Travel

 by Terri

Sydney | {Stunning Senior}

Wow, I must say this is one of my favorite sessions, but I want to preface it with the fact that this is my niece, so I’ve had more freedom with her session and we have PLAYED a lot with our time together.  We started out in my studio a month ago, then the next day moved to the “graffiti garages” in Tacoma and the last stop (about a week ago) was in The Dalles, Oregon, where she lives and is a senior at The Dalles-Wahtonka High School this year.  So, there is a lot of variety in her photos, but that is a good way to describe Sydney. She is the youngest, her older sister is a junior in college, so Sydney is the last at home and is enjoying her senior year, having lots of fun with friends, working hard in her classes, taking some college courses, playing sports, involved in the ASB, and is a member of the 4H (won the top award for her goat at their county fair)…this girl is the whole package! She has goals for her future, ideas about what she wants out of life, plans for the next steps and yet, still realizes that she can balance all the parts of her life to make it work. Can you tell that I think pretty highly of her? Well, I do…and that is not to say that her older sister (Samantha) is not just as amazing, because she is…their parents have done an incredible job raising two beautiful and well adjusted girls who will both be very successful in whatever they do in life!

So, back to Sydney, she is beautiful, tall and graceful, athletic, very social, has a GREAT laugh and very kind and thoughtful…and so in having the privilege of taking her senior photos, I wanted to try and capture all aspects of who she is…hopefully, I have done just that. We had lots of fun, did lots of laughing and goofing around and in the end, I at least love her photos…and hope she does! So, without further ado…here are MANY photos of Syd…as we call her…enjoy!

Sydney has this idea to recreate a photo or something similar to one she saw of Lady Di…I don’t know about you, but I think she is way prettier!

I love Syd’s laugh…so contagious…what a beautiful smile to go with it!

Last shot of the day at the Tacoma graffiti garages…couldn’t resist this shot…good thing it was covered as it was raining….what’s new!

As you can see, we had fun and Syd is tall, so jumping is easy for her and she can get quite high…it was fun and there was lots of  laughter during our day in The Dalles!

This old house that Syd was sitting in the doorway of was a perfect setting for our photos…it just seemed to fit her…lots of character and so many stories within!

You can see, we had fun, being silly and showing that serious isn’t always the way to go…

Isn’t Sydney beautiful…what a delight to photograph, a natural beauty who is SO sweet and down to earth!

I love this photo and when I found this quote…it just seem to fit Sydney…and I couldn’t resist adding it to the photo…it all seemed to go together perfectly!

in Families / Seniors & Teens / Teens / Travel 2 comments
 by Terri

Back from Vacation…

 Hello there…and if you were wondering where I’d gone…just know that I didn’t fall off the face of the earth…nor did I fall off a cliff, although we were hiking along many during vacation. My husband and I took nearly 2 weeks and flew to Salt Lake City and then traveled through the national parks down there. It was FABULOUS and we loved every minute of it…despite the fact that it wasn’t a “resting” vacation…it was just as wonderful! And, we got more exercise during this time that probably any other time in our lives…we were on the go every day, all day long…and it felt great…even the tired feet and sun-burnt lips (yes, that was me…used chap-stick, just didn’t have spf in it the first couple of days…I quickly learned!!)…all well worth it! If you have never been to any of these parks, we HIGHLY recommend it…they are amazing…actually, visiting any of our national parks is a real treat…we have so much to offer in our own country and really, not that far away…check them out!

Our first stop was Arches National Park…which was wonderful and awe-inspiring! The arches were truly amazing and we loved our time there…well, maybe not all our time there as we were staying in a motel (Days Inn) that was AWFUL…and when I say AWFUL…I  mean it…the good news, no bed bugs, but outside of that, it didn’t have a positive thing about it…and unfortunately, every place in Moab (the town we stayed in) was booked full while we were there…ugh…but we survived and that made each place there after even more enjoyable!!

Above, the Courthouse Towers in the morning sun and below the Landscape Arch late in the afternoon…so much to see there!

Next up was Canyonlands, a smaller and less busy park…it was as beautiful as the first and here we took our longest, toughest hike! We hiked a canyon which sounded pretty easy, but after over 4 hours and 6+ miles…hiking down into and then UP and out and back around…we were exhausted, but sort of surprised that we’d made it and were still standing…and after a few more bottles of water and some food, we were ready to go again! That same day we also visited Dead Horse State Park, which is between Arches and Canyonland…and that is where the Green River merges into the Colorado River…very pretty and we were there for sunset, though not a ton of color…it was still beautiful!

The photo above shows a section of rock (slickrock…that really isn’t slick!) that we actually climbed up…and then down…yikes, what were we thinking?!?

Dead Horse State Park at sunset

From there we headed to Capitol Reef…again, a smaller park and not quite as busy (we liked the “quieter” parks…as the bigger ones had TONS of tourists…and I mean “non” American tourists!! We were truly a minority at the larger parks!). We stayed in a town called Torrey…VERY small and not much there, but the motel was wonderful (another Days Inn) and we had dinner our second night at the most wonderful place, everything was spectacular about it…and as we left, there was a glorious sunset (no camera…or I guess I should say, just the little one!).

Petroglyphs that were carved on the rock cliffs…totally amazing!

Next, we were on to Bryce National Park which has the rock spirals and woodoos…which are incredible…you look down on them and it’s unbelievable that they’ve actually formed these just from nature….truly unbelievable! We also took another good hike here, down into the canyon, so we could get a different perspective on them, looking up…that was a wonderful hike…not as tough as the one from Canyonlands, but still a longer and more strenuous one.

