Kristen {class of 2010}

Before we even took our first picture Kristen’s teeth were chattering! What happened to fall anyway???

But it wasn’t too long before she was totally rocking the session, she was a total natural in front of the camera!

I saw the sun coming through the trees and I just knew I had to capture this image! I love it! Sun flare? Yummy, yes please!

This is the point when she wouldn’t stop doing cute things and we couldn’t stop capturing them…I was loving it!

Kristen - We had such a great time with you, it is a session we won’t soon forget! After all it will go down in history as the first session combined with an animal rescue! Beyond the rescue, you are beautiful and we are so happy you chose us to capture your senior portraits! We can’t wait to get them all ready for you to see!

The great cat rescue of 2009...

I am finding it very difficult to put into words just how funny this story is. Here is my feeble attempt…just laugh, trust us, it was hilarious!

We were shooting Kristen’s senior portraits (blog is coming soon) and we were down by the river when I noticed a cat coming up towards us from the river. Admittedly, cats kind of freak us out. We have only had experiences with cats when they act sweet and then either whack us (yes Gizmo, here’s looking at you!), or they start hissing. Our dogs don’t hiss. Barking I can deal with, hissing scares us.

So anyway, Kristen was very brave. Perhaps it was because I was begging Eric to rescue it, we HAD to, it had a Home Again tag on its collar. Our dogs have Home Again tags and I would be devastated if someone saw our dogs loose and didn’t call us. Both Eric and I didn’t jump at the idea of attempting to grab the cat…so why not put our senior in charge?!!? Kristen was a great cat wrangler and totally got the cat in her arms.

Then it was my turn….I had to get close to the cat to read the phone number….GULP. I just said I had to get close to the cat….close, as in my hand by its face….you know, the part of the cat that HISSES!

“Nice kitty, nice kitty, oh you are a very, Eric, dial 515, nice sweet , 231, lovable kitty, 28XX, oh good kitty. WHEW! OK Eric, you got that phone number?”

Yep, he did! Brave Kristen is still holding the cat at this point. No answer on the other end. OK what do we do now? Bright idea from me…just put it in our car until we can get ahold of someone…I didn’t want it getting away. Eric gave me the questionable look…you really want me to put this cat in our car? I know in the back of his mind he was thinking about the time I maybe got a little upset when he hit the side of our garage with our month old car….yep, the same car I wanted him to put this lost cat in. But it was all in the name of an animal rescue, it was OK!

Here is where it all gets a little dicey….

Kristen passed the cat off to Eric. Remember, we don’t know much about cats other than they have claws, hiss and swat at our face. So how does Eric hold the cat? Close your eyes to imagine this visual…it is sure to crack you up! He held the cat straight out in front of him to ensure all legs were out of touching distance to his face. Imagine a new daddy carrying a baby with a dirty diaper….there was no cuddling happening!

At that point I turned around and kept going with Kristen’s session. And the next time I looked back, I saw the car door open and Eric CHASING after the cat…..hehehehe!!! It escaped! At that point another lady started feeling back for this obvious novice cat handler and got the cat back in her arms and she actually knew how to hold a cat. Eric then called the number on the tag again….and he got an answer!!! BONUS!

The conversation went like this:

Eric: Is this Troy?
Troy: Yes
Eric: Hi Troy, my name is Eric and I am calling because I have your cat
Troy: Oh Miss Kitty is out? Well, she knows her way home, she’ll come back
Eric: So you want me to let her go? (Completely baffled by what has transpired in the conversation)
Troy: Yeah, Miss Kitty knows her way home

The great cat rescue of 2009 = FAILURE!! After all, Miss Kitty knows her way home.

Thank you Kristen and Brenda for helping in this crazy adventure! It was certainly a session to remember!

Handsaker family

We always love to see our cousins and were excited to be able to capture the Handsakers again!

I am in love with this family picture...how can it not just bring an instant smile to your face?!?!

Layla has a full time job trying to keep up with her little brother who is one determined little boy. Actually they are both very determined little kids. We attempted a hug…we had one who was determined to GIVE a hug and another who was determined to ESCAPE the hug. I’ll let you decide who was who….

