The Gould Family

New Blog!

2009-07-08T17:18:00.000-07:00

It's been so long since my last post... and one reason is because I've been working on putting together a NEW BLOG! I'm so excited to have a new blog finally! If you want to check out my latest shoots and what we've been up to come check it out, update your link, bookmark me, feel free to leave comments and visit as often as you'd like. This is where I'll be making all my future blog posts at!

Visit http://www.camillegouldphotography.com/blog/

Amber High School Senior

2009-05-19T06:24:00.001-07:00

Where do I start with Amber? She is so dang cute! Seriously, do you ever remember being as cute in high school as some of these HS girls are these days?! While doing this shoot Amber had a guy hitting on her and asking if he could watch for a few minutes! Amber is so sweet, really genuine and super fun! At one point during our shoot she told me that she would do anything I wanted her to do and literally 2 seconds later she practically jumped into a tree! I guess being the youngest of 3 brothers would give you a spunky a side. Amber is going to study sign language in college, which I'm certain she'll do great with!

Amber's mom ordered a 24x36 of this print and it was adorable!!

A Monumental Day...For us!

2009-05-16T21:39:00.000-07:00

Today was a GREAT day!! Brian graduated from the ASU MBA Evening Program!! I am so proud of him! Not only is he graduating but he is graduating with nearly a 4.0. Working full-time, attending evening MBA courses and having a family is a lot to juggle all at once for 2 years! It's hard to believe that the day has actually come! We definitely had our rocky and not to mention crazy moments...well weeks but we're here and I believe stronger than ever! I am so excited to have Brian home at nights with us now!! Especially for Ellah Lu, who rarely had a chance to see her daddy during the week. It's hard to put into words what an accomplishment I feel like this is for Brian and for us. We've both learned and grown so much over these past two years. I've been making a long list of chores for Bri that he can now get started on!! Just kidding, Brian doesn't need any list, he usually needs to make them for me :)... Brian is one of the most motivated individuals I know. He will complete ANY project that he starts and will not stop (this is a hard one for me, sleep always gets the best of me). He is always willing to help out someone in need. He is dedicated at all that he sets out to do. He is constantly researching and taking the time to become well educated in topic that peeks even the slightest interest for himself or for anyone he knows. I love you Bri Babe!! I'm so proud of you!!

This past Wednesday President Obama spoke at ASU. And yes, Brian, myself, my dad (he flew in from TX to be with us), Brian's mom, and my sister-in-law attended this event even with all the craziness and people there. Obama's speech, putting aside any political views, was actually really great and motivating.

A couple of Bri's friends from the program

A Family of 3

2009-05-14T09:05:00.001-07:00

A month or two back Lihn contacted me about doing some family pictures for her. I was pretty booked up at the time but Lihn was going to be in town visiting from Ohio so I couldn't refuse knowing that we couldn't reschedule for further down the road... I'm so glad I had the opportunity to do this shoot because have you seen bigger eyes than the ones on this little guy?! He is so adorable, such beautiful skin and such a busy little guy! Mike and Lihn were so great to work with!

Sneak Peek for Rachel Anne

2009-05-11T13:58:00.000-07:00

She's beautiful, sweet, fun, great sense of humor and more pictures to come soon!

Happy Mothers Day Yesterday!...Especially to my Mom!

2009-05-11T07:54:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a perfect mothers day! I got to sleep in, Ellah and Brian brought me breakfast in bed, a handmade bracelet, a bouquet of flowers picked from our house (Ellah's choice), and the best picture ever of Ellah and I picking flowers together. Ellah was so excited to do all of this and that's the best ever to watch, I felt spoiled by a 3 year old!

I'm so grateful for my own mom and for all the good memories she has given me!
Memories of My Mom Growing Up...

Spontaneous-I remember my mom would always get a crazy fun idea in her head like going to Disney Land in the middle of the day, in the middle of the week. Out of no where we would get called out of class and our mom and dad would be there to pick us up and take us to Disney Land!

Dogs-My mom loved buying new dogs. I don't think we ever had more than two at a time but it seemed like we went through Tons of pet dogs growing up!

Houses-My mom always something new and adventurous. I think the tally is 20 houses that I lived during my growing up years!! I married someone who lived in the same house his whole life...

Fun- My mom was fun! (If you can't tell from the previous things about her). I remember any time we lived in a 2 story house my mom would cut up a card board box and go sliding down the stairs with us on it!!

Shopping- My mom LOVES, LOVES, LOVES to shop!! Even if it's shopping for someone else and not herself in anyway, she just loves to shop, for anything! Growing up it was so much fun because she would randomly let one of us kids stay home with her and we would spend the entire day shopping and going out to lunch together.

Compassionate- You will never meet someone more compassionate and willing to help a person struggling in need whether physically, mentally or emotionally. My mom will ALWAYS be there to share her love and support no matter what. She LOVES to SERVE others.

Cooking- My mom is the best cook! She always has something good to eat at her house, which is usually a little dangerous but delicious! Th is is an area that I unfortunately didn't inherit from her...

Smarts- My mom is very good in the math, logic area. I always struggled with math and she always knew how to help me figure out the right answer with my homework.

I am so grateful for my mom, she has been such a great example to me! I'm grateful for her easy going personality that is a constant reminder to me to slow down and do something spontaneous! She is the best grandma to Ellah Lu and we love her always and forever!!

Happy Mothers Day!

Mr. Personality

2009-05-08T08:57:00.000-07:00

So I've been a total blog slacker. After returning home on Sunday from two weeks of vacation to CA and TX it's been a crazy busy week! Don't we all need a vacation from our vacations?! Or maybe I was just enjoying a no responsibility a little too much :)...

Now on to my post... A few weeks back, before vacations, I did a senior shoot of this handsome guy, Shea. Can we just say Mr. Personality?! He was so much fun and goofy as ever! I loved doing this shoot! And just to fill you in, this is Kaitlyn's older brother. Personality, good looks and fun must run in the family! I just loved doing pictures for these two, they were so great and enjoyable to be around! And I also wanted to give a shout out to Milanos Music Store and tell them thanks for letting us borrow a guitar during our shoot. Shea is very musically talented and we wanted some pictures showing off his guitar skills!

Later that night after our shoot together I got an email from Shea's mom, Kim (did I mention how great she is too honestly!), saying that Shea old her he wants me to be his wife! He dropped the subject after his mom let him know I was taken... I love it! I can imagine that he's a big flirt! Here's a few from our shoot...

A Break From Reality

2009-04-29T22:27:00.000-07:00

Ellah and I just returned home from a nice long vacation to Texas! It was so so so nice getting away!! I felt like I was in a daze the entire time we were away which was a nice break from the craziness we're used too...even though I love that too :)! I loved spending time with my mom and sis and dad and little brother, home sweet home! Now that we're back it seems that there's so much to do and so little time but I had to post at least one picture from our trip right now with many more to come...

