Cherry Blossoms in D.C. April 26, 2011
Posted by Emily in : Trips , add a commentThis week I’ll be posting several images from my trip to DC. Not only did I get to enjoy a solo vacation with my very cool sister, but I got to enjoy the Cherry Blossoms!
Stay tuned! There is much more to share!
Our Easter Race April 25, 2011
Posted by Emily in : Holidays, Little Man Dallin, My Handsome Husband, Princess Hannah, Uncategorized , 3commentsYou know when you have a full day ahead of you and you pack everything you need and you’re feeling pretty good about yourself and then you realize you forgot the most important thing?
LIKE YOUR CHILD. OR YOUR CAR. OR WHATEVER.
Well. That happened to me.
We had a busy day on Saturday with our schedule filled every hour. Of course I brought my camera (HELLO! It is my third child!) but I forgot to put an SD card in it.
People, that is like taking your newborn somewhere and forgetting to pack diapers. YOU MAY AS WELL CALL THE OUTING A FAILURE.
Fortunately, the phone can take pics, right?
David signed our family up to run in a race. David ran a 5K and I ran a 1 mile race with the kids. (I use the term “ran” very loosely here, it was more like Hannah ran and walked, while I pushed Dallin in the stroller. I stopped to take a few pics of them running, and Hannah pooped out just before the finish line.)
Here’s the kicker . . . I WON A FIRST PLACE RIBBON.
WHAT?! I know, I was just as confused as the rest of you are! I ran a 12 minute mile pushing and chasing my kids and somehow that got me first place in my age division. Oh, yeah . . . the other thing . . . somehow I was in the 25-29 age group, so apparently my skin care regime is working! I thought about setting the record straight, but what the heck . . . (And for the record, I do not have a third child. The baby belongs to my friend, it is one of her twins, I’m not sure which one I’m holding, but he likes me.)
Check out Hannah rippin’ up the pavement in her Crocs and a dress of course! Go Hannah!
Dallin thought all of his little boy dreams had come true: I ALLOWED him to run IN the street. Ah, life was good for him at that moment.
After our race, we headed out to Thanksgiving Point to attend their Easter egg hunt and other Easter festivities.
NEVER doing that again. Kids were trampled and they cried as the PARENTS grabbed as many eggs as they could. IT was over in less than 5 seconds.
To top it off, it was freezing and the lines for the bouncy slides rivaled the rides at Disneyland.
Not worth it I tell you.
Plus, the Easter bunny was kind of scary to Dallin. Come to think of it, the Easter bunny is sort of creepy. He just doesn’t have the same appeal as Santa.
I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!
Happy Easter! April 24, 2011
Posted by Emily in : Holidays, Little Man Dallin, Princess Hannah , add a commentEven though the Easter Bunny was very tired and very sick, he still made it to our house.
I was also very tired and very sick. I barely had enough energy to get out of bed, so I propped my eyelids open with my fingers as I watched my kids jump up and down with excitement with their Easter baskets.
I have no pictures of their Easter stash. (They scored way to much candy. I’ll be sure to let the Easter Bunny know that next year they don’t need ANY candy since they share that sweet stuff too much with their parents!) I was able to snap one picture of Hannah in her new Easter dress though: (Thank you H&M . . . dress $5, leggings, $5!)
Dallin wore his race shirt from the 1 mile race we ran on Saturday. It was neon green with lots of writing on it. LOTS. Why do I tell you this? Well, not only was I blinded by the neon shirt all day, but since he refused to take it off, there was no way Iwas going to take his picture while he wore it! That nixed a picture of the two kids together. I shot this image while he was wearing his green shirt, but as you can see, it was mandatory that I convert this image to black and white. :)
We had a lovely day and hope you all did too!
Woot! Woot! April 22, 2011
Posted by Emily in : Photography, Thoughts , 3commentsOne of my images made it into the Academy of Art’s Spring Show!
