Maternity| Ashley & Pat

What more could this picture perfect family ask for than a little boy! Ashley and Pat are expecting their first baby boy soon and they couldn't be more happy. Big sisters Payton and Presley are already so in love with their soon to be baby brother. They were such a fun easy family to grab some beautiful photographs of. Other than the awful humidity yesterday I really enjoyed being out and getting to know them. They all were so easy going and very photogenic which is definitely a plus on my part. I cannot wait to meet little Tristan. I bet he will be just as cute as the rest of the family!

Ashley, you are one hot mama!





Payton & Presley were so adorable and totally knew how to work the camera. Everytime I went to take a picture all I had to do is say Presley's name and she would turn with the biggest smile. I wish all kids were this easy!



They both had to have their own time with mama and little Triston.



Ashley definitely rocked this shoot. Whatever I asked her to do she was game and made it look breathtaking, even if it meant sitting on the dirty wet ground.



Ashley and Pat are absolutely perfect for each other. By far one of the cutest couples I have taken pictures of.





Simply stunning!



Thanks guys, I had a blast even if we all managed to fall at some point yesterday. I am so anxious to meet little Triston. You guys are amazing!

Engagement: Connie & Ryan

Their eyes met from across the room and there was an instant attraction. He casually walked out of the dorm showers in nothing but a towel spotting the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. At the very moment he looked at her, he was smitten by her beauty. It may or may not have been the fact that he was half naked that drew her eyes straight to him.
Being the easy going spontaneous person he is, he decided he had to introduce himself and ask her for a dance. Although she swears she doesn't remember him that night she can't deny the fact, that from that very moment she would spend forever in love with him. They are the perfect match! They share enjoyment in all the small things in life, from spending the day out driving looking for their future home or staying in for an evening and cooking dinner together. Most importantly everything they do they find a way to laugh.
I feel so fortunate to have met Connie & Ryan. There is just such a happy fun mood about them, that can't help but make you smile. I am excited to be shooting their wedding next month, everything about them tells me I am going to be smiling the entire day. We spent the evening shooting at two locations in Bakersfield. It was a total blast!



I must say Ryan, you are looking pretty modelesque here!

Connie's smile lures you in in the most magnetic way. Between her eyes and her smile you can't help but fall in love with her!







I love how you both can look so happy and a minute later look so fierce...



Bring on the GQ!



...and of course there is always some time to relax during the day and enjoy the simple things in life!





They both enjoy having fun and being goofy so of course we had to bring in the playground equipment for them!





Ryan has a way of making Connie laugh even in the most romantic of moments, this is the very thing that she loves about him.







Happiness is always a key ingredient to life long love. Keep making each other smile daily and things will always look bright!

The Rivera Family

I had the pleasure of meeting the most beautiful family on the most beautiful day. It was just the right temperature on Saturday to actually enjoy taking pictures outside without everyone dying from heat stroke. After last weeks session I was ready to quit shooting until the weather changed, but somehow it knew that these people were too sweet to torture with the heat. The Rivera's were the most fun kindest people ever, and getting to shoot them really excited me for my favorite season to kick in.




Linda and Rick have been together for 10 years now and they still have that sparkle for each other that I love to see in couples!



Only because of their love for each other and their family could they produce the absolute sweetest kids ever!


Jonathon was so funny. He despises taking pictures so he really made me work to capture him in his element. He is my daughter's age so I started off asking if he had a girlfriend, which was the wrong thing to do! He got super embarrassed and then I think he put me on his list of people to dislike. Eventhough I upset him I still had a blast trying to make him smile! He really is a sweet boy!


Jaylene, little miss america's next top model, was hands down the friendliest little girl ever. She was all about having her picture taken. Anytime we walked to a new area I knew I could call Jaylene over and test the site out on her first. I wish I could have taken pictures of her for hours because I started noticing towards the end of our time together she was really getting into pictures. She started out shy and at the end I kept noticing her poke her little hip out with her hands on her waist. I knew there was a diva somewhere in Jaylene, only took an hour to get it out of her!


And then there was Jaythan! OMG I don't even think I have words for him. He is soooo cute. Whoever said the cutest baby was the gerber baby obviously has never seen Jaythan. Very first picture I took of the whole session he had a smile from ear to ear and it continued throughout the entire shoot. He was so mellow and compliant. Jaythan for sure is one of the happiest babies I have ever seen!