Kaitlyn's Senior Shoot

2009-04-23T14:29:00.000-07:00

I don't know what more to say than I LOVED doing this shoot!! I loved Kaitlyn, I loved Kaitlyn's mom, I loved the colors, I loved the location, I loved how comfortable and perfect Kaitlyn was in front of the camera, everything worked out great! Kaitlyn is graduating this year which is a reminder to me of just how long ago I graduated (10 years ago this year wow!!)... She is so much fun, super spunky, been in cheer since the 7th grade, and do I even need to mention how beautiful she?! She's got the whole package plus some! Watch out guys, she's a real catch! I guess I'll stop and share some picture overload now...

Baby Davis

2009-04-18T07:45:00.000-07:00

The best time to do a newborn shoot is within the first two weeks after the precious little babe is born and that is one reason I loved baby Davis's shoot so much! Little Davis is not even two weeks in these pictures and he was an amazing little model for the camera! I mean honestly, can you just not get enough of that hair or those little lips!? I left the session feeling like I needed to go back to his house to hold this little bundle again, he is absolutely a precious little thing. And he definitely got his good looks at such a young age from his parents! Oh I love doing newborn shoots...

Baby Cade

2009-04-15T15:54:00.000-07:00

Taking pictures of handsome little Cade was so much fun and not just because he's a perfect, precious and beautiful new little guy but also because he is a cousin! His mom and I are cousins! This is Alicia and Ryan's first baby and let me tell you Alicia was one lucky gal! Her hubby was able to stay home with her for the first few weeks and with no worries of going into work!! What a great bonding experience for these 3! Can you imagine?! Alicia is such a caring and loving mom and Cade was such an easy little guy for this shoot! He is so darn strong already, I could hardly believe it! He can fully hold his head up when on his tummy and push himself, what?? it must be a boy thing? I wouldn't know...

One reason I love doing newborn shoots so much is because we usually do them in the clients home which means every shoot turns out a little different based on what we have to work with :). Isn't Cade's bedroom adorable?!

Check out that adorable dimple!

Create

2009-04-13T07:11:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning to an inspiring email from my little sis. I wanted to share this with all of my incredibly creative and talented friends and women in my life. If you have just 2 minutes watch the link below and maybe you'll be inspired to start "creating" today too!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhLlnq5yY7k

Curiosity

2009-04-11T15:45:00.000-07:00

That's what you get when you mix a 15 month old with a new environment! A week or so ago I had the opportunity of photographing this beautiful little girl, Gracen (I just love that name!). Since doing photography I've never run into a child that hasn't liked me so much until Gracen. I think the camera coupled with me running around chasing her made me a little questionable in her eyes, I guess I would feel that way too with a complete stranger! In the end I think we came out with a great session and honestly I can't get over what a beautiful little girl Gracen is. And she has the most amazing blue eyes! The focus of the session was on this little gem but I just love this first family picture, it's one of my favorite from the session...

Mr. and Mrs. Killpack Married

2009-04-05T09:55:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago in March I had the opportunity of photographing the beautiful Mr. and Mrs. Killpack on their wedding day! The weather, the day, and the colors outside couldn't have been more perfect! They actually got married on Brian and I's anniversary and it brought back all memories of my wedding day.

Jenna's amazing make-up was done by Erin Nicole. Check out her blog! She does a beautiful job and is super friendly, sweet and fun!

And a few pictures...

Beautiful Weather

2009-04-01T07:47:00.001-07:00

Has the weather not been amazing these past couple of days?! I don't think anyone fully appreciates playing outside in beautiful weather like a little kid! Ellah is getting so big and is so much fun lately (she's having a great "obedience" week if you know what I mean :) !).

I am glad that hibiscus flowers grow back so quickly since Ellah picks nearly a dozen from our yard a day...!

This is Ellah pulling out her creative dance moves

Yes, this is a strawberry plant from our garden!! It's been so much fun to do a garden with Ellah this spring! We had a yummy salad last night with lettuce picked right from our garden too!

We are spoiled! My cousin comes to our house to cut Brian, Ellah and I's hair for us! It's so great!

Newborn Session

2009-03-28T22:03:00.000-07:00

You may remember baby Maya's beautiful parents from the belly session we did together back in December. It was so fun meeting their new little gem! She is perfect and precious in every way! I love newborns, there is nothing more sweet and perfect in the whole world! And...Jessical and John are already amazing parents! Here's a few pictures from our session together...

Age of Innocence

2009-03-25T13:49:00.000-07:00

I love and dislike the "saying it like it is" phase with Ellah. I love to hear her complete and honest observations of people or situations which are generally very true but dislike the embarrassment and awkwardness it sometimes causes me. Today we had to run a few errands, one of which was the post office. We proceeded to check in our package, pay and wait for our receipt. The line behind us started to grow. Ellah was standing and hugging my leg as we waited. She turned around and suddenly spotted "Mickey Mouse." I turned around and and saw a tall pretty girl with long dark hair wearing hot pink sun glasses and a little pink mini skirt. Apparently Ellah thought she recognized her. She was smiling at Ellah and I so I smiled back. I could barely make out what Ellah was saying until she progressively said it louder each time, "Mom, hey mom, mommy LOOK, LOOK THERE'S MICKEY MOUSE!!!!!" I had definitely heard her by this point, I don't know who didn't, but I was trying to ignore it and leave the post office as soon as possible! My passionate little Ellah would not leave until I acknowledged her comment and then she was perfectly content with moving on with our day.
I'm pretty sure she meant to say Minnie Mouse anyways...

Tindall Family

2009-03-21T07:36:00.000-07:00

I love this family! Maybe, because my super close and best friend Donnie is a part of it! Donnie and I have a history together...really! We lived in Idaho together while attending Boise State, then Utah togehter and attended UVSC and when we finally moved back to AZ we both went to ASU. We had pretty much every single class together during these years at college and graduated the same time (standing next to each other even though our names didn't line up aphebetically) with a degree in Nutrition from ASU. It's hard to believe that was over 4 years ago!! So when Donnie mentioned doing family pictures, of course I wanted to! Plus, aren't they a family of models?? They're all so good loooking!

You might recongize Chance and Sara from an earlier shoot , back in December, with their puppies

And you might reconogize Donnie as one of the models for Vintage Bliss

I had a hard time chooseing wich ones to post...

Vintage Bliss Spring Looks!

2009-03-16T08:37:00.000-07:00

I recently did shoot for Vintage Bliss. If it's been a while since you've checked out their clothing, check it out! They have a new website where you can order everything online! Plus, there are several new items. Here's just a few pictures of the latest below. Check out the website for more! New jeans coming soon too!

Like always, aren't these two ladies hotties?!

6 Years Later and...We're Still in Love!

2009-03-16T07:58:00.000-07:00

Friday, Brian and I celebrated our 6 year anniversary! It's hard to believe that we've already been married for 6 years! Thanks to the best sister ever, the two of us were able to go alone up to our families cabin in Payson. It was so much fun! (well the first 1/2 was...). When we first arrived we realized that we had the wrong key, bummer. Finally, Brian found a tiny little bathroom window that he was able to pry open with his key. He hoisted me through feet first and I skinnied through, what a relief! Honestly, I think we slept a TON while we were up there. It was so nice to not have any responsibilities. We brought Brian's quad and gun. I love riding on my hubby's quad and being able to hold on so tight to him! I know, these are such boy activities but it was a lot of fun. I honestly had so much anxiety about going on in the middle of no where though. I was sure that we were either going to be surrounded by a group of venomous snakes, a pack of mountain lions, a family of black bears or wild pigs. I had so much anxiety over this and then to top it off thinking about who would have to raise Ellah after we were devoured by these animals. Brian told me I was all stressed about this silly stuff because I must not have been exposed to the forest and outdoors enough as a kid. Who knows maybe?! The good news, we made it back with out a single bit or animal siting and had an awesome time!

