be a beautiful few hours.

Pinewood Dirby Champion

2009-05-26T16:53:00.000-07:00

Up until recently, Andrew has shown very little intreast in AWANAS. We insist on him going because we like that the kids learn Bible verses and have a great time singing and playing games. OK, the real reason is that we love our dinner out in the middle of the week with no kids. The verses are a definite bonus. Any who, Andrew decided to enter himself the his first pinewood dirby race. As far as I knew all we had to do was paint it with some oops paint and glue on the wheels. Pretty much something we could do the night before. I was so wrong. The boys took several trips to Home Depot and one trip to the neighbors house. Ross took it to work several times for a weigh in.

The day had arrived and our wheels were lubed. We were all a bit nervous that our first slide down the slide would sent nuts and bolts a flyin'. We sat by the door for a quick escape. Much to my surprise he came in 7th place. This was really pretty great, considering there were about 25 cars. Next year, top three!

Photo Shoot in Wind Tunnel

2009-05-26T16:31:00.000-07:00

My first appointment with Amber was post-poned due to wind and rain. Our time was running out to meet school deadlines, so we rescheduled. This day was not the "ideal" day for photos, but we pressed out luck. We decided to shoot a few and just see how far we could get. As the shoot progressed, we hid behind every tree, wall and permanate structure. Looking back, you can't even tell we were battling the wind the whole time.

My Favorite Triplets Turn One

2009-05-26T16:24:00.000-07:00

Have A Ball

2009-05-26T16:19:00.000-07:00

I had the plesure of shooting Brad's senior shots. Normally parents get emotional looking through the results after the shoot. Mom, who came to the shoot, went ahead and started up the tears during the shoot. I know my day is coming when I'll do the same!

Fun Seniors

2009-05-26T16:17:00.000-07:00

Every once in a while, I get a really fun kid to photograph. Shelby was a blast to shoot, and her pictures came out great!

My Dear Victoria

2009-04-01T22:14:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time we had a really super fantastic baby sitter, we'll call her Victoria. Really, everyone calls her Victoria. Oh how we loved our babysitter, Victoria. She loved our kids, our kids loved her, she had a car, she was always available on Valentines day and only sent my daughter to the ER once. Every time we saw V, we reminded her about our strict "no boyfriend" policy. This was crucial to my own personal kid free/hubby time. She would always reassure us, "Don't worry, I don't have a boyfriend." This is the point of the story where you would cue up the really sad music....The phone rang, and it was Victoria with some news....Jen, I have a boyfriend. Dumm Dumm Dmmmmmm. "What? Really? When could you have possibly had time?" It was no use, the decision was made. Fast forward a couple of years later here we are. Engagement session. Wow. She's really blossomed into such a beautiful young lady. I'm so happy that she found a great guy that can love and treat her right. She is such a great person with an even better heart. And yes, she will pay off her photography debt via babysitting hours. Love you V, we wish you all the luck and would like to remind you to find a place with a spare bedroom. My kids LOVE sleepovers.

See all of her pics here. http://jenniferweems.com/slideshows/Joey%20and%20Victoria.htm

Redheads are my Favorite Flavor

2009-04-01T22:06:00.001-07:00

Last year I was treated, no more like cornered....ok, asked to donate something to my daughter's preschool fundraiser. I was so ready to be done with preschool all together, and pretty much counted the days until I was preschooler free. I dreamed about the dropping both kids off to the same school. Wow, the little things that make me happy? Any who, I don't even know where I was going with that, other than to say, I agreed to donate a session to Marie. Long story and one year later, we did the session.

The girls were a blast to see again, they are really two great kiddos. Madie, who had been a bit shy in our first session, really blossomed and stole the show. I'm sure it had nothing to do with my bias to redheads. Any way, I'm happy to say I'm glad Marie won her own recruit. I love this family.

I Heart Golfers

2009-03-23T09:31:00.000-07:00

Golfers will forever hold a special place in my heart. My dad was an amazing golfer. He's the only real person I know that has ever hit a hole in one. Amazing. When R's mom called and said that her son wanted golf pictures, I was stoked. Normally, when I take pictures on a golf course, I'm chased off. I was pleasantly surprised that the Arrowhead country club golf course was both kind and accommodating. Nice. When we first started out, R was very careful not to take pictures doing something on the golf course that he would not normally do. IE... ride in a cart, stand on a bridge or pose by the water. I love that. I also loved that he wanted to wear these cool turquoise shoes for his indoor shot. I love originality. Thanks R and K, I had a great time spending the day with y'all.

Take Me Out To The Ballgame

2009-03-23T08:34:00.000-07:00

As we were walking out, this ball literally dropped from the sky and almost hit this sign. Pretty funny.

Abbey said she was lucky to have her homemade binoculars.

OK, so spring break came and went. We had such a wild and crazy turn of events that lead to a pretty busy week. Ross took 3 days off from work and got a lot of things done. We have something in the cooker, so you'll have to stay posted. Any who, we decided to take the kids out to the new Camelback ballpark. Well now that you mention it, we would have rather gone to see the TX Rangers, but they were in Tucson and our second choice was the Peoria stadium, but that was an evening game. So really, as a last option we went to the Camelback ballpark. It was pretty nice, but a little funny about the searching they did as you went in. My camera bag was searched for food and I was instructed to throw away my pei wei drink. As I zipped everything back up and started to walk in, a man walked past with a bag of peanuts in one hand and a bottle water in the other. Confusing.

