Aimee + Nat – Save The Date

Aimee and I have been friends since we were 4 and 5 years old.  I’d say I’d spare you from all of the stories we have from growing up together, but really it’d be quite entertaining! The point is, we’ve been through a lot of seasons together and I’m thrilled to be a part of this upcoming one…Aimee + Nat are getting married!!!!

Below is a little highlight video of their lives in Huntington Beach, CA.  They’re quite the active couple…always on the move, but above all….Aimee + Nat are ALWAYS biking….Biking = life!  Aimee rides her bike to work almost daily (about 30 miles round trip).  She works at Crank Brothers, the Cadillac of mountain bike parts and accessories.  Upstairs from Crank Brothers is Fizik where Nat works…They specialize in high performance saddles for….BIKES!  Nat, is no stranger to high performance.  He’s been riding pro with the best of the best and has competed in the X-Games.  This couple is serious about their bikes! They even include it in their downtime.  In fact, the first thing we did after landing in Long Beach….we rode beach cruisers!  Friends, if you haven’t experienced a beach cruiser (near an actual beach), add it to your bucket list and recruit Aimee + Nat to take you for a spin!

Filming this video for Aimee + Nat was an absolute riot!  They’re constantly laughing and having fun, which I know will take them far into marriage!  If you’re family/friends of this duo, save the date for June 30, 2012!  It’s not to be missed!

I’d recommend viewing the video on HD mode…or go straight to vimeo, they have a bigger screen!

Aimee, I love how you found someone with the same interests as you, who has just as much fun, and most of all, someone who absolutely adores you!  Nat, I can’t think of a better match for Aimee!  Thank you for being so good to my friend!

Lea’s 1/2 Birthday

Sometimes my blogging gets a little out of order…like this one.  Recently I took some family pictures of some really great friends of mine and posted the images in a somewhat timely manner.  These images I’m posting today are from June, when Pam decided to throw her daughter a “Half-Birthday” party.  What?  You’ve never been to a “Half-Birthday” party before?  That’s too bad…I suggest you make friends with someone who was born on a big holiday, like Lea who was born on Christmas last year.  Lea’s thunder is kind of going to be stolen every December 25th, which makes sense since most people who celebrate Christmas are celebrating the birth of Jesus.  So Pam, being the creative mom that she is, threw Lea a half-birthday party…Brilliant!  And let’s be honest, if we delve into our own childhood imagination….while having a birthday on Christmas is cool and all, it most likely also means not as many presents!

Onto the party details….The theme was from the book, “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” by Eric Carle.  It’s about …yep you guessed it…a “Very Hungry Caterpillar” who eats and eats and eats until he turns into a cocoon and then into a butterfly.  So Pam put out a spread of EVERYTHING the caterpillar ate in the book!  It was really fun!  And because I like you…and trust you to not hold this against me, I’m going to share my ditzy moment….I thought the food on the table was a representation of all of Pam’s food cravings she had while pregnant with Lea!  And YES, I was familiar with the book “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” prior to the party!  Please don’t judge :)

Pam even labeled the food with quotes from the book!  I’m not going to post every picture of the food on the table for fear of copyright issues :)

Here is Lea, the “half-birthday” girl :)

Look at those CHEEKS!

Pam isn’t the only creative one in the family, Tim took it upon himself to help by making the caterpillar out of balloons :)

So Lea, Happy LATE half-birthday!  And a very Happy 10 days EARLY Birthday!

If you’re interested in seeing more of Pam’s creations…stop on over to the Bark and Giggle Boutique.  Also, check out her skills on the Summer Celebration post.

Zaden’s 1st Birthday!

Here is what I absolutely love about my job…The relationships you develop when people ask you to photograph something very important to them and from that, you develop a friendship.  Last fall, I met Natasha and Suneel for a maternity shoot, which ended up being the day before Natasha went into labor.  Shortly after their son Zaden was born, Natasha and Suneel asked me to capture some new born photos as well as some family portraits.  One year later, I was invited to Zaden’s 1st Birthday not as a photographer, but as a friend!  It was such an honor to be there, and to finally introduce my other half to the Goud family!   A big thank you to Natasha and Suneel for the invite!  It was fun celebrating with you and your wonderful friends and family!

