oh my gosh! i LOVE this couple! they were so much fun!  i am always SO sad when my weddings are over because i love my couples so much!!  we shot their engagement clear back in april.  rachel was getting ready to leave for italy for a few months to study abroad and the day we had scheduled was literally the only day she could do engagements.  well it was raining like crazy that day!! so i called her and gave her some options for the engagement session and she said let’s still do them as planned!  so we started out at the kings english book store in sandy.  rachel and her mom work there and that is where joey proposed!!  then we went out behind the shop for some shots and it had stopped raining for a few seconds at least, then about halfway into it it started a downpour!  rachel and joey changed their clothes and we headed over to sugarhouse park and it was probably one of the worst rainstorms i have seen in utah!!  we shot for probably 10 minutes outside and were literally running from one spot to the next and by the time we were done, we were all completely drenched!! it was as if i just got in the shower with my clothes on and my camera in hand, it was that bad.  but i have to say, it was one of the most fun engagement sessions i have ever shot! not to mention that these guys are both so hilarious so it was seriously so awesome!  thanks for a great time rachel and joey!! i am working on their wedding right now and have their bridals/groomals to post too. 

wow!  this time of year is busy!!  so please bear with me on the blogging!  haha!!  as school is letting out and summer is about to begin, i  like to try and make a schedule of our summer and plan lots of fun things to do with my girls.  they are so incredibly important to me and i always want them to know that and to enjoy our time together.  i feel like when they are in school, particlularly jayde because she is in first grade, i feel like i never get enough time with her.  she goes to school all day then when she comes home it is piano, dinner, homework and then it feels like it is practically time for bed!!  you would think i would be used to it by now, but i am not!!  so i am planning to use my time wisely this summer and make the most of the time that i do have with them while they are still little and precious.  afterall, they are only this age once and i would hate to look back and feel like i missed out on these precious years!!

meet josalin and jason.  aren’t these two fabulous!! i  didnt even feel like i was working during their session because they made my job SO easy!!  they were so incredibly cute together!!  josalin is a photographer herself and it is always such a huge honor to be chosen by another photographer. josalin has incredible style and i know her wedding is going to be incredible!! thanks so much to my bestest friend anne for referring these two to me!!

 confession:  i am a gymaholic!  i go to the gym about 4-6 times a week and i totally love it! exercising makes me feel so healthy and like i am in control of my life.  i have also been  eating so much healthier.  my husband is hating me because of the stuff i am making him eat!! haha!  i am doing it because i love you chris.  i haven’t eaten fast food hardly at all within the last month (except for maybe 2 stops to taco maker)  and i don’t drink pop at all. my one downfall is sugary treats, but i am working on that too :)  i love feeling the motivation i feel to go to the gym everyday and i only miss a day or two when i am having an especially busy week.  however even after all of that, i still cannot lose a single pound.  in fact, i gained 2 pounds. it is so frustrating.  i have gained  4% muscle however and i know that muscle weighs more than fat, but i would like to see my body fat percentage going down as well.  one thing i am extremely proud of is my arms and shoulders.  there is a noticeable difference in the toneness (if that is even a word) and my strength.  it is incredible the amount of upper body strength i have gained.  i used to only be able to hold my four year old daughter for a second before i felt like she was too heavy. and now i can hold her forever and not feel weak!!  it is such an incredible feeling to know that my hard work is paying off at least in some ways.   nearly evey day i am asking my husband to feel my muscles.  i am sure he is getting SO sick of it!  but he loves me and i’ve got to be proud of something!   but regardless of that fact that i am not losing the pounds, i am very happy with who i am and the strides i have taken in my life these past 6 months to change and become who i want to be in every capactiy!  i challenge each and evey one of you to set a goal to become healthier and do it! even if it is just small changes,  they make a big difference, i promise!!

oh by the way, if you haven’t watched jamie olivers food revolution by now, DO IT!!  it will change the way you eat and feed your kids forever! it is a great motivator to make that change in your life.   i watch it online at abc.com.  go check it out.  if anyone is intersted i will do another post about what i have done to change my eating habits and post healthy recipes that i try.  let me know!! now on to the engagements…..