To the Rivera's: It was an absolute pleasure spending some time getting to know your family. Your presence was so warm and inviting. I thank you for the great time I had with you guys and look forward to seeing you guys in the future!

First Day of Preschool!

Where do I begin? My youngest, Evan, has finally started preschool. It's so amazing how fast time flies. I am so excited to have a short break 3 days a week from him, but really sad when I look at what this means; he will be starting kindergarten next year! What am I going to do with myself?
No, Im just kidding. I know exactly what I'm going to do with my freedom, HAVE ALONE TIME! Too bad one of the 3 days he's in school I work in my daughters classroom the entire time and oh ya I have a business to run, so the other two days will be spent working. Sounds like so much fun! I am hoping that while he is in school though, I will be able to get some extra work done to allow for more time to spend with my kids during the times they are home. I mean look at him, how can you resist this adorable face when begging to play super hereos with you?


He really is so much fun and has the biggest personality and imagination I have ever seen in a boy his age. I could be biased because he is my own, but if you don't know him and you someday meet him you will see that I'm not being biased, it is the truth!
I will have you know that in the next picture you may think that the big brown circular tube is just the center to a wrapping paper roll (that he probably unrolled the entire roll of wrapping paper from), well you are so WRONG! That is a super pirate sword that kills all the bad guys that try to come get us (and no wrapping paper was gone cause he left it all in the closet)!


So most the time you have to beg your boys to get them to take just one picture for you; well Evan, Mr. Personality himself, I have to beg to take just one normal picture for me because he is dying to take as many different silly pictures as he can. Did you check out the last blog entry with his best bud? You will see what I am talking about. Not a single normal cute smiling picture in the whole bunch! Oh wait I guess there was one at the very end out of like 20 pictures of the boys. So I was really excited that for his scrapbook of his first day of preschool I was able to capture him! Sweet, funny, adorable, sincere, happy, easy going, full of life Evan! My favorite boy in the whole world!




When we arrived at the school he was so excited he couldnt wait! He was so nervous as we walked up to the office to finish up his paper work. I told him to get next to the sign so he could always remember this preschool and when he did he got so excited he started giggling. It makes me laugh just thinking about this moment!


After signing the remainder of paper work and getting him signed into his class we took him outside to the play area. To our amazement he wanted to ride the red bikes. "Really, you want to ride the bike and not play on the jungle gym" we asked? The bike is like half the size of his own bike, but whatever makes him happy works for us!


In the last picture he's in the middle of saying, "Mom, why are you still taking pictures of me, I'm just riding a little bike?" After he asked this I decided it was probably time to stop humiliating him, put the camera up, and leave the school premises so he still could have some dignity in tact and a chance to make some friends.


I will have you know, when we picked him up today we asked him, "so did you miss us?"
"Sorry mom and dad but I forgot to miss you! Maybe the next day I will remember to!"

The He Man Woman Haters Club!

Boys will be boys! Shane and Evan have been friends since the day they were born. They live only a few houses down from each other and every day are constantly bugging us from the moment they wake up to play together. If they had it there way they would move into probably Shane's house (I think they think his mom is more fun than me) so they could be together every moment of the day. They both have an extensive imagination and can play action figures all day long. We went to the rough and tough downtown to let the boys show us there personality. They love the mad face and were thinking of so many ways to take a picture so they could give us those mean faces. They are so cute together brainstorming the next idea they have. Needless to say we have some hard choices to make for what prints to showcase in there rooms!










You always need to capture at least one picture of the sweetness these boys have!

Shane, Mr. GQ

Shane is the most adorable little boy! He has the sweetest shy personality that I rarely see in little boys his age. He was so cute today he came all dressed up looking handsome as ever. He reminds me of his mom, always wants to dress better than the occasion requires. Downtown was the perfect location for him to look all GQ and he had a blast doing it. I have the pleasure of having him as my sons best friend and he would not let us leave downtown until we made sure he was able to get down and dirty with his best friend. Those pictures will come soon!








Did I mention this little guy is turning 5? Happy 5th birthday Shane!