Chase this light with me

I've Moved!

2010-02-22T11:23:00.000-08:00

I've moved! Both on the internet and real life. I arrived back in the Dallas area on Saturday, and I haven't even BEGUN to unpack-- that's going to be a several-day project. But there's just so much crazy stuff going on in my life that I want to get done first! And I don't think it's hit me yet that I'm done with College Station-- after 4 and a half years, I feel like this is just another weekend trip or spring break or something that I just majorly over-packed for.

I had my last “official” day with Shauna over a week ago, but I’ve still been coming to the office every day to work on designing stuff. It’s been a good transition period; it would have been a lot harder to work my last day and then just say, “See ya!” These last months working with Shauna have been incredible. I have learned SO much, more than I could ever write here, and not just about photography. It wasn’t an ordinary boss/assistant relationship (I mean, come on—she taught me how to cuss in German!) Shauna has become my friend and mentor in a way I never expected. I am just so grateful for every day that I got to come to “work” for her.

Shauna, I can’t thank you enough for the last year. Any time I hear a song by Alanis, Jay-Z, or Sarah Groves, it will always remind me of you :)

To all my friends, roommates, Comm Family—thank you guys so much for making my life in College Station so fun and enjoyable—I will miss you all! I’ll come visit soon!

There are some MAJOR things coming up in my life that I am so excited about… so excited, in fact, that I have a whole new blog to talk about them! Go to chasethelightwithme.com (or click on the picture below) to read about all the CRAZY ways in which the Lord is moving in my life!

Roman and Sammy

2010-02-17T09:13:00.000-08:00

There is just something about horses. I don't know what it is, but they are just... majestic. My whole life I have been drawn to them, but there will be years at a time where I don't come anywhere near one because I just don't get a chance (or I don't make the most of opportunities). So when I finally get to be around one and I get a whiff of their wonderful smell (yes I LOVE the smell of horses and stables)-- it all comes flooding back to me and I wonder, "How did I stay away for so long??"

The past few weeks I have gotten to just go hang out with my friend Kristen and her horse, Roman. It's been YEARS since I've ridden, so she is awesome and agreed to give me some lessons so that I can, literally, get back on the horse. I had SO much fun-- seriously how did I stay away so long?? Even when I wasn't riding, I just enjoyed being around Roman-- brushing him, helping Kristen wash him, giving him peppermints (his favorite things EVER)-- basically loving on him like a big puppy dog. It's just relaxing for me to be around them-- all stress disappears while I'm out there, I always leave with this incredible sense of deep peace and joy.

This last week I finally got to hang out with Kristen's best friend, Fay, and her horse Sammy. I had SO much fun with them! Kristen and Fay are hilarious together, and when they get around their horses they're kind of like moms on a playdate-- Fay totally goes into mom mode when Sammy starts getting too crazy, even busting out the full-name reproach ("Samuel!")

These last few weeks have been such a huge blessing to me-- I'm going to be so sad to leave them!

Kristen & Roman

Fay & Sammy

"Susan & Lucy In Narnia"

Under Construction

2010-02-15T12:18:00.000-08:00

Sooooo obviously my blog looks a little different-- just about everything in my life is in transition right now, and the blog is not excluded! Soon I will be at a new address (once it's completed) and I'll let you know where that is-- for now please forgive the disarray! I'll also write a longer post about what all is going on in my life-- but for now, meet our most recent roommate, Sara-bear

Horsetooth Hike #2

2010-02-10T12:10:00.000-08:00

I love Colorado. Anyone who knows me at all knows this about me. My brother and his family live up there so I have a fantastic excuse to go visit a couple times a year. It's just such a great place to get away. Away from the jobs, away from my phone, away from facebook. My brother always feels like he has to apologize for the fact that they don't do much, but that's a huge part of the appeal. We don't watch a lot of TV (except Cinderella and the Incredibles on a loop in the playroom) and there aren't a ton of people to see. Whenever I visit, I go to the library and pick out a few books that I will inevitably finish before my trip is over, and I love it.

Last October when I visited, I went on a hike for the first time by myself, and it was amazing. It was a gorgeous afternoon, and as I set off down the trail I came upon a little family of deer, just meandering around the path. We just stopped and stared at each other for a few seconds, until I slooooowly got my camera out of my bag. They just kept staring as I started snapping a few pictures, and then started inching closer...

and closer...

until finally they decided I was close enough and they started moving into the brush on either side of the trail. I just stopped and watched them, until this doe turned around to get one last look at me, and *CLICK*... I got this picture.

It's one of my absolute favorites! The picture is precious, and it also just reminds me of a beautiful day. That whole afternoon was just an incredible time for me to be alone with the Lord in the middle of His Creation. When I got to the top of the trail, a place called Horsetooth, I was able to just sit for a while and marvel at the view. I had a lot going on in my head and in my heart that day, and it felt so good to get to the top and just rest. It wasn't a long hike at all, but I had rushed to get to the top because it was late and I wanted to get to the top before the sun went down.

It was worth the rush.

Like I said, this was not a long hike at all, but I was still pretty winded when I got to the top (let's face it, this "city" girl doesn't have much practice climbing mountains, however small they may be.) I was thankful for the opportunity to just sit and marvel at Creation, and rest my shaky little legs. I was just overwhelmed by the beauty of it, and the fact that the Lord made it all for us. And I wasn't the only one up there-- I happened to turn around at the right moment and see this little guy sneaking out to check me out and grab some snacks...

After having some time to sit and enjoy the view, I was so rejuvenated by the beauty of everything that energy just started spilling out of me. If you happened to be on the Horsetooth trail in early October and saw a crazy girl running down the trail, camera in hand and bag bouncing all over the place, you saw me. And this wasn't good, steady, athletic-type running. No no, this was me running like a giddy little kid downhill at unsafe speeds on rocky, uneven terrain. I would start steady and just get going faster and faster until I finally skidded to a stop to take pictures of some random plants or trees that caught my eye.

