Lifestyle - Everyday Things.

I love taking lifestyle shots of my kids. Just of the every day, mundane things. My son, Austin, loves to look at himself in the mirror and make faces while combing his hair. He's wearing the robe he wears every night to bed. He would stay in his robe all day long if I'd let him!

Here's a few shots I took of Austin "primping" in the bathroom after his bath. Isn't he a cutie?!

20 Things To Do During A Snowstorm

When you're stuck at home because of a blizzard/snowstorm, you need stuff to do... especially if you have kids (and especially if there is a 24 hour vehicle ban). So here's my list of
20 Things to do when you're stuck home during a Snowstorm. (In no particular order.)

1. Play Monopoly 3 times
2. Eat munchies non-stop
3. Bake (assuming you have power)
4. Clean your house top to bottom (not so much fun, but hey.)
5. Be brave and play in the snow
6. Build a snow fort
7. Have a snowball fight
8. Drink endless cups of hot cocoa
9. Roast marshmallows in the fireplace
10. Organize your kids closets
11. Read a good book cover to cover
12. Watch movies
13. Play the Wii (we did a lot of this!)
14. Have a popcorn catching contest
15. Shovel the snow... every hour
16. Teach your dog (or fish) a new trick
17. Cook enough food for the entire week
18. Build a fort out of blankets
19. Have an indoor picnic
20. Stay in your pajamas ALL day!

Snowstorms are so much fun! See below for some of the good times we had...

 

 

Taking more lifestyle photos...

I know it's been soooo very long since I last posted. Let's call it part winter blues, part just plain lazy. One of my New Year's goals is to take more photos of my kids and friends. More lifestyle photos of just enjoying life. I want to get back to picking up the camera because I want to capture a particular moment, so I can remember the little things and not just the big.

On this particular day, the sun was finally shinning. And the light was beautiful coming through the windows. My daughter was playing with her cat, Bella, (not real!) and probably a little annoyed that I was interrupting her. (She takes her cat everywhere she goes - on a leash I might add.) So I grabbed my camera and snapped a few shots before the moment was lost. And I'm so glad I did!

A girl and her horse.

Marlee has been obsessed with horses for some time now. She wears cowboy boots almost daily - whether she is wearing shorts, dress, tutu, pants, no matter. If you ask her what she wants to be when she grows up, she will say a cowgirl.

Every year I do a little photo session for each of my kids around their birthdays. While I was looking for locations, I found this great little farm with horses not far from our house. The owner was kind enough to let us take photos there with one of her ponies.

The minute Marlee saw "Bella" she was enamored. I couldn't keep her attention for anything! When I would tell her to look at me and smile she would say "Mom, leave me alone, I'm riding the horse." Hence, very few photos with smiles and her looking at the camera! She was in her zone giving ALL attention to Bella.

But, I love the photos either way!

Here are some of my favorites...

Every kid needs a rope swing...

It was a beautiful, sunny autumn day and the kids were enjoying some outside time. They love to play on the rope swing that their dad built. Of course I had to pull out my camera! I snuck up on them and captured them in the midst of their adventure. Apparently they were playing some sort of "civilization" game, building and attacking... It was adorable!

These moments are so fun to photograph and remember. They go by so fast! So go out and get some photos of your kids... playing, sharing, and just being themselves.

 

Pumpkins, pumpkins, pumpkins!

The kids had been buggin' me for days to go to the pumpkin patch and pick out pumpkins. So I finally loaded them up and headed to Honeypot Farms. They have great pick-your-own apples, pumpkins and a small animal farm. Oh, and of course, the mazes! My kids love the tunnel maze and the hedgemaze.

This year I told my kids they could only get a pumpkin that they could carry. I was NOT going to haul all these huge pumpkins to the car! So they went throughout the patch and tested out their strength on different pumpkins. They did very well! Especially my 8 year-old!

Now we just need to carve them!

 

The Adorable "C" Family.

I love Fall. The beautiful colors. The crisp air. The excuse to drink hot chocolate once a day. Fall photo sessions are ALMOST my favorite to shoot. Especially when you have an adorable family like the "C" family!

I have to say, the little ones gave me a run for my money, but I like a good challenge! Usually it's the husbands/fathers that are a trial ("Is this over yet?"). Either way, the pleasure was all mine.

Some of my MOST favorite shots from the session...