If you have been thinking about booking Pearls Events for your upcoming event, now is the time. Aletha is now offering 10% off package pricing until midnight Valentine's Day (February 14th).
Luke, Nyla's boyfriend that said "I will" today when Nyla asked him if he was her boyfriend. Luke is perfecting his football stance. Seriously, as many times as he dropped today I thought he was coming after me.
Motor Room. Where kids burn off energy on these cold days. I love the concentration in the picture above.
When all you need to do is open your front door, staying inside, to get a picture like this...yeah, it's too cold.
Gift Certificates can be used for...Shower Gifts, Birthday pictures, Milestones, Family portraits, Graduation, Engagement, Events, Weddings, and more!
This afternoon I went outside to find one of the bunny holes on the back side of our house. I've seen momma's tracks for weeks, just figured I'd wait to go check it out...and of course I didn't find anything. I then took a look at all of the landscaping I put in last spring. The picture above is of the zebra grass that mid summer reaches eight foot high. It will make a nice fence for our deck this year, once done. I also found that my precious lilac bush under our dining room window is now half the size it was just last week. The only thing I can figure is the deer are coming right up to our house. It's now shorter and much slimmer and the branches look horrid. Oh well, at least I know Bambi is eating.
New purses are fun. New camera gear is great, but when you have new bags for your gear it's fabulous! My husband tonight told me that I'm "such a girl." Now to find shoes to match!
Tuesday's seminar in Detroit was great. It reassured me that there are things I'm doing right (looking back on my sales & marketing life) with my business, but it also gave me some great ideas. Bruce Hudson's New Directions/Reality Check Tour 2007-2008 was an inspiration. Anyone that can sell a 50" print for $4500 (NOT a typo!) has got my attention! His 8x10's run around $200! Granted my prices will NEVER look like his, but he's a wealth of information, and this seminar was something you would not want to miss. Even if you were not a photographer, you would have picked up some great tools.
Preschool field trips are great! Being this is my second year in a row I knew what I wanted to do this morning! Instead of keeping track of children, I roam, camera in hand, catching all the excitement that comes with what GRCM does to these three through five year old. 
This mirror tends to scare me. I already feel that Tyler is a multiple some days...
And I love bubbles. It's nice to see that even though GRCM mixes things up with every new theme, they keep the bubbles along with other favorites.
These are my kids. They don't sit still for much, but this morning they were watching cartoons so closely that I needed pictures of their eyes to remind me of the peaceful moment in our house today.
I'm a day late posting this; but what can you do when you arrive home at 2:30am, get the car stuck at the end of the driveway, and can't get on line? Don't you just hate that?lol
Toarmina's - "The Biggest Around"
I LOVE lazy days. Days where there are no obligations, clocks do not matter, staying in your pj's is celebrated, the most important choice is what movie to watch first, and what color crayon to choose for your favorite super hero.
Bowling is NOT my sport; but what better way to entertain a large group of photographers! Taking over the second floor of Clique Lanes on the west side was great for making new friends, free entertainment, lots of laughs, and self-inflicted score punishment. I had no idea that I had a right and a left curve. It's all about the inconsistency!
Saturday was COLD! Five degrees as we pulled into the farm! As planned, Jaime, Craig, and their wedding party were troopers!
Congratulations Craig and Jaime!
The picture of the day is of a philodendron I'm attempting to bring back to life. There's a couple of larger plants around our home, but this little guy is struggling. The morning light made it's couple of leaves glow.
Guilty?
Playdates are fun! Today we had friends over. To burn off a little energy we brought them down into the studio to jump around. What I love about this picture is saying "on the count of three, jump!" The difference in age really shows. I also love how Tyler looks like he's been attached to the wall and all the different, fun, expressions these kids had during the jump challenge.
Dylan brought his mom and great grandmother in the studio with him this morning. I can not believe how much this little man has grown in the last couple of months! He is definitely a "thinker." He noticed every change that's been made here since his Christmas pictures!
NOTE: at age three, when flossing in the car, use ALL five yards. If that's not enough then steal your brothers goody bag for his five yards.
This image still makes me question what is going on in the fashion world. Granted there is some really fun stuff out there, but this? These are not slippers and they were not on sale. Seriously, who wears this stuff?lol
After asking for several different size 5 shoes I opted to ask to see the back room in four different stores. They let me in (as they normally will) and THIS was my selection. I'm learning that online shopping is the only way to go...