Once we got in, Abbey and I set out to find our first ballpark delicatessen. Much to our disappointment, we could not find any funnel cakes or sno cones. The ice cream selection was also dismal. So I did what any totally defeated parent would do, I spent $5 on an Italian ice that she did not like and spent $5 on cotton candy for Andrew. Later, the natives grew thirsty and we spent another $10.50 on water.

At the top of the 7th and with the threat of sunburn, we decided to jet. As we were leaving we saw a ball drop from the sky almost hitting the sign that read, "Beware of flying balls and bats." Pretty funny really. We took yet more pictures and headed home.

Workin' At The Car Wash

2009-03-03T14:10:00.001-07:00

Kids: "Mom, can we go swimming?"

Me: "No."

Kids: "Please?"

Me: "No."

Kids: "Why not?"

Me: "Because."

Kids: "Because why?"

Me: "Because you'll freeze your skinny little buns off, the water is 50 degrees!"

Me: "Why don't you wash the dog?"

Kids: "No."

Me: "Please?"

Kids: "No."

Ross: "Wanna go wash my car?"

Kids: "I'll go get my swim suit on!"

Dad is always the nice guy.

2009-03-02T10:40:00.001-07:00

I answered the phone today and got the news
It was back, and nothing could be done.
I could not breathe, I could not think
All my life I’d never dreamed
That you’d be gone, there’d be no tomorrow

I'm beginning to sink.

I thought of you, I thought of me
I thought of all that would not be
My mom, my sis, my kids would miss
All the joy you bring us with your kiss.

All my life I’ve been taught
Everything is for a reason, God has a plan.
We all prayed and wept for a healing
We were sure, we kept pleading
God said a silent “no” but we were needing
Something more, something better
Didn’t He know this was my dad?
Didn’t He care? Wasn’t He listening?
Another “No” whispered again

I said goodbye today to the man that I have loved
To the man that taught so much without a word.
He taught me strength, he taught me courage
He taught love and how to let go.
I never knew dreamed I’d feel so empty
Why did this happen? Doesn’t God know?

“Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?”
“Who shut up the sea behind doors, when it burst from the womb?
“Who told these waves ‘This far you may come and no further’”
“Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea
Or walked in the recesses of the deep?”
“What is the way to the place where the
Lighting is dispersed, or the place where the east winds
Are scattered over the earth?”
“Do you send the lightning bolts on their way?”

I sat in silence today as I read your words
“I’m in control, I’ve been with you and carried you too.”
“I know you are hurting, I know you are lost
I am the maker of the universe I’m the maker of you.
I gave you your father I gave you this man
I must take him now, there is a bigger plan.”

I give my father to You today and do it again tomorrow
I give you my grief, I give you my sorrow
I will trust you with today, and I will live for tomorrow.

Time for Kindergarten!

2009-02-24T22:12:00.000-07:00

Six years ago we sat went to our sonogram appointment to find out the big questions...boy or girl. I was pretty sure it was another boy, but I wanted to make sure. "It's a girl!!" Wow, I thought, how am I going to raise a little girl? What I did not realize at the time was how much she would learn by watching my every move. It's down right scary the things they pick up on.

This morning was like any other. Brush your hair, get dressed, brush your teeth, find your backpack, go back and really brush those teeth. I finished putting up Abbey's hair, and I went to my bathroom to finish myself. As I rushed down the stairs I heard her still rummaging around in her bathroom, so I yelled for her to hurry and come down. "Here I come, I'm finally finished getting all my make-up on!" WHAT?! She proudly hopped of the last step and strutted across the floor..."Don't I look beautiful mom?" She had some sort of greenish blueish glittery eye shadow and sparkle lipstick from ear to ear. I did what every mom would have done, I grabbed the camera and told her that she was the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen. She allowed these four self posed shots, than she was out the door and in the car, off to school we went. She is so stinkin' cute.

Extreme Room Makeover

2009-02-20T09:21:00.000-07:00

Before shot. Poor Abbey gets all of the leftover furniture.

When we moved in 4 years ago, I was in a big hurry to get rid of white walls. Four years!! Wow. Anyway, my little devil was 2 years old. All we really knew about this little girl was her temperament. She had one of the shortest most random fuses ever given to a child. She was no walk in the park. When deciding on a theme for her room, I assumed that she would follow suit with most every girl and want to play with dolls and be a princess. I could have not been any more wrong about that. As she got older she preferred hitting boys not chasing them, matchbox cars instead of barbies and pretty much any animal over dolls. She prefers a dog to a doll any day. Sure, she gets the occasional attempts from Mema to play with dolls, and she entertains the notion while she is in town, but she always goes back to the animal kingdom. The little doll house in the corner only houses dogs, dinosaurs and matchbox cars. No people allowed.

