Back from Cali!

Where to start?! My time in California was g.r.e.a.t., I loved every second. It was so nice to be home, visit with my friends, eat at some of my favorite places, shop in some of my favorite stores, and just breath my awesome smoggy LA air! (I love LA, I don't care about traffic/smog/crowds, etc. that's my home so bring it!!!). It was also so fun to meet this sweet family! It was an absolute treat to photograph them and I was honored to be the one chosen to do so! Thank you Dario, Marina, Amelie and Lucas, can't wait to meet the newest addition to the family! xo

Um...aren't her yellow shoes to.die.for.?!

32

I'm 32 today! Its really fun being in California with my homies, I miss my babes back home but really, am loving being here. You all know I LOVE my birthday and will have much more to post soon. For now, I'm off to start my first day as a 32 year old! xo

*addendum -I woke up this morning to this on my door, thanks Sarah! :)

Stanford Family

I've been keeping my Texas family posts pretty short due to time, well, since I had a little extra time to blog I decided to make it a long one! This family was sooooooo cute and fun, I could've followed them around all day! Thank you Stanfords, you made my job a dream!

The Stars at Night are BIG and BRIGHT...

...deep in the heart of Texas!! I really loved shooting in Texas, it was such a nice weekend and so many sweet families I got to work with! This morning I'm off to California! Its going to be fun to see friends, take some pictures, meet some new families, and spend some time alone. Yep, that's right, I'm taking some time "off" while I'm down there and looking forward to getting away and being by myself with just my thoughts. On that meyers/briggs test stuff I'm right down the line between being an introvert and an extrovert, I can technically go either way but really, I'm an introvert to the core. I definitely need time alone to recharge and have always enjoyed stillness. I'm really looking forward to being in my "home" town and just simply being. As all moms out there can atest, time alone is pretty much unheard of so, I'm going to be intentional about taking a day to myself and just enjoying whatever it is I decide to do. Cali, here I come!

B's Balloon Birthday Bash

I love birthdays and I love parties so each year it is a pleasure to throw my daughter a party to celebrate her special day. When she picked "balloons" for her party theme I was super excited about all the possibilities. I'm borderline obsessed with big, round, balloons these days and was thrilled to incorporate them into her party. The kids loved the balloons and I think if that was all I had for the whole party, that would've been enough! B's friend Owen couldn't make it so it turned out to be an all-girls party, we missed you, O! Here is a peek into Brennan's special day~





the inspiration for the colors of the day














I can take no credit for the cake/cupcakes, that was ALL Aunt Hillory :)




balloon races are fun

so is pin the string on the balloon


gotta blindfold 'em somehow!


they each painted their own balloon






do you see that bag in the middle? the one that says "happy b day"? SO perfect, thanks Bev!


hi Bev












the cake maker



The End.

Jahrmark Family

This Texas family was so sweet! All 4 of these boys were full of energy and up for anything -love that! The parents were real troopers and didn't even bat an eye when I asked them to go down a dirty old Texas alley and sit in front of some graffiti, my kind of people! Thanks Jahrmark family, you made this session sooo fun!

My Baby is 3 Today

It's pretty crazy, Brennan is (already) 3 today -how'd that happen?! It seems so unreal that 3 years ago today I welcomed my 3lb 6oz baby into the world, 8 weeks early. 3 years ago today I became a mom and in an instant my life changed forever. I love November 2nd and everything that it means. As you all know I love birthdays, (mainly my own :)) but also those near and dear to me. I've been planning Brennan's birthday for a while now, she decided this summer that she wanted a balloon birthday party and that's what she got! Today has been a fun (long) and busy day. It started off at about 7am when B woke up and we made chocolate chip pancakes, bacon, cinnamon rolls, etc for breaky, and then started getting things in order for her balloon birthday bash. I'm exhausted and still need to frost cupcakes for her birthday party at pre-school tomorrow so more birthday fun to come, but I had to post a peek of the birthday girl on her birthday. We love you B and are so thankful for November 2nd.

