Last month I bought a new tutu for my little girls and couldn’t wait any longer for a “model” to try it out for me. My neighbor, Shannon, has a very sweet little girl, Erica, who was a great little model and did a great job in “showing it off” for me! Here are just a couple of the shots…but of course, there were more taken!
Living in Puyallup, we are fortunate enough to be able to visit the “Puyallup Fair” a couple of times during it’s 17 day run. This is the largest single attraction in the state of Washington and one of the top 10 fairs in our country…quite an accomplishment for Puyallup! Each year they hold a photo competition and three years ago they added a new category…Washington State Photographers. This year I entered four photos and was fortunate enough to have all of them accepted. There were around 700 photos entered and approximately 1/3 were accepted. Of the four photos I entered, two were of my granddaughter, Jayden, who is of course my favorite photographic subject! The others were of EMP (Experience Music Project) and Slide Rock, outside of Sedona, AZ. Shortly before the fair opened, they posted the results online and I was shocked to receive Best of Show for my EMP photo (as well as first place) and a first place on one of Jayden’s photos…quite an honor since there were so many amazing and beautiful photos…I was humbled! Here are the photos I entered:
Hmm, what to enter next year…guess I’ll see what the year holds in store for me and decide that next summer…but I certainly couldn’t expect anything like this year…I’m happy with it! OH…and I must add that my husband also entered four photos…and had all of his accepted as well!
Today is a special day in our lives…our granddaughter, Jayden, turns four years old! It’s hard to believe that it’s only been four years since she entered our lives and changed our lives…she is beautiful, charming, caring, sweet, loving, determined, curious, playful, considerate and oh, so much more! We are fortunate to have her live close and I get two “mimi” days a week with her, which I cherish and am grateful for. For the first 20 months of her life, she lived in Virginia with her mom and dad…and then they all came back to the Puget Sound…and it’s been wonderful to watch her grow and change each day! So, today, I share some photos…one for each year – it’s amazing how much they change from year to year! Happy Birthday, Jayden, we love you!!
September 26, 2005…welcome to the world, Jayden!
A year old…and eager to learn and talk all she can! Oh…this picture was published in Australia as a poster for a speech pathology center…what a perfect shot for that!
She’s two…her first birthday here with us…oh, she was so sweet that day (and still is!)
Three years old…she’s growing up so fast…loves the park and all the toys there, not to mention the ducks on the pond!
Four years old…you are becoming such a beautiful young lady…here’s to many more years…and of course, many more photos!! As you can imagine, this is my reason for my passion for photographing children…and I “practice” with her all time time!
A week ago, my husband I had traveled across the state to visit his parents, who live in Moscow, Idaho. It was a quick trip…over Friday and back on Sunday, but a fun one…and we had an “extra” traveler with us…our granddaughter, Jayden, who will be four in less than a week. She seemed to really enjoy the whole weekend and her “great-grandparents” loved having her around. By the end of the weekend, she’d become the “GO FISH” champion…really, and had beat everyone…I’m thinking we need to keep her away from Vegas!! LOL While there, I took a few photos (okay, more than a few!) of Jayden around the area and here are a couple of my favorites…along with a couple from an early morning outing in the Palouse! Enjoy!
A rare photo of Jayden and myself…thanks to my wonderful hubby for taking this!!
Yesterday morning I had a mini session scheduled with a four-month old baby, Piper. This was to be with Piper and her grandfather who came down from Canada and wanted some photos with her. It was short and sweet…very sweet, as a matter of fact. The connection between Piper and her grandfather was obvious…he adored her and although there weren’t many photos…the ones I got were touching…it almost brought me to tears. Here are a couple from the session…which also includes Piper’s beautiful mother (it’s obvious where Piper gets her looks from!).
Another great session…with a great family. The Hedmans are awesome…and I am never let down by them…they are so much fun…on the go, so I’ve got to be quick, but that’s half the challenge! With the “Puyallup” clan and the “Chicago” clan, they have seven…adorable children…who range from 18 months to 10 years of age. Thanks to their dads, it’s pretty easy to get some good smiles…or maybe giggles from them, especially the girls…who are as sweet as angels! And, this morning, we were very fortunate to have some dry weather and sunshine, which was not the case just a few hours later…so glad we planned it when we did! Here are some previews until I get the gallery up – THANK YOU Hedman family for your confidence in me!
Last weekend my husband and I headed to Tennessee for a visit with great friends, Allen and Brenda. Actually, it was a surprise for Brenda…for her birthday and it couldn’t have been better…oh, the joys of a weekend away with good friends! Although we would have loved more time…it was wonderful to spend time and catch up with our friends. While there we also visited a few wineries, spent a night at their cabin and had a chance to see their kids…and two adorable grandchildren. So, as you might expect, I took a few (okay, more than a few!!) photos, so thought I’d share some from our visit!
After our “surprise” we had lunch at Miss Mary Bobo’s which was an old boarding house…we enjoyed a WONDERFUL Southern dinner…a great experience!
The grounds at one of the wineries we visited during our visit…I could have photographed there all day long!
Busy and handsome little Alex is two…and was so much fun to watch…it’s obvious why his “Nana and Papa” love him so much!
Darling little Carly, who is 4 months old, is as sweet as can be…although not yet out playing with her big brother…she will catch up and I look forward to photographing them again when they are a bit older!
It’s obvious that Alex REALLY loves his papa…it was fun to watch them together!
Alex, with his aunt Allie, who he also adores…and this evening he decided to “style” her hair…it was quite cute!
Good friends, beautiful countryside, some wine, and a relaxing weekend…a nice break and great way to end the month of August!