Friends

What makes me happiest in life besides my kids?.....Friends! There is of course the best friend that I will ever come across in my lifetime....John Jacob:) He just makes it easy to be a friend and teaches me so much about being a friend. Then there is Shannon...who has taught me how to be a good girlfriend. There are so many more friends in my life, that I can't even begin to talk about what each one brings to my life. You all know who you are and you are and I thank you from every piece of my heart.....how else would we get through life without friends and family? The easiest friendships are with family. But there is something different about friendships outside of family. They teach you how to grow together without the inbred, unconditional love. I have been hangin' with my friends Amy, Shannon and Kristy and I think the best thing that girlfriends bring to my life is laughter. I LOVE to laugh and these girls are dang funny! Here are a couple shots that we took when we went out the other night to watch Amy play with her new Upright Bass Player, Brandon. They were amazing together and she played a couple of her new songs on the record. She is going to blow your socks off!


This was a shoot that Kristy, Shannon and I got together at our friend's (B-Mac) studio. Shannon was smokin' hot and it was so fun to play with light. I love this shot of Sha' or Shathy. She is an old soul and her eyes tell an amazing story. Thank you for being such an incredible friend, sounding board, mentor, and for making me laugh.
This is me testing light. Kristy didn't even know that I was taking a picture....or that she was doing such a cute soda ad:) I love when she comes to visit us. She has the most calming, beautiful spirit of anyone I know. There is something about her energy that is contagious and she makes me laugh. Tell me that isn't the fixins of a god friend.
This is scary Brian:) We weer playing with a diffuser and I got this crazy, horror movie shot! Have I mentioned that I love to learn, and play with different looks. Thanks for playing Brian.

LIFE

So many of you know Jake's "Oprah" story....well, we lost Willie a few days ago:( We were blessed to have him in our lives for the short time that we got to know him. Tré took it very hard the day that I told him, and that was the hardest part. After losing my Grandma last month, then Willie, and now my Dad being in the hospital, life has been a BIG pill to swallow. The hardest part is that life goes on. The daily tasks are still there. You laugh through the day, you cry, and you run errands. Life goes on...and for a few moments of your day, that sad feeling creeps up and you remember your loved one with sadness in your heart. I want to get to that point when you think of them, and it puts a smile on my face:) I know we all have stories of loss...some more than others...and I have been very blessed in that department...So today I am thankful for all of you in my life and for my faith that the loved ones that have passed, are in a better place. Willie lives on in our hearts and I pray for his family to find the strength to get through these difficult days.




I am pregnant with Jamison (whom carries Willie's last name) in this picture.

Hollywood

I have renamed this senior 'Hollywood' because he has a look about him that you have to train models for years to understand:) This shoot was incredible for me because of one reason....passion. You know me and all my talks of passion and loving what I do. Well, what if I would have found all of that when I was 17 or 18. Marcus is doing what he loves and he is really great at it. He got Rookie of the Year for Washington this year. I am guessing that that means that he excels at what he does (being a cute fireman) and that he is going to shine one day in one of those hot fireman calendars:) Thank you Marcus for sharing your beautiful spirit and for perusing one of the most needed and honorable jobs out there! I was wondering if I could hire you to teach some of my clients "the GQ look" that you have mastered:)
Caution....man in uniform....remember this is a senior shoot:) He's just a baby, so no taking screen shots!

