Hello August, School, and a Birthday!

For everyone who's waiting on Part 2 of Our Detour, this is not it. This is an "oh my goodness, I can't believe the girls are going to school!" post. Oh my goodness. Not only can I not believe that I've put them in school, I can not believe that their first day is already here!

 

We did the half day/registration day last week and everything went well. Registration day pictures :)

 

 

 

Mary's classroom and teacher are awesome. She was excited to meet new friends and is looking forward to the third grade adventure! Her classroom theme is The Third Grade Explorers. Mary was definitely born to explore!

 

 Taylor said that she felt very welcomed by her new classmates and teachers. Everyone was super friendly and helpful. We were sent home with a mountain of papers and forms and the usual beginning of the year fundraiser stuff. I'm sure some parents are annoyed with the mountain but I'm not. I get it. After being the PTO president at Taylor's elementary school years ago, followed by 5 years of homeschooling, I can totally understand the amount of time, money, effort, and papers! it takes to run a successful school. 

 

 

We made a quick (not-so-quick) run to fill up on school supplies and we were READY! Except that three of our notebooks were wrong, we forgot the antibacterial wipes, and we couldn't decide if the mixed media paper would work for canvas paper. But eventually we got it all worked out, after two more trips to the store ;)

 

So... on to the birthday part of the first day of school. Yes, the first day of third grade was also Mary's 8th birthday! Craziness!! So what do you do when your child is super nervous about her first day/birthday? You bake something fun, I guess.

 

Here's my version of unhealthy birthday cookie sandwiches.

 

1 box of funfetti cake mix

1/2 cup butter

8 oz. cream cheese

1 egg

Lots of sprinkles

Mini m&ms

Mini chocolate chips

 

Mix all of that together and chill for about 10 minutes.

 

 

Roll into balls and roll in powdered sugar. Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes.

 

 

Cool.

 

 

Admire the awesomeness (forgive my phone pics)

 

 

Bandage a boo-boo and wash hands.

 

 

Spread on some vanilla marshmallow frosting (store bought) and smush together. Roll edges in sprinkles.

 

*As I admired these lovely cookie sandwiches I realized something. Sending these extremely gooey sugar sandwiches in, for third graders to attempt to eat at lunch on the first day of school may not be the best idea.

 

So.... back to the drawing board (or kitchen).

 

 

Truffles!

 

 

I made truffles for the class to enjoy at lunch. The gooey cookie sandwiches were sent home with each kid as a treat. Double the fun, right!

 

 

 

It took some time to organize and then reorganize but I think we got everything where it needed to be.

 

 

Since Mary's teacher Mrs. B's theme for the year is The Third Grade Explorers, I decided that I just had to make her a canvas for her classroom! I hope she loves it!

 

Happy Back to School Kiddies!

Journey Through Photography

I'm so excited to introduce a new chapter of my journey today!

 

 

 Journey's Photography

 

Please visit my photo gallery to view samples of my work.

 

 

Life is a precious gift filled with many wonderful, memorable milestones that can be too easily forgotten. My goal is to capture unique images of life's beautiful seasons for each and every client and preserve the beloved memories of today for years to come.

 

 

The gifts of the seasons

Spring- The beginning of life. Life in the womb, followed by the miracle of birth. Childhood youth is the very definition of wonder, amazement, excitement, and of course fun. There are so many special memories to be captured in this season.

Summer-  A time of preparation for the future. A season of growing. Growing ourselves in love, wisdom, family, and spirit. The days are long and often consumed by the labor of work, children, stress and busy schedules. The memories fly by quickly during this season.

Fall- A time to treasure. Children are moving on, beginning their own lives, their own creations, and their own memories. Still keeping alive the memories of themselves by seeing them relived in grandchildren. Life changes but is just as precious in this season of harvesting blessings.

Winter- The days of appreciation and wisdom. Youth is long gone. Love still remains. The gift of life is cherished now more than ever. A time to sit back and enjoy the fruit of your labor, to observe younger generations as they move through their own seasons of life. A time to call upon your own special memories.

My desire is to provide professional quality images for all of life's seasons. Exquisite photos for you to proudly display, share with friends and family, and preserve the amazing gift of life.

There is no art more beautiful than a memory. And one day these dirty little faces, elderly smiles, and young love stricken eyes will be just that, a memory.

I am honored to be a part of preserving life and photographically documenting life's precious milestones for my clients. I encourage you to bring special personal items such as blankets/quilts, stuffed animals, live animals or family heirlooms to be photographed with, to add additional significance to your portraits.

 

 

Portrait Mini Sessions- 30 minute session

Disc with approximately 10 fully edited high resolution images with print release.

$50 ($75 on location)

Portrait Sessions- 60 minute session (1 wardrobe change)

Disc with approximately 15 fully edited high resolution images with print release.

$75 ($100 on location)

Professional Print Pricing

8 wallets $10

5x7 $10

8x10 $20

11x14 $35

16x20 $50

Custom Cards (seasonal, greeting, postcards, etc.) 

Set of 25 with envelopes

 $50

Also available:

 Professionally framed prints

Boutique framed prints

Standout canvas prints 

 

 

 

 



Art For Me

 

I was working on my photo gallery wall this week and there was this empty place on the wall that was just screaming "canvas". I couldn't take it anymore. So in the midst of my crazy life, I drug out all of my craft supplies and made this for myself.

 

 

I have to admit, I do not have any of my own art displayed in my house. I've tried hanging my own pieces in the past but I would just find myself staring at them and obsessing about them. They never really feel complete to me. But anyways, I really needed something on that wall. So this is it. I like it.