Category Archives: My Life

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Sneak Peek { Kaitlyn & Kenzie } – Sanibel Island Family Photography

It was certainly beautiful on Sanibel today, I couldn’t help but pull out the camera and snap off a few shots before my clients arrived. I think the planets aligned just perfectly for this family. When I arrived on the island it was hot and oh so bright. Just look at that big beautiful blue sky surrounding the old Sanibel Lighthouse….

The sun managed to make it’s way behind a few clouds as I was shooting which opened up a rare opportunity for me to capture a few shots of the family with the old lighthouse in the background. Normally the sun is right next to the lighthouse and much to bright to be suitable for portraits (unless of course I was working with a team of assistants and had those portable strobes I’ve been eying *hint*hint*). ;) Today I had the pleasure of working with a very a lovely family vacationing all the way from Canada. While we were chatting I learned that tomorrow is actually Mom’s birthday!! So, happy birthday Mom! I hope you enjoy this little sneak peek into our session, the girls were delightful! I can’t wait to share the rest of the images with you all! :)

Trick or Treat!!

Since I haven’t shared any photos of my own kids in what feels like for-ev-er I thought it might be fun to pop in quickly and share a few of them all dressed up for Trick or Treating.

This year Nick was a United States Soldier which Rob loved since this gave him a chance to tell Nick stories about his time in the Army and all about what an excellent marksmen he was ‘back in the day’. I was informed tonight that I am completely clueless on the various ways a solider stands so the pose/stance whatever ya call it is thanks to Daddy. *giggle*

As for Miss Olivia { my little mini me } well, she was no mere ballerina, oh no that would never do, she was a ballerina PRINCESS. Don’t you just love how meek and humble my little girl is? *giggle* At one point a wonderful candy-hander-outer (I didn’t check wikipedia but I’m pretty sure that’s the technical term) commented that she looked like a beautiful little queen. To which I replied, “It’s hard enough catering to the demands of a princess – don’t give her any ideas!” :grin:

Alright, Just two more of my littlest angels. Thanks for humoring a proud Mommy. I swear it’s like pulling teeth to get a real smile out of these two, they know all my tricks by now. :P

Dut, Duts, and Gonuts

Now before you think I’ve gone completely loopy, I’ll explain. I’m sure most of us have hundreds of humorous stories about our children, parenting, and life in general but I’d be willing to bet most of us can’t tell those stories with as much whit and litterary skill as Shane Groah. As the husband of my dear friend (and ultra fabulous Annapolis photographer) Connie Groah of Barefoot-Photography I’ve had the honor of hearing a few of Shanes stories first hand but you certainly don’t need to know the man to understand the humorous anecdotes he writes about on his blog; Dut, Duts, and Gonuts. So if you’ve got a few minutes (or hours!) and you need a good laugh, check it out. I’m willing to bet you’ll be glad you did!

Tagged!

My dear friend Corey thought she would help me procrastinate a bit by tagging me in the “7 Things You May Not Know About Me” blog game.

The Rules

  1. Post the rules on your blog.
  2. Write 7 random things about yourself.
  3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post.
  4. Pass on the tag.

Alrighty, here goes…

1. Before lifeXpressions, I worked as nurse for more than 9 years.

2. I absolutely despise coffee but I love Diet Dr. Pepper and must have a can as soon as I wake up. The rest of my day is spent drinking Sugar-Free Red Bull and Crystal Springs Bottled Water.

3. I was asked to be a spokeswoman for Nutrisystem after losing about 90 pounds on their program. I still occasionally see my before and after photos in the back of magazines while I’m waiting in the checkout line. I’m very proud to say that I’ve kept the weight off for over two years now.

4. When I was in high school I used to sing in a rock & roll band. There was a time when I refused to date a guy unless he had long hair and could play the guitar. *giggle*

5. I am an avid scrapbooker and have had numerous layouts published in national magazines and idea books including Paperkuts, Simple Scrapbooks and Memory Makers magazine.

6. I love animals, seriously. I know a lot of people say they love animals but when I was a little girl I had 2 ponies, 3 dogs, a barn full cats and yes, even a few cows and pigs to entertain me. The beaches of Naples & Fort Myers are a far cry from my childhood home in Michigan but I still have quite a zoo around me including Sandy {our 1.5 yr old Golden Retriever}, Callie {our 5 year old calico cat}, Kodo & Podo {our newest additions are 8 & 10 week old kittens}. Oh and don’t forget I have three children – yep – it’s a zoo around here!

7. I have unusual taste when it comes to snacking. Some people like to grab popcorn or chips for snacks but I much prefer fresh vegetables. I snack on fresh peas, broccoli, celery and carrots almost daily. Publix has me completely addicted to their veggie party mixes in the produce dept. they’re already washed and freshly cut just add a little light ranch on the side and I’m good to go! Yumm!

*whew* Okay, that was probably more information than you ever needed to know about me! Now to tag some friends! (insert evil laugh *bwahahaha*) Look out Connie, Pam, Theresa, Heather, Meggan, Mare and  Tonya here I come! Can’t wait to hear what you girls have to say.

I’m Very Nice, Are You?

Surfing along today and I managed to find this very cool site…so tell me…are you nice?

Munchin’ on Sand on Naples Beach

Just going to pop in and post one or two, really quickly. I’m a little backed up and bouncing off walls just thinking of everything I need to do but my computer doesn’t move as quickly as my brain does so instead of crossing things off here I sit, waiting, working, waiting, working, waiting. Oye! I really need to find a way be in two places at once…seriously. It would make life so much easier! ha ha

So, I’m sharing a quick one today, this little guy is Adrian. He recently visited the Naples area for his first birthday. Now obviously he brought the family along with him, but I’ll share more of them later. Mom swears up and down this little guy wasn’t enjoying the beach at all in the days prior to our session. In fact, if I remember correctly there was mention of tears and meltdowns as soon as the toes hit the sand. Well, let’s just say that was NOT the case when I arrived that day. In fact, I’d say this little man thought the sand was de·li·cious! *snicker*

This is one of those shots that when you first look at it you can’t help but to giggle out loud. You know, the kind of giggle that sneaks up on you and makes you snort when you laugh. Yea, that kind of funny!

Ok, just one more because he’s so stinkin’ cute! I need a caption for this one. Something that reads, “Who me? I didn’t eat the sand, honest!”

Waiting Out Fay

Nick & Liv survey the neighborhood as Fay makes her way out of Southwest Florida.

To quote my youngest two, “Storms STINK!” We’ve been without power since about 5:30a, listening to the howling wind and rain is only entertaining for so long…we’ve run through three Olivia the Pig stories, two games of Candy Land, one game of Uno, and the battery is dead on the portable DVD player. Now they’re both running through the house singing, “Fay, fay go away. Come again some other day.” I don’t believe they honestly want Fay to come again another day. Oh Florida Power and Light….where are you? Please come to our rescue soon!

The battery on the laptop is getting low and my palm is not especially fond of being a modem so I will cut this short. Suffice it to say we are all just fine and hoping (ok, begging) FPL will restore service to the 12,000+ people without power very soon!

*Update* At approximately 5:45p I saw a glorious sight, a line of tree cutters & FPL trucks drove by our home…within minutes our power was restored! Yippee! School resumes tomorrow and I will return to the office and try to play catch up. Ahh, AIR CONDITIONING… :)