Jenna | Kirkland, WA Photographer

I always love peeking through the veiwfinder to see and feel the experience on the other side.  I like to see what others are feeling about having a camera looking right into their lives-sometimes too close and their your personal space!  : )   It usually takes a bit to really relax and be okay in the situation.  Jenna is darling and looks good in any situation.  I love her spicy red hair, her bright smile and her simplicity.  She is so super kind and loves to meet new people and learn from the world around her!

Families who fight together, stay together

Family brings out the good and the bad, right?  See the many sides of some of MY family.  : )  I didn’t stick around long enough to see who won.

An advertisement | Queen Creek, AZ Photographer

I thought this was so funny…  The Dr. Pepper makes him so happy.  Well, and cookies too!  Isn’t it great-the things we “thought” we would never do as a parent but somehow becoming a parent changes all those rules.  Kids are happy, mama has some peace, all is well. 

Monitor calibration | Kirkland, WA Photographer

Have you ever heard about calibrating your monitor?  This is little me playing softball (or pretending to ) when I was a wee one.  I scanned this picture in and when I saw it my first thought was about calibrating my monitor.  I worked on making it look somewhat “normal” or correct and then wondered how it looked in others’ monitors.  Hopefully one would NOT believe that I look like THAT (excuse the cute hairdo and awesome clothes, I am strictly speaking about skin tones).

There is a little trick called calibrating your monitor.  It is super easy and you can purchase something online for a range of dollars or just Google it and read more about why you may or may not need to calibrate your monitor. (excuse me Tim, I mean bing (my gadget loving, technology guru husband will kindly remind me) The main rig I work on is calibrated and when I order prints, they show up exactly as expected and how it looks on my very own machine.  However, my laptop doesn’t view the same.  When I look through posts on my laptop, the posts have a different tone and appear to be cooler- not as in awesomeness, as in temperture :). So, back to this picture…  obviously it is an old picture and I had to make some adjustments before those red tones killed me.  I’m not sure what these look like on YOUR monitor but I thought it interesting to point out that colors appear differently depending on your monitor.  This was simply an exaggerated example of colors…  : )

Is it fall? | Kirkland, WA photographer

I wonder how will I know when it is fall?  In AZ it went from hot to not so hot and then we knew that Halloween must be over.  : )  The other day the wind picked up and the chills started.  I rushed to grab a cute scarf that I never put to good use in AZ.  While in my closet digging through my “winter” bucket, I also grabbed my thermals and thought it to be a perfect opportunity to wear them!  I was cold, the wind was blowing, it was all a little too exciting so what was I to do?  Watch it from the window?

I changed, layered up, and squeezed back in to my jeans with an added layer beneath (and a thought that I should buy jeans that have room for that type of layering since they weren’t exactly comfortable).  I grabbed my camera, a book about lowland trails in the area, the children and husband, some water bottles and got in the car.  Then, the sun stopped playing her game and made herself visible.  I decided to play it safe and stay layered but later regretted that decision.  It warmed up and was a perfect scene for an afternoon walk.  While on the trail I could see different shapes and colors of leaves polka dotting our path.  It dawned on me that summer may be over and that this is the sign of fall…

Views | Kirkland, WA Photographer

Here is a privileged view from downtown Seattle.  A friend of mine (since junior high) has lived here for the last 10 years or so.  We reconnected when I moved here and she invited me to her office to see this!  I was ooohing and ahhhing over such a site.  She gets to look at this every day (ok, when it isn’t foggy and rainy, which accounts for about 6 months, right?).  It was supposed to be a rainy day but look how clear the sky turned out to be.  We were on the 60th floor, I believe,  in one of the tallest building in Seattle.  Such a glorious view, such a glorious day!

My son | Kirkland, WA photographer

This little guy is always on the go!  While he is very capable of down time, her prefers to be playing, pretending and imagining.  Gone are the days that he was content on the family room floor.  I miss his chubby cheeks that were even bigger than his sister’s, I miss his feet doing circles as he concentrated, I miss rocking him in the middle of the night, I miss his middle of the night visits when he was scared, I miss those tiny flip flops, and the list goes on.  Now I enjoy playing trains, making his favorite dish-macaroni and cheese, making play date arrangements, seeing his sweet face as my daily alarm, watching him imagine a world and using the most incredible sound effects! When I get out the camera, he runs or walks backwards to avoid being “caught”.  He is goofy and I was proud of this capture!

He has always been a mellow guy, eager to give compliments and make one feel loved.  He didn’t walk until he was 18 months and I was never worried-I enjoyed having him close to me for longer than normal.  It is interesting that first-borns (my daughter) get to be the experiment child.  We learn and grow as parents with them, learn when to be worried and when to let go.  After child number one, we think a dropped pacifier will be just fine, a wet diaper for more than 20 seconds will be just fine, a dirty outfit will not put us on the CPS list, and that kids will develop and grow regardless of what we want or don’t want for them.  Our passions as parents are reflected in the way we raise our children. 

I love being a mother and I am very grateful for the experience-one of complete sacrifice on one hand and selfishness on the other.  Motherhood is a sacrifice as you give up your time to serve those in your care (constantly and continually) and selfishness because rearing children can be so rewarding and an emotional gift.  My children challenge me and I often lose patience.  I have to remind myself to stay calm, talk with kindness and show respect.  But through our daily challenges, we grow closer and we love deeper, sassiness and disrespect and all!  : )