{stevens family}/Bend, Oregon Family Photographer

My second mini session in Bend, Oregon was with one of my bestest friends of all times. Chelsea Ann and her sweet husband Shane were also in Bend visiting their family and I had the greatest of all great opportunities to meet them in Drake Park in Downtown Bend for a family photo shoot. The leaves were bright, the weather was amazing, and the babes were as cute as ever. That's right, I said BABES! We call them "the babes" and they are the cutest twins I know. Bentley Skye and Greyson are two of the luckiest babies I know!







































Chelsea and Shane BOTH said this is a typical Greyson picture.  He always has something in his mouth.  Babies LOVE this IKEA blanket.



And at the end of our photo shoot, a group of "role playing actors" showed up and began their battle. I am truly unfamiliar with this activity and was so amazed they had a "coach" coaching them on their acting and techniques. I had to take some pictures of them; with my telephoto lens of course. Here is a picture of one of the actors dying. No sympathy from the other actor I tell 'ya!

{heather + parker}/Bend, Oregon Family Photographer

Heather was the first of my mini sessions in Bend, Oregon. I was so excited to launch my mini sessions off with her, because, HELLO, she is a knock out for one. Secondly, she has a sweet handsome man by her side who didn't mind getting his picture taken one bit!






Aren't they sweet?  They were so fun to work with, so in love, the list could go on and on about this loving couple.  You might be surprised to learn that this cute couple are parents to THREE children and two dogs.  ALL of which made their presence known at our mini session!









My mom had "warned" me about JUST how cute these kids are!  She wasn't lying, they were over the top with cuteness AND sweetness. 





These next few father/daughter pictures are near and dear to me.  Being the only daughter myself, I hope they will treasure these pictures of just the two of them!























And me, being a mother of only BOYS, I hope my boys will lounge with me when they get older!

A huge thank you to Heather and Parker for your time and energy!  Your family is beautiful, full of life and love.  I hope your extended family was surprised by your sneakiness this Christmas season!

Thank you to my father who watched my boys while I shot!  These pictures were taken on my parents property in beautiful Bend, Oregon.  Yes, I have a photographer's heaven right outside my parents door.  (Now, if they didn't live 5.5 hours away.  Or, when traveling with two boys, it could take 7 hours!)

{the Hiller Family}/Caldwell Family Photographer

I work with some amazing people, and Kevin is ranked at the top of my "Amazing Co-worker Ladder!" Kevin makes our days run so smoothly, and when he was off during Maternity Leave (yes, this man is also an amazing father and husband. He took nearly 8 weeks off for the birth of his sweet baby Haiden!), work was horrible, crazy and disastrous! Seriously!

This last Valentine's Day, Kevin thought it would be nice to give his wife Audra a gift certificate for a family photo shoot. He and Audra had just found out they were expecting and wanted some newborn pictures taken. DONE! Well, the plans changed and we changed that gift certificate from a newborn shoot to a FAMILY Christmas picture session!  Easy change, no sweat!  That's how I roll. I roll with my clients desires, and run!!!!

When our photo shoot evening finally arrived, I was more then excited. There is something sweet, innocent and intimate about spending some time with a couple and their new baby. Some parents are a little shy to show their emotions, but not this couple! I loved the time we spent and hope to be given the opportunity again and again to watch their little Haiden grow through the lens of my camera!


Thank you Kevin, Audra and sweet Haiden! (BTW, I think Haiden is the smartest little baby I know. She was so alert, responded to her name, and I SWEAR she smiled when I told her so. Ok, maybe that's a stretch, but I swear she did!)




 




















Can you tell which football team Kevin roots for?  It is a serious battle between he and my other co-worker Trevor who roots for a team in Utah. 

Last Minute Christmas Card Ideas/Give a Hoot Designs on Etsy

I just ordered my Christmas Cards from one of the greatest Graphic Designers I know!  She is reliable, she went to SCHOOL for graphic designing (she isn't one of those self-taught illustrator/photoshop girls who claim to be graphic designers!),she is trendy and timely!

THIS is the cute card she designed for our crazy cute boys!

I think the story behind this picture will be for another blog post!

Want this Graphic Designer?  Here is her ETSY store!  I know you will love her work just as much as I have.

                                                                

{Toll Family}/Meridian Family Photographer/Meridian Children's Photgrapher

This family is near and dear to my heart. I have had the wonderful opportunity and pleasure of watching this brother and sister duo grow up and have also been blessed by their mother's example. Their mother was the first person, other then family members, that I trusted to care for my oldest son. When she moved on to greener pastures and moved away, I seriously mourned her loss for weeks. I shed buckets of tears and still yearn for her return. For now, we are happy with our daycare situation, but still miss our Miss Michelle terribly. I was honored that Michelle, for the 2nd year in a row would ask me to capture her sweet children's beautiful faces and oh-so perfect freckles. Being one who dons the freckles too, I couldn't help but capture every one of Tanner's facial freckles!

When it comes to the Tolls, it is pure heaven. Taylor and Tanner are completely comfortable in front of the camera and are always willing to try anything. For instance, Taylor has been eyeing this property, as have I, for several months. Finally, we got up the nerve, marched ourselves to the front door of the farm house to ask for permission to use their property for our photo shoot, and NO ONE ANSWERED! So, for about 10 minutes, we ran around the property, finding wonderful little places for the perfect picture.

Did I mention I had my little guy with me? YES, and sweet Miss Michelle jumped right in to watch his every move. I couldn't have been more comfortable!

I love you Toll family, I hope I get to accompany you on many more years of photo taking!