THIS IS REALLY A BIG DEAL!
Every year, AAU puts on a huge Spring Show where their students can show off their best work. Thousands of pieces are entered every year, and only about 150 pieces are selected. You can only imagine my excitement when I found out this image was accepted! Each image is submitted blindly so the industry professional who select which images to put in the show have no idea who shot the images they are looking at. It’s always nice to hear your clients tell you they like your work, but I somehow felt validated as a photographer when I heard I made it into the Spring Show! (Your clients and family like what you do, but does that mean you actually know what you are doing?)
I photographed this image in between semesters last summer. I decided to add it to the documentary category at the last minute! (You can only submit up to nine images total, three for fine art, three for commercial photography, and three for documentary.)
Now I’ve got to get it printed, matted, and sent off to San Francisco!
This show is attended in high numbers by industry professionals and the public alike. It is great exposure for me (potential commercial clients will be there!) and I can now say I’ve had work in a gallery showing!
Did mention I saw an ad the other day for The Academy of Art’s Spring Show 2011 in Vogue Magazine?
Yes. This art show is advertised in Vogue. Hello!
We were planning on attending the show whether I got in or not, but now, this makes me more excited for our trip to San Francisco in a few weeks!
She Said What?! April 22, 2011
Posted by Emily in : Princess Hannah , 1 comment so farIt’s time for another installment of, “She Said What?!”
Look Mommy! Daddy showed me a really cool trick! (Looking confused at her trick) If you don’t think it’s cool, I won’t do it anymore.
I just love Dallin’s cute little voice!
Mommy, what’s a ‘shart’?
Mommy! Dallin STOLE this car from the park! (In his defense, is was abandoned at the park for DAYS before I let him bring it home with us and we’re talking last year some time.) He needs to REPENT! Well, maybe I could repent for him. (Long pause . . .) Mommy, what does repent mean?”
Do you know what is even more beautiful-er than Saba? Kansas. Kansas is the most beautiful place in the world!” (HUH?!)
Easter?! It’s Practically Here! April 21, 2011
Posted by Emily in : Holidays, Little Man Dallin, Princess Hannah , add a commentI just realized that THIS SUNDAY is Easter.
I’m not sure when I thought it was . . . some ambiguous date in the next few weeks I guess.
The good news is that I’ve had the kids’ Easter baskets ready for weeks . . . the bad news is that I haven’t had two seconds to myself to even come up with some fun Easter activities for them.
Time to outsource, right?!
Looks like we will be attending the Thanksgiving Point Easter Egg Hunt this year! (No stress for me, LOTS of fun for the kids!)
In the mean time, we did manage to color some eggs.
Dallin was very bossy. It comes with being two I guess.
While we waited for the eggs to color (and dry) Hannah passed the time by talking to my sister Jenn.
Dallin practiced doing what he does best . . . being a darling two year old. Oh! I could just squish those cheeks!
Your Life Will Never Be The Same April 20, 2011
Posted by Emily in : Health, My Handsome Husband , 9commentsOH . . .
HAVE I GOT GOOD NEWS FOR YOU.
Are you secretly (or openly) a chocolate lover and can’t kick the habit?
Well my friends . . . this is your NO GUILT treat!
No sugar.
No fructose.
No high fructose.
This chocolate is PURE heaven and believe it or not, GOOD FOR YOU! (Remember how dark chocolate is good for your heart?!)
Honestly, people . . . YOU NEED THIS.
I need this.
David EATS THIS. (Which is saying a lot since the guy doesn’t eat any sugar or treats!)
I’m just trying to do my part, sharing all the secrets I know.
Kid tested. Doctor approved.
She WILL Steal Your Moves April 19, 2011
Posted by Emily in : Photography, Princess Hannah , 1 comment so farA few weeks ago, I shot some images of my niece, Jess. (See post here.)
Hannah thought her shoot was so beautiful, she asked me to photograph her JUST like I photographed Jess.
