This week has been a blast! Ted, Micah and I are finally back from Hawaii!! Even though it was SUPER sad to leave gorgeous weather and a beautiful ocean and come home to a foot of snow on the ground, believe it or not, we are happy to be back! There is nothing like sleeping in your own bed after a long vacation! As soon as we returned, I hopped another plane to Dallas for an INCREDIBLY fun engagement shoot in Dallas! More on that soon!

I have to tell you that Amy and DJ are just cool. They really are. They are so my kind of clients and we could have photographed them for hours. Needless to say, their wedding in March will be a ton of fun! And, we get to work with our friend Steve, who will be making an amazing film for them on their wedding day!!!

It was a little rainy the day of the season so we decided to have a little fun with it!

How adorable are these two? I mean seriously… Amy pulls off her FABULOUS look like no other! The hair, the coat, the shoes…. MWAH!

DJ, you were lookin’ pretty swanky yourself!

I just love this one.

In my mind, Amy had become legendary with her shoe selection abilities! When they came in for their initial consultation, I immediately noticed the most fabulous pair of red high heels on her feet. From that point on, it was love.

I love their laughs in this one!! So cute and so them!

We shot inside for half of the session as it was a tad chilly and rainy outside.

LOVE IT.

Yes, this is the coolest “chair” ever. I want it in my living room yesterday!

This should be an ad for something. Man these two  know how to take a smokin’ photo!

This could be my fav.

I love their silliness!

Oh my goodness I love my job! Can you tell?? It is SO cool to me that their children will look at these photos when they are 80 and say, “Man my mom and dad were cool!!”

Thank you to all of you who dropped in to check on our little section of the cyber world! Remember, WE LOVE YOUR COMMENTS!! Have a good day everyone!!

I have been on exhausting vacations. Vacations that make you need another vacation as soon as you return home. Ted and I were determined not to let that happen! We have seen so much and done so much while we have been here but we have also spent a lot of time just chillin’. Just looking out at the ocean, taking long deep breaths and remembering what is most important. It is so crazy how the business of life can make very small things seem so big. My time here has reminded me to spend more time in nature. More time sitting on my roof deck looking at the stars. More time lying on a blanket in the backyard. More time remembering what is most important. As I have gotten a little older time really does fly. Do you remember being a kid and hearing adults say that and thinking it would never be true for you? When I was a kid the one school year seemed like an eternity! Now that I am that adult, I realize that time is flying because so many of us have our heads down, running full speed head. Take time today to lift your head up and take a deep breath and recharge your batteries a bit!

Even while we are on vacation I love checking facebook! I know, sad. ☺ But, I must say that it has helped me appreciate even more where we are right now! The many posts complaining of snow and cold has made the thought of returning to the Midwest even more difficult!! Even though it is so incredibly gorgeous here, I don’t think I could live here year round. I LOVE the beginning of fall. I love sitting in my house watching the snow fall while drinking hot chocolate. I love when spring comes around and everyone is in a good mood and those guys who wear shorts as soon as it hits 50 degrees! This family loves change! ☺

I have to say that Kona is AMAZING! For you bride and grooms out there wondering where to go for your honeymoon, I would totally suggest Kona. Downtown Kona has a cool funky feel and is not too over run with tourists. Upon arrival,  I instantly felt more like I was on vacation than in Waikiki. It’s so peaceful and the resorts are amazing. Also, with my sister being here, we have gotten a lot of great information from the locals and they all give Kona two thumbs up!

Since I had to end my post abruptly yesterday (those kids, always having to eat ) I will start off with a few more pics from our day in the North Shore! My sister Meg was super excited to go there as it is known for good surfing! We strolled into the beach a tad late so we had fun playing in the waves and watching the other surfers go at it! Micah, of course, was still cracking me up on the beach while trying to impress the ladies…..

Sundown on the North Shore….

Before heading to Kona we had several days left in Waikiki. Micah was loving every second of it!!!