One thing she has taken to is the beach. She would rather visit the beach to any other place on earth. I call her my Roxie girl. We discussed a surfer girl room for about a year before anything actually got done. The thought of paining furniture makes my back hurt, but we went ahead and did it. I also had plenty of "help" painting. Sure this "help" did not speed up my process, but dang they sure were cute. In fact, Abbey declared this "The best day ever." Anyway, after finally finding all of the "oops" paint colors that I needed, and several 75% off bargains from Target, we are almost complete!

Weekend Get Away

2009-02-11T10:50:00.000-07:00

When it comes to being "girly" I really struggle. I don't refer to things as "precious", I don't really enjoy the mommy-kid groups such as MOPS, I prefer texting and facebook conversations to picking up the phone, and I would prefer to hang out with the guys on the back porch at all of the couple gatherings.

One thing I'm guilty of is being a scrapbooker. If it makes any difference, I still stir the pot when it comes to scrapbook conversations. Any who, last weekend some friends of mine set out for Flagstaff to enjoy a no kid or husband get away. The funny thing is, almost every conversation we had revolved around someones kid or husband. When it came to the group as a whole, I was definitely the light weight of the bunch. I took several mental breaks and went upstairs to check everyones status on facebook and answer emails. I was also the one who went to bed the earliest, 1am. Overall, the weekend was a success. The snow started to fall and the place was instantly beautiful. I could have stayed another day just taking pictures.

Back in the Saddle

2009-02-10T10:40:00.000-07:00

It's been about 3 months since we have not needed some sort of arm apparatus on that arm. She has had a cast on her arm since Halloween, so now when I see her without it, it looks strange.

For several weeks Abbey has been wanting to ride her bike without training wheels. I'm not so down with that right now. In fact, I can play a flash forward in my head about 16 different ways and they all end in the ER. All it would take is one bad fall and we would be back in the same position we just got out of. Somehow, I convinced her to ride up and down the street with the training wheels. Now, if I could only convince her for the next 10 years, I'd feel better.

How Appropriate

2009-01-29T08:53:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I ran into a half-price bookstore to look for something. As I scurried to the back this sign caught my eye. I literally stopped and laughed out loud. I have never seen a more appropriate pairing. All too often the parenting section is paired with "self-help", "psychiatry", or maybe even in the "religious" section. Lord knows Divine intervention is often required in raising my little hellions.
I think this book store may be on to something. I know that sometimes my parenting attempts could be put in the humorous category. I also know that in many ways getting your kids to listen and obey is nothing but a game we all play. Kudos 1/2 price Bookstore you nailed it.

Party Like a Nine Year Old

2009-01-20T13:38:00.000-07:00

Is that a "9" candle? When did that happen?

Pardon the bad photo. There are easier things to photograph than a pitch black room.

Here is my little rock star singing "The Eye Of They Tiger"

Here is my not so little rock star. He is giving every effort to be the "cool" dad. Sorry babe, maybe next year.
Nine years ago there was a crazy phenomena called Y2K. There were worries of computer failure, hospital melt-downs and possible the end of the world as we know it. No one was sure what to expect. We all had water, food and toiletries to last us a couple of months, just to be on the safe side. Did I mention I was pregnant? I really gave no real thought of having a baby on 1/1/00, my due date was 12/29/99. Honestly, 9 months earlier, I gave no though to having a baby at all. I walked around town for 8 weeks thinking I had a horrible stomach flu. Long story short, I'm now holding a birthday party for that stomach flu.

I remember that day like it was yesterday, and I'm pretty sure I'm still holding on to some of my pregnancy weight. We had a long new-year's eve night with or friends Chris and Tammy. We started the evening with a little Mexican food, and we finished off the wild and crazy evening with 18 holes of miniature golf. Tammy and Chris left the house soon after because she was not feeling well, I hit the sack. Around 1:30 I woke up and felt horrible. As I sat in the bathroom I thought back to try to remember what Tammy and I ate that could have made us both sick. As it turns out she was sick and I was in labor. Any way you swing it, it was not the Mexican food.

It was 2am on 1/1/00 and we were on the road to the hospital. The whole way there I did my best Dr. Jeckle and Mr. Hyde impression. I went from reminding Ross to be careful while driving one minute to forget about that stupid red light and gun it. I'm lucky he returned to the hospital room after parking the car! My focal point was a Y2K sticker on my IV drip. I stared at that sticker for almost 3 hours as I pushed that little flu bug out. There he was. Wow, did that just come from me?! I could not believe this little person stretching out his little arms was mine. How beautiful this little purple wrinkly creature was. I was amazed and in shock, but totally in love. The next 9 years would be a huge trial and error game, but overall a success.

We decided to wait a couple of weeks to celebrate his birthday this year. OK, there was no "decision" we just had so much going on that this was the only time we could do it. Andrew wanted to have the GameTruck come out and host his party. This party was the best birthday party for kids and parents alike. This truck came complete with all the different game systems and games. The best part was the party host that stayed in the trailer with the kids. He helped to make sure everyone played fair, and he also made sure all the systems worked and started as needed. I've never hosted a birthday party at my home where my home was as clean as it started. Ross and I sat out by the garage in lawn chairs while we visited with friends without having to yell and scream. It was the best party ever.

Bridal Fashion Debut

2009-01-09T16:29:00.001-07:00

This is it. In it's full glory.

I think Lorie was having a little too much fun with that screwdriver.

Measure man. What a great job he did.