WPPI

Where do I begin. Let me try to use some descriptive words for my first trip to Vegas....Overwhelming, bright, loud, crazy, fun, chaotic, massive, tons 'o' peeps, and did I mention overwhelming! I told Jake that the bad news was that I went to Vegas for the first time without him, but the good news was that I didn't see ANY of "Vegas". Can I just say that I thought the weather is Vegas was spectacular and the sky was so brilliant. It didn't dawn on me until we finally left the hotel for the first time on 3 days, that the sky I was looking at was painted on:) Don't ask me what I actually learned about photography while there because Shannon and I spent a lot of time at the Mime Convention. Who knew there was so much money to be made in miming;) Don't knock it until you attend. No......we learned a lot and I am sure that I will remember just as soon as I detox fully from my Vegas Shock! I met so many amazing people and I got to do my favorite thing in the whole world, network and people watch. I didn't take pictures of everyone, but these were a couple fun ones. I borrowed the photobooth ones from France's site. The first and best party that we went to was for the kick off for the sweet new photographer's must have item....the Gobee (shown below). You have to go check it out on the Amazing Sara France's site.
My new BFF, Irwin. Actually I can't steal him from Sara, but I think she has an amazing friend. It was a pleasure dancing (I mean chatting with you).
Let's play "where's the red nose". Good job Shannon!
Quick, everyone look like a deer in headlights. You win again, Shamone!
The ever so lovely, Willow, Willow, willow (best if you sing her name).
Let me let you in a little secret of Willow and Shannon's (just incase you end up with them in Vegas, or anywhere, and there is a camera near). They might tell you things like, "o.k., everyone blink your eyes", or "show the camera your fish face". Well, don't listen to them. Really, they just want to be the cutest ones in the picture and you'll just look like a jackal:)
This is a story that will stay in Vegas, but the memory of this man is forever etched/burned into my retinas! Hopefully my memory is as bad as I always say;)
New friend Ryan and just as important...proof that Shannon and I actually went to the tradeshow.
Peace out Vegas. A special thanks to my dearest Cindy (you all know her from my site). I think you are the most amazingly, beautiful soul on this planet. Your smile can light up a room within seconds before you actually enter. Shannon and I couldn't have asked for a better partner in crime on the trip and I miss you dearly. Tell Matt, thanks for sharing:)

Believe You Me

I finally sized the videos of Shannon and I going Olympia for the Jason Reeves concert. The first one is a bit long, but it was the start of a joke that I was creating on the way up there as Shannon was introducing me to Jason's music. It was a roadtrip and we had to have something funny on camera (roadtrip rules) so I busted out my camera and filmed Shannon, "Jason" and I headed up North.


The joke got a whole lot funnier when Jason and Billy made it come to life! The second video is a little dark, but you get the idea! They were hysterical and real sports for only meeting us minutes before all of this. Oh, and a shot of how the rockstars roll just incase you didn't think that they were down to earth. Thanks Subaru Boys.

The NOW

Since I am reading "The New Earth" right now I am going to stay in the present for a moment so I can get back into blogging. Instead of trying to pick up where I left off, I will try to go backwards or sideways, or whatever way I want to catch you up with life here with Heaven's Eye. I have had so much go on in the past couple months and there is so much to talk about, it was easiest to get the first blog post out of the way with a "Keep it Real" moment. These twins will appreciate this picture way down the road when it will mean the world to them because it may just sum up their childhood. I know I will kill for a shot like this of my brother and I. So what am I doing right now in my life. I am just being. We are all healthy, we are blessed, and we laugh all the time. What could be better than that!

Roadtrip

So Shannon tells me months ago that she wanted to go to concert of this Jason Reeves (gotta google him asap) musician up in Olympia. It sounded fun to me, but I didn't have a clue of what he was all about. Well, I procrastinated long enough that I was listening to his music the night before we were suppose to go and I hadn't decided yet if I was going to go. I loved his work right away and I decided that if nothing else, it's always a blast to step out of my box and go for a roadtrip. Can I just say that my mouth still hurts from laughing so hard and I think I might have pulled an ab. I am going to let you all listen to his work and fall in love with him before I tell you the rest of the story. Don't forget to check out his drummer as well....he was incredible....Billy Hawn. Stay tuned for the funniest joke of the year that I told Shannon that still has us cracking up......


Here's the story behind his song Gasoline. Please go listen to his real rendition of this song. This little camera doesn't do either of the justice. Please no blog-jacking of anything on this post. They were taken for personal use.