This is the closest I got to a self-portrait that day...

This is the view of Horsetooth from about halfway down the trail.

Thus ended a nearly perfect day!

Brazos Family Magazine

2010-01-24T19:59:00.000-08:00

A few months ago Shauna agreed to do a shoot for the Brazos Family Magazine winter edition-- a snow-themed photo shoot in the middle of College Station! We did the shoot at Mt. Aggie, which is the place on campus where they teach all the skiing classes and have kids' birthday parties and stuff. It's basically a big hill covered in white astroturf, and whenever people are using it they run water down the hill to make it slippery enough for sledding and skiing. In all my years at A&M I had never been there, so I was pretty excited to get to play around on it!

The photo shoot was promoting a local children's boutique, so we had several kiddos out there dressed to the nines in all these precious clothes, and with some adorable accessories...puppies and kittens! The magazine was also running an article on the Brazos Valley Animal Shelter, so they brought some animals from the shelter for the shoot. They all looked SO cute! We had some difficulties though-- It was pretty much the brightest/sunniest day of the year so the kids were almost blinded by the sun, and we had to keep them and the animals from running and sliding down the hill-- they just wanted to play! But we had fun, and I'm glad I finally got to experience the majestic Mt. Aggie :)

This one is my absolute favorite-- he just wasn't sure about the puppy at first!

Fairytale bridals

2010-01-11T16:44:00.000-08:00

This is the lovely Kelly-- she hired Shauna to do her wedding and bridal portraits and I got to come along and second-shoot both! Check out her wedding images here

Her bridal portraits were just incredible to shoot-- it was the perfect magic hour and she looked like some kind of beautiful Disney princess. She has such a sweet heart and I had so much fun with her!

And they lived happily ever after

Christmas visitors

2010-01-01T15:13:00.000-08:00

This Christmas my family was so blessed to all get together-- Joe, Lori, and the twins were able to come down for a few days-- and we had so much fun! I didn't get my camera out too much because it was such a short visit, but I did get a couple while the kiddos were at the park. I miss all of them already!

Salvation is Created

2009-12-29T09:29:00.000-08:00

I absolutely love Christmas music. Seriously, I'm obsessed with it. Every year, the day after Thanksgiving, I bring out all my Christmas albums, songs, and playlists... and there are quite a few of them. I get giddy when I find out that an artist I love has recorded a holiday song or album. And this year, Christmas music took on a whole new meaning for me. For some reason, I started really paying attention to the words more than I ever had. I didn't realize it before, but Christmas music is some of the best worship music that has ever been written.

“Remember Christ our Savior was born on Christmas day.” Technically I think they’ve figured out that He wasn’t actually born on Christmas day, but that’s not the point. Jesus is literally the reason for the season. This is the time of year where we focus on what actually happened all those years ago when that little child was born.

Salvation was created.

"O come, Thou Day-Spring, come and cheer our spirits by Thine advent here. Disperse the gloomy clouds of night and death's dark shadows put to flight. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel."

"This, this is Christ the King, whom shepherds guard and angels sing. Haste, haste to bring him laud; the babe, the son of Mary."

"Christmas time is here, we'll be drawing near. Oh, that we could always see such spirit through the year."

On December 1^st, I started the “25 Songs of Christmas.” These are just holiday songs that I absolutely love. BUT not all of them are traditional carols, and some of them aren’t spiritual at all. According to my dad, “some of these are just love songs disguised as Christmas songs!” And he’s very right. But I still love all of them!

1. “Christmas Time Is Here”—A Fine Frenzy

2. “Last Christmas”—Jimmy Eat World

3. “What Child Is This”—Matt Wertz

4. “God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen”—Barenaked Ladies feat. Sarah McLachlan

5. “All That I Want”—The Weepies

6. “O Come o Come Emmanuel”—Sufjan Stevens

7. “Joy Joy!!” – Bifrost Arts (feat. Devon Sproule and Paul Curreri)

8. “Silent Night”—Rosie Thomas

9. “Covered In Snow”—William Fitzsimmons

10. “O Come O Come Emmanuel”—Shane & Shane

11. “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas”—Hem

12. “A Winter’s Night”—Eisley

13. “Carol of the Bells”—The Bird and The Bee

14. “An Old-Fashioned Christmas”—Frank Sinatra

15. “Baby Please Come Home”—Death Cab For Cutie

16. “I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day”—Sarah McLachlan

17. “Do You Hear What I Hear?”—Copeland

18. “It Came Upon A Midnight Clear”—Sixpence None The Richer

19. “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas”—Judy Garland

20. “Star of Wonder”—Tori Amos

21. “Carol of the Bells”—Mae

22. “Little Drummer Boy”—Jars of Clay (the old version)

23. “Frosty the Snowman”—Fiona Apple

24. “Salvation is Created”—Bifrost Arts (feat. Aimee Wilson)

25. “Star of Wonder”—Sufjan Stevens

O Christmas tree...

2009-12-24T22:43:00.000-08:00

I'm kind of sad that it's Christmas Eve and I'm just now doing my first post about this season, because it is my other favorite time of year (along with fall). I know it sounds cheesey but it truly is magical. There are so many elements that just instantly transport me back to my childhood-- I am blessed to have really wonderful memories of Christmas.

Every year I look forward to the day after Thanksgiving, because that is the day the MAGIC starts. You see, I have very strict rules about Christmas-- part of the reason why it remains special is because it is SO different from the rest of the year. There are certain movies we watch, certain albums we listen to, certain clothes we wear-- all of this ONLY during the Christmas season. So the day after Thanksgiving... it's on! All my Christmas music comes out and my mom and I have a marathon of Christmas movies while we put up all the decorations in the house. It is always a full-day occupation. And the best part... the Christmas tree!

