"warm fuzzies" on a chilly morning...

My idea of a perfect chilly morning is to stay cuddled up in bed with my hubby, and maybe have some hot cocoa... but when that can't happen, it's certainly such an awesome treat to get warm & fuzzy e-mails like these two that I've received this week!! {These are from two different OpLove sessions I had recently...}

"Hello Missie,

I just spoke to hubby and he told me how happy he is because he got the photobook!:). He says he couldn't even go to sleep from flipping through it. Thank you so very much for lifting his spirits up with that:). He is so close to coming home and obviously very anxious for time to tick by faster so this really calmed him down:)...." {from the wife of a soldier here at Ft Irwin}


"Missie,I would like to thank you for the great pictures you took and sent out of my family. As little as the gesture may seem it definitely helps get through the days. Once again thank you for you support." {from one of the deployed soldiers whose family surprised him with their session}

As a military spouse, I know just how hard deployments are - and I'm fortunete that I've been able to enjoy my hubby being home for the past year...so OpLove to me is the best way to show how thankful I am for my hubby's safe return on two deployments, and to show support to other military families that are anxiously awaiting the safe return of their soldiers. It means so much to me to know that I put some smiles on these soldiers' faces! I can't wait to know that all my OpLovers are home safe & sound....and I certainly hope it works out to be able to capture that homecoming as well!

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'till then - stay safe over there, and thank you again for all you do!! You rock!!

Go, go, go!

Saturday evening mister Luca rolled on over to the studio in his schnazzy blue car {so cute!} with Mom & Dad in tow...but getting portraits done just didn't seem to be on his agenda for the evening! So I had Dad read him one of his favorite little books and "snuck" some portraits of them together {so sweet}, and then we all headed out so Luca could run & explore. {and run he did! hehehe}

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Mom & Dad weren't originally planning on being in portraits- but who can resist playtime with a little cutie like Luca? And you all know how much I love those "little moments" that just can't be planned or posed!!

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Thanks for such a fun, laid-back session, you guys!

{simply} precious

Miss Zoe was so sweet to work with - she was boppin' to the music, doing the sweetest little two-handed wave, and completly cracking me up with how anything she wasn't interested in looking at/wearing/playing with she'd just toss over her shoulder oh so matter-of-factly!

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Mom brought a whole box of clothes, and two adorable hats {which got tossed over the shoulder} ... but of course we had to get some naked dupa shots, too! {"dupa" is my family's word for bottoms}. She was sooo serious in these...but I love the simplicity of just focusing on her sweet face and those baby blues! {and of course that dupa!}

It's all about the dress {Bicycle Lake}

So this fun session has been several months in the waiting. I did this gorgeous bride's engagement photos back in the spring, and we've been talking since then about getting together to do some Bridal Portraits...and finally the stars aligned for us to both have a free evening to link up again! Yeah!

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Between their engagement session and now, another photographer suggested I get out to the dried lake bed sometime for a shoot. I've been itching to get out there, but wanted to wait for just the right session for the "feel" that landscape creates...and this was just perfect!!

{it is all about the dress & the details when you're a bride!!}

{isn't she just gorgeous?}

Ah! I just love the moodiness of the last one.I had to do it in a darker black & white. Of course it was kickin' up the wind this evening, so she was holding on to her veil. To me the unplanned angle of her head and arms gives this image a completely different feel from the others...

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Ironically, I am actually shooting a wedding here on post at the end of this month and would just love to get back here again if the day's timing allows, and the weather is cooperating. {LOVE windy shots with veils and trains, but a dusty bride walking down the aisle isn't such a great thing! hehehe}

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Carla, thanks for another fun session! I loved finally getting to see your dress in person - gorgeous! - and I hope you had fun getting to wear it again!! {you know, someone I know once told me they put their gown on every year on their anniversary...me, if I had kept mine -kinda regret selling it even though it was poofier than I should have done- would probably put it on to vacuum just for an excuse to wear it every now and then....}

Sister, Sister! {Harvey House & Studio}

How cute are these two?!!

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These sweet sisters both do pageants, and big sis has a big one coming up in November. They have so many cute outfits...um, hello - pink boots?! I want a pair!!

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We started out at the Harvey House in Barstow, and they were such little troopers with the wind and cold air...but the smiles definetly got a little bigger when we got back to the nice warm studio! {I can't believe I've lived in California long enough now to "complain" about how cold yesterday was...back in NJ I would have still thought it was warm for this time of year! I think I'm in trouble for our trip back to WV for Thanksgiving....}

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It was fun working with you, girls! I hope we get to do it again soon. I know you'll do great in the pageant!!

Just can't get enough...

Yeah!! This was my third time this year getting to work with this family, and I just won't ever get enough of them. Definetly one of the best perks of being a photographer is getting to know the families you work with, and developing friendships from them...

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It's so fun knowing their personalities so well, and getting to watch their adorable kiddos (aka "the flirt" and "the juicy one") grow! Thanks, guys, for another fun morning together! I'll have your gallery up ASAP to enjoy...

Young Hearthrobs {Ft Irwin Skatepark}

This past Sunday I got to meet up with such a fun family...they're from England, and I could have just put the camera down and listened to them talk for hours....

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The original plan was to grab a few studio shots, then head out to Rainbow Basin with their dog, Cocoa, for some family shots. The weather, however, had different plans! The wind doesn't bother me...but the amount of sand kickin' up sure does- and with the high winds we had, standing out at Rainbow would have been anything less than fun for the family; not to mention by the time the session started I could barely see Tiefort out my window. So, we did a quick change of plans and after the studio shots decided to head out to the Skatepark where there would be less sand, and the boys could show off more of their fabulous personalities with their skateboard and scooter. {with their handsome looks and great accents, I'm sure the girls at school all have crushes on these two!!}

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I'm still running behind on where I'd like to be on getting caught up on all the sessions, so I'm sure I'll post more from this session later. I just hate to keep families in suspense on getting their sneak peeks!! Thanks for being so patient, guys!

The Cute Cowboy & his Seriously Adorable Sister

Wow- I hadn't realized how long it's been since I've done a studio session! Saturday AM I got the chance to turn on the lights again, and use one of my new backgrounds. We did do some outside shots, but with the chilly air & wind this weekend the majority were in the studio...

This little cowboy was full of smiles, while his little sis was in much more of a serious mood; both are just super sweet, and I really enjoyed spending the morning with them!

OpLove Session {Ft. Irwin, CA}

What a sweet family! I met up with them this past Friday night for an OpLove session, and absolutly hate that they've had to wait this long for a sneak peek...but my goodness! Between the conference I was at and this cold that just won't go away, Mon & Tues I just couldn't get to the computer to start working on this weekends' sessions. Luckily I think I've kicked the "tissue addiction" down to 2 boxes a day, and the headache is gone, so today I was finally able to sit down and start uploading!!

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This family had these sweet "Daddy Dolls" that they've had since his past deployment. They snuggle with them every night, and so they brought those along for the session....

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Dad's little girl told me she loves photography, and wants to be a photographer someday. (yeah!) So I showed her how to use my camera and let her snag a few pic of Mom & Brother to send to Dad. When I get a chance I'll post one of those on here as well :-) She looked like a natural to me!