14 Years and Counting...

It's hard to believe that Jennifer has had the patience and sense of humor to be my friend for over 14 years!! ;-) A lot has happened in both of our lives since "back in the day".....like 3 more children for her!! Brett and Jennifer and their 4 beautiful daughters visited us last week and she asked me if I would be interested in trading family sessions (since she's also a photographer in Des Moines, IA). You must know that this was very much an unfair trade since she is WAY more talented than I am, but since it worked out in my favor, I obliged. :-) Hahaha! Below are some of the photographs that I took of them. I'll post some of the images she took of Will and I and the girls tomorrow....so be sure to check back!

Melia also let her Mom and I work on some new lighting techniques. (Yes, she's supposed to look like she's standing behind a window on a rainy night.) Isn't she gorgeous??!! Sometimes I find it hard to think of her as a teenager....to me, she's still the little 3-year old that used to "fix" my hair all the time. :-)

Love you guys!!

My Little Wyatt is a Big Boy!!

....and another sweet, sweet baby (becoming a big boy) session for you. While in D.C., I stayed with Wyatt and his amazing parents. Jodi and Jonathan, thank you a million times over for your friendship and your hospitality. I love you guys so much and I'm so thankful for you!!

I was pretty proud that Wyatt learned to say Stacey while I was here. There's a chance that he may have just caved to get me to shut-up, but I'll take it any way I can get it!!! ;-) I sure do love my little buddy.

Ms. Ella is 1-Year Old!

Yet another one of my sessions while back in D.C. was Ms. Ella. She is another little cutie that I've had the honor of photographing since she was born. You can only imagine how much fun it is to see them every 3 months and see how much they've grown and see their personalities come out!! Here are a few of my favorites of Ella and her Mama and Daddy. (I won't lie, my favorites are the ones with her rockin' sunglasses!!)

So Much To Catch You Up On!!

Wow, I have so much to catch you up on! Since my last post, I've traveled to Dallas to spend a week with my brother and his amazing family, so I'll have pictures of my insanely gorgeous :-) niece to post sometime in the next few days. I've also photographed a wedding and about 6 other family/children photo sessions....so, lots of pictures to come as I work my way through the editing process!!

The first set of pictures I have ready for you to see is Mr. Cobb. You will probably recognize this handsome little man since I've been photographing him since he was born. So fun!! Kelly and Josh, I hope you like. I had such a hard time deciding which images to post here on the blog because there are so many that I love. :-)

Josh, have you been working on his James Bond??? Sorry, just couldn't help myself!!! ;-)

Stacey Kyler Photography -- Video

I recently had a client ask me for additional samples of my work, so I put together this video, focusing primarily on families and children. I thought I would post it here as well just in case anyone else is interested in seeing it! (Music is Perfect Day by Lady Antebellum...my favs!)

Weekend Hike

I know it's shocking :-), but we did another hiking adventure this past weekend. We are definitely getting acclimated to the altitude and each hike is getting easier. We are working our way up to longer hikes and higher altitude. The dogs continue to run circles around us, but what's new! They are pretty convinced we've brought them to doggy heaven out here!

High School Friend...16 Years Later!

It seems insane to me that our high school graduation was 16 years ago. It just doesn't seem possible, and although I'll admit I feel different than I did back then, I sure don't feel 16 years different!! The last time I saw my amazing friend, Wendy, was high school graduation....until a few months ago when we moved to Colorado and we re-connected. It's such a cool thing to see her married and with two gorgeous children!!

Wendy called me up and asked me to photograph her extended family on her husband's side. Little did I know I'd be photographing 5 of the cutest kids I've ever seen....all at one time! Here are a few of my favorites...

My absolute favorite picture. I honestly can't believe we got all 5 of them to lay down long enough to get quite a few of these. Good job team!!!! :-)

And these are Wendy's two amazing little ones. The one on the right is a perfect example of why I've chosen to be a lifestyle photographer. I absolutely love the candid shots. This is the way parents will always remember their kids....playful and fun.

Holy cow. Just look at these kids!!!! Adorable. Sorry, Wendy, I know the only picture of the adults that I've posted is of you and Chad, but everyone needs to see how beautiful my friend and her family is!!! Again, I got some great shots of all of them posed nicely, but this family shot is just so real and I love it!

And these GORGEOUS sisters are Wendy and Chad's nieces. They are seriously beautiful!!

Hehehe. And just for the humor and comparison sake, this is a picture of a picture from our senior yearbook. Ah, the days!! :-) A shout out to Angel and Naomi also pictured here.

Wendy, I hope you and your family like the pictures!! Can't wait to see you again soon.

My Very Talented Mother

My Mom is such a talented and creative woman. She has two stores inside the mall in Muscatine, IA, and when Will and I drove through there on our move to Colorado, she asked me to take some photos of her stores. One store is a bridal and tux shop while the other is dedicated to tea parties -- both for children and for adults. They also rent bridal equipment from this store as well. Anyway, I'm pretty proud of my Mom and thought I would share some pictures from her stores... (Notice the adorable little models she had come in for the photo session!!)

Love you, Mom! I'll get these plus all the other images on a disk and in the mail you! :-)

Memorial Day Weekend

We had such a great weekend! The weather was just amazing and begged for us to spend as much time outside as possible...so we obliged.

We took the girls to a dog park that has an agility course. A first for all of us. Bailey really got into the weaving. It could have been the delicious treats that Will was leading her with, but she did really great! When Kelsee was given the same opportunity with the same treat as her reward, she opted to go play with other doggies. We all have our talents, I suppose. :-)

LEFT: Bailey did the teeter totter great...the first time. Apparently the loud noise when it hit the ground on the other side was a little scary because she never wanted to try it again.
CENTER: Kelsee rockin' out the bridge. Whew, that's a tough one! ;-)
RIGHT: Bailey contemplating whether or not the treat that is in the middle of the tunnel is worth climbing in there for. It took some coaxing, but she finally conquered the tunnel. Kelsee....again, not so interested. When I would hold a treat out for her, she would just run to me on the outside of the tunnel. Not exactly what we were going for.

After church on Sunday, we tried out a new hike. It was gorgeous and we had a great time!

Yet another (but different) dog park adventure. Da Na Na Na Da Da....SUPER DOGS! Hilarious...I love their ears and Kelsee's tail. :-)

Just down the road from our house is a huge herd of buffalo. The baby buffalo were born about a month or so ago, so I really wanted to take some pictures of these cuties before they got too big. It was so hilarious to watch them running and stumbling all over each other as they played.

....and yesterday we bought a lawn mower. Does that mean we're officially grown-ups?? :-) The girls played outside and relaxed in the shade while Will mowed and I cleaned up the yard. What a life they have!

Will and I are so grateful and filled with joy living everyday in this amazing country of ours. We know so well the great sacrifice that men and women of our Armed Forces have given so that we can have these daily pleasures and freedoms. THANK YOU to those who have given the sacrifice of life and also to those who previously served and those who continue to serve today.