Meg and I went to see Pearl Harbor while in Oahu. Getting there was pretty nuts though. We began the trip with Meg forgetting her license, so I drove. While driving, I was holding my GPS in my hand so I could hear it. Then I got pulled over and informed that you were not allowed to hold any electronic device while driving in Hawaii. That would have been nice to know. This is also my FIRST official “pull over” by the way. When asked for my license, I opened my wallet to find that I had left it in my hotel room. Yeah, first time that has ever happened either. He pretty much told me that since I was such a mess that it would be way too much work for him to ticket me so he let me go! WHEW! So we headed back to the hotel while totally freaking out about missing Pearl Harbor that when I got to the hotel room to get my license, I left my entire wallet. So between the two of us I had only a license and Meg had only her credit card! Thank goodness we look like twins. When we put the two together, it worked! ☺ I know we were totally meant to make it here! This is a photo of the memorial that sits over the sunken battleship USS Arizona. When looking out the windows, you can see the battleship below. Oil from the ship still rises to the top of the water.

While we were there they raised an American flag!

We also toured the Battleship USS Missouri that was used in World War 2. It was HUGE. I cannot imagine being on this huge ship in the middle of the ocean while people attempted to sink you!

It was so cool to see how they lived while on the ship.

The original newspapers that documented the war…

We have just a few more days in paradise before heading back! We have SO many more photos to post for you!! Ted and Micah are waiting very patiently for me to get off here and head to a super cool black sand beach today for a picnic… so I better head off! Thank you for stopping by! So much more to come!

I meant to make this post a while ago…. a long while ago. Actually, the plan was to blog every few days while on our family vacation in Hawaii. After we got here I realized that after a long day of playing in the ocean, or kayaking, or snorkeling, or just sitting on the beach reading…. I WAS POOPED! ☺ The five hour time difference alone made it tough to keep my eyes open when it got dark! Needless to say, Ted, Micah and I have been having an incredible time here. I have always heard people say that Hawaii is amazing but I really had no idea how cool it would really be. Right now is the time when all the whales surround the islands of Hawaii to have their babies. I heard an incredible statistic the other day that there are about 100,000 whales surrounding just the Big Island right now! That means I step out on our hotel balcony to see whales almost every morning! What a way to begin your day!

Our trip began in Waikiki on the Island of Oahu. I love the craziness of Waikiki with all the people, all the shops and all the movement. We had an INCREDIBLE view of the ocean, the city and the mountains! The panoramic was amazing! Ted is a total priceline guy and he always worries that when we show up to the hotel there with be roaches and brown water so we were totally excited when we finally got there! Micah LOVES hotel rooms. I swear that if we stayed in the hotel room the entire time and swam at the pool he would be in heaven. He has spent a lot of time jumping from one bed to the other. That is always a hit! I think while we were in Oahu we ate most nights a Dukes on Waikiki Beach! Has anyone else been there? MAN is it an awesome setting right by the water but the food is awesome! By the last night the waitress came up and recited my exact order. Sad.

My sister is a travel nurse in Hilo right now. So as we speak I am sitting in my hotel room in Kona which is about 2 hours from there. But before I move on, here are some of our fun days in Waikiki!!! This photo was taken within the first few minutes we were on the beach! He was so excited!

Total happiness….. 

Surfing will take a little time….

Even though he loves Hawaii the sun and the water wears him out fast!!

My sis came over to play while we were in Waikiki. She is in the front of the photo with the board! I love little Micah and Ted in the background!

Micah loves just hanging on the board with daddy!

The next day we decided to rent a Jeep and head to the North Shore! My sister Meg was with us! Everyone asks if we are twins…..

On the way to North Shore we stopped at an incredible beach for a quick swim!!

This was the view from the beach! Yum!

I just never know what I am going to get when I ask him take a photo….

See what I mean??

Ok, I have lots and lots of photos I wanted to add to this post but little Micah is grabbing my arm saying he is hungry so this post will have TO BE CONTINUED….. Stay tuned! I will be putting more on tonight so check back in the morning!! Thank you for dropping by!!