We enjoyed the rest of the day and evening too until...about 1:00am rolled around and I started barfing. Are you kidding me? Of all times to get sick. Actually, if I had to choose a time to get sick it was probably good because I actually had a chance to sleep a TON without having a little gal to take care of. It's amazing how much faster you get better when you're a mom because I swear as soon as we got Ellah the next day I had no choice but to be helping her with things.

I love my Brian! He's the best! It was so much fun to get away for a night, even if I was sick. He is my best friend and my forever love! I have so much fun with him and feel so lucky to be married to him!

So I'm sad I didn't take a single picture of our adventure so here's one of Ellah and her cousin she stayed with while we were away because a post cannot fully be a post with out a picture!

Tate and Brady

2009-03-08T08:20:00.001-07:00

I'll let you guess which one is which! A few weeks ago their mom contacted me to do a shoot of "just" her boys, which I was so super excited about! With their daddy being an NFL player and their mom involved in sports too it's no wonder why their little guy was so active doing "boy" activities! We did this shoot at their house and tried to get their kids just being themselves. Honestly, these two boys are so super cute and it was so easy to see just how crazy their parents are about them! They're an adorable little family! It was really hard narrowing down pics...I had so many. Here's a few to share!

Dodge & Vega Attorneys at Law

2009-03-04T06:22:00.000-08:00

Last week I had the opporunity of doing a shoot for Ben Dodge and Bacho Vega. These two attorney's needed to update their profile pictures. We did a mini shoot and came out with some great photos (they were great at posing!). If you're in need of any legal counseling/work check out their website! They're both very honest and super friendly guys!
http://www.dodgevegalaw.com/

So Many Girls!!

2009-03-01T06:32:00.000-08:00

Girls seem to run in the family! I have 9 little nieces and they are all so dang cute! Plus, they're so cooperative for picture time with their "favorite" :) auntie Camille.

How Can Anyone be so Busy?!

2009-02-22T07:10:00.000-08:00

Honestly, Ellah is my favorite girl in the whole wide world but how in the world can her mind keep going and going. I think it's developing SUPER fast right now!!! It has to be with how busy she is! She can hardly sleep at night lately because she's so excited about something, just life in general even :). Last night she woke up 4 times?! What??? Do I have a newborn again?? She told me she didn't like to go to sleep and asked me if she could watch TV on the couch. As appealing as that sounded, instead of getting up with her again and again, I knew better than to do that. Let her do it once and she would be getting up EVERY night to watch TV. If only I could be blessed with an ounce of her zest and energy I think I could get every project crossed off my list in one week!! I love her she's the best even when I can't catch up with her!

Yesterday Brian, Ellah and I went exploring Arizona a little. It was a lot of fun. We went out by the Superstition Mountains. I had no idea, but there's a whole little ghost town, restaurants, museums, trails and everything out there. It was so much fun! Here's a few pictures from our outing...

Brian got this shot of this old church. I think it's known as the "Elvis Chapel"

Can you believe how green the desert is right now! I love to see all that green!
P.S. Don't be fooled in this picture by Ellah sitting still with her head on Bri's lap that picture was caught while she was in motion :). Just kidding, she's actually really sweet and gives the best hugs ever!

What Came in the Mail Yesterday!!!!

2009-02-21T06:50:00.000-08:00

I am SO SUPER EXCITED about my new addition that arrived in the mail yesterday! I've been waiting and waiting....and waiting since September (before it was even released), the new Canon 24mm 1.4 II lens (click here to check it out). I really lucked out because these little guys aren't easy to come by right now since they've just recently been released. We checked 10 online photo stores before Brian found found one available. He put in the order and from New York to Gilbert it's finally here!!!

Cochell Family

2009-02-15T07:20:00.000-08:00

So back in December while my parents, lil sis and lil brother were in town we did some family pictures. I never posted these so I thought I would. I have to admit that I am a little bit jealous. My parents ordered several hundred dollars in prints. I had the prints sent directly to their home in Texas and so I still haven't seen them! One of my favorite things is viewing my client's prints when they come in. I love seeing them printed out large it's so fun! I can't wait to check out our photos when I make it back to Texas again (hopefully soon :))!

The next pictures are pictures of our whole family, spouses, grandkids, everyone

This is my immediate family

This is the family that still lives at home (in Texas)

The boys

The girls...and one boy

Sisters

My dad with his girls (I love my dad's jolly smile in this pictures, it's so him)

My brother and his wife

My sister's family

Tagged

2009-02-12T09:01:00.000-08:00

This is a simple, fun tag...find the 6th folder, 6th album, 6th picture on your computer...here is mine...thanks Sally for tagging me...

This picture is from last summer just playing in the backyard!

I tag:

1. Donnie
2. Molly
3. April
4. Brandi
5. Lindsey
6. Amy

Ruby & Sadie

2009-02-08T13:19:00.000-08:00

Not only are the two little girls below some of of the most adorable little gals, they're also our good friends and neighbors! We moved into our houses about a two weeks apart from each other and have been close friends since! Ellah, age wise, is right smack in the middle of both but loves playing with both Ruby and Sadie and I love hanging out with their mom! Here's some pics. from a recent shoot with the two girlie's.

A Perfect Reminder

2009-02-05T08:44:00.000-08:00

"Concentration is the secret of strength."
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Liberty, Brixon, Ellah

2009-01-31T20:19:00.001-08:00

Earlier this week I had a craving to be creative which, for me means getting out my camera. My sister and I loaded the kids up in the car and took them out to the fields to play and capture some great memories! I love these three kiddos, they're so spunky and full of life! It's a little bit of a picture overload but I couldn't resist!

This is one of my favorite shots. I just love the clouds in the sky and all the color and the kids too!

I LOVE his big bluberry eyes!

I love these next two pictures. You'd never believe it if you saw them together now but Libby and Ellah used to have the hardest time getting along. Now they're best girlyfriends

Laura is always talking about how Libby loves giving her mom, teachers, whoever flowers. I love how happy she is as she's giving this "bouquet" to her mom.

Rachel

2009-01-25T06:42:00.000-08:00

I had the chance to photograph my lil sis Rachel not too ago. She is so beautiful! Over the past couple of years she has really struggled with her health. She was able to have a surgrey close to a year ago now that has turned her life around. A year ago today she couldn't even stand up, wash her own hair or go through every minute of the day without feelign pain, things have changed dramatically!! It really has been a miracle. I am confident that she is to the point where she is now because of her faith first and then her unbelievable courage and determination. There isn't anything Rachel can't overcome, she is really an amazing example. She is extremely talented and creative and she is the best Auntie to her neices and nephews! I love you Rachey! Oh by the way, if you know any good looking and cool guys hook her up!