I've been looking forward to and dreading this weekend for months. My first bridal show is now hours away and I can hardly stand it. I've had a small army of over worked and under paid volunteers to get to this point. My neighbor Lisa and her friends Dar and Sue helped me put my drawings into a real tangible thing. They spend a day with me at Lowe's and another 7 hours constructing this beast. My friends Lorie and Jarrod helped me load up, unload and reconstruct my booth. I'm so thankful that they both came to help me out on their day off. If it were up to me to hang those pictures, they would all be leaning to one side and approx. 8 holes behind every picture. I referred to Jarrod as my rent a husband because my real husband is working a booth this weekend at the CES show in Vegas. I wanted to repay him with his loyalties by being a nagging rent-a-wife backseat driver on the way home. Just to keep it "real".

Tomorrow will be a real test of endurance. I will have to stay in the same pair of shoes for 10 hours straight. A real challenge for me. Hopefully, I will meet some really great brides and book some amazing weddings.

Random Tidbits

2009-01-04T22:03:00.000-07:00

On facebook, my sweet friend Lonni wrote 16 very interresting things about herself and challenged me to do the same. I thought I would share.

1. I love sleep. I would choose sleep over pretty much anything, yes anything. I'm normally in bed by 10:30. I can push myself to stay up later, but every second of that time I'm thinking about how I would rather be sleeping. To really make the sleeping scenario perfect, you could throw in clean sheets.

2. I cheat at every game I play just to see if anyone will notice. I often get board with normal rules and play my own private game of seeing how many times I can cheat or throw the game into complete chaos. To make matters worse, I even cheat when I play games with my kids. The sad thing is, I don't cheat to win, I just cheat to see if I can get away with it.

3. I love alone time. Being with family and friends is great, but I really love being at home all alone. I don't know if this is great because it's a new thing for me, but man I love dropping off my kids at school, and turning the radio up full blast and work for hours on end at my desk.4. I love a clean house, complete with vacuum cleaner lines on the carpets.

4. I'm a rebel at heart. I secretly find myself breaking rules that seem silly to me. I know this is not right, but I can't help myself. If a I go to a restaurant that says "2 Ketchup only" I'll take 3. If there is a sign that says "stay to the left" I walk on the line. If the school office says "always return your volunteer badge" I'll intentionally walk out with it. I'm on eternal protest of the silly rules.

5. I love listening to my kids talk to their friends. I love nothing more than listening to them talk and reason with their friends. Kids say the darnedest things.

6. I could sit and watch every sunset and find each one more beautiful than the last. I think taking time out of a busy day to watch the sunset is priceless. Every night God paints a beautiful sky, and I wonder how many people even notice the beautiful reflections of light that bounce off of everything here on the ground.

7. Cool shoes and expensive jeans make me happy all over.

8. If I could sit down with anyone for an hour, past or present, alive or dead, I would choose my dad. He did so many great things and never told a sole. I would sit him down and tell him how proud I was of him and what an honor it is to be his daughter.

9. I'm a stacker. When I clean and organize I put things in stacks. There is a stack to go up stairs, there is a stack of homework (both complete and to be completed) there is a stack of bills (both paid and unpaid) and my favorite stack is the stack of crap in my kitchen under the phone. I have no idea what to do with this stack, but everything in it needs to be kept. P.S. don't touch my stacks.

10. I have an internal alarm clock. I can tell myself to wake up at any given time, and I can do it 99% of the time.

11. I have a healthy fear of dying in the shower and flying. I've always felt that I will die violently in the shower. This is totally creepy, but true. I've also developed a fear of flying. I never really had a problem with it until a "small" episode of engine failure on a flight back from Dallas last year. I also don't love clowns, but I'm pretty sure that has something to do with my childhood.

12. I have a small opposition to the uni-line. If there are 5 working registers, I don't feel like it's very effective for everyone to all line up and wait to be called up for your order. We can all clear out faster if we all pick a line.

13. I love thrift stores, garage sales and antique stores. I love nothing more than to find a "treasure" in the middle of a crap heap. I feel like some things are better with "character".

14. I love dancing in my living room like a rock star.

15. I find myself disciplining my children for things I probably would have said or done myself. I (sometimes) find humor in the "bad" behavior or choice of words. I find myself thinking about the time we were walking out of Chili's and Andrew grabbed a chip from someone else's table. Hilarious, but very very wrong.

Twas The Morning of Christmas

2008-12-27T16:59:00.000-07:00

Twas the morning of Christmas when all through the house, all the creatures were stirring, including the mouse.

All the boxes were full of presents galore waiting for kids to come down to the first floor.

The children were up and out of their beds, with visions of presents stuck in their heads.

With him in his flannels and I in my tee had visions of kiddos unwrapping in our dreams.

When out down the hall there rose such a clatter, I pretended to sleep and pretend not to matter.

Away to our bed they sprang with a clatter, "It's Christmas, It's Christmas, it's time to go down." "Wake up, Wake up." they continued to hound.

So we hopped out of bed and began to get ready with attempts to get rid of my bed heady.

Away to the tree they flew like a flash, they tore open the gifts and thew up the trash.

When, what to my sleepy eyes should appear, but a huge mess of boxes and wires to tear.