Saturday night my husband invited a some guys over for football. Game started at 8, I have no idea who played after the Packers won the earlier game, but this morning when I came down to the kitchen I realize that these guys are getting OLD!lol Five guys, three hours, and THIS is all the beer they went through? Most of the cans sitting there are mountain dew!
Saturday was a day for entertainment. The studio is painted and everything back into it so I decided to invite a couple of other photographers over to play. My girlfriend has a set of strobes with filters for the back light. This wall is red, but the back light makes it rock. Nyla dressed in her best fairy princess attire, add a red boa, and VOLA! Psychedelic Fairy Princess!
To go from 64 degrees on Monday to 30 degrees and school closings in four days is amazing.
Today I was mom. My son celebrated birthday number five with his class this morning. Talk about an eye-opening experience working in a preschool classroom. It will forever shock me to watch how many kids find the need to point at their brains through their noses. There should be a recording that comes through the speakers every couple of minutes saying "please wash your hands," "do you have an itch?," "need a tissue?" and "Did you get it?"
Tonight the Grand Rapids Camera Club board members had a meeting in Ada. After the meeting was over a few of us headed over to the Ada Covered Bridge to do a little night shooting. I have never seen the Ada Covered Bridge, only heard about it, so it was great to finally capture a few images. An even better treat....lights!
You may also view and purchase these images along with many others by clicking HERE.
UPS arrived this morning with the order I placed last week with Arbonne! As I was unpacking the box and it dawned on me that I have not run any specials in awhile. With all the New Years resolutions; why not have "perfect skin" on your list?!
These first two images really should be flipped, but I think if my husband saw his mug at the top of my blog I'd need to refer to the third image.lol
IMAGE TWO: The man. And yes, he always looks at me as if he's questioning everything I do...and why shouldn't he? I LOVE keeping him on his toes!
IMAGE THREE: The questions I ask my kids every day. Found them on a poster tonight and thought, yep...family is one ever rotating circle of fun.
The picture above is my 7/366 for the day. This is my husbands kid. Shot with a 50mm and very much true to size...what a mess.
And because Nyla's pigtails are too cute. She's a mess too.
We don't get down to Rivertown to often, but today we headed down to Byron Center to visit my favorite jewelry store, Haan's and do a little shopping. Playing in the tree house is fun, unless it's closed due to broken ropes. If we head down there again Tyler wants to bring paper so we can fly airplanes into the fort...you know, "just in case it's closed again." I love the way a five year old boys mind works.
To make up for the tree house we decided to ride the carousel. This is the closest Nyla got to a smile. She was concentrating on how fun the ride was and ignoring me, and probably tuning out the screaming girl behind us. I always thought photographers kids were trained to smile the minute the cap came off the lens. Not this child!lol
Someone tell me that my boy is done with birthday celebrations. Please? My child thinks he's a rock star.
The first picture is my 6 of 366. I was at the mercy of Nyla. She was so excited to have Ty's new gift to herself that she pulled the trigger on me. And yes, it hurt.lol
My plan tonight was to head into Grand Rapids and pick up a gallon of paint for this unfinished wall. The fog was so dense I decided to turn around two minutes from the house, pour myself a glass of sangria, and start sorting through pictures for a proof album I'm working on.
Today was spent playing with colors, working html on my site (which you can see will be my challenge for the next few days), and rolling the last gallon of black paint in the studio. There is one last wall to paint down there and life can go back to "normal!"
I love Michigan, but days like today make me want to stay inside wearing every article of fleece I can find and my down slippers. The sunset at dinner was amazing. It ALMOST made me want to throw my boots on and head into the backyard to get some true sunset shots. Maybe tomorrow.
Day two of 2008...since it's quiet this time of year it makes for a great time to catch up in every area. The reality of owning anything electronic is that there will be a time it needs a little TLC. This afternoon I packaged up my main camera and shipped it off to Dr. Nikon. It was hard to see it go, but at the same time "the sooner it goes the sooner it comes back." - a quote from a very smart woman...shhhh...don't tell her I said that! ;-)
As you can see from the column on the left I'm also working to revamp this blog and website. So don't be surprised when you stop by that both have taken on a new appearance!
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