“Curious George” was the theme of the party and not a detail was overlooked!  The decorations were great!

They even sang the songs from Jack Johnson’s “Curious George” album!  SO FUN!

When it was time to blow out the candle on Zaden’s Birthday cake, this little guy decided to help Zaden out.  He was very ninja like and snuck in there at the very last second to blow out the candle :)

But there was no way that little boy was getting first dibs on Zaden’s cupcake!  Let’s just say, the frosting was a hit for the Birthday boy :)

Here he is all cleaned up and enjoying some special time with Grandma :)

 

 

 

 

Emma Cooper

This is Emma.  See that finger in her mouth…that’s the finger she has everyone wrapped around!  The other night, we watched Disney’s movie “Tangled” and Emma held Patton’s finger the entire time!  His heart just melts for her.  Mine does too :)  Emma belongs to some really special friends of ours, Missy and Brice Cooper.  She’s also the little sister to Britton, he’s such a little charmer!  We had the pleasure to spend Thanksgiving in Colorado with this amazing family and just before heading to the airport, I managed to snap a few shots of Emma in her Christmas dress.

The Alvarado Family

Meet Pam, her husband Tim, their third baby Lea, and first children Ryu and Roxy….If you talk to Pam, that’s what she always refers to her dogs as….her first children :)  It’s true….Ryu and Roxy have been great practice for the big picture of parenting.  The training has been paid off, Pam and Tim are AMAZING parents!  They love Lea unconditionally, but are very happy to hand her over to others for some more love and affection…something I’d imagine can be difficult as a first time parent, but as mentioned above, Ryu and Roxy have helped with that :)

We’ve known Pam and Tim for a while now.  We met back in 2006 when our husbands deployed to Iraq together.  Since then, we’ve also lived in North Carolina together, and now Washington State.  Needless to say, the Army creates lifelong friends, and we are lucky to call the Alvarado Family just that!

Pam is not only an Army wife and a mother of 3, she’s also a business owner.  Pam creates the greatest accessories for four legged friends as well as for babies.  Take a few minutes and check out her work at Bark and Giggle Boutique!  Pam also just recently joined my team with Juice Plus+ as well!  I’m thrilled to have her by my side and to be continuously awed by her brilliant and creative ideas…like her “Summer Celebration“.

Harry Nix for Mayor

Regardless if you are a democrat or republican, one thing I think we can all agree on is that we need businesses to bloom…especially those who are trying to survive in a small community like Angola, IN.

Harry Nix, is not only my father-in-law, but the man who assisted his loving wife Chris in the upbringing of not just my husband and his 3 siblings, but also the upbringing of many children that weren’t even theirs!   All their life, Harry and Chris have taken in anyone who needed their help…all this while serving in the military as well as the Indiana State Police.

Now, the city of Angola needs help and Harry intends on running for Mayor to do just that.  ”Service oriented” is the understatement of the year!  Harry has proven to have a life of service and instilled that same mentality in all 4 of his kids, each of who have been serving in different branches of the military since their High School Graduation dates.

Back in 2007, Harry gave the run for mayor a shot but was recalled back to duty with the Army.  He deployed to Afghanistan for a year, which also means that his wife Chris had officially sent each one of her family members off on at least one deployment.

Again, regardless of your political views, watch Harry’s teaser we filmed on Independence Day, when he announced he was running for the Mayor’s seat.  And, if you happen to be from Angola, consider electing this man…not only does he have some great points that he stands behind, but his heart is clearly in it.

Ty’s Harley

Ty is a very talented painter, but when the man isn’t working, he’s out on his pride and joy…his Harley Davidson.  Its personalized, so you’re most likely not going to find another bike like this anywhere else.  He’s planning on sending some images into some bike magazines, so who knows…you may see some images taken by yours truly :)  This was a fun shoot!  I’m looking forward to getting some images of Ty with his other half…His girlfriend Penny who also has her own Harley Davidson :)