I'm Married to a Genius

2009-01-22T08:31:00.001-08:00

I really am! I don't think there's anything Brian can't figure out, fix, conquer...He's the best! I love him so much! My computer has been having so many issues running. Bri took a day off work last week from work to try and figure out the problem for me, 48 hours later he found and got rid of a horrrbile virus that was on the computer slowing things down (A virus that could have completely ruined the whole computer all together). The coming week things were still lagging and running slow. Bri took another day off work yesterday to work on it for me. After 14 hours straight of not really even taking a break my computer is running faster than ever! He's a genuius I'm telling you! I don't know how he does it or has the patience to stick through with stuff like this. I feel incredibly blessed to be married to him. I love that he does this stuff for me too! I don't know what I would do without him. I love you Bri you're the best ever!

New Year, New Website and Photo Session Special

2009-01-18T13:55:00.000-08:00

I know it's not the greatest way to start out wishing everyone a happy new year 3 weeks after the new year has started but...we are! Happy New Year's to all of our friends and family and fellow blogging bluddes! We look forward to a fabulous 2009!

I wanted to start out the New Year with a change. So since photography is my passion that's where I've started. I got a new website!! I have aspirations of growing as a photographer this coming year and look forward to what it will bring!

My new website is the same url www.camillegouldphotography.com

Also, I wanted to start the New Year out with a photo special! Anyone who books a session between now and the end of January will receive a $30 ala carte print credit!

Happy New Year Again! Here's our family Christmas Card this year. We finally started the funny family letter tradition. Brian was the composer of this year's family Christmas letter that we mailed out and I think we'll keep it that way next year too.

Belly Session

2009-01-15T08:24:00.000-08:00

I had a belly session a while back with Jessica and John. They are an adorable couple! I love how in love with this baby they already are. They're such an easy going couple and will be amazing parents. Jessica is so beautiful! I had a really hard time choosing which pictures to post. Here's what I ended up with!

What a Ham!

2009-01-12T07:00:00.000-08:00

This is Ellah posing for the camera. She has seen me taking pictures of other people so often that she's come up with a whole slew of her own poses. Brian just found a little disposable camera the other evening and gave it to Ellah. She's been walking around the house since with it telling us exactly how to stand and position our bodies. She told me that she wants to be a "photographer too." Love that little gal!

Williams Family

2009-01-09T09:44:00.000-08:00

So I'm a little behind on posting. The holidays were so busy. It's a bitter/sweet time of year (I hope you can relate). I think the older you get the more commitments you have and it makes things hectic. But...I do love being busy and it's been fun all the while! I'm looking forward to fabulous 2009. Stayed tuned in the next couple of weeks for some changes!!
So on to pictures...
Below are pictures of the Williams Family. You might remember their adorable little daugther from her newborn shoot I did a few months back. She is already getting so big! It was fun being able to capture the three of them together! I loved that they dressed up for their Christmas pictures, so classy!

A Beautiful Lady

2009-01-04T06:55:00.001-08:00

My great grandma Reed passed away last week. She was 97 years old and so it was her time. I will miss her, she was a special grandma. I always remember having sleepovers with her and my grandpa when I was a little girl. We'd stay up late and play games, they loved playing games! We would always have ice-cream too. I remember several times going to plays with both of them and they never missed any of the concerts I was involved in with school. Grandma always liked to present herself well by always having her and make-up done and dressing nice, she was a classy lady. She was always very polite.

A few years back Grandma was put into a nursing home. Since it wasn't too far away from our home Ellah and I would try and visit her every week or so. Every time we went to the fruit and veggie store we would be sure and make a visit to grandma. Ellah loved to visit grandma Reed too. I think they could understand each other in a way I couldn't understand. I remember one time we went to visit, Ellah climbed up on her lap and grandma kissed her on the for head and said, "we're in love, aren't we?" Too cute. She always remembered Ellah's name, even though she would sometimes confuse me for someone else as she aged. Grandma loves sweets so every time Ellah and I would visit we would be sure and bring something sweet to share with Grandma. Ellah Lu would always be the one to feed and share our treat with grandma.

I don't think that Ellah fully understands that Grandma Reed is not at the nursing home anymore. After I found out that grandma had passed away I went and tried to explain to Ellah. She was so sweet she said, "yes mom now we can only visit her with Jesus." "Mom I think grandma can walk now." "Mom I think Grandma can eat her favorite cake now." I don't know where she came up with some of this stuff but I think it's so sweet. We both loved Grandma Reed.

The last time I brought my camera to the nursing home was on Halloween. Ellah wanted to paint Grandma Reed a pumpkin and bring it to her. Grandma had this pumpkin sitting next to her bed all the way up until just before Christmas. We love Grandma and will think about her often, every time we got to the fruit and veggie store we will remember our visits.

Elainy Evans

2008-12-29T08:55:00.000-08:00

Below is my new little niece Lainy. You might remember her hospital pictures from a month or so ago. She is such a teenie tiny little thing and just perfect in every way! I did this shoot for my sister, Laura, when Lainy was about 2 weeks old. She's almost 7 weeks now! It's amazing how fast time flies and how fast these little babes grow!

My other sister, Rachel, is incredibly talented and designed this adorable little tutu for Lainy along with several baby cocoons. She has a blog where she will be selling her stuff coming soon called It Zwibbles.

And of course I had to throw one of Ellah on here since she was playing with Lainy's brother and sister while we did the pictures...

Ellah Lu

2008-12-21T00:02:00.001-08:00

My little Ellah Lu recently just celebrated her 3rd birthday! She is growing up so fast! Honestly, I don't know where the time has gone. (I think the older you get the quicker life goes on...). I can still, so fresh and vividly, remember the day she was born. I will never forget my most precious moment with her. There were so many family and friends with their ears pressed against the door during the birth process, it was so exciting! I loved having the ones I cared most about at the hospital to celebrate the birth of my little babe and to hear her first cries. But my favorite moment with her, that I will never forget, was when everyone left, including Brian who had gone home to shower. They had moved me to a more "permanent" room and I was exhausted. Ellah was being cleaned in the nursery and I was all alone in the room. I knew I should take the opportunity of being to get some rest but I wanted to see this little babe who just arrived straight from heaven a little too much. I pushed my call button and asked the nurses to bring her into me. When they brought her in I laid her on my chest. It was just her and I alone in the room. I cried. I felt so in love with this little girl and so grateful that she would be mine forever. I still feel this way. I'm so proud of her and all of her little accomplishments that are in reality so big!
I haven't had a chance to do her official 3 year old photo shoot yet but these were taken recently and show so much of her personality...

Vennard Family

2008-12-20T23:55:00.000-08:00

A few weeks back I did a session with the adorable Vennard family. Honestly, they have the best baby ever! She didn't even cry or get fussy one time throughout our whole session together and she was even sick too! What a trooper. They're such a loving family. I had such a good time doing pictures with them! Here's a few pictures from our afternoon...

