The Sears Sweeties.

Since it was a bit rainy last time, I didn't get as many shots of just the girls as I wanted. So I e-mailed Angie and asked if she could let me do a few more so we could get some stellar ones! Yirah needed a little more time to warm up to me before she could show me her darling little smile.

Quick story about the Sears family that I didn't share last time.

Angie and Ryan  had no idea who I was up until they met me for pictures. I however, knew who they both were since elementary school.  At Ankeny  they have these big assemblies where the high school athletes come to the elementary schools to get the kids all excited about the sports.  The elementary students sit there in amazement as these "celebrities" talk and encourage to come to the games to support them. Oooor maybe that was just me who thought they were celebrities.  As a 3rd grader I assumed anyone in high school was the coolest person alive and was best friends with Zach Morris. Well I obviously haven't changed much, because when I got Angie's first e-mail I got all excited because they were pretty big stuff in high school. I told a few people, " You'll never guesse who I'm taking pictures of this week!! "   So -  if Britney spears ever asks me to take her picture,  trust me, YOU WILL KNOW ABOUT IT.
Angie, thanks being so wonderful and for having cute kids for me to take pictures of!

Angie said Moriah makes this face all the time!!

Showin' off her "d" as they like to call it!

The Gausmans.

Twice is nice. Three is even better. Then when you add a great older brother things are perfect! The Gausman family had their pictures taken on their triplets 1st birthday. These three little ones were so easy to love, and as cute as could be! Their big brother Josh was such a great helper and did an awesome job as a baby entertainer!!   Shannon and Carl were so easy going. They weren't worried  if the kids were smiling or if  someone wasn't looking at the camera, they were just enjoying their family! They made raising 4 kids look so easy!

Meet Matthew

 Meet Paige

 

 Meet William

Meet Josh

Good Ol' Rubes

myFor those of you blog readers who just look at my pictures and skip over any of the text ( which i totally do for some blogs ) this post will sadly disappoint. So sorry in advance and just hold tight for my next  post that will be less chatter and more pictures.

With that being said....My Rant about Ruby.

 I was driving into work today with my tank full of the smallest amount of gas. Small as in my purchase was paid with  in mostly dimes. ( left my wallet in someones yard. long story. the gist of it - I had to use my coin jar to pay for my gas to get to DM ) Anywho - While I am driving it starts POURING outside. I'm talking the kind of rain where you can't see anything and you're contemplating whether or not to pull over

Now, for those of you who don't know me or Ruby ( my spicey red car)  that well, let me share a little tid bit about her. Ruby's driver side window fell off it's track sometime this winter. It been held up with tape that has been reapplied a few times. Yes, it looks horribly tacky. Yes, I'm too cheap to get it fixed. I was fine with it. Until this morning. When it decided to fall down about 5 miles on my drive from Ames to Des Moines. at 8 am. It didn't just fall down all of a sudden either. It started creeping it's way down, which led me to an intense panic. I had one hand on the wheel trying to navigate the monsoon and the other hand trying to hold up the glass of my window. It was miserable. Once I got to Ankeny my hand and arm hurt so bad I had to let go. Thankfully I did nothing to get ready this morning for work and my hair was still wet from my shower. So the rain wasn't too bad.  Needless to say, I walked into work not in the best of moods.

I then had a disciplinary meeting about calling in for my shifts for last weekend to go to the Damstetter Wedding in Chicago. ( ps. SOOOOO WORTH IT ) So as i sit here at 1:15 am and look back to my hellish day I can't help but think of a quote that I like from Dolly Parton.  
" The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain."

All I can say is: my rainbow better.be.huge

 Very cool picture that is unfortunely not mine.

The Sears

Angie and her family are my kind of people. They're the type who are laid back and won't even let a little rain spoil their pictures!  Ryan and Angie and their two little ones, Moriah and Yirah stuck out the light showers to get some sweet pictures with the whole family.

This last one is my Favorite!!  I love a good tickle!

Kelsey.

This is my beautiful friend. She's off in D.C living the big girl life. A few days before she left I took some  pictures of her in a little field, and brought along my  new new best friend: My portable fan. 

Kelsey is the type of girl that ever person wants to have around them. She is absolutely hysterical and my cheeks often hurt after I hang out with her. One of my favorite places in the entire world is the kitchen at her parents house. I have had many long chats in there with my closest friends. We can usually be found eating leftovers from something  Shawn cooked up, and sipping on wine poured by  Shelly.  Her parents are amazing people and have raised her to be a wonderful person that I feel very lucky to call my friend. 

She also has a killer wink that she breaks out when she's at the bars! :)

 

The Starr Kids

This family has such a special place in my heart. I adore these little ones and always have such a great time taking their pictures. I had this idea for their family that would involve vintage sheets that they could play in. It turned out exactly how I pictured it in my mind! The weather was perfect, the little ones were all in good moods, AND we ended with ice cream! My perfect kind of shoot! Missy is absolutely glowing with her 4th little Starr on the way!! Missy the Marvelous Mama continues to make me laugh, amaze me with her energy, and be a much appreciated cheerleader for me! I hope you enjoy  the cuteness of Miss Addison, Mr. Elijah and Miss Camden Starr!

This picture makes me want to melt!

Becky. Drew. Mara

This is Mara. She's my new photography assistant. :)

Becky asked me to take some pictures for her boyfriend Drew and his daughter Mara. She was such a doll, and helped me out with posing and setting up different shots! She had so much energy and was such a natural behind the camera! I had so much fun taking their pictures!!