From there we headed West, with some quick stops at Cedar Breaks, Kolob Canyon (north end of Zion NP) and Grafton (a ghost town)…before arriving in Springdale where we spent our last few days and explored Zion National Park. Again…a truly amazing park. It has tall canyon walls and cliffs that are incredible…and we even saw a couple of people climbing one…and evidently, they had been working on it for two days when we saw them…WOW…can’t EVEN imagine that! Zion was the only park where we couldn’t drive to the stops ourselves, they have a wonderful shuttle system that is great and really was a nice way to talk with others visiting the park, either while on the shuttle or waiting for one.

Fabulous fall colors from the Cedar Break area!

From Grafton ghost town, just outside of the entrance to Zion NP

Above, the moon above a cliff in Zion…and below, the Virgin River….looking up the canyon narrows

Back at home…and as with any vacation, there is the usual to catch up on…laundry, mail, house and I have some work that didn’t get done before I left, so have that on my plate as well!  Of course, one of the nicer things about coming home…sleeping in your own bed….ahhhhh, that felt so nice last night…after four different motels in the past two weeks, coming home to ours was a real treat!! Today…my first day back, I had a “Mimi day” which is one of my most favorite of the week…when I watch our granddaughter…she’s truly a blessing in our lives and I’m blessed to be able to have her a couple of days a week. Mind you, I don’t get much work done on those days, but who cares…time with family and those you love is more valuable than any work time…at least in my opinion!

I hope this finds you all doing well…enjoying fall and hopefully, some nice fall weather! I do love the fall, the colors, the crisp cool mornings and the smell of dew in the evenings…and as my husband likes to remind me…it’s time to start cooking some “cold weather” meals…like soups, stews, casseroles, etc…so bring on fall!!

in Just Because / Personal / Travel 0 comments
 by Terri

A Special Family {Idaho Family Photographer}

 Another session from last month while I was on vacation in Idaho was with a very special family, the Barnes! Ned and Linda are the parents of this wonderful group and live in Spokane, Washington, although they have a summer home on Priest Lake in Idaho and it was a wonderful setting for this great family to gather on this beautiful summer day! They have three children, all married and unfortunately, one of their sons and his family were not able to be there for this session, but we were able to get their other two children, their children and some extended family together for these photos…what fun time I had with everyone! Of course, how can one not enjoy any time at a location with such a beautiful view…and I must tell you that I’m a sucker for a water location and especially a lake…I’m a “lake girl” at heart!! So, when asked if I could come out and photograph their family by Linda, I didn’t have to think twice about this opportunity…my only questions were when and for directions!

Besides Ned and Linda, there was their daughter and her family, Katie and Larry as well as their children, Evie and Quinn. Also visiting was Larry’s mother, Olive and his sister, Ruth. Next up with son, Mitch…and his family who were visiting from Spain. Mitch’s wife, Raquel and their children Neddy and Michelle, were joined by other visitors (family) from Spain…Raquel’s father and mother – Pablo and Mari Te and her sister, Sara.   And, we can’t forget Mary Jay, who is Ned and Linda’s beautiful dog…such a  sweet tempermant…and she loved being there with everyone!

This group was very relaxed, but who wouldn’t be when spending a summer day on a beach of a beautiful lake…with no schedule….just a day of fun and relaxation!!

Sweet little Michelle and Neddy…aren’t they adorable!!

Linda with her grandchildren…she’s so blessed to have such wonderful and sweet grandchildren!

Quinn…he was a very quiet and serious little guy…and he took everything in and carefully thought things through…but I managed to find some smiles inside of him before the session was over!

The Spain family…such a GREAT looking group!

Little Neddy…he is very curious and not afraid of much (except for slivers…see photo below!)…and explored everything he saw…what a wonderful spirit he has!

This is Katie’s family (from California) and their daughter, Evie on the right. Evie is a beautiful girl and was very sweet and gentle…such a caring child.

Ned and Linda with Katie and Mitch…it was too bad their son, Eric, wasn’t there…then this would have been a perfect picture!

Little Michelle (11 months old) has the most beautiful eyes and the greatest smile!…and was a delight to watch…she loved her big cousin, Evie!

Wow…trying to get four children to all look in the same direction and happy…definitely a challenge…and thanks to their parents, we were successful!

Isn’t this the most beautiful dog you’ve ever seen…Mary Jay is SO sweet and gentle and was happy to just be there, but even happier when somone would throw one of her toys for her!

Poor Neddy got a sliver in his foot while walking around in his bare feet…good thing dad (Mitch) came to the rescue with a band-aid!

A wonderful and fun group…I thoroughly enjoyed my time with them this afternoon!

These two cousins have obviously bonded and despite their age difference and the distance between their homes, it’s obvious they will always be close!

Evie was playing with Michelle’s toes…so cute!

Hmmm….who was having more fun playing with the toys on the beach…Neddy, or Grandma Linda?!! I think we can see who it might be!

Ned and Linda Barnes…a loving a generous couple who have not only given so much to their children and grandchildren, they have also given to their friends and community…both are kind and quick to give a helping hand to whoever might need it. I know they have been there for my family at times and I know there are many others who have been blessed with their generous spirit as well. This couple is blessed in so many ways, but also are both fighting cancer right now, so they can certainly use any postive thoughts and prayers right now…they have so much left to give and I know they will fight with every ounce of their beings to beat the diseases!  LOVE YOU GUYS!!!

in Babies & Bellies / Children / Families / Travel 0 comments