One of the guys

Sorry, I know the quality of this picture is really bad, but none the less, it is a cute picture. A few weeks ago, Kyle and Amy invited us out their house to watch the Husky game. By the end of the night we ended up chatting around the dinning room table. The guys all had drinks, so of course Griff wanted one too. Amy found a little shot glass that was shaped like a beer mug, threw some ice water in it and, as a result, Big Boy Roy though he was pretty cool hangin' with the other guys!!! (Side note: notice how deep in coversation Kyle is...LOL) This little guy is such a character. He is ALL BOY!!! He seeks out trucks and footballs, even when they are buried by dolls and princesses. He can spend HOURS "driving" the cars in the driveway...not to mention his love for "driving" his Dad or Grandpa's big trucks!!! When my Dad knows Griff is at his house, he tries to run in from the truck really fast just to avoid a melt down.

This little guy sure does keep me smiling:).

Hangin' out at Mom and Dad's

These are just some cute pictures that, I think Kimberly took, at my parents one day.

I love how both the kids are looking at Kora:). They are like, "Hey Auntie, what are you doing?!?"

Sweet Little Muffin!!! She's just being cute like normal.

Josh 2011

Josh is a senior at Elma High School. I headed down to his house in Elma with my Mom a couple weeks ago. It was a super easy shoot. Josh was so great to work with. We were able to discuss some of his post high school plans while I was taking his pictures. One of his intrests was to go to UW and maybe major in history!!! Of course I loved this and had to tell him how great it was:). Here are some of my favorites from the shoot.

Josh, good luck next year with whatever you choose to do. :)

My New Closet

I know I have mentioned many times before that Richie and I live in a VERY small house! It is a two bedroom, one bath, tiny little place. Ever since we moved in I have been using our spare room as my closet, which I quickly outgrew:). Rich and I have been discussing turning half of the garage into a new closet for me so that we could actually use our spare room for something more functional. Over the last week or so, Richie has been EXTREMELY busy getting my new closet all ready. He is such a great husband and makes me so happy...as does my new closet!!!!

He started by painting and getting rid of anything out there that was not needed in order to make room for all of my stuff. We had a bit of extra carpet that was left over after the carpet inside was installed, so he installed that, which ended up fitting perfect!! He hung some shelves, got some hanging racks, and moved my dresser out there. It turned out sooooooo good!!!

Here is a picture of my dresser. He even took the time to hang my necklaces:) Some of the shelves and hanging space.....

More hanging space provided by portable hanging racks.....

Some of the shoe space below the clothes...

Area for more of the shoes ( I like how you can see Baxter in the mirror:) )....

I love my new closet!!! It is so nice that I can actually see all of my clothes. I feel like they can breath for the first time. Everything turned out so great.

Richie, your the best!!!! Love you Babe!!!

Michaela 2011

Michaela was my student as a Sophomore and is also a very good friend of my younger brother, Joe, so I was very thrilled and honored when she asked me to do her senior pictures. It was a REALLY hot day when we did the shoot, but she was a trooper and never let the heat get to her. We met up at Tumwater Falls Park, which is quickly becoming one of my favorite places to take pictures. We walked all over the park and got so many great pictures that it was hard to choose which ones were my favorite. Here a just a few of them:)...Enjoy...

Jacob 2011

A couple weeks ago I headed up to Mt. Rainier to do a Senior photo shoot for my cousin Brian's oldest son, Jacob. It was a very HOT day, so walking around the mountain proved to be a sweaty task. Jacob was great to work with and willing to go off the trail, even when we were taking pictures right next to the sign that said "Please stay on trail." It was a fun day...a little rushed, as I had to get back to Olympia to do some work. I would have loved to look around more, since I haven't been up there since I was a freshman in high school!!

It was great to see Jacob, as it has been many years!!! He has definitely grown up:).

Summer Day at Uncle Monty's

My Aunt Beth and Uncle Monty have a wonderful swimming pool in Tumwater. These two people are very special to me. Being my Mom's youngest brother, he was around ALL the time when we were younger. In fact, my first memory comes from their wedding...I was only 2 and 1/2!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I don't remember the whole day; my brain isn't that big:). But I do remember tugging on my Aunt's dress and asking her to get me mints off the table because I couldn't reach them. Through out the years we have shared MANY more fun memories. I mean, these were my 'cool' aunt and uncle!! They were young and I thought they were the coolest...probably because they are:).

Here is Uncle Monty...enjoying the hot day...(side note: I totes think he looks like my Grandpa...more so than ANY of his siblings). Scotty and his girlfriend, Tallia (I hope I spelled that right, she told me a few times that day, but that was a couple weeks ago:)).

Big Boy Roy!!!!!!!!!!! Love this little guy. He is such a boy:). However, as Sophia said, "His eye lashes are a little bit princess." Such a beautiful boy.

Daddy and Son...this kid LOVES his Dad. Always wants to follow him around...too cute.

My Uncle's new dog....soooooooo sweet and cute!!!

This next one cracks me up! She is like, "Get over here now!! Take a picture with me and look cute!! Act like you love me!!!"

"Okay, now I am ready for the picture. Don't I look cute and sweet!?!?!"

These two pictures crack me up...the sequence is perfect:).

I love that she is playing with these Fisher Price toys. These are my Aunt Beth's toys from when she was little. I remember playing with them when I was a little girl and now Sophia gets to play with them. Fisher Price Little People (the original ones, not the big ones they have now) does it get any better than that?!?

I am deep in some type of convo...who knows what was so important

...And to end the long day...Griff's cute little shoes. He was beat and just left the shoes in the entry way.

Thank you Aunt Beth and Uncle Monty for always being such great support for all of us and for letting us play with your toy (the pool). Aunt Beth, you taught me how to swim for real...not just doggie paddle, and to dive. You are a great teacher and a blessing to have...glad I get to show me the skills you tauhgt me in your pool:). A pool is a great excuse to hang out on a hot day. I love you both and love that we keep making great memories:).

Oh, the lazy, hazy, crazy dayz of summer....they are great...