Monday, May 30, 2011

-my best memorial day weekend.

bumble bee is for my family too.
they got so sick of hearing about it and decided it was high time to see for it for themselves.
and wouldn't you know- within the first 5 minutes we found a crab bug, big horned cow with its' calf and lots of blue dragon flies. i told you it was heaven.
my boys (brandon included) were in serious need of some outside play time.
the kind that makes your fingernails dirty, covers you in bug bites and gives you a bloody scratch or two.
they built stuff with sticks and threw rocks at bridges.
the best part about our day in bumble bee was that there was ZERO whining.
they forgot to fight with each other too.
and they really only cried with the crab bug got away and when we made them stand in the long itchy reeds for a family photo. (ps- it was kinda fun to hit the button and then sprint 50 yards to pose before the shutter snapped. the outtakes were fantastic).




this family is happy.
and feeling refilled, refreshed and ready for more summer fun.

ps-i just reread this and want to vomit with the generic commentary. if i wasn't so burned out by other photography stuff i'd write all about the car ride up with a surprise jackson beaver (justin bieber) mixed tape i made for the boys and their attempts to sing every single word. i'd also write about brandon's patty melt at Byler's amish kitchen and my new dangerous photography location i explored with brooks on my back. i needed him close to me so we could sprint within a split second when the I Am Legend mutants start chasing us. it was THAT sketchy and i'm stoked to shoot there.

Saturday, May 28, 2011

-pretty people getting married

she's got 3 little girls.
he's got a heart big enough for all of them.
we're very excited about this wedding.
mandee's the bee's knees.
song by Ray Lamontagne

Saturday, May 21, 2011

-fritz and judd need a home.

interested?
they're free.
and they have british accents.
UPDATE: SOLD :/

-a boring post about weather and pictures i took.

in arizona, people talk about the weather nonstop.
it's kinda funny to me. i do it too. it's an instant connection with strangers.
at the gas pump to some random man:
me- "it's gorgeous today"
him- "god bless it. but not for much longer"
me- "no kidding!!"
big smiles and we both get back into our cars feeling totally connected.

at the fish fry in black canyon city to a harley davidson couple:
them: "we moved here from new england for the weather"
me: "so you don't mind the heat?"
them: "we'll take the heat any day over the winters in new hampshire"
me: "i hate the cold too"
laughs and tartar sauce covered smiles all around.

i've totally turned into my mother. i wake up in the morning and turn on the tv to check out the week's forecast even though i kinda already know because i checked it yesterday and the day before. but it seems weird to get dressed without the daily update. tshirt and flip flops or tshirt and flip flops??

i'm getting old.

anyways- here's some pictures of pretty people in bumble bee, az......



Wednesday, May 18, 2011

-the lawrence family

this was one of the most touching shoots i've ever done.
i've known tyson since high school but we really haven't been in touch since then.
it was so sweet to see him again, after all these years, as a daddy of 2 little girls.
he's so sensitive and sweet with his daughters and beautiful wife chi.
he's become the man his dad would've wanted him to be.

song "afterall" by william fitzsimmons.


ps- vimeo is still making my pictures fuzzy. any suggestions?

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

-listy listerson

don't got no time for nothing but being a mama and photos.
here's a list for record keeping sake:
-i found at the end of the day that it was guinea pig food down my pants that caused me to constantly itch.
-ade found me asleep on the couch after church and when i opened my eyes i saw his face covered in chocolate. brandon had been yelling "ade, lick your lips!" over and over again. he whispered to me "mom- you lick my lips".
-we took the boys to a diamondbacks game. boring. we bought them $25 worth of diamondbacks crap. SO FUN!!
-i'm so stupid sick- my bones ache and when i bend over i get a horrific cough. it makes bending over more dramatic.
-i cleaned the house today. i miss the mexilez cleaners luna and isella. they can do in 5 hours what i try to do in 14.
-i did my first 1 day location shoot in pleasanton, ca. fly in, take pictures, eat sandwich, fly out. it made me very, very happy.
-brooks and ade look like a ball of blonde squirrels when they fight. so much motion and screaming. it's hard to intervene because i don't want to lose an eye.
-i haven't worked out since i was in lu's basement in utah. oy.
-i have 5 shoots to edit before tomorrow afternoon.
-that's not going to happen.

