I was lucky enough to go last Saturday the 10th of March to Seattle.  It was rainy, but I was super excited.  I started wedding season 2012!

I know that not everyone is nearly as excited as I am, but I LOVE weddings with my whole heart.  And I am totally excited to be shooting so many weddings.  And my schedule is filling up fast from now until October!  And I already have 2013 weddings on the books. That makes me so happy.

On to what this is really about.  Sam, and Kelli.  Remember them?  They had a traditional March day for Seattle.  Rainy.  But the rain didn’t damper their spirits, or mine.  I am totally up for any weather.  Indianapolis broke me, Seattle rain doesn’t have anything on Indianapolis rain.  A little misting never hurts.

Kelli and Sam were married in the Seattle, Washington LDS Temple.  It is a gorgeous temple!  We found great spots to capture their wedding day even with the rainy weather.  But thankfully everything was bright green, and flowers were blooming.  That was more than I could say about Tri-Cities, so I welcomed the change.

Thank you Sam and Kelli for letting me capture your day, and your love!  I wish you all the best.

I love my job.  I know I say it all of the time, but I really do.  And I am so excited to share that I was featured on a great wedding blog today!!  If you are searching for great ideas for your wedding your should definitely check out Le Magnifique.  It is a great resource!  And today I was featured in this post.

I am always so honoured to be featured.  Thank you so much!!

And because all posts are better with a picture here is one that I love that wasn’t featured!

Have a rad weekend!  And look for some new wedding pictures on the blog this next week!  Wedding season is back!

WPPI 2012!  (Wedding and Portrait Photographer International)  It’s a huge event every year and I love attending WPPI!  It is a time to listen to great speakers.  Attend a killer trade show.  And network with rad people.  And of course there are lots of parties all over Las Vegas with great photographers and friends.

I started Monday morning early with a run.  I was determined to get my workout in, even though I was going on little sleep.  But I was able to watch the sunrise and be in the crisp but warmer Las Vegas air.  Thank you Colin and Jason for being my body guards so I could run early in the morning!

Monday it was non stop in the go.  And I loved every minute of the day.  We got dressed up and glammed up for Monday night. And even better I met tons of people. Seriously I am so blessed to have met the great people I did.  And reconnect with other great friends!  I am lame and took very few pics.. and most of them are from my iPhone.  If you are friends with me on Facebook you can see lots more.

We had tickets to the Ingrid Michaelson concert that was put on.. but life happens and I didn’t end up being able to make it.  Tuesday was a blur and Wednesday it was time to come home.  I came home exhausted and ready to sleep the rest of the week away.  Hopefully next week I will feel recovered.  It took a little more out of me than I expected.

But I have to thank my great roommates and friends for being the awesome people that they are, and for blessing my life.  You were amazing the WHOLE TIME.  And you will never know how truly grateful I am for you in my life.  The inspiration you bring to me, and also the sheer kindness and love you have shown me.  It means more to me than I can adequately express.  Thank you.

p.s. did you notice the new updated logo?  nothing huge just a little change.

Why I believe in being you.

Dallin, and Ainslee.  They are why I believe in being YOU.

I was amazed when Dallin was born in 2001 how strong and distinct his personality was.  He was this man in a tiny body.  And so often he still is, he is stoic and serious.  He thinks and is aware of everything going on around him.  He is intuitive and has a fierce need to be honest and to try to do what is right.  He will tell you more than you ever wanted to know about Beyblades or any other thing he is currently interested in.  He jumps in full force to whatever he commits to.  He is determined, and strong willed.  He is loyal.  It has amazed me to watch him grow and see how much has stayed consistent with who he is.

And just eighteen months later Ainslee came into our life.  She came in with her own personality.  I don’t know how to describe this girl other than a Princess.  She is light and happy.  She is silly and giggly.  She is loving and will snuggle you like no other.  She is passionate in all the things she does, happy or sad.  She is compassionate and kind.  She loves all cuddly living creatures.. no spiders or snakes.  She’s a dreamer, and she is confident in who she is.

