lately........

things i love lately..................

the march page of my calendar

keep breathing and corner of your heart

i know they're old, but i can't stop listening

magazines with color

#livetexting the Oscars with my best friend.

we have the same brain.

practicing still life photos. 

lately....

things i love lately.......

 

printing my own photos. 

its a good feeling. 

gnocci. 

i don't mean to brag, but this was the best meal i've ever made.

the lake, by aqualung.

product redesign.

can you guess what i'm redesigning?

planners. they save my butt. 

Summer and Jon

And to top off all that love, here's a look at Summer and Jon's engagement photos. Don't they look so happy?? It's adorable and it makes me happy. Summer was my roommate for a semester and she and Jon are so great together. Congratulations to them!

engagements

i got to take my roommate and her fiance's engagement pictures last week.

it felt good to have a project again and get really into it. 

the sun was absolutely gorgeous and i want it to always be like that. 

looking through old shoots

and i found this gem.

i love the merrills

Last weekend while i was at home, my good friend carrie asked if I could take their family pictures and I was so excited! I love this family - there are all so great and I'm glad that I could call them each my friends.  The leaves were beautiful and so was the day.  Aren't they just so cute?

Also, I don't know if you all knew, but this little girl is four and she is my best friend. Isn't she so stinkin' adorable?

a little shoot

last week we found a field that was green

and seeing as those don't stay that green for that long around these parts, 

we decided to take the opportunity of it. 

and p.s.-

i looooove those first two pictures.

Called to Serve

my friend was so kind to let me take her pictures before she left on her mission. 

it was raining the whole day before the shoot and i was so worried that it wouldn't work out. 

but the sun came out and gave us the most gorgeous lighting just in time. 

as my mother always says, "you're true!" Brikelle! 

You will be a fabulous missionary! 

there was an irresistible urge to do all of the wonderful things in the world. and that was the romance of summer time.

Most have moved on into fall with school, but today is my last day of summer, as tomorrow I move back to small college town. This summer has felt like an eternity, in all of the good ways of the meaning of that word.  I am a summer lover, but not the usual lover that idolizes and over talks its greatness.  I am a usual appreciator of the balance of a good break with a good stretch of hard work.  But this summer has left me as the usual summer lover that you find in teenage high school passionates-the ones that can’t seem to function without recalling all of their adventures and constantly reliving it all.  I have never had such a wonderful summer as I did now.  Maybe it has something to do with the fact that my life becomes more and more enriching the older I get, but I’d also like to think it had a lot to do with circumstance.  The blessed circumstance of opportunity.  The opportunities to travel to the very places that I had always dreamed of and be enriched more than I could have imagined by experiences about my ancestry that left me learning so much.  The circumstance of an over scheduled life, and trying above all else to plan and execute something so wonderfully great for these awesome teenage girls, so that they could come to love camp as much as I always have.  The circumstance of blessings beyond measure.  And mostly, the circumstance of becoming more myself with each step of the way, and having the whole world notice it too.  I had always said that last summer I had learned who I was.   And that much is true.   But this summer I became a better version of myself that I could have imagined the summer before.  And I think that’s the beauty of having a period of time when you can focus on you as a being, and not as you as a student.  Because I believe now, that you can always become a better version of yourself.  And that is the real gift of growth that I learned this summer. I had heard a story once that related life to a hallway of doors.  And as we make decisions, for good or bad, the doors open and close, depending on the consequences.  And right now, I feel as if all my doors are open. They had been shut, and I know that there will be times when they will shut or open, but as for right now, I couldn’t be more blessed that they are all open. 

la luna

i love when the moon is this beautiful color. 

and i love to take pictures of it too-with little l as my helper, 

turning on and off lights, and making sure that everything is the way that i need it.

sorry i have slacked on my 365 project the last few weeks. 

so much has gone on, but i'm crossing my fingers this week will be better. 

will do anything for a photo

i found this on my computer the other day and laughed.

i had forgotten how funny it was when i tried to take cortney's portraits

but it started pouring down rain and it was the first time using my camera.

but i found a way. 

like i always say, i'll do anything for a picture.
then, when i think about how yesterday i took some of the greatest pictures of my life
as a finisher for cortney's session that had been cut short,
i want to cry.
because with the lightning storms and a power surge,
it left me with a blank memory card
and absolutely no pictures from the shoot.
i still want to cry when i think about it too long.
but don't worry,
WE ARE TAKING THOSE DARN PICTURES!

Back at it again

serena vander woodsen-am i right?

probably one of my favorite parts of visiting jace, 

was getting to take her pictures again. 

she's always the best model and lets me take my time to try new things as i learn.

i missed taking her pictures and love these pictures. 

manic monday

last week was some pretty fun times. no, it was probably some of the funnest times. i was with all my girls and got to see where they all live and meet their families. more on that later (tomorrow).
school is getting ever closer. and like every year, i anticipate it and dread it at the same time.
i've learned that volunteering to work the day after vacation is really stupid.
i can't stop listening to katy perry's new song.
someone told me i was movie-star beautiful, cover of a magazine gorgeous last week and it made my entire day.
when i logged onto facebook last night, i counted 4 of my really good friends with pictures posted of them and their significant others. guess i better get on that.
i realized that going on dates with a guy that you already know you can't see it going anywhere is like putting a band aid on a scab. you don't really need it there, but why not just give it a test run? and all the while you know that in the end, ripping that sucker off is going to hurt. yikes.
i bought the sound of music last week and you cannot believe how happy i was to see it on sale.
having happy friends makes me happy.

i love god. african stories.

i once said earlier this summer, that i would share more about my travels because they bring me alive. so here is a story that i still love the most.

there was one girl i met that was more of a heavenly teacher than a little girl to me.  as a 10 year old from the local town of naivasha, we were very different.  but she told me of  her life so proudly and excitedly. i asked her, "what is your favorite thing to learn about in school?" she quickly and boldly answered with a subject that to them meant religion and church.  as i was surprised by her boldness to share something that may have seemed more private so easily with someone so much older and different than her, she continued on. "do you know why? because I love God." it was so simply stated that her firm conviction shook me to immediate tears.  she continued even more, not even frazzled by my emotion, "and He loves you. i know He does. because He loves me." she taught me the simplicity of a relationship with God and a love for a faith that she knew to be true. a courage to share what you know to simply share your happiness of it.

31/52

229. summer work party

230. photo shoot

231. dads birthday=my favorite cake

232. lens whacking is my new favorite thing. 

and succulents as wedding favors.

233. babysitting little feet

234. i prefer the black and white life