A Session wtih LOTS of Barking...From the Photographer

2008-12-15T14:55:00.000-08:00

A couple weeks back I did a session for BFF's sister and brother-in-law, Sara and Chance. They're such a good looking couple with just the two of them but they decided to include their good looking family members as well. They wanted shots with their two dogs and new little Pug puppies before they were sold off. I do have to admit that it was a new experience for me and I never new how well I could bark!! It was really cute though actually because all I would have to say is (after I barked of course to get their attention) "do you like to swim?," or "do you want to go on a walk?," or "do you want a treat?" and the all the dogs would look right up at the camera, too cute!
Here's a sneak peak of our session together:

I love how both the dogs are watching Sarah kiss chance on the cheek, too cute!!

Check out that tongue that hangs out. I love it!

A Scrumptious Little Guy!

2008-12-07T12:48:00.001-08:00

The Lee's have such a scrumptious little guy. He's so adorable and just like a little man! I loved the bright colors "mom" picked out for the family, it looked great! Their little one did amazing until the very end of the session when he'd had enough! Apparently, I got to view his first major tantrum! Luckily we were basically through with pictures and I still think he's so dang cute! I see plenty of tanrums DAILY in my house!

Here's a little preview of our session together...

By the way, thank you to the Horne's for referring the Lee's! You're awesome!

A Bitter Sweet Day

2008-12-02T12:05:00.000-08:00

My little Ellah Lu started her first day of preschool today! It's bitter because she is growing up so fast and it makes me so sad. I love that tiny body but it just keeps getting bigger these past couple of months. But of course it is a sweet day too for many reasons (i.e. she gets to learn, I get a break, she gets out of the house...). Ellah is the youngest one in her little preschool class so she was invited to attend on a "trial basis". She passed the test today! Miss Heidi said that she she was amazed at how well Ellah did! I'm so proud of my Ellah Girl!

His Uninvited Friends Are NOT ALLOWED Again!

2008-12-01T12:15:00.000-08:00

Above is our cat, Lloyd. Lloyd got in big trouble over the weekend. On Saturday morning Ellah and I ran to the store. I left the garage door open while we were gone. Well when we came home I heard some growling and hissing so i went to inspect what Lloyd was up to. Low and behold there was another cat in our house, a big orange and white one (if you're the owner I'm dying to know who you are!).... Anyways I'll try to shorten this dramatic story but after about ten mintues of hissing I shoved a broom underneath the bed to get the cat out. Lloyd's friend came running out and ran all the up our blinds, scratching them all up and POOPING, Yes Pooping as he did. Brian got out of bed to find out what was going on at this point. Lloyd's friend starting running all around the house, like an animal with rabis. Keep in mind that everywhere he his running he is dripping poop ALL OVER (disgusting I know). He ran up a shelf in our kitchen and blinds in our kichen scratching both and knocked over 2 vases and broke them. By this point Ellah and are were hiding in the pantry. Brian wouldn't even go near the thing. Ellah couldn't stop narrating the scenario, well she couldn't stop talking period really. She kept saying, "My brother is NOT allowed to have friends over again." Finally the cat walked out the back door and we cleaned up poop all over the house for the next 45 minutes. It was traumatic. So beware about leaving doors open!

The Hamblins

2008-12-01T08:12:00.000-08:00

I had another fun family session with the Hamblins. They're such a cute family, they remind me of newlyweds!...with the addition of an adorable little girl in the mix, of course! Here's a few pics. from our session together...

The Graff Family

2008-11-23T11:59:00.000-08:00

The Graff's are such a good looking cute family. All three of them look awesome in front of the camera, it was hard narrowing down pictures from our session! Plus, I loved their outfits it woked out perfect with our setting. Thanks guys for a fun afternoon!

Here's a few from our session:

This is one of my favorite from the day. Isn't that hat adorable!

Don't these two look perfect together?!

Check out those big beautiful eyes!

She's 1/2 Mine

2008-11-16T13:20:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the world little Elainey Ann E. This perfect little angel below is my neice. Elainey is so beautiful and couldn't be any more perfect! I'm so glad my sis. gave me a baby that I can love on anytime! She, Laura, just had her 3rd baby on Thursday. My mom flew in from TX to be here, a big treat to see her (it's been since June since Ellah and I have seen her!). And my other sis. Rachel is arriving right about now! What an exciting event!! Love you Elainey and Laura and Rach and mom!
Stay tuned for a full blown photoshoot in the next week or two but for now here's the beautiful babe just 3 hours old!

Congratulations Laura and Tyler!

The O'Neils, 3 plus 1...soon!

2008-11-16T13:08:00.000-08:00

A few months ago I did a shoot of just the lttle guy in this family. It was fun to get the three of them, plus one that's on the way, for a session. They're so cute and their little guy is so full of energy! He's going to invent something one day, I'm telling you! I really like how the pictures turned out for this shoot, awesome job guys!. Here's a glimpse...

Anderson Family-A little love

2008-11-16T13:04:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago I had a chance to capture Brian's sisters fam. on camera. They're so fun and such a cute family! Love you guys! The boys better watch out for these three beauty queens!

Family Pictures

2008-11-09T07:18:00.000-08:00

To anyone who is interested or has booked a session for November already, I am extending my holiday card special. Anyone who books and completes a session in the month of November will receive 25 holiday cards of your choice included with your session. I also have newborn annoucements if you book a newborn session... To book a session you can either call or email me!

A couple weeks back I did a family session for the family below. The entire family wanted to get together for a group session. We did break off sessions of each family and the kids. It was a lot of fun! They are such a good looking family! All the kids have such big beautiful eyes! Check out how cute the little girls outfits were!

Potential Dating Material for Ellah

2008-11-02T13:07:00.000-08:00

Of course we're talking WAAAY in the future. I recently did a photo session for the family below. They're friends of ours so it was fun getting together. Not to mention they're such a good looking family! Honestly, I couldn't believe how great their boys did! After the session we went and picked up Ellah and headed to Peter Piper Pizza with all of us, it was a perfect evening.

Potential Dating Material for Ellah below, you can't tell me their boys aren't handsome little guys:

Happy Halloween

2008-10-31T14:21:00.000-07:00

I have a spooky but "nice" (as Ellah puts it) little witch on my hands who had fun ringing grandma's doorbell over and over for treats last night!

Holiday Boutique-Saturday

2008-10-27T09:11:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone! This coming Saturday November 1st there is going to be a super fun Holiday Boutique. You can see the flyer below for information. It should be really fun because almost everything there is handmade, unique, one of a kind items! If you have time come stop by and check it out. Hope to see you there!!

Here's a glimpse of of some of the vendors:

Handbags By Dani's Designs

By Kim:

The Corner Boutique

By TuTu Heaven

By Pearl and Pauper

By Vintage Bliss

Holiday Magic

Frills & Thrills

Sasssy Cakes

Miami, Arizona

2008-10-21T21:43:00.000-07:00

Brian and I headed up to Miami, AZ last week to do a shoot. This was a little different shoot than usual..it was for a funeral. The family wanted a picture of everyone. It was the first time that the siblings had all been together since the 1980's! I'm grateful for the opportunity to help capture memories for this family that will be passed down for generations to come. I only wish it was under different circumstances.
On a side note: I have to thank my best friend in the entire world, Bri Babe, for coming with me! He's so supportive and was so helpful with setting up equipment, holding reflectors, finding place to shoot, driving in the car with me, taking the day off work...I love you Bri, You're the best!