More rapid than lightning out of the room they ran, off playing with toys, including my man.

"Now Andrew, Now Abbey, Now Daddy come too, you've left this big mess, come clean up too.

To the top of the porch, to the top of the wall, they dashed away, dashed away, dashed away all.

With a bundle of trash flung over my back, I looked like a peddler going out to the trash.

Now off to prepare my Christmas day dinner and thoughts of my menu not making me thinner. I noticed my husband saying come hither.

With a wink of his eye and a twist of his head, soon gave me to know I had something to dread. He requested a turkey with lots of good bread.

As we prepared the table fit for a king, I knew I had all of everything. My husband, my kids and my mom there too, I knew we were blessed with more than we knew.

As I sat with fine china and fancy stemware, I was still comfortably wearing my overnight wear.

To sit with pajamas at dinner, giving thanks for all that we hold dear, I look with excitement to do it all again next year.

MVP Babysitter

2008-12-23T22:05:00.000-07:00

When we moved to AZ several years ago we quickly realized the perks of living near family. We never needed to call or pay a teenager to watch the kids. We had many volunteers, and free ones. Finding someone who you can trust with your perfect little devils is an arduous task. We probably went a year without a sitter before we met Victoria. When we met her she was in high school, had a car and did not have a boyfriend. The perfect babysitter trifecta. She instantly hit it off with the kids, and only sent Abbey to the ER once. When she started out with us, Andrew was our good kid and Abbey was the little monster. Looking back, it's hard to even think that's possible. They have totally switched rolls, but that's not my point.

This fall my dear sweet Victoria betrayed us big time. Not only did she decide to start dating a boy, she went away to college. It really took us some time to adjust, but we have managed. We use her protege, Laycie, for the most part. Every once in a while I'll get a text from V that she is coming to town, and we leave just for the occasion. Tonight, we had some last minute mommy/daddy time before the crazy Christmas week begins. Thanks Victoria!!

What to Wear, What to Wear

2008-12-20T19:45:00.000-07:00

I get asked all the time about wardrobe. I always tell people to stay simple and classic. Most people answer that with a black or white tee paired with denim or khaki's. That is safe and it looks great. It makes the pictures come out simple and draws attention to the face. When it comes to kids, a little color is great. In fact, when it's done this well it's pretty awesome. Most people would never consider putting red patton shoes on with a pair of bright yellow and white polka dot tights. Most would never dream about the two of those with a grey wool skirt and a bright pink sweater. This mom got it all right. This little outfit is by far my favorite. It is so crazy that it totally works. It was also totally her little girl. She was just as much fun as her bright yellow tights. My hat is off to you mom, you totally nailed this one!!

Some of My Fav's

2008-12-20T19:30:00.001-07:00

This picture will surely be seen again. I'm considering this for my next ad. Dylan had decided that I had taken enough of him, and he wanted to take a couple of me. He probably has the other side of this photo somewhere in that memory card.

I was actually at Dylan's house to do a newborn session with his new baby sister. He quickly stole the show and dominated the session.

I love this picture. Bella had decided early on in this session, that she would not be participating the way mom wanted. We took a walk in the front yard as well as here in the backyard. As you can see the ball in the background, we made several attempts to engage her in play that would involve an acceptable prop. She nixed that idea and stuck with the Dr. Pepper can, this turned out to be one of my favorites. It shows her little budding personality so well.

This is Bella's twin brother Lex. He's almost too pretty, but we won't let daddy hear that!
Normally by the time I'm done editing out a project, I have my favorites. It's so much fun to see if they are the "chosen few" when it comes time to order. Rarely, that is the case. When I first started shooting, I followed all the "rules" and had all eyes on me and most teeth showing. I wanted to make sure every one's face and smile was focused on the camera. As time has gone by, I feel like I'm settling into a "style" of my own. I LOVE the natural pose and smile. Some of my favorites are when the face is obstructed or the eyes have shifted off to more interesting things. I love the smiles and expressions that say "I'm so happy and comfortable". I love capturing the "less than perfect" moment (see nose pick) or the stubborn obstinacy of a one year old. Typically, these are not the poses put on frames, but they are the ones that make us smile 10 years later.

While I Was Out

2008-12-20T19:20:00.001-07:00

It's so great to do what you love for a living. It's even better getting to meet so many different people that I might never know otherwise. The Shackelfords are a transplant family from the northeast. They were eager to send desert Christmas cards out to the land of snow and ice. The Hoyer family was so much fun to meet. Their two girls, Samantha and Tabitha where a hoot. As soon as I walked in the door they told me that they were expecting a grumpy old lady. I was happy that I did not meet their description. My kids, however, refer to me as the grumpy old lady. I'll take what I can get. Valerie and Randy were just as much fun as a a pair of twenty somethingers. Totally not a word, but I'm OK with that.

My Sister's Wedding

2008-12-12T09:27:00.000-07:00

A rare smile and eye contact combo from both kids.

Another good pose from Andrew, and I'll take the fakearoo from Abbey.

This was a picture of her yummy cake. Good job Nicole. I just love this picture.

Everyone said their goodbyes, and they were off......to look at Christmas lights.