I suppose every person would say this, but ours is absolutely my favorite Christmas tree I've ever come across. This big, fake tree has been in the family longer than I have, and it's slightly falling apart, but it's still the best. Plus I just love the decorations we've accumulated over the years. Hardly any of them actually match or go together, but that's what gives it so much meaning and character. Our tree is basically one big scrapbook!

Some ornaments document the places we've been.

Some commemorate special occasions.

Some simply show the time that has passed.

Some are very, very home-made.

(I don't actually know who or what "Samson" is in this (perhaps the name of the train) but this is one of the many ornaments my mom sewed years and years ago-- most of them have been lost but this one stuck around, I've always loved them.)

Some are just there to be pretty.

And some are quite beat up...

...but that just seems to make them more precious.

When I was little someone made these Christmas bears for all of us-- for both my parents, my brother, my sister, and I. But since then we have added another brother and another sister, three nieces and one nephew. It's incredible to me how our family has grown (from 5 to 11!) The Christmas season is so special in so many ways, and one of the biggest for me is just a reminder of how much I've been blessed. When I open the box filled with ornaments, the memories that all come flooding back to me are all good. Of course, we've had hard times just like everyone else; there are all kinds of memories thrown into the mix. But as a whole, it's impossible not to feel overwhelmed with gratitude.

"O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree! 

Much pleasure thou can'st give me; 

How often has the Christmas tree 

Afforded me the greatest glee! 

O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree! 

How richly God has decked thee! 

Thou bidst us true and faithful be, 

And trust in God unchangingly. 

O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree! 

How richly God has decked thee!"

The Traveler

2009-12-22T12:30:00.001-08:00

This is my sweet friend Stephanie... she's moving to WALES! She found out a few weeks ago that she got a student teaching job at an all-girls boarding school-- it's like a female Hogwarts!! I'm so incredibly excited for her. Sooo I wanted to do kind of a travel-themed shoot with her before she left. It was kind of rainy that day, but it cleared up just in time for us to go hang out on the train tracks. AND we got there just in time for a train to come rolling through, causing Steph to sprint off the tracks at full speed even though it was still about a hundred yards off. Better safe than sorry!

Steph I can't wait to hear about all your adventures across the sea-- you're going to have such an amazing time!

Thanks for standing in front of a train for me! :)

Bon voyage, sweet friend!

Lauren

2009-12-09T17:55:00.000-08:00

On Monday, Shauna and I were sitting in the office talking about how we just kind of felt drained... Shauna had apparently wanted to "throw her computer out the window" a few days before, and I had been feeling quite frustrated with photography in general. But thankfully, our friend Leslie was coming over and was bringing her daughter Lauren-- photo shoot! Lauren was so sweet letting us dress her up, and then we made her stand out in the cold mist for an hour and a half-- but it was so fun! And the weather was just so amazing, Shauna and Leslie and I were completely inspired-- I am in LOVE with the images from that day!

Lauren, thank you so much for being our model and our muse!

The Wells Family '09, take one....

2009-12-01T21:18:00.000-08:00

Do you ever have one of those experiences where you really had the best intentions, but EVERYTHING just went wrong?? That pretty much describes our attempt at doing a family photo shoot of my sister and her family. Here's where we went wrong...

1) We tried to do it on Thanksgiving day. Basically this meant that we all got caught up at the Thanksgiving celebrations and before we knew it the sun was going down so we had to rush... rushing is rarely beneficial in a photo shoot, I've learned.

2) We aimed for 4:30, which in the Sims family, means 5 or 5:15, at least. We are all chronically late people. Add a 9 month old and a 2 year old whom you have to dress, it gets worse. Not to mention the bellies full of tryptophan turkey and delicious carbs. I was pretty much moving in slow motion. By the time we got out there the sun was almost gone.

3) We picked the sticker capital OF THE WORLD. And by stickers, I mean the evil, painful plant spore-things that get stuck in your shoelaces and then in your fingers when you try and pull them off. See that nice pretty quilt they're all laying on? (For the single shot that we were actually able to pull off...) That quilt will never be the same after laying on that grass. It was as if the stickers themselves could jump. No joke, we laid the blanket down and somehow it was already COVERED in those ridiculous prickly spores. ON THE TOP. It took us several minutes to even clear a space large enough for them to lay on, and we could let Bekah move an inch. We all looked like one-legged hopping dorks for 5 minutes afterwards as we attempted to get them off our jean cuffs.

4) I am very much still learning all of this. We shot all four of them first so we could get the girls out of the stickers, and they all looked SO cute, but I was rushing and didn't check all my settings. There were some really great shots of all of them at the beginning, but I had to throw most of them out because I TOTALLY messed up the exposure. So sad! There will be quite a few in my Box of Shame.

And so, only a couple pictures of Jen and Justin survived this one. BUT I am so thankful it was with my wonderful, patient family; they understand I'm still learning and figuring this whole thing out. We are just going to have to try again! And hopefully next time all hell won't break loose :)

This is literally the best shot we got of all 4 of them, and the girls aren't even looking at the camera! I had to include it though, just because it cracked me up :) Ah well... you live, you learn...

The Pumpkin Patch, Texas!

2009-11-18T10:14:00.000-08:00

My trip to the Pumpkin Patch with Jen, Grace, Bekah, and my parents! And I just realized that I don't have a single picture of my sister with either of her girls... sad! We'll make up for it later :)

beautiful Bekah, 8 mos.

2009-11-11T11:21:00.001-08:00

I'm still working on a bunch of pictures from our day at the pumpkin patch, but this one was just so beautiful that I had to post it now. She is just so precious and perfect!

Lazy Sunday

2009-11-01T11:38:00.000-08:00

This has been such a fun weekend-- I'll post pictures from everything soon, but for now-- have a lovely lazy sunday :)

It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!

2009-10-30T10:38:00.000-07:00

The results of last night's pumpkin carving extravaganza :)

Pumpkin update

2009-10-29T17:05:00.000-07:00

So many fun things going on right now!