Here's a small glimpse of the afternoon:

Vintage Bliss

2008-10-19T12:18:00.000-07:00

Trendy Vintage Fashions has a new name and a new blog site! I did a shoot for Vintage Bliss last week again. I love hanging out with my two favorite girlfriends and think they make the perfect models! Take a look at the new clothing for Vintage Bliss. Also check out the Vintage Bliss site for Authentic True Religion jeans for nearly 1/2 the price! Shelly is amazing, fun and easy to talk to and work with so if you have questions about the clothing at all or want to try it on send her an email, her contact info is listed on her Vintage Bliss blog site. Plus, there are additional styles not show her but shown on her site!

http://www.vintage-bliss.blogspot.com/

Beautiful Baby B

2008-10-13T08:32:00.000-07:00

On Friday I did a newborn shoot of 10 day old Baby B. She is so beautiful and was almost the same measurements as Ellah was at birth! It really made me miss having a new little baby. This is A's (B's mom) first baby and she is such an amazing mother already! I love seeing the love between a newborn and their mom, there is nothing more tender and sweet. Here's a few sneak preview for A... Keep an eye on my website throughout the week as I will add more pictures from this shoot as well as others!

My awesome long time friend, Lindsey with TuTu Heaven (http://www.tutuheaven.blogspot.com/), made this amazing and adorable infant tutu for this shoot! Check out her blog as she is always adding new designs and styles. They're adorable for pictures and just for fun!

My Favorite Girl in the Whole Wide World

2008-10-05T07:39:00.000-07:00

That's what I say to Ellah every night before I shut her door at night. A couple nights ago she said, "mom you're my favorite girl too!" Do you ever go through stages where you think your kids are the cutest things and you just can't get enough of them? So she was a little grouchier this past week but honestly I love the stage and age that she is at right now. I love how hard she tries to explain things just perfectly or how innocently she asks me questions. My favorite phrases lately:

Mom want to come to my house (her bedroom) with me? (As she's looking intently at my eyes and shaking her head yes as she waits for me to answer

Mom do you know how much I love you

Mom is today my birthday (it's not for a couple of months, she asks me this several times a day)
I told her, her birthday was still a long ways away and her most perfectly innocent answer was okay mom we will drive to my birthday then

I'm all ready for preschool mom (she's not in preschool but always loads up her backpack getting read to go!)

Daddy do you love my mommy?

on Sunday morning, Mommy is Daddy at work and school?

Daddy always shares his baseball games with me mommy and that's so nice of him

I just love miss Ellah and I feel so grateful every single day to be her mom! It's amazing how much she teaches me.
I have so many pictures of her, here our a few of my latest favorites...

I am thinking about getting this one in a 16x20 for my house...

And getting this one in a 10x20

I love her big blue eyes!

Another Christmas Card... My October deal is going on until the end of the month!

October Special!!

2008-09-28T14:28:00.000-07:00

Here's the Deal for October...

Anyone who books and completes a photo session in the month of October will get 25 Holiday Cards included for free with their session!

Here's a sneak peek of a few of the custom cards I have created for my clients!

Sisters

2008-09-21T13:56:00.000-07:00

Sisters are the best and my 2 sisters are no exception! My little sis flew in town from TX for a visit (I'm sad she's already gone!). It was so much fun having her around. I think I mentioned this a few posts ago... but my sister has had some major health issues and has been bedridden and in a wheel chair for over a year. Things have changed!! With a surgrey, and LOTS of faith and prayers in her behalf she is now walking again and found a way to to cope with her condition. It was awesome picking her up from the aiport without a wheelchair!! I'm so proud of her and admire her determination. She's the best auntie to the kiddos too. Now we just need to find her a hot man!
The three of us had a little too much fun spending time together (I'll save those pictures for another day, if I need to get back at one of them!)... Thanks to one of my bday gifts (tripod) we were able to capture a picture of the three of us!

My two sisters hugging as soon as the saw each other at the airport

My two sisters again, the one on the right is my sis. from TX

The three of us (I guess the 4 of us b/c my sis on left is prego with her 3rd!)

A WEBSITE! and... Some New Shoots!

2008-09-08T21:41:00.000-07:00

Wow! This has been a busy and fun past couple of weeks. I have been working so hard on getting a website up and going! And doing a few shoots in between... It's a lot of work making so many decisions but it feels awesome to have it finished (there may be a few tweaks but nothing big)!!
My new site url is:

http://www.camillegouldphotography.com/

Thanks again for all your encouraging comments! If you know anyone looking for a photographer and you like my work please pass along my site! Thanks!!

Trendy Vintage Fashions just received a new shipment which means photo time for me! The best part about doing this shoot was I got to use some of my most amazing and beautiful girlfriends as my models to work with! There's nothing better than working together with your girlfriends, and they pulled off the look awesome! Aren't they hot?! And the clothes look adorable on both of them. Way to go ladies... Check out the new clothes for Trendy Vintage Fashions. To get the look or see more pictures check out the site (http://www.trendyvintagefashions.blogspot.com/)

Prior to doing this shoot I had the opportunity to do a shoot for a long time friend of mine! I just have to say that Brandi is the most amazing woman! She has gone through some hard times recently and I can't help but admire her strength and determination to press forward. She is a Fabulous mother and is a shining to example of faith to those she surrounds. I love ya Brandi! You gorgeous mama!! By the way aren't her boys adorable?! The oldest one is already a charming little ladies man!

My Little Love Bug

2008-09-02T12:42:00.000-07:00

I love this little gal! The only complaint that I have is that she keeps growing!! I always tell her to stop growing but she does it anyways. These days Preschool is mostly what occupies Ellah's mind. She loads up and puts on her backpack every day to get ready for "Preschool." I'm crossing my fingers that I can get her in come January! She is very passionate about doing EVERYTHING herself these days too, to the extreme. If I turn on a light she turns it off and turns it back on herself. If I help her in her carseat she climbs out and climbs back in herself. Pretty much she does this with everything. It requires an immense amount of patience from a busy mom or dad but we'll still keep her and work on the patient part ourselves... She's learning to count things out pretty good now too! She can usually count up to 5 items and can count to at least 10 or 12 outloud. She loves staying SUPER SUPER BUSY! The other night I realized, after the fact, that she (we) had gone through 3 activities, play-dough, painting and popbeads within 25 minutes. WOW! She's the best, we'll keep her and Love her ALWAYS!

Trendy Vintage Fashions

2008-08-24T13:38:00.001-07:00

A week or so ago I had the opportunity to do a shoot for an upcoming clothing company called Trendy Vintage Fashions. It was so much fun working with Shelly to get these pictures done! The clothing is adorable, I may have to get a few things! Here's a few shots from the shoot. Check out the blog for price details and more pictures...

http://www.trendyvintagefashions.blogspot.com/

Fun in the Sun

2008-08-17T15:25:00.000-07:00

A week ago Brian, Ellah and I went to Carlsbad, CA. We have some friends who invited us (thanks guys!) to stay for part of the week in their beach house. We made some good memories and really enjoyed spending some time away from work and the Arizona heat! Ellah was so cute and LOVED the waves and playing in the sand. As for Brian and I who, doesn't love the beach?! We even got some family pictures, thanks to Bri who got me the perfect birthday presents to make that possible!

