Star Struck at Scout Camp

I got to do the coolest thing ever today! My brother in law extraordinaire Zack Batty hooked me up with the SWEET job of shooting some stills on the set of the movie his brother, Garrett is making called "Scout Camp". I went down to Payson Canyon this morning over to an actual scout camp called Maple Dell and waited for the fun to start. I met some really nice people, including these adorable scouts all patiently waiting for their turns in the scenes. I also met some great actors I was pretty excited about, but I didn't slur my words or trip over my own two feet or threaten to stalk them (all of which, unfortunately, i have been guilty of doing in the past...) so I would say I am getting better. I also met and spoke with some people with the Utah Film Commission who were kind enough to give me pointers, both for that particular shoot and for my little portrait business. One of the guys used to work doing portraits for kids and he had some pretty good ideas on how to elicit smiles from them. The best news is, they said that now that I have one movie under my belt I can register with them to be in the film resource directory!!! So lookout yall, my name is on a resource list, whatdyathink of that?? I am very happy, number one because I love any kind of list, and number two, that I had such a fantastic first experience venturing outside of traditional photography that I am accustomed to. Please stay tuned for pics from the set...

Happy Birthday Mike!

Today is Mikes birthday and as such I wanted to take a minute and pay tribute to the Best Husband Ever. As some of you four to five readers may be aware, Mike and I met while working at the Olive Garden around eight years ago. He was a bartender, I was a waitress and a terrible one at that. I forgot ketchup, forks, lemons and clean plates for my tables constantly. One night I realized that I wasn't as behind as I normally was and for the life of me, I couldn't figure out why I was not being hounded to refill drinks, take dirty plates back or refill the confounded "all you can eat soup salad and bread sticks". I stood back and watched and there was Mike, cleaning up my mess, taking care of all my needs, even before I realized what I needed. He has been there behind me ever since, helping me do whatever it is that I am currently doing on my crazy whims, whether that is real estate, photography, babysitting, boating, etc. Like I had mentioned before, he is supportive of my incessant need for trips, my insane likes and dislikes that change with a strong gust of wind, my often need to express and argue my opinions etc, etc. He is a wonderful father to our beautiful daughters, is a super hard worker and great at doing laundry. He is the best thing that ever happened to me and I am so grateful to be with him. Happy Birthday Mike, I love you.

Callie

My friend Jill wanted to update her daughters pictures before she headed out to school this fall, so we went over to Gardner Village (aka polygamist village) the other night. Mike came along with Paige and Mia, Paige was planning on helping but couldn't quite hold up the reflector disk so Jill ended up taking over while Mike manned the kids. She was a very good assistant and said I could hire her, she would work for minimum wage, but I can't afford that quite yet, I am wondering if I can pay her in twizzlers nibs. What do you think, Jill? We generally have them around the house and think of all the fun we could have.. We had a great time and Callie was a great sport, although I resorted to teasing her about boys to get her to smile and her mom teased her about sexy lip licking so much that I was having a hard time staying upright I was laughing so hard. I think you will all agree with me that Callie ought to be in modeling, she is so beautiful, and so photogenic, too. (Can't wait to hear what Marshall has to say!)

Beatiful Baby Brody

Ok, as I had mentioned before, I took some newborn pictures while I was in San Diego, and after much restraint trying not to throw my computer through my back window, I have some of them saved in Jpeg format for previewing right here on this very blog.

His name is Brody, and he was so sweet, and so were his parents, I was so grateful to them for opening their home to me and allowing me to capture some of those precious first moments. I loved meeting Tracy and Garrett, I was impressed at what a fantastic team these two made in caring for little baby Brody. The best of luck to your little family!

Super Model?

I had someone come over for pictures the other day that was looking for some shots to add to his website, and he thought he may want some pictures with a kid to seem more family friendly, so I we bribed Paige to pose with the model. She got three pieces of gum and two dollar bills. She could not have been happier. Here are some of the pictures we got. As background information, in the first shot she is sitting on a can of cracked wheat. Get it? She just happened to be wearing her saggiest pants and just happened to be showing her plumbers crack, so I thought it was a very fitting picture, since the website is selling canned dehydrated food for emergency preparedness. We think their slogan should read "got cracked wheat?"

Going back to Cali

I am headed out for my cousins wedding this weekend in San Diego, and I can't wait! Unfortunately I made the decision to go out a month ago and booked only one ticket thinking it wouldn't be a big deal for Paige to just have some "daddy time" but now that it is approaching, I feel so sad that she isn't coming along. It will be a good chance to have some one on one time with Mia however and I am so excited to take her to the beach. I will be doing some photos of my sister's friend's newborn, seeing one of my closest friends Emily, eating at Filipis, and of course spending some quality time with my sister and her family. I feel so lucky and blessed to be able to travel back and forth to California as much as I have and I have to say a huge and heartfelt thank you to Mike for being so supportive of my overthetop, insatiable love for my home state. I have made a short list of things I really really love about the Golden State.

1. The smell. I can't get enough of that orange blossomy smell that you only notice if you have been away.
2. The rolling hills, dotted with an old Oak Tree here and there.
3. Walking barefoot in sand after a long day in the water, all sunburned, before it starts to hurt and after the sun is too low to burn you any longer.
4. Going to San Fransisco and eating at Fog City Diner, and taking in the Golden Gate.
5. Diversity. I recently read a book that talked about certain geographic areas which were happier then others and it was suggested that areas of the world that were homogeneous were happier. Maybe. Maybe not. But I am always tickled when I am not one of a million blond haired blue eyed mothers to small children, that is certain.
6. The Spanish style architecture, especially in San Diego area.
7. The nail place that does a pedi/mani for $17.99 near PB. I wonder if they have raised their prices because of gas too? Who cares, even if they raised them 20% its still a steal.
8. The sound of those birds (are they doves?) in the morning at my grandparents house.
9. Disneyland, more specifically, the smell on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride.
10. In and Out Burger. (ok, as a disclaimer, I don't really LOVE the food there. But the mere fact that it is unavailable out here in Salt Lake City is reason enough to put it on a list)

I have lived in six different states, one different country and have been gone from California for eight years now, but every time I get off that plane, I feel like I am finally home again after a long absence. So look out, cause tomorrow I am comin home!

Zina and Mack

I did a photo session, another family reunion this weekend and I couldn't wait to get in and write about it! There was a pretty big group, all children, grandchildren and great grandchildren of this fantastic couple. It was pretty chaotic event, with all the people and some very excited kids. They were all troopers to hang in with me even though it was 102 degrees out, not even a grumble out of the men. As all the kids were leaving the park to eat dinner, I hung back with the mom and dad of the family and had a wonderful visit with them. They have been married somewhere between 45 and 47 years (there was a little loving discrepancy between the two of them on how long) and met at a regional dance that included several areas of the Salt Lake valley all that time ago and have been together ever since. Isn't fate remarkable? Out of all the people there that night, they found each other and have built a beautiful family that now spans four generations. I adored this time with them so much and I hope that the images we captured can convey the way that Mack so completely cherishes Zina, after 45-47 years together. The hands fluffing this adorable baby's dress belong to the mother, the grandmother and the greatgrandmother. Women can't help it, we just love babies!