Special Offer!! {PhotoVision}

OK My fellow Click-a-holics...if you haven't heard about PhotoVision, or you have heard but haven't yet bought it, I would seriously take advantage of this offer! I've done these the past 2 years; they ROCK! {I actually look forward to these more than my chick flicks off my Netflix queue!} If you aren't currently receiving PhotoVision, now is your chance to get this fantastic educational series at an awesome price. From now 'til Sept. 30th, PhotoVision is 70% off - just $39 for the entire year when you use the promo code: PVFAN.

Check PhotoVision out for yourself by going to: http://fansof.photovisionvideo.com/Melissa/039602
{You can click on this blog title "Special Offer!! {PhotoVision}" - it's linked directly there for you!}

Enjoy!!! Smiles, Missie

Niki & Joshua

This incredibly sweet couple is celebrating their 1st wedding anniversary!

Niki & Joshua met up with me Saturday at Sandy Basin, and I really hope I get the chance to work with them again; they are so sweet, and so cute to watch together. (ah, love....)

I thought this was a cute little flirty pic :-)

Congratulations, you two! And many, many more years of smiling, laughing, and loving to you...

Jonathan {in Daddy's boots...}

Oh, goodness...is he adorable, or what?! Jonathan celebrated his 3rd Birthday, and to mark the occassion I got to capture some of his smiles on Saturday as he dressed up like his Dad...

...he was just chit-chatting away to me...{conversations with 3-yr olds are just the best, aren't they? hehehe}

Happy 3rd Birthday, Jonathan!

Ha! Too cute....as I was starting to do this blog tonight my doorbell rang; it was Jonathan and his sister, Annie, with  a batch of homemade cookies for me!! Soooooo delicious, and even better since they stayed to enjoy them with me :-)   Thanks, guys!! What a special surprise - totally put a smile on my face!

{All-American} Smiles

In honor of the 4th of July, this past Saturday I shot a series of patriotic-themed sessions over at the Sandy Basin Community Center. First up was this adorable trio - Katie, Daniel, and Nathan! {miss Katie definetly knew how to work the camera!!}

This was my first time doing mini-sessions...and I am thrilled with how they went! I was nervous that I was going to feel like I didn't have the chance to really get to know my families the way I normally do with my full sessions...but these three were so full of personality, it made the session go super smooth. I'll certainly be offering more mini-session events in the future :-)

You three were so much fun! Thanks for coming out to make me giggle on Saturday morning :-)

You & Me & Baby makes...six! {The Boyle Family}

Kick-starting the 4th of July weekend for me was a fun session with the Boyle family...who'll soon be welcoming their newest member! {I think the odds of another adorable blonde are quite good, don't 'cha think?}

So with three adorable kiddos and one more on the way, hangin' out with Mom & Dad at home was the perfect way to capture the fun of being a family....

after measuring Mom's belly, out came the paint! Baby Boyle {and Mom!} was a great sport in letting Harry, Amelia & Charlotte have a little fun "decorating"...

but of course the fun couldn't just stop on Mom's belly....

{oh goodness I hope this one pops up in a high school yearbook years from now!}

{to the neat-nics gasping, I should point out that it's all washable paint and no couches or clothes were ruined in the making of these memories...hehehe...}

You all are great! Gallery soon to follow! Thanks again!!

Chicago!

Ahhhhhh.....vacation! Gotta love it!

I get to share so many amazing family moments with you all, so I thought this time I'd turn the tables and share some of mine with you. But before I post any of the family moments, I wanted to share a few pics from the city of Chicago...

You can't go to the windy city without checking out the Sear's Tower. {I forget what it's actually called now since Sears no longer owns it...it's just not the same calling it anything different, anyway.} Way up at the tippy-top of the 103rd floor you can peek out and down at the city. {of course Mike and I had to play the part of the "cheesy tourists" and lie flat on the glass and get pics of each other looking like we were falling!}I snagged this pic of my fellow tourists in one of the overlooks.

" Mike and 'The Bean' "

This was my hubby Mike's first time to Chicago; both of our first trips to Millenium Park {I love that bean!}

a local artist painting "the bean"...

my favorite part of this day! It was sweltering hot, so getting to splash around with my 2-yr old niece was the best...but it was a great place to people-watch, too...

" Lunch Break "

This guy was standing off on the opposite end of one of the fountains, obviously just cooling off on his lunch break. With all the hubbub going on around him,the contrast of this moment of him just off in his own little world stood out to me while I was there, so I had to capture it...

Thinking back, I kick myself for caring about having to walk around soaking wet the rest of the day; I only got my feet wet - TOTALLY should have just run under like these kids!

Carla & Bowe {with baby Grant}

The past two weeks I've been traveling around catching up with friends and family back east. For the first part of my trip, I accompanied my hubby to Washington, D.C., while he was at a week-long conference. In addition to being able to visit all my favorite art museums again {I used to live in the area when I was fresh out of WVU} I got to link back up with Carla and Bowe for their maternity portraits!

I first met Carla and Bowe here at Irwin; they were actually my first engagement session! A few months later I did Carla's Bridal Portraits...so this was extra special for me that timing worked out perfectly for me to be able to get to D.C. to follow the next chapter of their love story.

Apparently they didn't remember to "Kiss the Coyote" on their way off Irwin when they moved - {for those of you not familiar with Ft Irwin, there's a huge coyote sculpture at the front gate. The theory is that if you kiss it after exiting post for the final time, you'll never be stationed here again} - they'll be moving back here after Grant is born! Selfishly I'm really excited about that...it seems like everyone I know is getting orders and moving out, so it'll be great to have a familiar face coming back...and I'll get to meet Grant! whoo-hooo!!

This was taken at the beautiful little church across the street from their apartment. As an artist, I really love getting to work in new placed; since 95% of my sessions are done locally here on Fort Irwin I really appreciated the contrast the city offers. Going from the clean-lined & modern apartment building to the quaint and cozy church was so great!!

Carla & Bowe- thank you so much again for allowing me the honor of continuing your love story!