B the Butterfly ~ Halloween '09

Happy Halloween (yesterday)!! Hope you all had a great one, we sure did! It was Brennan's first time really trick or treating and I'm so glad she got to do it with her cousins! She raked it in and was the cutest butterfly out there! For those of you wondering why I have no pics of Jacob...well, he went trick or treating w/ his daddy b/c Uncle Ian was dressed up like a gorilla and was scaring B a little too much. So, I guess that means I'm a bad aunt but 2 out of 3 cousins isn't so bad right?! Check out these cutie patooties, so fun!

Another Cute Texas Family!

This Texas family was too cute, I think the pics speak for themselves ~ Enjoy!

B and her money toes

The other day B and I were playing on my bed after her nap and she started putting change in her toes. She looked so cute so I grabbed my camera. Cutie. Happy Friday and weekend, everyone!

Adam turns 33 today!!

Today is gonna be fun! Brennan's pre-school is a co-op which means that Adam and I volunteer in her classroom a couple times a month, today is my day -Halloween party time! After pre-school Grandma is going to take B for the day and Adam and I are going to celebrate his special day. On the agenda -good food, movie, a little shopping, and just hanging out together is what's in store! (its fun when you're unemployed, er...hehem, self-employed and you can play in the middle of the day :)). So, that's what's going on today in the Winn household ~ off to celebrate my sweet husband!

I have no relevant pics for it being Adam's birthday, but here is another cute Texas family!

I heart the Peters

Brian and Kellye went to college with Adam, and Brian was one of Adam's groomsmen in our wedding. These two have been such special people to me and Adam and I've loved getting to know them through the years. I was so excited when Kellye asked me to come to Texas to photograph her beautiful family, um, yes please! We had a great time catching up and drinking lots of Sonic limeades! Thank you for everything Peters, you warm the cockles of my heart! :) xo

Yesterday was fun................NOT!!!

Yesterday started off with a little bit of an early rise (not near as painful as the 3:30am wake up call when I left, however), and a short drive to the airport. I got there, my flight was delayed, for hours. My sweet friend Kellye turned around and came and picked me back up and we went back to her house for a couple hours, then, back to the airport (the good thing about this first delay was that it gave me the opportunity to squeeze another meal at Sonic in :)). I get back to the airport and my flight is delayed...again. This went on for SIX HOURS. I finally got on a puddle jumper that took me to Houston (tons of flights were delayed due to thunder storms, just what you want to be going on when you are about to board a puddle jumper). So, while I was at Kellye's house I sat on hold w/ the airline for over an hour trying to get on another flight since I missed my connection, it worked! I was able to get a flight directly from Houston to Portland without having to stop in Seattle, so that rocked. They told me that particular flight would also be delayed so I had no worries of missing it. Well, when I landed in Houston I saw that it wasn't as delayed as they said so I hurried through the HUGE Houston airport, got to the counter, got a new boarding pass and only had 20 minutes or so before getting on my last leg to Portland. Whew! Even though my first flight was delayed 6 hours I was only about 3.5 hours late in getting home, nice! I'm tired, had a great trip to Texas, met and photographed lots of cute families, and had a great visit with my dear friend and her sweet family.
Now, onto this week! This week is going to be a busy one, Adam's birthday on Thursday, Halloween, Brennan's birthday on Monday, lots of pictures to edit before heading to California on the 5th, etc... So, will blog when I can, but if I miss a day here and there, you know why!! I won't be doing big ol' posts this week, just a few of my faves from each session, no time to upload lots of pics like I normally do. So glad to home with my 2 babes and starting a new, fun-filled week!

This was my first Texas session, aren't they cute?!!

Stuck

I was supposed to leave Waco, TX this morning...my flight is delayed, BIG time. Sigh. I'm sitting here on hold w/ the airline b/c I've already missed my connection in Houston, fun times! I was supposed to have another layover in Seattle to get to Portland, hoping I can finagle a trip from Houston directly to Portland (assuming I can ever get out of Waco). AGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! Hope y'all are having a better Monday than I am (the "y'all" is strictly since I'm tuning in from Texas of course). :) More to come, lots of cute families down here in Texas!!

i'm leaving on a jet plane...

HAPPY FRIDAY ALL!! I started my day very early, out the door around 4am to catch my 6am flight to Texas. Would appreciate prayers for safe travels, good weather, and happy families! Will be back on Monday with lots of cuteness to share! Have a lovely weekend! xo


image