HIGHLIGHT of the TRIP: It's kind of a you had to be there moment but I'll share it anyways. The 3 of us went to Scripps Aquarium one afternoon in LaJolla. They have a little rock outside with pools of water. The little pools of water had little play crabs, star fish, lobsters, fish, etc. for the kids to pick up and play with. They did look real but they were just pretend. Anyways Ellah was scared to death of them. Every time a kid would pick one up and stand next to her she jumped so far back. She wouldn't take her eyes off of them. Eventually, after about 10 minutes or so she got up the courage to pick one up but she would hurry and thrown it back down as soon as she grabbed it. Honestly, like I said you probably had to be there, but it was one of the funniest things I've seen. I wish I'd had it on video.

Here's some a few pictures that we got...

2 Family Shoots Last Week

2008-08-05T23:12:00.000-07:00

Last week was fun and busy for me! Not only was it such a fun week (see previous post...) but I also had the opportunity to do 2 family shoots.

Here are a few pictures from my first shoot for Greer (Molly's mom). Aren't Sydney, Alex and Bo (the kiddos) adorable?! I think so and I'm not just biased because they're my nieces and nephew, they're so cute, even though they wanted to run all over the place!

A few days later Sally asked me to do a shoot of her family (i.e. brothers, sisters and dad). All 5 siblings plus her dad were in town and they needed some pictures done... They're such a good looking bunch and were so easy going with with the whole process even in the 110 degree weather!

I had to post this picture too... It was so funny Ellah usually never wants me to take pictures of her but as soon as she saw Ruby and Kate (the two adorable girls above) hamming it up for the camera, she was ready to strut her stuff too. Here's Ellah trying to do a "modeling pose"...

What a FUN week!

2008-08-03T14:41:00.000-07:00

This was such a fun, exciting and perfect week! Here are a few of the highlights

Monday: I got a NEW CAR to drive!!! Are you kidding, I didn't know that cars actually have ipod hook-ups, drive in automatic, tell you the outside temperature along with your estimated MPG... I have been driving a 97' purple Toyota Corolla for 11 years now!! Since I was 16. Luckily, I don't have to say goodbye to Miss Corolla completely though because this is now Brian's "new" car. I feel kind of bad that he's stuck driving it but we just can't get rid of her. She has been through so much with me... driving through fresh tar, numerous tickets, an accident (driving in the front seat with another girlfriend together), driving back and forth from Boise time and time again... She has 150,000 miles on her and runs perfect other than an oil change here and there... My new ride is an 09' Scion XB! love it! It gets awesome gas mileage and still drives like a smaller car (which I love!) so I can easily zip around.

TUESDAY: Tuesday was my birthday! It was a PERFECT day! Thank you so, so, so much for all the nice cards, gifts, calls and everything it meant sooo much! I feel so blessed to have so many close friends and family in my life.
A group of my girlfriends took my to brunch at Crackers, then off to get pedicures and ended wtih a perfect shopping trip at the mall. You know it's a good day when you find the perfect shirt at the mall and it rings up Way Less than you were expecting! Yeah I got my favorite find (shirt) of the day for $5! Later that night I just couldn't leave Ellah with a babysitter at night too... She was so excited to celebrate with me so Brian was so cute him and Ellah made me lemon bars (one of my favs!) and a cute card. We ordered pizza and all hung out together it was perfect! Not to mention Brian got me an external Flash for our camera and a super nice tripod so we can get some good fam. pictures now!

My hottie husband

The bedtime routine... yeah, sometimes I wish I could still feed Ellah a bottle just because it's so fun to cuddle her close...

WEDNESDAY: Brian finished his summer school final and has a couple weeks off from school!

Thursday: visited Brian's parents

Friday: Another Fabulous day! My amazing sister-in-law, Molly, had Ellah over for a sleepover!! Ellah was SOOO EXCITED that she wouldn't go down for her nap even. I took Ellah over @ noon and we didn't pick her up until Saturday @ 2:00! It was great! I missed her so much and worried on how she would do. To my complete relief, Molly said that all 3 girls slept together and were in bed by 8:30! Amazing! I was so glad to hear that! Brian and I went out to eat at Carrabbas and walked through some stores. Then we just came home and stayed up super late! It was so nice being able to wake up whenever I wanted to.

Saturday: Brian and I decided to pull out our raquet ball raquets that we purchased when we were dating. We played a few games of raquet ball and felt like we were getting heat stroke! Brian beat me almost 11-0 every game but I am improving...
Later that day we picked up Ellah and just hung out at home. We couldn't wait to see her! Brian and Ellah danced the night away in our family room!

What a perfect week! (not to mention two new photoshoots that I had fun doing! pictures to come soon...)

Sneak Preview For Jill!

2008-07-27T13:46:00.001-07:00

I had the opportunity to do a shoot of my friend's little guy Harrison. Seriously, he's adorable and busier than ever I must add! It was so fun taking pictues of him because he reminds me of my busy little Ellah. He's the cutest little cowboy I've seen!

Is this a sign of OCD?

2008-07-24T07:58:00.000-07:00

Ellah is so funny. She LOVES to color but she won't use the color crayon until ALL (I mean every last piece) of paper is pulled off of it. It got to be a little frustrating because she's always asking me to color with her. So I would sit down to color and all she would do for 30 minutes straight is peel the paper off the crayons... I think every crayon has the paper off now, so we're good for lots of pretty pictures now (FINALLY!)...

Family Texas Photo Shoot

2008-07-20T13:06:00.000-07:00

I'm finally posting a few of the pictures from the shoot I did with my parents (and my baby brother, Tanner). I took these when Ellah and I went to Dallas at the end of June. Tanner and Ellah are like brother and sister... They have so much fun playing together since they don't have any one else to play with (i.e. younger siblings) but they do tease each other too. They're so cute. Ellah tried to make sure she was in almost every picture but we did get a few shots without her too... Anyways thanks mom and dad for some fun pictures (I hope you enjoy)!

Happy Late 4th of July!

2008-07-13T21:45:00.000-07:00

Before my actual "POST" I really wanted to tell everyone thank-you so much for all your nice and generous comments on my photography! It is so encouraging and I really appreciate it! So Thanks! I am working on putting together a website right now and getting my photography business going... Anyways thanks again it always means a lot!

For the 4th of July weekend the 3 of us headed up to Payson for the weekend. We have a "family" cabin there and thought it would be a nice little get-away for the weekend. We knew that there was going to be some family already up at the cabin but my sister gave me the heads up that there would be a room for us too... I got a call right as we were leaving our house with the message that, "sleeping conditions were a little rough..." We showed up on Friday morning to find a cabin full of 29 people (including kiddos)! Wowsie! It was really a lot of fun despite the sleeping conditions. Yeah, the 3 of us were able to share a twin bunk bed in the family room downstairs. I don't think I slept a wink for 2 reasons, 1 because Ellah was literally kicking me as hard as she could like I was some wall that just wouldn't budge and 2 because I was just sure as can be that every time Brian moved on that top bunk that it was going to come crashing down on Ellah and I at any given moment... But we did make it through the night and Ellah had TONS of fun playing with her cousins. I had so much fun playing games with my fam. and had way TOO much to eat, like usual. Here are some pictures of our adventure...