Watching my kids has helped me to embrace what makes me, me.  I see things in my kids that I know comes from me, some of it makes me happy, other things I just shake my head at. But I don’t want my kids to change who they are.  I want them to be true to who they are.  And by being me, I show them it’s okay to be who they are.  By accepting my body for what God made it, it teaches them to accept theirs.  Did you know I have had 11 surgeries in the past 12 1/2 years?  I have a variety of scars.. they all make me stronger.

My kids.. they inspire me.

p.s. do you think my kids look alike?  I don’t.. so I am curious what you think.

I have mulled this over in my brain.  I think about this way too much and finally I have to share it.  I believe in this with my whole heart.

Do you ever wish you looked like someone else?  That your butt wasn’t so big, that your boobs were bigger, that your hair was straight, that your hair was curly, that your eyes were rounder, that your nose was smaller, that you were taller, that your feet were smaller, that you weren’t you?

It seems like every where we turn we are constantly being told what is beautiful, and it fits into this neat, little box, and has a perfect bow on it.  And unless we have plastic surgery, and are then photoshopped to the max we aren’t it. If we don’t spend an insane amount of time working out and counting every calorie we are told we won’t be it.  And you know what?  I am over it.

To the teenage girl who is growing and gets stretch marks.. I hear ya.  I grew so fast I had zebra stripes.. I wanted to hide them, because I was sure that they meant I was fat.  Not that my skin just couldn’t grow as fast as my bones.  And acne, oh my gosh.  I remember wanting to die.  But, I look back and wish I could tell my teenage self to embrace who I am.  The zebra stripes, well I am THAT tall.  I did grow THAT much, and I really like being THAT tall.  And stretch marks, well they happen.

To the engaged girl who is sure she needs to lose 5 more pounds to be beautiful, love yourself.  Be healthy.  Treat your body healthy.  I worried for years about losing 5 pounds to be a better version of me.  When I started being healthy, my body became what I wanted it to be.  Feed your body good healthy foods, exercise your body, and be kind to yourself.  You are amazing.

To the pregnant woman.  I hear you.  I so hear you.  I hid from the camera.  I was sure I looked like a beached whale.  And in fact I didn’t carry a cute little belly, I have pictures to prove it.  But I did create a life.  My body changed, it stretched… I had new stripes added to my belly, and my body never was the same.  But each change shows that my children were worth it.  My body might not look like it did when I was 16.  But my life isn’t what it was when I was 16 either, it is so much richer, and I am blessed.

To the Mom.  I am there with you right now.  30 something and realising you don’t look 20 anymore.  Am I the only one who just realised this?  Because I don’t look 20.  And I was kinda sad when I realised this.  Embrace the change in you.  Wrinkles are going to happen.. ageing is going to happen, do it with grace.  Document it for your children, for them to know what is real.  What real women and men look like.

I believe in being YOU, not an artificial you.  Part of the reason I love my job is because I get to capture the beautiful you.  I read all of the time about photographers not comparing themselves to other photographers and it is so true.  And it is true with this.  If you stop comparing yourselves to others, and really love who you are wouldn’t you be happier?  Wouldn’t your beauty shine through even more if you loved who you were, and weren’t wishing you were someone else.

I believe in this with my whole heart.  I have two kids.  They changed my body.  They changed my mind.  They changed my heart.  If I can teach them one thing, it would be to be true to who they are.  Not to change because society says we need to look a certain way.  To accept themselves and others around them for who they are.  How many of us would look at our best friend and say, “wow did you see that picture on the magazine?  Why don’t you look like that?  I bet I would like you more.  Especially if your lips were really plump, and your eyes were perfectly spaced, and your body looked like it was straight from a Victoria’s Secret ad, then I would really, really, really be your best friend.”  No?  How about we treat ourselves a little more like we would our best friend?

