One of my favorite people and one of my favorite kitties at one of my favorite places.
(My parents’ kitten loves my cousin Clare, who drove from Iowa to stay with my parents for a few days. As you can see, we all bonded.)

One of my favorite people and one of my favorite kitties at one of my favorite places.
(My parents’ kitten loves my cousin Clare, who drove from Iowa to stay with my parents for a few days. As you can see, we all bonded.)

After many hours of playing games and splashing around in the pool at a family get together this weekend, my cousin Emma just couldn’t keep her eyes open any longer. It didn’t even matter that she was sitting at the dining room table amongst the loud, rambunctious adults playing games.

Continued from yesterday’s blog post, here are a few more of the family portraits I did last week. I really enjoyed shooting in the country with the different scenery, few distractions, and great early morning light.






Ok, so I’m a little biased. I did a portrait session for my in-laws last week, and I can’t help but think these kids (my 6-year-old niece and 4-year-old nephew) are pretty cute. Their best features? Beth’s pretty smile and Caleb’s ornery facial expressions.Which photo is your favorite?
Hang tight, photos with Mom & Dad will be posted tomorrow. I didn’t want to post too many at once, and I love keeping you all in suspense.







Fourth of July is the holiday of the year for my in-laws. I won’t even tell you how much they spend on fireworks. We always have a great time hanging out with family, eating too much, watching the kids shoot off small fireworks, and finishing the day with our own personal fireworks display. Here you can see four of the guys (my husband included) stepping back to watch a huge fountain they set off.

Have you ever tried to photograph a family with six kids? It’s not exactly easy to get everyone looking good at the same time. I thought this one turned out pretty nice though.

I couldn’t wait to post this cute photo of Ellie & Annie during Annie’s newborn portraits yesterday. Little Annie, despite making her way into the world a few weeks early and only being a couple of weeks old, was determined to stay awake through the entire photo shoot! I can’t wait to share more photos with you tomorrow.

Well, after spending all Christmas day in bed with the stomach flu and another day recovering, I’m almost back to normal. Luckily I still got to partake in some of the family celebrations before getting sick. Since I’m a few days behind posting last week’s photo, and no one wants to see Christmas photos a week later, you get a two-for-one today.
Last weekend, despite the dreary and foggy weather, I had a great time photographing this family just in time for the holidays. I loved how laid back they were, just letting me capture a slice of their life while they got to be themselves.
Like many of you, I’ve had a lot of family time over the last few days. Tomorrow is the start of something I’m incredibly thankful for: the opportunity to go on a mission trip to Haiti. Until I return with some [hopefully] moving stories and photos, here are some shots of family pets I took at Thanksgiving.