A rare picture of the bride. Her beautiful flowergirls were so cute, even if one of them had a neon yellow cast.
Last week, we each sold off a kidney and purchased tickets to fly home for my sisters wedding. It was nice being back home and seeing everyone for the holidays too. Going back home was a bitter sweet return. The last time I was there, I said goodbye to my dad. Being home was good, but not the same. You don't realize how someone really effects a family until they are gone. My dad was always the one to lighten the mood. He also spent most of his time occupying Andrew and I know Andrew was not the same without his running buddy.

After Thanksgiving we spent a lot of time preparing for Amy's wedding. We had last minute things to buy or pick-up, dinners and rehearsals. We put some serious miles on the car. Once the big day arrived were were all officially ready for this thing to happen, and we dreamed of conversations that had nothing to do with matrimony.
My sister has probably dreamed about getting married most of her life. She waited impatiently, excuse me, very patiently for Mr. Right to sweep her off her feet. As luck would have it, she married the only boyfriend she ever had. What are the odds? Anyway, she was a beautiful bride.

A couple of days after my dad passed away, the discussion of who would give away my sister at the wedding surfaced. There were a short list of options, but the only one that my dad would have approved was Andrew. This was a touching and slightly frighting proposition. With much thought Andrew agreed to take his Papa's place. We all cried, and smiled at the thought. As Saturday approached, Andrew made everyone sweat out the moment. In true Andrew form, he makes you worry and configure exit strategies for disappearing. The kid is a wild cannon. Truly anything could happen, and we all knew it. Being the matron of honor I was the last one to leave the hallway and walk before the bride. As I left, I glanced over to Andrew and noticed him dancing the Mr. Roboto. I began to sweat.

As the doors opened and the music played, my sweet perfect angel had the biggest smile I've ever seen on that kid. His head was up, his back was straight and his arm was firmly up. As he slowly walked Amy down the isle, the pride on his face was evident. As I resisted the urge to scoop him up and shower him with hugs and kisses, I just cried. My dad would have been so proud. He said his lines, kissed Amy's hand and interlocked her and with Barry's. However, his "call me" nod to some unexpected attendee was the talk of the reception. Awesome.

I Heart Texas

2008-12-03T15:28:00.000-07:00

Saturday I went out to Flower Mound to "shoot" the Stevens family. It's really fluky how this even panned out. Melissa emailed me regarding a session and then realized I was in Phoenix. Long story short, we worked in the session for this week. They were such a fun family to spend the afternoon with. Little CJ was a carefree little soul who eventually let down his guard. I'm not really even close to finishing this job, but I thought I would throw out some teasers. Let's face it, I'm always just as excited to see how the session turned out.
Thank you, Stevens Family, for allowing me to get my favorite place in the world into the backdrop of one of my sessions.

Dang, They're Cute.

2008-12-02T18:24:00.000-07:00

This Thanksgiving, I took a moment away from my turkey to check on my kiddos. I never found Andrew, but I did find Abbey. Hey, 50 percent is not too shabby. I did loose the problem child. If I had to pick one to loose these days, Andrew would be the one to loose. He's old enough to ask for help and he knows all of the right spots to kick if he gets caught. He's probably the kid that is most likely to be returned. I digress.

I found Abbey and her cousin Lacey out blowing bubbles. They were just so dang cute, I had to go for the camera. Just between you and me, I always have my camera, but that's not important here. Abbey was having such a great time and even gave the occasional pose. Rare.

They also made the best out of a spill by dragging their wand over the bubble puddle. Did I mention how cute they are?

Mi Familia

2008-12-02T15:50:00.000-07:00

Here we are, minus three. It really is a bit of a miracle that I managed to get everyone in and looking in the same direction. (Click any of these to enlarge) (if you dare)

This is my mom and her sisters and most of the cousins. We are missing the oldest, Michael and the youngest, Robin and her older brother Chris. Robin would be in the front row sticking out her butt with me in the front.

These are all of the babies of us cousins. Our DNA improves with every generation.

This is my immediate family, minus my sweet dad.

This is my crew. We really dressed up for this one!When I get together with this group, memories of old times come flooding back. Memories, some good, bad and ugly. Some of my favorite include the year the famous kid table got moved outside. It was downright freezing, and we took drastic measure to stay warm. We went inside in intervals and swiped all of the brown and serve rolls and stuffed our jackets for warmth. On the rare occasion that we had Thanksgiving at my grandparents house, we spent most of our time in trouble for kicking and retrieving the ball from the forbidden garden. There were also the many Thanksgivings at Cottonwood Park. Our parents had no earthly idea what we were doing for about 7 hours every Thanksgiving. Most of our adventures included spinning someone on the merry-go-round until the involuntary vomit emerged. We threw stuff, and occasionally each other, into the creek. We also passed time by blaming everything on Chris and making Casey cry. We went way too far past our boundary's and did countless acts that we would never admit to. Than of course, there was the Thanksgiving that we lost April and Robin all together. They went "exploring" out in the woods behind our house. Several hours later the girls were found and all was well.
Today, there is a whole new generation of mischiefs. They seem like seasoned vets already. It's so neat to see a family grow and change. There also seemed to be a huge hole in our celebration. There was someone missing. My dad was sorely missed. He always kicked the dinner off with a prayer. I dare to say that some did not even notice that he did that every year and maybe no one noticed that he was not the one that did it this year, but I did. I love that he always wanted to take time to thank God for our crazy family and our over abundant lunch and dinner. I am so thankful that he walks with angels this year, and he is no longer in a silent pain, but he is desperately missed.

