My Auntie Dee Dee and Uncle George live a beautiful life. They live on a quiet little farm with an amazing mountain view in Wasilla. They take in abused or unwanted horses and give them a fabulous place to recuperate and train them so they are able to be ridden again. I think my Uncle George is a horse whisperer – he can calm a wild stallion or an abused mare with his presence alone. Look at the way that horse is calm against his gentle touch or the way he lights up just talking about his work!  

Auntie Dee Dee is a passionate about everything she does whether it’s rescuing animals, teaching her little nieces about baking, make-up and dressing up, loving her babies and husband with a fire others have trouble expressing or her dedication to being the best teacher she can be. She makes those around her feel special and loved in a way I’ve seen from few. She is fabulous and I am so happy she has made such a wonderful life in Wasilla. I just miss her so…    

The boys weren’t around so I wasn’t able to capture them on our visit, but they are two beautiful boys who are almost all grown up and who have been raised to be confident, hard workers, incredible horse riders, awesome soccer players, and most of all they know they are loved, loved, loved!

They have a beautiful life in Wasilla and I’m so happy they have found it. I am only sad to say we don’t see them enough and I miss them while they are away. I want my little ones to know them and to see how special they have been in my life. I want to visit more often so that my kiddos have memories carved out in their childhood from spending time with them like I do.

Thanks for so many sweet memories, I sure love you guys!  

This visit was last August and I’ve been meaning to blog about it so we can show just how great our little visits with them are. There are lots of photos, Enjoy!

of mice and men often go awry…

So I had this plan to shoot some fun pics of Lael and me while testing out a new contraption for one of my lights. I did my make-up all fun and smokey, put on some heels and cute jeans, I set up the tripod, camera and lights, ran the trigger button up my pant leg to hide it and fired a couple shots of Lael playing with ‘her camera’. I checked the shots (there was backdrop and lights showing in the test shots so I was sure I had plenty of wiggle room). So it was go time, right?!  

So we get ready for the first shot I wanted…a fun shot of me in my jeans & heels with Lael peeking through my legs – I got it – sort of…

On to the next fun series…Since I spend so much time in the studio working in my chair with my little munchkin climbing all over me I thought I’d throw in the chair and get some fun shots to catch us the way we are most days…(minus the heels)

Well I’m not sure if there are little mice living in my house that know how to operate the camera and tripod, but that seems to be the only explanation for the shots we ended up with…They are so not what I was going for, but funny nonetheless. Look how fun these tie shots could have been! 

With every visit with my Dad I am reminded of all the little things that often go unnoticed all around us. For instance as we were watching this amazing sunrise he noticed the way the edges of the clouds were being blown smooth on the edges because of the nearly 100 mph gusts of wind happening 1000 feet above our heads. Or how he showed me how to distinguish wolverine tracks by watching for the marks its long hair leaves in the snow. Because of him I notice the sound of the birds when I walk through the woods and know to listen closely to hear the grouse beating their wings on the ground in the distance at the cabin. Life is full of so many little moments that make each day special and my Dad has done an incredible job of teaching us to enjoy them as they pass through our lives. He is down in Juneau and just knowing it will be months before we will see him again is heart breaking. Our family isn’t whole when one of the pieces is missing and it’s those little things we miss out on each day that makes the distance unbearable. 

As I shot the photos of the sunset I looked up and Lael had her head on his shoulder and he was pointing out at the sunrise and though I didn’t get that shot I had to capture them.  In watching him hold and talk to her I was brought back to a thousand memories of him showing me the little things all around us and I knew at that very moment he was sharing one of those little things with her. 

These guys are the best of buddies and it’s a blast watching them grow up together!

I’ve been craving some outside shooting and when I came across this shoot from last winter and it reminded me that with all our beautiful sunlight returning and the incredible sunrises and sunsets we’ve been having that some snowy fun is in order. So if you’re up for some snowy family fun give me a shout and we can gear up and head outside! Have a great weekend.  

The plague flu has been haunting us for the past 10 days and I’m confident that we are finally on the mend. We have been hibernating together and it’s funny how something so icky can bring a sense of peace and closeness to us. Times like this remind us of that for better or worse, in sickness and in health part of our vows to each other. It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day, it’s a new life…and I’m blessed to have these two.

One of my goals for this year is to learn to photograph at night (the moon, stars, fireworks, northern lights etc..). I picked up a book at the library this week and put a little of what I learned to use. This is my first and second stabs at photographing the moon. These shots were taken on Sunday. It was about 35 below and I was bundled in my new PJ’s, hat and Uggs. I have some work to do, but it was fun to have results on my first trip outside.

There are some really amazing things about it being 40 below… Hot tubbing at the cabin with icicles on your eyelashes yet feeling like it’s warm out is pretty amazing. Dropping a quarter in the parking lot and trying to retrieve it within 30 seconds only to break a nail because it’s already embedded in the ice is pretty amazing. Our ice fog sunrise and sunsets are pretty amazing. And lastly, the site of a spider web at 40 below, to me, is also pretty amazing. So for all of you who are wishing for warmer temps here are a few shots at 40 below to make you smile, cringe or at least appreciate for a minute these chilly days. Oh and a fun collage of a sunny backyard shoot I did of Lael while we were in Texas. Stay warm!

Hot tubbin at the cabin with my bro & my tough Alaskan girl over New Years

Sun rise, sun rise looks like morning in your eyes…

Chilly spider webs

A little sun for the soul…

have been keeping me busy in the studio during these cold, below zero days! Many of my shoots lately have been hottie wives sending smokin’ hot care packages to Iraq, tucking them under the tree or saving them for sweet Valentine’s Day gifts. These shoots are too hot for the blog so click here to visit the website and go view the beautiful bodies gallery. 

For a more suitable blog shot here’s a little munchkin all cozied up in a new little cocoon my mom made.