Friday, May 13, 2011

-a hem

(this is me in my monkey jammies in utah. i'm hiding from my trip)

just got home from utah.
not the best of times.
i have a few high 5's to give but more than a few apologies to make.

inlaws-
thanks for loving us. thanks for the effort you all made in coming to see us and our growing boys. thanks for the chicken farm tour, pot roast, shot gun at the kitchen table, time spent cuddling the boys, music exchange hour, talks about the future, brilliant nieces and nephews, laughs about bow and arrow hunting and all of the familial attention.
sorry we didn't have more time. there's never enough time. and sorry we ran out of there without properly saying goodbye.

lu-
thanks for the work out in your home, lunch for 5 with food for 20, toy store tour, face time, dressing room madness and being so hot that you're asked if you're my sister.
sorry for the 2 year old's barf on your carpet, not being able to make that amazing lunch date with you and katie, leaving a day early and not returning your red barf bowl. (it's in orem).

carl and devin-
thanks for coming and getting us, pretending the chorus of lewis coughing wasn't disgusting, having an amazing home that's comfortable and full of love, creating hayden- the sweetest little gumdrop and for letting us sleep over at the last second.
sorry for infecting you all with what may just be the black lung, spilling hot pink medicine all over your carpet, talking too much about how the kids act when they're not sick and not having enough money to take us all to puerto rico. yet.

brian-
thanks for driving the late night hours, giving the boys your crackers and fancy tooth picks, pointing out the deer to help me avoid hitting it, liking every place we ate and never complaining about the music i insisted on listening to.
sorry for forgetting you were there during our domestic disputes, all of the coughing in the closed car for 12 hours there and 12 hours back, brandon's inability to speak in the 1st person and my constant complaining about the trip.

robyn and jethro-
thanks for living in the most picturesque area of utah, having beautiful children, being flexible with my bi-polar schedule and proposing our "trade".
sorry for my dirty mouth, handing your child my heirloom squeeker, taking your left over medicine and showing no reserve in stealing every piece of art i could find in your basement.


Friday, May 6, 2011

-recap

picture by jamie peachey
how about a recap of the fam:

brandon's busy.
he's finally rolling with his new company which has put that spark back in his eyes.
the spark that reminds him that he married a totally hilarious woman and that a messy car isn't the end of the world. he's taught the boys how to spar and only ends it when i walk into the room responding to some blood curdling scream.

i've been busy too. filled to the brim with photography.
thank heavens for our sisterwives- ellen, amanda, julie, marlee and alyssa. and by sisterwives i mean chicks that watch the boys, unload my groceries, referee the sparring, do my dishes and endure the pregnancies i'm too busy for. jk on that last part. but a girl can dream.

brooks told me this week he wanted a "remote control soap thing because when you you touch the pump on the top of the soap you get germs".
huh?
it's recently come to my attention that brooks not only watches a lot of tv but he also memorizes it (one of the unfortunate results of having so many sisterwives). he's a total sucker for infomercials. apparently the hands free liquid soap dispenser people know how to appeal to their 4 year old viewers. but that's not it- he also told me yesterday that he needs a mosquito repeller to hang from his pants and added "don't spray it on, click it on!!" but the best one was when he was sitting on his closet floor reading books- quietly singing "nationwide is on your siiiiiide" to himself. little sponge. needs a little more time at the zoo i guess.

and then there's ade. he doesn't watch tv because he's too busy following me around crying or destroying the house. yesterday he licked the blue frosting off a cupcake and then crumbled the cake part through the entire house as he gave our neighbor, owen, a tour. every room. crumbs. i hope owen enjoyed my closet, the inside of the front guest bathroom's shower and the view from under ade's bed. ade's everywhere and especially everywhere i am. i'm learning how to make a bed with a 2 year old jumping on it at the same time and how to brace myself for the automatic piggyback rider i take on anytime i bend down to pick up something off the floor.

i just reread all of that and feel like i need to remind myself that the boys aren't neglected, brandon's a loving and supportive husband, and that i'm living a life full of things i thought were only day dreams. we are happy.

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

-under the bridge





song "only you" by joshua radin.
ps- i'm a little irritated with how blurry vimeo makes my pictures. i may have bad vision but my camera's autofocus doesn't. grrrr.

Monday, May 2, 2011

-i just saw heaven. and my knees are wet.

this is the happiest i've ever seen myself in a picture:
and all it took was this:
i did a couple shoots in bumble bee this weekend. (duh).
it was windy and beautiful and extra perfect this time.
i took a new photo friend with me.
on our way home we decided to get out of the car with our cameras and explore for a bit.

i've been sitting here trying to figure out a poetic way to explain this little spot and there just really aren't words to describe the feelings i had while kneeling in the mud, clicking frame after frame of sun soaked perfection. sigh.


we stopped at byler's amish kitchen on the way home for the saturday prime rib special.
and then for coconut cream pie.
i will be back this week.
for the new spot and more pie.
and for an extra helping of complete happiness and the content feeling that comes with all of my little trips to the bumbles of the bees.