Two weeks after she saw Jess’ shoot, Hannah busted out her exact poses:
I took Jess’ pictures with a strobe in a soft box and I took Hannah’s pictures with my SB900 speed light with the Lightsphere Diffuser. Can you see how the light is a bit warmer on Jess and colder on Hannah?
Just so you know, Hannah is TOTALLY prepared to STEAL your poses when you come over for a shoot. :)
The Family Over-Achiever April 18, 2011
Posted by Emily in : Daily Life, Exercise, My Handsome Husband, Photography , 2commentsM.D.? Check.
Working on his MBA? Check.
Runs barefoot like a crazy chicken everyday? Check.
0% body fat? Check.
Ran a 1/2 marathon with just hours notice? Check.
Since the “over-achiever” spot is taken in our family, I’m happy to take the “please-help-me-get-through-this-day-without-a-melt-down” spot.
David ran his first 1/2 marathon on Saturday! He and his friend decided to run it just a few days before. Unfortunately, the roads were wet (which is very, very bad for barefoot running as it softens your skin and can rip it up easily) so he ran in his Vibrams.
He had a great time and ran it in 1 hour and 46 minutes.
Did I mention he was 1/2 way through his 1/2 marathon before I even rolled out of bed?
Yeah. I felt super productive that day.
Is now a good time to mention that we’re running in the Ragnar Relay? (It is a relay race where you and 11 of your sweaty friends will run about 200 miles over a 24 hour period.)
ME. RUNNING. YES. ME.
I blame David’s sweet talking ways and peer pressure for convincing me to run in this! I have fun friends doing this! It’s going to be a party! I’m only doing for the socialization you know . . . you know I don’t run!
I am so embarrassed to admit how out of shape I am.
To stay in my target hart range, my runs are more like speed walks with bouts of running.
People, I’m currently running a 15 minute mile.
I know that doesn’t even make sense, because how can you RUN a 15 minute mile?
You can’t. You literally have to WALK it.
Oh my. Please don’t let any of my team members be reading this post!
I SWEAR I’ll get my butt in gear! I have nine weeks to make it happen!
On a more random note . . .
I had David pose for me for one of my technical assignments this week. Honestly, this image was one of the hardest assignments I’ve had at AAU! My octabox is really big (it is 6 feet in diameter) so it is challenging to fit it in the right space. The key light was relatively easy to set up . . . the back light however . . . was a nightmare! Let’s just say that after about an hour of moving my back light all over and trying several test shots, and trying every angle, I know of 278 ways to NOT place the bounce light in my kitchen! I ended up placing my light in the dining room (it also joins up with the kitchen) and I bounced it off the ceiling in the far corner. Would you have ever guessed this image was that complicated to light?
Since we had the strobes set up, I took a pictures of Paris as well.
She is such a cute dog. I can almost feel her soft fur on my monitor!
Even though Paris is like 110 in dog years, she’s still got it! That dog will go to any heights for a treat!
There you have it. Even my dog is an “over-achiever.”
The Blossoms Are Here! April 11, 2011
Posted by Emily in : Photography, Princess Hannah, Trips , 1 comment so farIn case you were wondering . . .
I’m having a FABULOUS TIME!
(This flowering tree is just in front of my sister’s house. I affectionately refer to her condo as “Hettle’s Cottage.”)
I miss David and the kids terribly though. I’ll be home soon enough. :)
When Hannah found out she was’t going on this trip with me, she asked me to bring her back something very special. When I asked her what that very special something could be she replied: (Brace yourselves people!)
CHOPSTICKS.
Yes. I did not make that up.
So, I can proudly say my daughter was bought off for a free pair of chopsticks! She also asked for some “dangling” earrings.
Well . . . DONE and DONE.
We have a full day planned today and part of tomorrow (then I fly home which seems to take all day).
See you all soon! I’m excited to share my pictures with all of you!