-Tonight my roommates and I are going to carve pumpkins (haven't done that since I was a little little kid-- how sad is that?) and watch the absolute best Halloween movie-- HOCUS POCUS! I'm so excited, my Farmer's Market Yankee Candle is burning bright, I've got creamy tortilla soup brewin' on the stove, and my fall playlist is on a roll. OH and I've got a fresh pomegranate waiting to be peeled and enjoyed :)

-Tomorrow night Shauna and I are having our "Celebrate Autumn" party! We spent all day cleaning and organizing and brainstorming fun ideas for the party-- there will be fun art for the kiddos to experiment with, a FUNK booth for shooting some crazy pictures, and TONS of fall-themed treats from Shauna's kitchen (she is a CRAZY good cook!) Oh, and Shauna informed me today that I have to dress up, since it is kind of a Halloween party... I had a moment of panic until she told me what she was going to be, and I'm definitely, shamelessly, doing the same thing. I already practically have the whole outfit, I just had to run to Hobby Lobby for some fun accessories... pictures to come!

-I still have a bunch of fun pictures to go through and post-- I had another family trip to the Pumpkin Patch last weekend! I'm really excited to go through those and pick out some favorites. Life has been incredibly hectic these last few weeks (yeah I still haven't unpacked from Colorado and the wedding) but hopefully I'll catch up here soon... In the meantime, here's an old favorite from the Pumpkin Farm two years ago!

autumn explorers

2009-10-25T20:42:00.000-07:00

Joe and Lori found this absolutely beautiful little wooded lane hidden behind a neighborhood, so of course we went out there and took some pictures! It was so beautiful-- we waited until pretty late to go so the pictures are a bit dark, but I like the texture of the grain :) The ground was completely covered in beautiful, bright leaves, so the kiddos had so much fun running around in the crunchy foliage!

And of course Brody climbed a tree, because he's going to be Spiderman when he grows up.

The Pumpkin Patch!

2009-10-22T21:34:00.000-07:00

As previously discussed.... I am kind of obsessed with fall. And one of my favorite things about fall... THE PUMPKIN PATCH! And this time I got to go with Joe and Lori and sweet Anna and Brody!

Brody was COMPLETELY overwhelmed by all the pumpkin choices-- he just couldn't decide which one was the best!

I love you guys and miss you already!

coming soon...

2009-10-21T21:40:00.001-07:00

The last few weeks have been CRAZY!

Here's a sneak peek at what they've included....

a trip to Colorful Colorado...

a trip to the chapel to see two of my sweet friends get married...

a trip down memory lane at Main Event with my best friends...

aaaaaand a FAIRY TALE bridal shoot with a beautiful bride named Kelly!

From Dallas to Colorado to the Woodlands to Galveston and then back to Bryan, I have oh-so-many images to go through, so bear with me-- it's going to take a while!

Stephanie, Jada, and Kiva

2009-09-30T08:54:00.000-07:00

Last week we did a creative maternity shoot with Stephanie and her two daughters, Jada and Kiva-- with Kiva still tucked safely in her momma's belly! Stephanie is 7 months pregnant, and absolutely beautiful. And she literally has my dream job--- she's a dancer and a photographer. That's what she does for a living.

Seriously??

Yeah I couldn't possibly envy her any more. She has the most incredible job(s) on the planet. And you would think that being 7 months pregnant would give her a break from dancing for a while-- force her off her feet for a bit. Right?

Wrong. She got out there and started dancing, and Shauna and I were just floored. She has a freaking baby inside of her and was still doing leaps and kicks that Shauna and I couldn't even ATTEMPT to do. It was amazing to watch, and I LOVE the images we got out of it! It was a perfect fall morning (the first truly autumn morning, in fact) and I had a blast.

Setting Forth

2009-09-27T22:26:00.000-07:00

This is Matthew. We met freshman year at A&M, and he's been one of my best friends since then.

And on October 6th, he's leaving to race around the world.

Matthew is going on The World Race. It's literally 11 months of racing and doing mission work. 11 countries in 11 months. All for the Lord. While the rest of us are searching for jobs and getting settled into our new post-grad lives, Matthew will be living out of a backpack, traveling from country to country, working his butt off and living out the love of the Lord. I'm so jealous, but at the same time I just don't know that I could do it. I admire his courage and his ability to trust in the Lord completely-- I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared for him! But he is throwing his whole heart and his whole life into this, and I know the Lord will bless him for it. It was so incredibly sad saying bye to him today, knowing I won't see him for another year-- but I know that he is in good hands, and that he is out making the world a better place :)

Check out Matthew's blog and follow him on his incredible journey

Beautiful Bekah

2009-09-09T10:52:00.000-07:00

Having fun with precious Bekah in my parent's backyard-- she is so beautiful! And she is one of the happiest babies on the planet; she smiles all the time!

Ava

2009-08-30T15:00:00.000-07:00

Meet Ava! She was my lovely little model for my second practice session, and she is a hoot! It was definitely a workout to try and keep up with her :)

Ava was a little grumpy :)

blog makeover!

2009-08-27T17:07:00.001-07:00

Welcome to my new and improved blog! I feel so much more official now that I have the fun Shauna Maness branding :) My goal is to post WAY more often and just keep you updated on what I'm learning and working on-- hopefully you'll find it interesting, and honestly it'll help me remember everything better if I write it down and talk about it!

Monday and Tuesday we kicked off our "Deck the Walls" contest-- basically we had free 10-minute mini sessions in downtown Bryan, and Shauna will pick her favorite pictures to go up on her blog. THEN everyone will vote for their favorite pictures and the winner gets a free session, and those pictures will be some of the prints up in the new office! It was so much fun, all the kids looked SO cute and Shauna got some amazing pictures. Here is a little sneak preview-- the favorites will be posted tomorrow and the voting frenzy will begin!

