hometown journey magazine

I've been fortunate to recently come to know Angela Motz, a woman who has a big heart for the community and God. In addition to being the Editor-in-Chief of Hometown Journey Magazine, she also founded it and publishes it monthly. She works many hours each month to put together a great magazine (complimentary too!) that is distributed to many local towns. I was honored to shoot the July cover and I look forward to working with Angela and the magazine in the future! Please take a minute to check out the magazine's website to learn more about it, or you can check it out on Facebook!!

the third

It doesn't seem so long ago that this little boy was making his entrance into the world and now he's three and a big brother! Mr. B is the third, having the same name as both his father and grandfather. I think that makes year three extra special since he's three and a third. :)

He did such a great job and though we tried to stick to the shade, it was really hot out! And after pointing out the rocks on the ground, he pretty much just wanted to find rocks and throw them at the wall. He really has a great arm, I ducked out of the way a few times!

I love that there's just a hint of three year old mischief in his smile. I'm pretty sure throwing the rocks was his favorite part of the morning.

But I doubt even rocks compare to his beloved monkey. I asked him if his monkey had a name and he said, "Yes. Monkey." Of course we had to get him in a couple of pictures too!

We stopped to play with cars for a few minutes and he was particularly fond of one truck. He hid it behind his back and was all, "Where did it go?" before happily revealing it to us. It was really cute!

It was an eventful morning to be sure, after running out of gas for the SECOND time in a month, our session got off to a late start. Thanks so much for everything R, your oldest boy (much like your youngest boy) is totally adorable and I know one day he'll come to appreciate photos as much as you! ;)

the h family, part one

I was first contacted by L in May. She said her husband would be home on leave in June and it was time for family photos! I met up with this gorgeous couple and their sweet baby boy on a Monday evening and it was such a perfect summer night!

Little C really did so well during our time together. And he's really fast, no doubt he keeps everyone on their toes!

Thankfully there were a couple of grandparents and uncles on hand to keep him out of trouble so I was able to get a few pictures of his lovely parents. They're a really cute couple and I do believe they started dating in high school - oh, young love! :)

It was so nice meeting the whole family and I'm glad we were able to get everyone together! More to come of the entire H Family later this week!!

makeovers, muscles, and mustaches

This has been a hectic couple of weeks filled with sessions and lots of family fun. Deran was off a couple of extra days and I feel like we got exactly nothing accomplished at home. We spent some time with my in-laws and sadly I'm feeling quite sore after a two inning game of wiffle baseball that was played on Tuesday. This is Thursday. I would like to point out that my team, consisting of me, Deran, and his older brother D, totally stomped the other team. It's always a good idea when playing games of any kind to pair my brother-in-law and I together as we're both excellent winners and don't care to lose. And sure, the other team may have consisted of two grandpas and an eleven year old, but they also had my martial artist sister-in-law! Four against three and we couldn't be stopped! Please note I said I was an excellent winner, not gracious.

Anyway, I'm sore two days later. I'm scheduled to have a makeover tomorrow with a cousin currently at the half-way mark of her cosmetology schooling. I keep telling myself it's just hair. Plus, she always looks pretty and has really great hair so I don't think she could make me look awful. I doubt I share pictures because I'm not really in the wanting-to-be-photographed frame of mind. However, I have no doubt I will boast of her abilities and send you all her way for any hair and beauty needs!

I've rambled long enough. I have lots to share but for now I'll end with a boy and his mustached monkey.

Have a good weekend!

happy 235th birthday, america

I'm so thankful to be living in America, land of the free. Today we attended a celebration at our local park and Internet, we didn't have to pay for anything! An added bonus was running into various cousins and friends!

There were ponies.

And small sleeping goats.

And thirsty lemurs...wearing diapers.

And lots of lemons.

And loved ones having fun! Mostly.

There was a rock wall.

And a mechanical bull.

A firetruck on display.

And a band.

And a cute girl with a flag. In the last photo she held up the flag, looked up at Deran and said, "Daddy, hold it please?" The request to have him hold her flag isn't particularly cute, but she seriously has the most adorable little voice. LOVE her!!

It was a very full afternoon and our plans for the evening changed. Deran and I were both pooped and Avery hadn't had a nap so we decided not to party with the Schilling family tonight. After leaving the park I told Deran that next year I really would like to go watch the fireworks because Avery's never seen any. So he pulled into the library and we sat in the car, then moved to the grassy area beside the building to enjoy the show.

It was kind of nice, hanging out under the stars, away from the crowd and a mile from home. Avery insisted upon sitting in my lap which made picture taking kind of hard, but she was being really cute!

Happy 235th Birthday, America!