Where I'm From

Earlier this month, I had a rare opportunity to spend a week back at home in Illinois....the heartland. It was such a good trip and probably more than anytime in my life, I had such an appreciation for where I come from. My Dad farms and is one of the hardest working people I've ever known in my life. We all provide for our families in good, honorable ways, but there is so much a child learns from watching their parents work the land with hard, physical labor. I learned an intense work ethic, good morals, and the importance of family growing up here. Dad, I'm so proud of you and I'm so unbelievably thankful for the life you and Mom gave to us. Love you guys!!

LEFT: Lola meeting Great Grandma Green for the first time.
RIGHT: Grandma spoiling us with an AMAZING meal to include the best homemade apple crisp on the planet!

The great Mississippi River

We went out to visit Dad while he was in the field and snapped a few shots of Lola and Mama.

And, well, not sure how this one fits in other than the fact that it was taken in Illinois. It's special enough it deserves its own space....

Inspired

Years ago I was introduced to the amazing photography work of Nashville's best, Zach and Jody Gray of Gray Photography (thanks Ashley R.!!!). I've marveled at their work and followed their blog consistently as inspiration of where I'd like to take my photography skills. This past week, I was beyond blessed to have the opportunity to attend a 3 day In Camera workshop that they hosted in Nashville. By "In Camera" they mean learning to get everything from the lighting (whether natural light or off camera lighting), exposure, composition, and white balance all right from the beginning in the camera so that VERY little post editing is necessary. Ah ya!!!

To say that I was inspired by the photography skills that Zach and Jody taught or the business and marketing tips they shared, would be an understatement. But even more than these incredibly important things, I was inspired by their love for God, each other and teaching us photographers. Their willingness to share things that most photographers keep so closely guarded was a true testament to their giving spirits. Zach and Jody, THANK YOU! And to all the other unbelievably talented photographers that I met at the workshop, thank you as well for your friendship and all the laughs :-)....I had a blast!

Natural light shots with the amazingly beautiful and talented model, Lindsey.

Off camera light shots with the stunning models Aimee, Lindsey and Bailey. Notice how amazing you can make the sky look when using off camera lighting, allowing both the sky and the model to have perfect exposure. So COOL!!

For Grandma: Lola the Pianist

My mom is having Lola withdrawals, so she asked if Aunt Stacey could take a few pictures of her playing her new piano.

So here you go, Mom! Introducing the next Jerry Lee Lewis (Lola way prefers playing from the standing position). Great balls of fire!!

The Fam

Mom and Dad left today to head back home after an awesome visit. We had such a great time having them here and even though I know they had a great time with us, they had a REALLY great time with Lola. Mom wanted to pack her in her carry on bag and take her home. Chad and Tasha vetoed that idea.

We spent one of our days showing them around some of the great little mountain towns in the area. Here are some pictures of us at Echo Lake on our drive up to the top of Mt. Evans...
(Note: We did not abandon Tasha, I promise, she was in the car with the sleeping baby.)

Proof that apparently 1 Normal + 1 Normal can, in fact, equal 2 Crazies

Chad was falling into the lake and I very heroically rescued him. And just look at the parents looking on, not offering to help. Shameful. Or maybe Chad and I are just really convincing actors.

Something(s) to Celebrate

My mom turns 75 this coming October (reason #1 to celebrate and photo document). She has also lost 25 lbs in the last 3 months (BIG reason #2 to celebrate and photo document)! I don't think she felt the need to do a photo shoot of herself, but I insisted. Not too often you turn 75 and look this amazing! :-) Here, see for yourself......

Happy (Early) Birthday, Mom! :-)

Girls Night Out: So SUPER Sweet (Literally)

Mom and Dad are in town....yippee!! :-) Tasha came up with the brilliant idea for us girls to go to a baking class....French pastries to be exact! We made a mocha torte, a fruit torte, and a black forrest roulade. It was super fun and we learned SOOO much. I won't lie, the boys were pretty thrilled when we came home with 3 huge boxes of goodies. A nice 10pm plate full of sugar is always good for the body. ;-)

The pre-class photo

I totally sucked them into my madness....mwa ha ha!! ;-)

Yes, we took ALL of that home with us, plus another 1/2 of what you see. Anyone in the Denver area want some deliciousness??? Come on over! We have PLENTY!!

One Of My Coolest Accomplishments Thus Far

When we moved to Colorado, there was a term I heard frequently, but had no idea what it meant. People often say phrases like, "I hiked a 14er this weekend" or "How many 14ers have you hiked?" or "Do you plan to work up to a 14er?". HUH? What is a 14er?? A 14er is a mountain that exceeds 14,000 feet. There are over 50 such mountains in Colorado (so I now know).

One would think that should a person desire to attempt their first 14er, one on the shorter end would be a wise choice. I would agree. But apparently we're dumb. We instead chose the highest mountain in Colorado, Mt Elbert at 14,433 feet, to be our first 14er this weekend. It was AWESOME!!!! And hard. The entire hike has an elevation gain of 4,700 feet and is 9.7 miles long round trip.

Me and the girls after we had broken through the tree line (about 1/2 way up). Still feeling pretty feisty but quite intimidated by what we see in front of us.

A little further up the mountain, climbing towards what we think is the peak. WRONG. False summit #1. False summits #2 and #3 were to follow. Just when you think you've made it, you circle around to the back and BOOM, another one in front of you. That's fun. ;-)
LEFT: Family picture on the way up
CENTER: Will and the girls leading the way. Do you see all those other ants (people) in front of us? A lot of other crazy people out yesterday too.
RIGHT: Me either still feeling goofy or starting to go coo coo from a lack of oxygen...not sure which, probably the latter.

Family pic at the summit!

2 different views from the summit. These pictures can't even begin to show the beauty from up there. You could see for hundreds of miles in every single direction. One of those moments when we again remember just how small we are in this big world....which then reminds us how amazing it is that God knows and cares about us "little people" to the great extent that He does. Humbling.

My victory pose. I was pretty psyched. Then Bailey and Kelsee wanted in on the action. They said that they worked just as hard as we did and they wanted a piece of the glory too with their own victory pose. (Except Bailey looks more like she's embarrassed of her mother's silliness and Kelsee looks more like she's jammin' to "Walk Like an Egyptian" in her sleep.)

And if that wasn't enough to show you how I was feeling.....

LEFT: Bailey and Kelsee ponder the sanity of their parents and keep a lookout for the helicopter they have been praying to God for to take them back down to camp where the tent and snuggly blankets and pillows are. ;-)
RIGHT: That night at the campfire Bailey climbed up in my lap for a snooze. Man, were they sleepy! But don't let that fool you....they had an amazing time and ran circles around Will and I.

And in summary....