Little Ammon....

Lately I've been thinking a lot about families. Maybe it's the fact that mine lives so far away, plus the holidays, etc. etc. etc. That, and I think becoming another year older and still single, I think a lot about my own family (in theory) quite a bit. I think about the kinds of traditions I want to have, how I want to raise my children, what I want to do differently than my own parents, and what I want to do the same. I've loved being priveleged to interact with so many amazing families, and I continue to learn and observe so much.

The Little family is one of the great examples of an amazing family to me. I absolutely LOVE being around them. They are the kind of family that really enjoys each other's company and you can tell that they would just as easily hang out with each other on a Friday night as they would anyone else. And oh my gosh! SO much fun to be around.

Julie and I had a good time taking pictures of little Ammon. I've known Julie for a number of years and it's really neat to watch her grow into being a mom. Her sister Kim, who was visiting town stopped by and we snagged a couple shots of her little cutie as well. Here are a few of my favorites.

So fun with FAMILY...

This holiday kind of snuck up on me. Usually I have plans weeks in advance, but this time...nothing. I don't know if it's been because I've been so INCREDIBLY busy lately with work, or the fact that I was just home a couple of weeks ago. Regardless, here I am. It's Thanksgiving week and I'm not sure what to do with myself. I keep toying with the idea of hopping in the car and driving somewhere completely random...like Hoover Dam for example. (**sidenote** if this weren't a blog that I try to keep somewhat professional, I'd probably use that as a segue to launch into some dam jokes. They're funny. Let's be honest, and even though they may be a little bit childish...well, it's ok.)

Anyways, this past week my sister was able to come up to Utah with her family. It was so great having them here. I absolutely love being around my nephews. The oldest, Logan, has got to be the coolest kid ever. He LOVES music. Especially The Mormon Tabernacle Choir with Sissel singing Christmas carols. It's the best. We got some great pictures of them this past weekend. Here are some of my favorites.

Lauren's Sneak Peak

I don't have incredibly fond memories of high school. Don't get me wrong....I had a great time and met some great people. Beyond that I remember feeling like I was stuck having some sort of transcendental experience most of the time... one in which I felt like the "real me" was trapped inside someone else. And I CERTAINLY didn't look like Lauren, my most recent senior.

Lauren attends one of the high schools that I just did yearbook pictures for. She's SO much fun and is a girl that is going places...literally. After high school she wants to travel abroad to go to school. The more I work with seniors the more it seems like they are such higher caliber than I remember being. I LOVE working with my seniors. They have such a zest for life that's contagious. Here are a few of my favorites from Lauren's photosession.

Postponed...

I know...I know. You'll just have to wait. The next little contest is right around the corner. Trust me, you'll be so glad. I will tell you that the winner of this next contest will get a complementary family sitting....SO EXCITING!!! Stay tuned for details later this week! In the meantime I'll be seeking for some form of inspiration regarding what exactly I'll have you do. *cynical laugh*

Congratulations!!!

I know, I know. I'm a little bit late. This last contest should have been announced awhile ago, and I'm SO sorry to leave so many of you restless at night wondering..."Did I win? Was I the chosen one?" And while we all know the familiar saying about excuses, I really have been incredibly busy with work. But, I didn't want to leave anyone hanging any longer....so here is the winner. **drum roll please**.... Julie Erickson is the winner of our Captions Contest. I don't know if you remember the photo of the dog with the furrowed brow. You may have to go back a few blog entries. Julie wrote, "Back-off Barbie!" Which made me laugh...out loud even. Especially considering that she was about 8 months pregnant when she wrote it. It was all too fitting! So I hope you enjoy you're ITunes Card Julie. The rest of you stay tuned for my next contest that will be announced tomorrow.

VanDyken Sneak-Peak....

I like to put babies in buckets...only for photography of course, but it really is becoming one of my favorite things. I stumbled on this fantastic bucket a few weeks ago at the local antique shop and have absolutely fallen in love with it. This first shot could possibly go down in history as one of my favorites. Oh, the things you can do with a bucket... In any case, I've been pretty busy with a couple of REALLY big projects. Hence the reason why I haven't posted a lot lately. Please forgive me. Sometimes life is a lot like trying to drink water from a firehose and it has just so happened to be one of those types of weeks.

Also, I've had a couple of people ask what the little shape is at the bottom of the images. Truth is, I've been tooling around with a couple of watermarks and trying to figure out which ones I like best. Any ideas?