this is april and heath.  kale fitch contacted me about coming to this airport with him to shoot one of his couples and i immediatley said yes!  of course!!!  i am not shooting april and heath’s wedding because they already had a photographer and i was already booked for their date :)  so this was a great personal shoot for me.  i got to try new things and really push my limits because i was shooting for ME.  the other thing about this shoot that was different than my norm, is that we shot quite a bit earlier than i usually do.  it made the skies and everything look so much different!  i loved pushing my self out of my comfort zone and making the situation work for me, rather than the other way around, if that make sense as a photographer or in any profession really i think it is really important to do these types of things for yourself and see what you are capable of.  i heard once that if you aren’t uncomfortable with what you are doing, then it is time for a change.  i think we all get stuck in a rut and need to get out and try something new!   however i don’t do enough of the personal types of shoots and really need to!  thank you kale for having me along! and april and heath, good luck with your wedding! i really enjoyed working with you guys!!

aren’t those blue cloudy skies incredible!!!!! 

love love love!!

another fav!

aren’t these two adorable!  this was kales idea for the video, but i loved it for still photography too! 

 love!!!

 love!!!

probably my very favorite!  yes definitely!

 do cute!

love it!

let me know what you think!!!

emilee and justin wanted another session at a little bit different location so we headed to downtown salt lake city! (you can check out their first session here.)  i love shooting in downtown salt lake city!  there are so many different places that you could truly never do the same location twice!  it is so much fun!  then we headed up to ensign peak to get some sunset shots and a little more outdoorsy shots.  i absolutely love the way they turned out!  aren’t these two fantastic?!?!

click here for slideshow.  let me know what you think!!

there are a few things in life that i love.  ok maybe a little bit more than a few.  today i love being a mom and a wedding photographer.  they both go hand in hand for me.  my being a wedding photographer allows me to be able to be home with my angel daughters and be there for all of their special moments in life.   and being a mom, opens my eyes to other people and all of their special moments.  it is all about those everyday moments that one wishes to remember forever.  i am so lucky to be there to capture them for so many incredible people. 

 i have really struggled lately with finding my passion in photography again.  by that i don’t mean the wedding side of things because i still truely feel the passion there, but i mean the personal side of photography.  i have found myself more and more leaving my camera at home because “it is too much hassle to bring it” or “i have so much other work to do that i won’t have time to edit them”.  i have given myself a challenge to take more “personal” pictures because there are lots of moments in my life and the life of my kids  that i never ever want to forget!!!  do you find any excuse you can to leave your camera at home?  well if you do, then i challenge all of you to take it with you more often and embrace the moments in your life that you never want to forget!

this is emilee and justin.  i met emilee at the bridal show back in january!  don’t these two have incredible style!?!  and not only that, they were so fun and up for anything!  we shot these all out at salt air and the salt flats.  it was so much fun!!  if there is anything i love it is new locations.  i had never shot out there before and loved it!!  emilee and justin met about 4 years ago when she was hanging out with his friends.  she does hair, which isn’t a big surprise since her hair is amazing!!!  wow!  maybe i am in the wrong proffesion :)   these guys were so cute together and totaly knew how to work the camera!  they made my job WAY too easy!! thanks for an amazing time emilee and justin and i can’t wait for your bridals and wedding!!

emilee, you are seriously gorgeous!!!!

i almost threw this one out because it is out of focus, but i ended up keeping it because i love the artistic-ness (is that even a word?)   LOVE IT!!!

love!!

my very favorite!!!

another favorite!!

love

one of my favorites!!  aren’t these two amazing!!

love!!!

click here for slideshow  and let me know what you think!!

i am scatterbrained to say the least!  not only that, but i am also clumsy. 