Let the Good Times Roll

2008-11-26T07:47:00.000-07:00

I've been looking forward to "shooting" the Amiel Family for a while now. I think we started making appointments a couple of months ago. After several rescheduling attempts, we were full steam ahead. As soon as we pulled up we noticed the "Stay off the Grass" signs posted. As you can see, we fully respected the request. My favorite two things were in full effect here. No, wait, sleep and ice cream are my two favorite things, let me rephrase. My two most favorite photographic things are outdoor shots and candids, and I had both here. Mom gave me free reign on her family, and knowing her love for "real" expressions, I had a blast. Thanks Amiel family!!

2008-11-26T07:37:00.000-07:00

Taking pictures of people I know really stresses me out. They are, however, my favorite to look at. I took pictures of my neighbor's family for their holiday cards. My neighbor has been my guinea pig for 3 years now, and she has been very patient with me. She has always been so supportive of me in all of my fancy photography endeavors.

L and Z and some of Abbey's best friends, and I had so much fun with them.

My Favorite Triplets

2008-11-17T20:39:00.001-07:00

About 7 months about I meet the Stauss family. I had the honor of of being at the hospital the day they were born, and a couple of weeks later I did their newborn session. My two favorite things are going back to photograph a family after my initial session, and having the freedom to take some casual candid shots. The more I worked on these photos, the more I noticed little Brayden stealing the show. He has two beautiful sisters and a beautiful mother, but he continued to steal the show. Here's to you Brayden. Below is a link to their complete session.

http://jenniferweems.com/slideshows/Strauss.Family.html

Party Girl

2008-11-17T20:19:00.001-07:00

Abbey is shown here with two classmates Abby and Rylee

Here is Abbey, my child who will find a way to not look directly at the camera. She is getting very creative.

Abbey with the oh so cute Johnny

This year we had a super fun party planned for Abbey's 6th birthday. I was unusually on the ball planning wise. I had made reservations for a bounce house and snow cone machine for the park down the street. I even went ahead and pre-printed party invitations with all of the party info.

All of our planning and prep work went out the emergency room window on Halloween. She confided herself with the thought of her bounce house party. I figured I would wait until we were home and no longer on morphine to break the news to her. We later decided to just have a pizza party. It seemed the safest anyway, physically speaking.

Abbey had most of her class show up for the party, with a couple of preschool Goldie-oldies. Her friend, Lily brought the Easy Bake Oven. She asked everyone for that silly thing, and I told everyone not to bother. My dear sweet neighbor fell for her scheming ways. The party could not have been more chaotic and insane. I think there were 500 other children there celebrating their own birthday's. They looked like a swarm of ants. Really, I don't know if ants swarm, maybe bee's would be a better analogy? Maybe a heard of elephants? No, much too large. Maybe a big 'ole bunch of alley cats. I can't know for sure.

Happy Birthday To Abbey!

2008-11-12T21:46:00.000-07:00

This morning started out like any other, a cup of coffee and healthy cinnamon roll breakfast.

This is Abbey and Johnny. Abbey thinks he is soooo cute.
Six years ago today I put down my bowl of Blue Bell long enough to give birth to my 69 lb. baby. Well, it turned out that she was only 8 1/2 lbs, but she must have had a 60 1/2 lb. placenta. Well now that I think about it, it was probably 60 lbs. of blue bell. Any who, it seems like just yesterday. I knew from the start she was going to be a handful. As I look back, I get a little sad that I rushed her through those toddler years. She was such a "challenge" to keep happy. I could not wait for her to grow up and be able to hang out with us without her frequent tantrums.

She is really a cool little girl. I realize the thing that drove me crazy about her is what I love most. She is such a confident and fun little girl. She really enjoys being herself. How many kids do you see with a yellow cast? It's not even happy sunny yellow, it's hazmat yellow. You only see this color on crime scene tape! This summer she played baseball on a team of boys. She never once made the observation that she was the only girl. I don't think she even cared. My sweet little girl does not own a baby doll, barbie or anything princess. She lives 100% in the animal kingdom. Her garage sale dollhouse is full of matchbox cars and horses, and that is very normal to her.

I know that in a couple of years she will think I'm the most embarrassing thing to walk the streets. She will insist on my dressing day wear when I drop her off, and I won't be allowed to kiss her before she leaves the car. Well, actually, she already does all of that but I know it will get worse. For now, I will enjoy this 6th year of Abbey to the fullest.

Uhhh, Santa?

2008-11-06T15:45:00.000-07:00

Almost every night after Abbey is safely in bed, Andrew and I like to read up in my bed. This is my sneaky way to get him to talk and snuggle with me. I know he is looking for way to stay up late, and I get my mom/son time.

Last night started like any other night, we made small talk and started reading a book. Somehow we got off topic. Weird, I never get off topic. I mean sometimes I tell storys that may or may not have anything to do with the original topic. Maybe something reminds me of something else and take it from there. One time I told a story start to finish and stayed on topic, although I can't really remember now what that topic was, but I did it. Wait, where am I?

