Schamp family...

Thanks for welcoming us back to Ponca with open arms! What fun it was to be back with you guys (and the rest of your friends!)

How adorable is this image of Ally? Seriously, this totally sums up “4 year old girl” better than anything I could imagine…I LOVE it!

Oh and you wanted to see something that says, “I’m a totally cool dude”? Here you go!


I am freaking out over this one…I love everything about it. I love Ally hanging on to mom’s leg tighter than tight and little Connor wanting to be independent and go out on his own, yet he can’t quite let go of dad’s hand. Ummmmmm…..SO SWEET!

OK, and here’s one last one that I can’t resist. We thought we should introduce you to our future colleague…meet photographer Ally…

Schamp’s – As always thanks for getting everyone organized and inviting us back! It’s only been a few months, but Connor certainly has gotten bigger. Little Ally was just as sweet as last time! Let us know when she’s ready for he first gig and we’re ready to have her assist us! ☺

Arkovich family

This little guy has grown up A LOT since we last saw him! It’s almost been a year and our jaws dropped when we saw him walking on his own! This is when we realize just how fast time is flying!

There was no stopping him. I’m not sure he knew exactly where he wanted his final destination to be, but he did know he wanted to walk himself there. However, there was nothing like the safety of dad’s legs once he got there.

I love this one… here is his “how youuuuuu doing” look. ☺

Arkovich family – I’m so glad we got to see you again, under better weather conditions this time! ☺ We knew it had been a year, but seriously, we were just stunned by how much Cooper had grown up…he is such a little man now! So adorable!
P.S. Thanks Mike for letting us know what was going on around our a house a few weeks ago! It’s nice to have people “in the know” ☺

Niebuhr Family...

We literally rolled into town just in time for this session. Honestly, we had quite the interesting trip back to LeMars for this session. It involved just missing an accident, an incident with ice cream at McDonalds (yes, we had to stop for a treat!) and a car packed so full, we should have had a luggage rack on top! So mom and dad met us at the park to pick up with dogs so we could start the session before the sun set....good times!

But I am happy we were just late enough to capture the kids with the sun coming through at just the right angle....LOVE IT!

The Niebuhr family's middle name should be music, band, flags....I don't know, anything music related would describe them to a T! Here are the boys with their instruments...

and the girls with their flags...

And I have to admit, I'm saving the best one as a surprise Niebuhr's. I am so excited to get your gallery to you! Let's just say there is an image that just SCREAMS your family...are you feeling the suspense yet? :) I promise it will be worth the wait...the gallery is not far behind! Until then, enjoy the sneak peak!

The Moll Family...

This session might be just short of a miracle. No really, I'm not joking...this session was originally going to happen in early September! 4-5 tries later, we were finally able to connect!

Cohen is just so stinking cute, that one of his "friends" at daycare thought so too and thought that a bite on his cheek would be a lot more affectionate than just a kiss. That was the start of the re-schedules. :) But he is all healed up and looking mighty fine now!

He did not bring along his little pucker like last time, but he did bring along Bobby...

How sweet is that?!?! I just love this image of him and his little buddy Bobby!

Moll family - Yay!! We got to see you again! We knew it would work out, despite all the roadblocks. I'm pretty sure we could not have asked for a more perfect day though! It was perfect! There was one thing I did learn...I will never challenge Cohen to a cheese eating contest! :) I will be in touch soon!

Ok, ok, ok....

I've heard you and I understand I may have been the only one who welcomed the blog break. :)

I now know there are more readers out there in lurker land...come on out and comment! Comments motivate me to keep going! And because of your in-person comments about my break, I'm coming back! :)

I have LOTS to blog about...whew, not sure when I'll get caught up. But there are at least 6 families, 1 wedding, a surprise birthday party and a healthy dog update waiting to make an appearance here....with ALOT more coming this weekend and the following weeks!

Stay tuned...

Dear blog,

I don't know how to say this or break it to you easily....so I might as well just blurt it out. OK, here I go...no really, are you ready?

I need to take a little break from you. Now, now, now, don't start getting those tears welling up, my computer could not handle water damage right now. But I promise I will be back.

It's just a little break to get caught up. This girl is getting further behind by the minute. I have lots of families (don't you see their pretty faces below...don't look down too much, I really can't have those tears falling), that need to see the rest of their images. They've seen enough of the sneak peak's and now they need more!

So... this break is just temporary, but I needed to let you know so I could let go of my guilt for not updating. :)

This is Karen signing off the virtual world (but not for too long I promise!). It's just a little break...

I'll be back!!

Handsaker family...

has grown since the last time we captured them! Actually little Cooper was a bun the oven last time around!


We were greeted at the door by 2 adorable pictures Layla had painted for us...what a sweet and awesome welcome! She turned 3 a month ago and all she wanted was fingers paints and she got them and created masterpieces for us with them!

I was talking with Layla about how we could go play on the playset after we were done taking some pictures and then we could have so much fun playing and getting all messy and dirty. DUH Karen! Little girls don't like to get dirty! She promptly told me no, she didn't want to get dirty. :)

I have no doubt that little Cooper will take me up on the offer in a couple of years though! He is ALL boy....he loves to make noise, I just know that finding dirt is next on his list of things to accomplish! Tthe harder and louder he can bang something on the table...the better it is! Check out this little guy with his handsome hat! This is nearly too much to handle!

Guess what we got to do next? Take the puppies out to play!! Gosh, I wasn't in heaven or anything...no not at all!

This next story could have been the funniest story of the day. We were done taking pictures and were hanging out and talking. Layla wanted her umbrella on her picnic table. She was told she could go get as long as she could do it by herself. Nothing will stop Layla, she is a determined little girl! She promptly went inside and we all fully anticipated her coming back with nothing. Not so! Next thing we saw was the umbrella in her hand and she was ready to put it up! Looks pretty good doesn't it?!?!?

Cousin Handsaker family - :) We love hanging out with you guys and have so much fun capturing your family! We don't see each other often enough! But we do melt when Layla calls us by name and it seems like we are with her every day! And the way she says Cooper's name is the sweetest voice on earth! I love watching her and how much she cares for him! We can't wait to keep watching the little man as he grows up! I'm taking a rain check with Layla and will apply it to Cooper when he's ready to find that dirt pile with me!

P.S. Jen, you have to go get Layla for this next part. I promised her we would surprise you. It's about to come....

I had not seen Layla's room since it had been converted to her "big girl" room so Layla gave me the tour. It ended up turning into an impromptu photo session and I told Layla that it would be a big surprise for mommy when she saw the pictures. So here you go Layla...SURPRISE MOMMY!! :)