yesterday was a fabulous day with the exception of one small mishap.  i have the motorola cliq phone which is a fabulous phone and i love it!  but like i said, i am clumsy.  i was getting ready to go to the gym and running around my house like a crazy person trying to find my keys and my shoes and my ipod etc…  i not so carefully set my phone on the counter and it crashed down on the tile floor and shattered the entire face of the phone. before i even had a chance to react let alone blink, it happened.  i was so sad, i cried!  that is what i do when things like that happen.  i cry.  oddly enough, i rarely if ever cry at funerals or over serious uncontrollable events, but over the minor things, yes i cry.  and no this wasn’t the first time i had dropped my phone, it was probably the 30th, but this time it hit just right.  i called my husband, who wasn’t surprised at all i am sure.  he was entirely to nice too me and said it’s ok, go order a new one.  because that is what he does.  he puts up with me.  he rolls his eyes, shakes his head and then fixes it.  he fixes everything i break or ruin  and i love him for it.  like the time i backed my car out of my garage and shattered my passenger side mirror.  that was after he had told me a million and a half times to slow down and back out more carefully or “you are going to break your mirror!”  i guess i just have to learn things the hard way. these are just two examples of the millions of things in my life that i had to learn the hard way.  but guess what?? i will ALWAYS back out of my garage more carefully and i will sure as heck treat my phone as if it were another one of my children, because i would never ever drop one of them!!!

wedding season is quickly approaching and i am beyond thrilled!  i absolutely love what i do and love working with so many fabulous people.  i swear my weddings just keep getting better and better! 

this is jessica and dan.  i was warned by jessica’s mom before doing their engagements that dan was hilarious and she wasn’t wrong!  i was seriously cracking up the entire time!  these two are so in love and so cute and natural together.  right now dan is living in idaho, about a 4 hour drive, and jessica is living in salt lake.  he drives down every friday and stays until sunday and then drives back home.  now if that isnt love and dedication, i don’t know what is! 

  jessica, you are a rockstar!

they are so adorable!

favorite!

favorite again!

love, love, love!

 awwww.  off camera light is so spectaular.  mix that with a little flare and you have won my heart!

 loved this spot!  thanks vanessa!!

love!

 love this one!  another favorite! ok let’s be honest.  i just love them all!!

 these two are just so adorable!!

 click here for slideshow!

 now while i am patiently waiting for my new phone to arrive, you guys all let me know what you think of these pictures!

i shot heather and matt’s engagements actually not too long ago.  they are getting married at the end of december and their  wedding is going to be increcible!  i seriously love these two!  we learned an important lesson this night, though- don’t park in a paid parking lot without paying!  we both got back to our cars and had $50 tickets on our windshields!  i was so mad!  but matt was our hero and got them reduced to $15 so, no biggie.  thanks matt!  i always hate it when people’s weddings get closer because it means our time together is coming to an end.  so keep in touch you two.  i think we could be great friends!!!

one of my fav’s!

wow!  this is my 4th blog post this week!  i am on a roll, but i am still got a lot of catching up to do to get all of these incredible sessions on my blog.  i shot michelle and gregs engagements a while back.  greg wasn’t a huge fan of getting his pictures done, but we got some great ones!  up next.. michelle and greg’s bridals and wedding.  and please leave me some love!!!

i posted these picture yesterday and for some reason they are completely gone from my blog today.  i have no idea what happened.   i asked my husband if i had dreamt posting this and he said no.  he had seen it too.  so here is my second attempt to get this session on the blog…

these pictures are kind of old, but i am trying to get all of my past session on the blog!  so expect lots in the near future.  caitlyn won a free engagement session from me at a bridal fair.  the day we had scheduled to do their engagements was pretty rainy.  i talked to them to see if they wanted to reschedule, but they didn’t and i am so glad!  i loved the way the shots with the umbrellas turned out!!  let me know what you think!

i shot 2 different engagement sessions for breck and kyle.  check out their first session here.   i absoutely loved working with these two!  keep watching for brecks bridals and their wedding!!  and leave me some comments.  i LOVE comments!!!