Patriotic Mini Session | Altus Childrens Photographer

The {R} Family was my first of the Spring Mini Sessions. Beth told me that she fell in love instantly with the flag backdrop so that's what we used!!!
The kids were dressed perfectly in their red, white and blue. =)

Year As A Military Spouse: Week 12

Week 12-


Ugh, the first time I haven't been on time. We had a very nice Spring Break vacation to the Dallas area! We enjoyed going to the zoo and seeing all the animals! We were all exhausted from a short stay at Great Wolf Lodge! (If you haven't been to a GWL, you should check it out!)

I hope you all had a wonderful Spring Break as well!!!

Year As A Military Spouse: Week 11

WEEK 11:



We has a very busy week! Obviously, our Irish family celebrated St. Patrick's Day! Love my kids green outfits and accessories =) In the bottom right is our St Pattys Day tradition of making rainbow cupcakes.
Back up at the top, Big C's new glove! We signed her up for Tball!
Next to that is our very green grass. It's one of those strange things I'd never seen until moving here to Oklahoma..... a green/blue weed killer & fertilizer that is sprayed on your grass every Spring. Interesting huh?
It's definitely March Madness around here! I'm originally from Michigan and a HUGE Michigan State University Spartans fan! And I'm ringing my kids up right.... of course ;) MSU is doing really well and currently in the Sweet 16! Go Green!
On Sunday it was our dogs 9th birthday! This was the most recent 'good' picture of our male dog, Dakota.
Last but not least is a picture of my first attempt of making salsa. Um....... I think I'll be trying it again, after slightly altering the recipe ;)

Well, it's Spring Break around here so we are off on vacation this week! Hope you're all having a great day! See you when we get back!

Year As A Military Spouse: Week 10

Week 10:



Mini Sessions have arrived! I did my first set of mini sessions this weekend. Those cute kids at the top did a wonderful job! When the flag backdrop was up I couldn't help but snap a pic of my little man. But he's certainly not looking so little in that pic! How can he be only 2 1/2???
We had a few nice days of sun and warm weather so I took my kids in the backyard and took some pics of our dogs while playing around with some settings on my camera. How many of you use back-button focus??? I've heard such great things about it that I had to give it a shot. While it does take some getting used to, I think I'm going to LOVE it!
After those nice sunny days, we had a cold front come through and bring rain. Lots of rain....it flooded our back yard =(
By Saturday we had dried up a little bit and I was able to go pick-up my Bountiful Basket! I LOVE having this available in our small town. I had no idea how much I was going to miss fresh fruits and vegetables when we moved from Florida. I know Bountiful Baskets aren't available everywhere, but I'd suggest you check it out to see if there is a pick-up near you!

Have a wonderful week everyone! 1 more week until Spring Break!!!

I Heart Faces: Black and White

I looooooove black & white photos!!! I wish the rest of my family did, because then I could have them all over my house ;)
One of my all time favorite photography websites, I Heart Faces is starting a new type of challenge. A monthly photo challenge with a CASH prize!!! Amazing right? On top of that each person that enters the challenge is also entered to win a prize, this month it's a Tamron 17-55mm lens!
This is a seriously awesome new twist to their challenges!

I've been fiddling around in LR3 trying to create my own B&W preset. Something that I can use on all my images in the future that speaks to my style and will save me a ton of time!



Here is a recent photo of my sweet baby girl edited only in LR3 with my B&W preset.

I'm so excited to see what unbelievable B&W's will be entered this month! Check them all out here!

Year As A Military Spouse: Week 9

Wow, Week 9! How are we already into March!??!
Last week we were quite busy! We traveled to North Texas so my husband could get some testing done. Thankfully, he did a wonderful job and passed every test. This is a big step for his ability to be allowed to fly again! The top three photos on the right are of my kids playing at a park while Daddy was testing with the doctors. Below that is a beautiful spring flowers that bloomed while we were on 'vacation.' To the left of that is my daughter thoroughly enjoying herself at a Hibachi type restaurant. It was such a fun experience for the kids! To the left of that is the view from our room on base. It's so much fun staying on base while on trips. Lastly, the picture at the top/left is my daughter playing with her new dragons. Have you seen the movie, How to Train A Dragon? My kids love it and now have the dragons to prove it ;)

Things are warming up here in OK and we are so happy to be spending more time outside! I hope you've all had a wonderful week and get to enjoy this Spring weather!