Oh, blog. Hello. He and I were talking about heaven and the sort of things Papa might be doing. That lead to questions about God and Saten and that naturally lead to Santa. Right? No! That never leads to the Santa conversation. The questions about God were hard enough without adding Santa. Andrew heard from some friends at school that Santa was not real. His friend saw his mom and dad putting out presents. Perfect! All of those years waiting for my excited kids to fall asleep to put the presents out, and some other lazy careless parent blows it for everyone.

Andrew said, "Mommy, just tell me the truth. Is Santa real?" Ummm, what about that phone call you get every year, I said. "That was Barry mom." Ummmm, what about those jingle bells we heard out in the backyard last year?, I returned. "The bells I can't explain, but I don't think Santa is real." Ummmm. Smile. Sweat. At this point I'm thinking about Abbey. She is only 5 and just starting to really enjoy Santa. I'm OK with letting the cat out of the bag for Andrew, but I don't want it running around the house if you know what I mean.

I went on to tell him true story of St. Nicholas. He was a kind generous man, who we should all try to be like. We told him the whole truth. He stared a blank stare. I asked him if he was disappointed, and he said yes with a little frown. Next, I asked him if he wanted to ask any questions. His next question made me laugh out loud nervously....."If Santa is not real then I have some questions about the Easter bunny."

A Spoon Full Of Sugar

2008-11-03T18:57:00.000-07:00

Dipping into the cookie bouquet about 4 years ago. Wow, where does time go?
Today was a day of recovery. We decided to stop taking the Tylenol with codeine and switch to regular Motrin. This was a great success. For the first time since the break, We dusted off the wood chips, put on our pants and headed for the grocery store. We remembered everything but the Motrin. (classic)

As soon as we got home, we had a ring at the door. It was fed-ex. Later we had a second doorbell, UPS. OK, so finally, the cookie man rang the doorbell and delivered the most yummy cookies ever. I had a flashback to 4 years ago. My little, bald and beautiful baby jumped from the top of a small plastic slide and broke her arm. Same arm actually. Same place actually. Hmmm?

We were so excited to get that thing off. What a hassle those three weeks were. When we were offered "paper or plastic" at the grocery store, we answered plastic out of necessity. The day we finally got that thing cut off we found a cheerio and a spaghetti noodle. This time we are in for the long haul with the cast. My poor baby will have to spend her birthday, Thanksgiving, May's wedding, Christmas and probably the new year in a cast. Maybe we should just bedazzle the thing and call it good.

Trick or Treat?

2008-11-01T21:10:00.001-07:00

Trick or treat? When I woke up on Halloween, I had no idea of all the tricks that were in store for us. Yesterday I was getting everything ready for Andrew's class party at the park next to the school (not on campus). About 10 minutes into the party, I saw Abbey's teacher at the park. She had that look. You know, the look. She told me that Abbey broke her arm and she had been trying to reach me. My phone was in the car, and I NEVER leave my phone. Anyway, I drove to school and blew past the grumpy office staff and into the nurses office. Abbey had a very broke arm. Her arm was more "u" shaped than "l". My stomach instantly turned and I felt light headed as I swooped her to the car.
I drove as fast as I could to the hospital. My poor baby screamed and cried the whole way there. We were both in tears when we got there. The triage nurse asked what the problem was, and before I could answer he said "oh, wow."

The Dr. came in and hinted several times about surgery, but needed to see the x-rays. He even brought in a pair of paramedics in to show them what it looks like when a bone breaks through the skin. They started an IV on Abbey and gave her several drugs to help with the pain. The x-rays showed both bones very broken just below her left wrist. Her hand and wrist were only attached to her arm by skin and muscle. Just looking at that x-ray made me very nauseous.

They finally decided to to a procedure to set her arm. They gave her a trio of sedatives and disassociatives and let me know that I would be best outside. There were about 12 Dr's and a very large machine, so there was really no room for me anyway. They set her arm back as best they could. They assured me that although it's not set perfect, her bones should find each other. He also said pins were not completely out of the picture. We have to wait two weeks to find that part out.

She as so upset about not getting to go out trick or treating in her beloved Hannah Montana costume. We could not get her shirt off, so we managed to somehow get a Hannah Montana t-shirt on over everything. She was still heavily medicated so we managed to walk to a few houses. The medicine wore off quick, and we had a long sleepless night. She has been in so much pain, and she can't get comfortable. I only find time to blog because I promised to stay in here while she fell asleep. I will join her as soon as I'm done here. Poor poor sweet baby.

Pumpkin Run

2008-11-01T20:56:00.000-07:00

Thursday Andrew's school had a pumpkin run for every grade level. Basically, all of 3rd grade goes out and runs for 45 minutes. In true Andrew form, he sprints forward as soon as the music starts. He ran in a full on sprint for a 1 1/2 laps. He continued to run for almost 20 minutes before he stopped for a short walk. He ran almost constantly. I was shocked. He and another little boy were the only ones still running at the end of the pumpkin run. Toward the end, he wanted me to try to catch pictures of him in the air as he jumped the cones. I was so proud of him running and doing his best for so long. Quite impressed I was. Wow, that was very Yoda like.