Brian got this AWESOME shot! He's so great with the camera. This is my favorite picture of the trip and one of my favorites all together. The sky was so pretty and stormy and the kids were having so much fun playing together (all 4 are cousins)...

This picture cracks me up because Brixon, my adorable little Nephew, is wearing Ellah's sneakers. He would did not want to take them off for HOURS for anything... LOL

On Saturday the 3 of us headed to a little carnival. We got there a little too late for any of the activities but we did have some "interesting" BBQ and Brian's name was chosen from the raffle! He won a free ice-cream to McDonalds, anywhere up North...

I love holding my little babe when she is asleep only because it doesn't happen very often anymore...

Recent Shoot for My New Nephew

2008-07-07T08:42:00.000-07:00

My brother and sister-in-law just welcomed a new little guy, my nephew, Bo Harry Gould into the world. He was born at the end of May. He is seriously one of the cutest little babies. Here's a few shots from our shoot...

This is one of my favorite shots only because I love that it captures his little smile while he is sleeping. Anyone that has kids knows how precious it is to see your newborn smile while they're so peacefully asleep... You can't help but wonder what all they can see and remember.

Meet Miracle Baby Bela

2008-06-05T22:08:00.000-07:00

So I recently had the opportunity to do some shots for my friend Avery of her little precious baby Bela. Bela was born with "Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS). It is one of the most complex cardiac defects seen in the newborn and remains probably the most challenging to manage of all congenital heart defects." Before Bela was born Avery was told that, "I'd probably lose her soon after we found out (around 18 weeks) to being told now that she'll be born and have 3 open heart surgeries with a very unsure outcome."

Bela is now 3 months old and fights everyday to stay alive. Her story is truly a miracle. She has already undergone several surguries and has beaten all the odds.

The Sunday following this portrait session, Bela went into heart failure twice. The day after being revived from heart failure x-rays showed that her lungs were completely full of either fluid or mucus of some sort. Still, Bela has beaten the odds every day since then. That's not to say that life has been comfortable or easy. When I was taking her picture I could hear her fight to breath in every breath she took. She is a real determined little gal.

I am convinced that Bela is still alive today because of her faith and because of the faith of her mom and dad. It has been so humbling to see all of the miracles that have taken place with her. Avery and Tanner are an amazing example to everyone who knows what they are going through. You will not meet anymore more humble, loving, and strong in their faith than they are right now in this very trying time. Through their difficult times they have been a light house to those around them, strengthening many of our testimonies

Please remember Bela in your thoughts and prayers as she has an upcoming surgrey which will be the most invasive yet.

Here are a few shots of the many taken of sweet little Bela...

In this first picture you can see Bela's scar from where she had surgrey. I believe it tells the story of all that she has gone through and what a fighter she is...

Averi is so sweet and gentle with Bela it's so perfect. She might tell you she's stressed out but I feel peace when I've been around her more than anything...

This is Bela's little brother, Benson. Ellah and him are only a month apart. He is such a cute kid and I can tell that he loves his little sister dearly...

Recent Photo Shoot for Family

2008-05-26T08:19:00.001-07:00

My cousin asked me to do some pictures her, her sister Kelsey and their mom Carrie. It was so different and so much fun doing some adult pictures since usually I just take them of moving kids. I'm planning on starting a photography business in the near future so I really enjoyed getting some more practice. Here are a few shots...

Family Vacation

2008-05-15T14:24:00.000-07:00

So Brian, Ellah and I just got back from our "summer vacation!" We went to Southern CA for about 5 days. It was so much fun hanging out. I totally recommend purchasing a GPS if you don't already have one, it made the trip a MILLION times easier and less stressful.

The Highlight of the trip was definitely watching Ellah get excited about everything. We could see the fireworks at Disneyland from our hotel and Ellah just kept saying over and over "oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh." It was the funnest thing ever, I wish we had a video camer to capture that moment.

Anyways here are some photos from our trip...

The first day we went to the beach we thought we would just stop by for a few minutes. Well Ellah went nuts, she was so excited to run and play in the sand and water that she just started ripping off all of her clothes....

On Mother's Day we went to Hollywood (hollyweird) and walked down Hollywood Blvd.

I'm kind of glad that there were a bunch of weirdos dressed up as different characters in Hollywood so that way when we went to Disneyland we didn't have to feel so bad about not waiting in line to see Mickey. Ellah got so excited when she saw Dora and Elmo she was jumping all over the place running into their arms. Brian had to fork over the bucks for these pictures...

We spent one afternoon at Disneyland. It was a perfect day. We met some friends at Disneyland for the day too...
When Brian and Ellah went on the rocketship ride below Brian said Ellah just kept saying "Oh my goodness" when they were up in the air...

Ellah got so made she couldn't get Minnie Mouse's oven to open up

All tuckered out but not willing to just give into sleeping...

A Visit to the NorthWest

2008-05-03T14:53:00.000-07:00

So this past week, Ellah and I had the opportunity of going to Salem, OR. We went to visit my brother and sister-in-law. My brother just had surgrey on his stomach (not fun) so we went to help out. I don't know how much help we were but they were so much fun to stay with. Traveling with a 2 year old can be kind of difficult and Parker and Tara made our trip so comfortable and relaxing, they're the best!

Oregon is so beautiful! I just loved driving around and looking at all the tulips and cherry blossom trees, which were amazing. My only complaint is that it was cold and rainy for most of the time. I would go again though it was so beautiful. We got to visit the beach which was a fun adventure. It was chilly but amazing and it was so much fun being able to fly a kite!

Ellah is getting into an imagination stage, it's so so cute. My favorite Ellah quotes from the trip are:

"Mommy I have cocoon in my ear"
"Mommy Aunt Tara go to store to get baby"
"Parker you a dinasour"
"Parker you eat Dinasour's"
"Mommy I have a spider in my ear, get out of there spider"

Here are some pictures. Parker isn't able to do much so we didn't get too many pictures of him and unfortunately he really overdid it when he picked up Ellah in this picture...

This is Tara, my lovely and super sweet sister-in-law...

This is where they live...

Interesting fact about myself: I lived in Salem, OR when I was younger while my dad was going to law school. We drove past my old preschool, still up and running...

Parker loves his home ridiculously cold, Ellah and were freezing our buns off. Finally the day we were leaving he showed us the heater. Ellah and I were both so excited that we kicked off our shoes and stood right in front of it to defrost our frost bitten bodies...

It was so beautiful, there were tuplips like these below everwhere...

Here are some pictures from our adventures on the Pacific Coast...

It's was such a fun little vacation but like always I'm glad to be home again to not have to share a bed wth a toddler anymore and to see Bri Babe