Caleb

2009-08-10T21:40:00.001-07:00

A few months ago I started working for a FANTASTIC photographer named Shauna Maness (check out her blog here). I've actually known Shauna for years, but it wasn't until the last year that we got in contact about me possibly working for her as she sets up her business right here in Bryan. The Lord totally worked everything out, and the timing was PERFECT for me to start working for her after I graduated in May and after she moved back from overseas.

Since I've started working for her, I've learned so much about what it takes to run a business-- something I never would have been able to learn on my own. Shauna has a huge heart for ministry through creativity; her vision is just to show love through photography and art in any way possible. She and her husband bought a big, beautiful old house in historic downtown Bryan, and they are currently working their tails off in order to get it ready for business. Not only will they live in this house, but it will also serve as an art studio, art school, and the main office of her photography business. I am absolutely thrilled to be able to work with her from the beginning as she gets everything set up; this experience will be invaluable when I go to set up my own thing one day.

As part of my training, Shauna will be setting up short portrait sessions for me every few weeks, just so that I am able to build confidence in client interaction and to build my portfolio. Shauna will set up the appointment, but from then on it's all me. I go out with the client, take the pictures, and process them from start to finish. I never fail to get nervous before I meet with a client, which is probably a good thing because it means I will always be striving to do my best rather than getting to comfortable and lazy. I want to always give it my best.

A few weeks ago, I had a session with a little boy named Caleb. He is absolutely PRECIOUS! Big jewel-blue eyes and precious dimples. He is generally a very solemn little boy, but I had so much fun making a fool out of myself in order to coax that smile out of him-- it was totally worth it!

^^This is the face that I got for the first 15 minutes of trying to entertain him, before the dimples finally came out :)

Once again, the colors are for some reason really jacked up on this main page. If you click on the image, the colors are much prettier-- no idea why!

The kiddos

2009-08-01T16:44:00.001-07:00

The kiddos playing at Sprague Lake and in the neighborhood; we had so much fun!

(the color is kind of off in all these pictures and I'm not sure why-- it's fine on my computer but it's weird when I post them! If it's weird to you too, my apologies :)

My brother, sister, and sister-in-law with their mini-me's!

Sprague Lake

2009-07-29T09:02:00.000-07:00

The beautiful Sprague Lake up in Rocky Mountain National Park!

Jaimie and Jeff

2009-07-25T18:53:00.000-07:00

This weekend one of my very dear friends (and college roommate of 3 years) got married! The wedding was awesome and completely unique-- we walked out to a Minus the Bear song (Absinthe Party at the Fly Honey Warehouse) and Jaimie walked out to "Pistol" by Dustin Kensrue. She looked beautiful and I absolutely bawled. Before the wedding I was able to steal the rings and take some fun pictures, and at the end I managed to snag a couple shots of their exit amid a cloud of bubbles :)

Jaimes and Jeff I love you guys!

Family Visit!

2009-06-16T20:33:00.001-07:00

Some of my favorites from the WONDERFUL family visit a few weeks ago!

Grapevine Botanical Gardens

2009-05-12T21:24:00.000-07:00

My mom and I went on a walk one morning in the lovely Grapevine Botanical Gardens, and I had some fun with my camera :)

Colby

2009-04-21T18:59:00.001-07:00

Meet Colby! He will be graduating from high school soon, so his mom gave me a call for some senior pictures-- much to his chagrin :) Despite his initial reluctance, he was a great sport and we ended up having a lot of fun in the BEAUTIFUL Grapevine Botanical Gardens. Colby is crazy goofy so we had a ton of fun!

Jessica's Senior Shoot

2009-03-31T15:26:00.000-07:00

On a FREEZING Saturday morning (in March) I met my boss and her son's girlfriend, Jessica, in order to take some pictures for Jessica's pending college graduation! Despite the frigid wind, it was a beautiful day and Jessica did a wonderful job of acting like she wasn't freezing-- she looks like she's just taking a stroll through downtown Bryan on a warm sunny day :)

Jessica it was SO nice to meet you and congrats on being done with school!

Bekah and Grace

2009-03-26T19:50:00.001-07:00

During the second half of spring break I got to go home and hang out with my wonderful family, and those few days were such a huge blessing to me. I crashed at Jen and Justin's new beautiful house (on their incredibly comfortable couch :) and I just had so much fun with all of them. Every morning I would get up with Gracie in order to let Jen and Justin sleep in (after waking up every two and a half hours feeding Bekah), and Gracie and I would just play and cuddle and watch Word World until the rest of the family got up. Then the rest of the day we all just relaxed and watched movies and had fun-- I got to spend hours playing with Gracie and snuggling with Bekah, it was just awesome. And it was so great to get to hang out with my sister-- she is absolutely my best friend in the world. She and Justin are such great parents and a blast to be around, and I'm so in love with their little girls. :)

"I have just returned from the salt, salt sea"

2009-03-24T15:38:00.000-07:00

Spring break '09! For my last spring break (sad) some friends and I decided to go have one last hurrah (yay!) and so we took a little jaunt down to Port Aransas! We were originally planning to go to Destin, but the weather was supposed to be awful so we cut the drive in half and decided to visit a beach a little closer to home. We had SO much fun, even the chilly wind couldn't keep us away from the beach and getting horribly sunburned-- it was awesome :)

One morning as we headed out to the beach (along with the elderly and families with young children-- the rest of the spring break-ing population was still soundly sleeping off the night before) there was some crazy fog that made it impossible to see more than 50 feet-- it was so creepy/cool! Looking out into the water was just eerie, you expected some kind of creature to suddenly appear from the fog-- it was crazy cool!