It all ended with Layla saying, “Brother, why are you so crazy?” hehehehe!!

How great is this interaction that we captured? Oh how cute, Cooper is so excited to be running with a stick of leaves. So excited his tongue is even out….

Uh oh….(I spy a collision in T minus 1 second)

So is that what retaliation from a hug looks like for a 2 year old?

Brother needs his space to work (note picture above - the face of DETERMINATION). He is without a doubt going to be quite the little worker bee. He does not see his age or size as a barrier of any sort. While we were there he saw a wagon filled with pumpkins that needed to be in another location….so he moved it…the weight of it didn’t phase him in the least. He wanted to pick up a ladder so he could get to his slide…so he attempted to pick it up. It didn’t get anywhere, but it didn’t stop him from giving it a try…nothing is going to hold this boy back…watch out world!

Layla perfected her bridge while we were there….seriously…perfect bridge don’t you think? It is so cool to watch kids master things. I never thought how weird it is to get your arms and hands going in the right direction to make a bridge. We could see her little mind working to figure it out….and that she did!

Handsakers - As always we love to come see you guys and spend time with the kids….Layla’s thoughts and Cooper’s one track mind always crack us up! We love you guys and are so blessed that we are able to capture these moments for you!

Shae

Brought her whole family for pictures!

She LOVED flowers! I think she might be taking after her Great Grandma Leona! Seriously, she was not content unless she had fistfuls of flowers! It was so stinking cute!

I love that little kids have no clue if they have a face full of hair or not. As long as they are doing something they enjoy, life is perfect….and we think so too! We love to capture the true essesce of life at each stage….pretty sure this does it!

Shae – Thank you for bringing your whole family to Ames to hang out for while! You are such a little sweetie! The hugs you shared sealed the deal!

Brandon {class of 2010}

Whoa….could it have been any colder for your session?!!? I’m not so sure! Brrrrrr!!!! You rocked it none the less!

There is nothing like keeping a smile on your face despite being in the middle of freezing cold drizzle….ah yes, just keep dreaming of those Florida beaches!

The sun did eventually shine through and the shivering came to a stop….thank goodness!

Lookin’ good Brandon!

Brandon – Thanks for sticking it out with us! You rocked the session and we can’t wait to get the rest of the images to you!

Diehl family

When Sam greeted us at their door and was ready to give us a tour I knew we were in for a good session! He and his brother were totally ready for us to come and even had many of their favorite things picked out to show us....it was awesome!

They love their guitars...this family of rock stars!

Sam is the builder in the family. He had THREE K'NEX systems built and fully functional and it wasn't long before we showed us his model of General Grievous....with Sam's eyes! We absolutely love when kids get creative with us!

Cade is the animated one....and boy oh boy he didn't disappoint! What a hoot he was! But I just have to share a moment of peace with his beloved blanket. His favorite part of his blankets are the tags...I love how worn they are! Such a great memory for Cade!

Don't worry he brought his animation out before too long...

A sweet moment of brotherly love...

Diehl family- Thank you for inviting us to your home! We loved that the boys were totally into the session and shared all their favorite things with us! We had a great time with all of you...hope the hot chocolate warmed everyone up after we left!!

Grant

I’m not quite sure where the time has gone, but Grant is already TWO!! He is such a little man now. His haircut and height make his seem sooooo big!

Nothing slips past this little guy, in fact he was quick to tell me daddy was the one who got paint on the grass….busted daddy!

And then he showed me how he could climb his fence! Yes, my heart about jumped out my throat when he started the climb….but I captured it anyway! Check out his expression….priceless!

This one is definitely my new favorite and it kinda makes me want to cry...it is just too sweet! This is after Grant came back down the fence from climbing and his daddy was there to "high-five" his big boy accomplishment! Oh....my...goodness!!!

Grant – You are breaking my heart by growing up so fast! Seriously, it feels like just last month I came to your house to meet you as a teeny tiny little baby! And now I’m watching you climb fences and play jokes on your mom! You are a one cool dude and I am so happy that I get to share in your little life!