The rest of the time it was beautiful and sunny, and we managed to have a crazy fun game of 3 on 3 football right on the water-- the dead fish marked one of the end zones :D

Overall it was just a good time with great friends, and it doesn't get much better than that :)

Bekah

2009-03-19T21:41:00.000-07:00

I have a beautiful new niece!! Two weeks ago my sister had her second baby girl-- Rebekah Taylor. She is BEAUTIFUL and I am so in love with her-- I'm looking forward to taking a ridiculous number of pictures of her. :)

Jessica and David

2009-03-13T11:09:00.000-07:00

Meet Jessica and David-- the ultimate aggies! They got engaged a few weeks ago so they wanted some engagement pictures at their beloved alma mater-- Texas A&M! Jessica and I knew each other from working together on a committee when she was still in school, and I was so excited to get to take their pictures and meet her sweet fiance! They were a blast to hang out with, and clearly so in love with each other-- Jess and David I wish you guys all the best!

Sideshow Creative Staff

2009-02-14T11:02:00.001-08:00

Meet the ladies behind Sideshow Creative! A few months back I did some promotional pictures for the company anniversary party, and I was delighted when Liz asked me to take some staff pictures. The girls are all very laid back and fun, so we got to just be creative with the pictures and ended up having a great time! If you ever need any PR be sure and go check out the Sideshow Creative website and give them a call!

Liz Ylitalo: Owner
Callie
Shalynne
Vanessa
Sideshow Creative!

Sarah Elizabeth

2009-02-09T21:30:00.000-08:00

This is my fabulous friend, Sarah Elizabeth. She will be graduating from A&M this year and she wanted some senior pictures for her family :) So we ran out to a random road off of Highway 6 and enjoyed the incredible sunset-- I absolutely LOVE these pictures! She is freaking gorgeous and we had so much fun out there. She is brilliantly creative and has one of the best hearts of anyone I know... and she is also a writer so check out her blog .

SEB you are such a rock star and I can't wait for our next Chipotle date :)

A Sleepy Morning

2009-01-22T16:23:00.001-08:00

Some pictures of the twins on a lazy morning :)

More Christmas Day

2009-01-20T21:21:00.000-08:00

More of my lovely family! ...and some random shots of farm equipment at my grandparents' house :)

The Wells Family :)

2009-01-17T20:19:00.000-08:00

On Christmas day we went to my grandparents' house out in the country, and so of course the camera came along. My sister had suggested that we take some pictures out on the hills because she and her hubby and baby girl have very few pictures of all three of them, and her timing couldn't have been better! It was a PERFECT day-- the lighting and sky were gorgeous, and we had the perfect setting out on my grandparents' beautiful land. I'm completely in love with these pictures, and we had so much fun taking them!

Jen, Justin, and Gracie (and Bekah)-- I love you guys SO much and I had so much fun with you over the break! You guys are such a blessing to me :)

Holiday in the Park

2009-01-12T18:56:00.000-08:00

Over Christmas break, Joe, Lori and the babies were able to come down for a few days for a visit and it was so much fun! One evening we went out to Parr Park and let all the babies run around and play in the leaves and I got some pictures-- they were going crazy! It was so great to get to see Brody, Anna, and Gracie all playing together-- they definitely became fast friends :)

This visit was so much fun, and I can't wait until the next one!

Joe and Lori I love you guys and I can't wait to see you again! Kiss the babies for me!

(again, sorry the pictures are so tiny, there are a lot of them! Just click on a picture and it'll open a bigger version :)

Roommates

2009-01-03T21:13:00.001-08:00

My roommates this last semester are some of my favorite people on the planet. We have had such a blast together, I rarely laugh as much as when I do when we're all together. The last three months have been SO much fun and I'm going to be so sad when we all have to leave!

Before the break we had Lo's fiance, Cody, take some fun fall pictures of us, so I thought I'd put a couple on here. Some of my favorites are the ones where we tried to do a jumping picture-- we really failed miserably, but the attempts are hilarious :D

Lo, Sara, Abbey, and Christy-- you guys are such a huge blessing in my life and I love you dearly!! :)

Halloween

2009-01-03T20:41:00.001-08:00

Gracie as a little ladybug :)

The Pumpkin Farm!

2009-01-03T20:04:00.000-08:00

I've been having some computer issues lately--hence the ridiculous delay in posting. BUT I just got a beautiful new computer so hopefully I will be able to post a bunch of stuff and get caught up! I've taken a ton of new pictures over the Christmas break, and I'm so excited to get them up on here....just give me time! :)

Here are some of the pictures from our afternoon at Southlake Town Square and Hall's Pumpkin Farm back in October!

Christmas Music

2008-12-20T19:40:00.001-08:00

It's been nearly a month since my last post, so I thought I would break the fast with a little Christmas spirit :) Christmas is absolutely my favorite time of year-- everything about it just makes me happy. I have very strict rules about watching Christmas movies/listening to Christmas music-- before Thanksgiving and after Christmas they are strictly off-limits. It keeps them special if you only get to watch/listen to them during the Christmas season! And every year I looooooove finding new, amazing versions of Christmas carols; I take great pride in my Christmas playlists! So here is my 2008 Yuletide Playlist to hold you over until I get around to posting more photos :D

The First Noel- Leigh Nash
All That I Want- The Weepies
Star of Wonder- Sufjan Stevens
Oh Holy Night- The Fold
Last Christmas- Jimmy Eat World
Came Upon a Midnight Clear- Sixpence None the Richer
O Come O Come Emmanuel- Sufjan Stevens
Wunderkind- Alanis Morisette
The Winter Song- Eisley
Can't Take It In- Imogen Heap
What Child Is This- Matt Wertz
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlement- Barenaked Ladies w/ Sarah McLachlan
Little Drummer Boy- Jars of Clay
Carol of the Bells- The Bird and the Bee
Do You Hear What I Hear- Copeland
Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)- Death Cab For Cutie
I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day- Sarah McLachlan
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas- Hem
Winter Wonderland- Kate Havnevik

Some of my other favorite Christmas albums:

Sideshow Creative

2008-11-19T23:13:00.000-08:00

A few months ago a friend told me about a marketing company in Bryan that was having a photography contest for their anniversary-- basically they were looking for pictures of the company name displayed in random, creative ways. Soooo I called my dear friend Matthew and asked if I could draw a tattoo on his back for one of the pictures, and my sister helped me come up with the idea for the other one, and I won! My pictures were blown up and featured at Sideshow Creative's anniversary party, and I got to go and mingle and meet a lot of awesome people. I had so much fun creating the pictures and then the party was a blast, so I thought I'd put the pictures up here for ya'll to see :)

Jaimie and Jeff

2008-11-03T19:29:00.000-08:00

Two of my very dear friends are getting married next year, so this weekend we travelled home to take their fun fall engagement pictures! Jaimie and Jeff are very laid back and fun, so they decided they wanted their pictures to be taken at Hall's Pumpkin Patch and Corn Maze, and we had so much fun! After taking pictures in the corn maze, subsequently got lost in the corn maze and it took us quite a while to find our way out. :D But we had so much fun, and I'm totally in love with the pictures, so I thought I'd put a few of my favorites on here :) Jaimie and Jeff I hope you enjoy!!

American Girl

2008-10-13T10:49:00.000-07:00

Last time I was home, my sister had bought this absolutely precious outfit for Gracie, complete with knee-high socks and a little navy hat; Gracie looks like a little American Girl doll in this outfit. So adorable!

Fall!

2008-10-09T14:30:00.000-07:00

Anyone who knows me knows that I am obsessed with fall. There's just something about this season that makes me happy... maybe it's because of it's proximity to Christmas, my other favorite season. But I just love it, there's always one day in late September when I wake up and suddenly I can see the change in the sun's angles, and when I go outside I can smell it; it sounds weird I know, but I can just feel it. That's when I know it's time to put up the fall decorations; in my house we always had just as many decorations for fall as we did for Christmas, we are all about setting the tone for the season! So in honor of one of my two favorite seasons, here are some of my favorite fall images. :)

Ryan

2008-09-30T21:57:00.000-07:00

This weekend I did some senior pictures for a Grapevine HS senior named Ryan. He knew of some great trails out by the lake, so we took some shots out there and then headed over to downtown so he could show off his longboarding skills-- I had a blast!

Meredith and John

2008-09-30T21:03:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I got to be a part of my beautiful cousin's wedding, and it was absolutely beautiful! I had such a blast with Meredith and all her friends, it was just a fun weekend all around. For the most part I was running around like a crazy person, but there were a few minutes when I got to snap some pictures of Mer getting her hair done and then some details of the reception, including the delicious candy bar. :)

Ending the summer with Gracie

2008-09-06T17:40:00.000-07:00

As the summer came to a close, we went outside and had one last little photo shoot out in the backyard... I'm so sad summer is over! But it was a really fun, productive couple of months, and I just loved all the time I got to spend with my wonderful family...

There was a thunderstorm rolling in on this particular summer's eve, and every time that Gracie heard thunder she would turn to us with big duck lips and go "OOOOOOOOOOOOOOhhh!!," and we managed to get a couple shots of her doing duck lips :D

Colorado Post 5- Last night :(

2008-09-04T20:18:00.001-07:00

For my last night in wonderful Colorado, my brother took over the camera to get some shots of me with the kiddos, and he also snapped some absolutely precious pics of Anna and Brody as they ran off their last few ounces of energy before bedtime. Joe and Lori thank you SO much for letting me come stay with you guys, it's always one of the highlights of my summer :) I can't wait until next time!

Colorado Post 4- Fun on the back porch!

2008-09-04T20:05:00.000-07:00

Colorado 3- Rainy Day

2008-09-04T19:55:00.000-07:00

Colorado Post 2- Playground!

2008-08-30T09:59:00.000-07:00

We took these pics one afternoon at the neighborhood playground, and the babies just loved it! Brody showed off his climbing skills on some of the bars, and Anna loved it so much that she was just devastated when we loaded up to head home...

Colorado Post 1

2008-08-26T20:01:00.001-07:00

Here are the adorable Annabelle Grace and Brody Scott! I miss them already!

4th of July

2008-07-29T22:15:00.001-07:00

Yes, it has now been almost a month since the 4th of July, but we've already established I'm a terrible blogger.

Over the weekend of the 4th I joined some wonderful friends at a beautiful ranch in east Texas. The weekend included jet skis, 4-wheelers, cows, and, of course, fireworks. But by far the best part was just being able to relax and have some fun with a great group of friends. :)

Life is Good

2008-07-10T07:21:00.001-07:00

Thank you to everyone who's been posting comments, I love you guys! I've got some big posts coming up here soon, I promise :)

Mom and Dad

2008-06-23T17:15:00.000-07:00

Today is my parents' 36th anniversary! Anyone who knows me knows that I am slightly obsessed with my family; they are probably my favorite group of people in the world and I never get tired of laughing with them. My parents are absolutely amazing-- my mom(Debra) is the sweetest, most caring and gentle person I've ever met, she is a walking-talking personification of unconditional love. My dad (Rex) is completely devoted to his family and works his tail off to take care of us; he's also incredibly goofy and I LOVE watching him make my baby niece laugh.

I have been blessed with incredible parents, so I just wanted to acknowledge them on their anniversary!

**(I discovered this yesterday) If you click on any image in my blog it will open up a much bigger version, which is quite handy for making the teeny tiny collages better for viewing! (I'm learning so many new things with this whole blogging thing...)

***We took these pictures of my parents out in our backyard the other day, but unfortunately I was trying some new settings on my camera so quite a few of the pictures didn't come out quite how I want them. These are some that worked, and my parents are precious in them but I see quite a few backyard shoots in the future as I learn more :)

The McAnally Kids

2008-06-22T17:36:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday my sister and I went and picked up Kaylyn, Kelsi, and Cotter McAnally and did a fun photo shoot on their school playground. These kids are absolutely precious, they wanted to have some pictures taken of themselves for their parents' anniversary present, so my sister offered to help. We got slightly overheated in the Texas summer, but we had a blast and I love the pictures we got!!

#2

2008-06-18T19:49:00.000-07:00

That collage in the last post doesn't show the pictures quite as big as I want them to be, so here's a second try of a few of my favorites.

And here's my lovely Bebe!!

Wrinkles are Beautiful

2008-06-18T18:58:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I had the pleasure of photographing my two beautiful great-aunts, Irene and Polly (or as we know them, Aunt Nenie and Aunt Polly.) It was the first time I've gotten to see them in years, and it was just SO great to get to visit with them for a while. One of them made a joke about editing out all the wrinkles, and this prompted our discussion about how wrinkles are beautiful. My sister mentioned older women who have innumerable plastic surgeries to prevent them from looking aged, when really all it does is take the character and expression out of their faces. Why are women so afraid of wrinkles?? Why are we afraid of looking our own age? I was looking at my grandmother and her two sisters, and they are absolutely beautiful. I think their wrinkles are just evidence of a long, well-lived life. I loooooove these pictures and these lovely women so I thought I'd share :)

Unfortunately, I only got one or two pictures of my grandmother, and they don't nearly do her justice. This makes me really sad! I think I was focused on the aunts just because I so rarely get to see them, but this just gives me an excuse to see Bebe (my grandmother) sometime soon so I can get mucho pictures of her :)

Bebes if you read this, I'm sorry I didn't get many of you!! I can't wait till next time :)

Backyard fun

2008-06-15T21:09:00.000-07:00

Again... my apologies for my lack of blogging consistancy :D

Here's a preview of a bigger post which will be coming soon, showing lots and lots of backyard fun!

Twister

2008-05-22T20:59:00.000-07:00

I'm really not good at blogging (as evident by the three blog posts in two weeks.) Most of the time I feel as though I have nothing of interest to write about. But I'm giving it a shot.

Today a half-mile wide tornado barely missed by brother's house in Windsor where my mom, brother, sister-in-law, and niece and nephew were. The Lord is SO good in his protection. Today was Joe's (my brother's) day off so he was at the house rather than on the road or an hour away in Parker. Lori (his wife) was supposed to be at work but got sick and had to come home early just twenty minutes before the storm literally followed the path that she took from her school in Milliken. (I'm not exaggerating, look at the map.) My mom was literally walking out the front door to run errands in downtown Windsor, which would have put her in the car in the tornado's path, but as she walked out it started raining and she decided she didn't want to get wet so she stayed in. So they were all at the house completely safe, and the tornado barely missed them, which is just totally the Lord's timing. They set up the relief center in the gym across from Joe and Lori's, my mom said that hundreds of families have been coming in all day. She went to drop off some sweatshirts and said the people just look like zombies; there were animal pens set up everywhere for all the pets that are just wandering the streets. This particular natural disaster hit a little too close to home, but I'm just so thankful that they're all okay.

This does, however, remind me of all the other people who have been affected by the freakish outbreak of natural disasters around the world, and I'm using this blog to challenge myself to pray for these people...

The 5 million left homeless after the earthquake in China.

The 2.5 million survivors of the cyclone in Myanmar.

The family of a 5-year old girl who was accidentally killed when her teenage brother didn't see her as he backed out of the driveway.

I really don't mean for this to be a huge downer, but I just wanted to acknowledge that there are people who need prayer. In reality they need a lot more than our prayer, but sometimes that's all we can give and so we should never fail to shower it down on them.

Colorado Visitors

2008-05-15T21:43:00.000-07:00

One of the highlights from this last semester was when Joe, Lori, and the twins came to visit Aggieland, so I thought I'd share some of my favorites from that visit :D All the rest of the pictures of this ridiculously photogenic family can be seen on their personal photo page, www.imageevent.com/simsfamily.

Summer of Sorkin

2008-05-13T17:55:00.000-07:00

My sister and I have decided that this shall henceforth be known as the Summer of Sorkin. And I am freaking excited. For anyone who doesn't know (which, let's face it, most people probably aren't as devoted to obscure Hollywood trivia as me, Jen, and my mom are) Aaron Sorkin is the genius behind all of my favorite shows, with the exception of Lost. First of all he produced Studio 60, which really is probably the greatest show that ever came on television... but alas, it is no longer on the air because it was too smart for the majority of the population. He produced Sports Night, an awesome show that came on a few years ago, and he wrote the movie The American President, which is one of my favorites.

Sorkin's most well-known project is West Wing, which he wrote and produced, and which Jen and I are currently in the middle of season 1 :D This is his one project that we haven't seen, and so I'm pretty darn excited to get to watch all SEVEN seasons!! It's gonna take all summer, hence the Summer of Sorkin. Plus we'll also probably watch Studio 60 and Sports Night over and over because they are just that great. If you haven't seen any of this stuff, you should get yourself to Half Price Books (a magical place) and pick up some Sorkin. We've gotten through 7 episodes of West Wing so far, and already I feel like I have several new friends in the White House.

Get yourself some Sorkin!

Home for Summer!

2008-05-11T16:26:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my new blog! Throughout the summer I will be posting new photos, current events, and random thoughts periodically so that the people I love will be able to see what I'm up to, make comments, and bring up during conversation stall-outs :D Enjoy!

I officially arrived home in Colleyville yesterday and I'll be here for the duration of this busy busy summer: I'm taking a class at TCC, I've got an internship going on which I'm freaking ecstatic about, and hopefully I'll find a little part-time job which will occupy the rest of my time. Besides that I'm just so excited to get to hang out with my family as much as possible, if you know me at all you know that my family rocks and they are just my favorite people in the world.

Today I kicked off the summer with some amazing sunshine and my precious niece, Grace, so of course my camera was close at hand and now I have even more pictures to add to the thousands already taken of my nieces and nephews. I just can't get enough of them!

Happy summer!