Every shoot I go on, I have one mission.  For people to see how truly beautiful they are, and how unique they are.  How great they are.  This is a passion of mine.  I have yet to meet a client who wasn’t beautiful.  And I love when people start to see themselves as I see them.  The gap in your front teeth makes you you.  The crooked smile makes you unique.  The splash of freckles is part of who you are.  The nose you have, your ears, your eyes.  Your hands, your feet, your body, your shape, your height, your size, all of it makes you you.  Changing yourself, and altering your appearance doesn’t make you more you.  Be you.  The one that God made.  The one that your Mother loves.  The one that you were meant to be from the day you were born.  Be you.

I almost forgot it was Tuesday..  I know it’s Valentine’s Day.. but Tuesday slipped my mind.

Sunday I asked Randy, (my husband in case you forgot) if he we were doing Valentine’s gifts.  He was all, of course we are.  You don’t have to buy me anything, but I am buying you something.  *Cue the pressure*  And I tried to get out of him a price range.  I don’t want to give him a heart shaped box of chocolate and him give me diamond earrings.  But he wouldn’t give me any hints.  Love that.  (Here is my sweetheart for you to see)

Yesterday I was out shopping.. looking for the perfect gift for him.  We often don’t do Valentine’s gifts, in fact embarrassingly enough I think Valentine’s often gets overlooked for us.  I remember high school… and even the first couple of years we were married Valentine’s was HUGE!  What happened?  Oh that’s right we had kids and life got busy.  I am making a goal to celebrate our love a little more.  Be a little more romantic.  We will see how I do at this.  I love love, so I can do this.  After finally shopping I found the perfect gift for Randy.  Romantic, no, but something he loves absolutely.  Ready to hear what it is?  A brand new iHome for his iPhone.  He was more romantic and bought me my favorite perfume.

I am blessed to be married to my best friend, and the one who stole my heart 13 years ago.  Happy Anniversary to you and yours!

xoxo.

Lee Ann

I have mentioned my new food allergies here and there, and I put different things about it on Facebook.  I have had several people wanting more information on the gluten free foods, so I figured I would do a blog post on this.

I have been a sugar addict my whole life.  And after all of my food allergies I lost out on lots of sweet treats.  I have really.. and I mean really missed my sugar.  Baked goods, candy, cookies, cake, all of it.  And I have tried to bake some cookies and cakes, and it has failed.  Some of them were totally gross.  And I have had some that felt like I was eating sand.. gross!  It has definitely been a learning curve that I have really struggled with.  I had almost decided that I wouldn’t be able to bake cookies that would be good again, at least not any I could eat and that was kind of a bummer.  I felt like I was missing out with my kids. Not that I really baked with them before.. but I could, now I couldn’t so I wanted to.  And since I couldn’t I wanted to to figure out a way to do that.. and I could make regular cookies, but have you ever made cookies that you couldn’t taste the dough?  Yeah I don’t want to do that either.  I will buy Otis Spunkmeyer for my kids to make instead.

Do you have a Paradise Bakery near you?  No, me either.  If you do.. I am JEALOUS.. not that I can eat there anymore.. but it is so awesome.  If you are ever near one.. go.. go eat the coconut chocolate chip cookie they make.  And then tell me how much you love it and then eat another one.  You will thank me.  I promise you.

I wanted a coconut chocolate chip cookie the other day.  And I couldn’t find a gluten free recipe.. so I decided to just search for a regular recipe and try it with my gluten free flour I use.  My flour is a brown rice flour that I grind myself in a blendtec blender.  Rice flour needs to be really fine, otherwise it is gritty.  And gritty feels like sand.  I run it through 4 times and it is really fine and perfect baking.  The mix I use is 2 cups rice flour, (sometimes I mix white and brown rice) 2/3 cup potato starch (I buy Bob’s red mill) and 1/3 cup tapioca starch (again Bob’s red mill).  And whenever I am baking I add about 1/4 teaspoon of xantham gum.  It helps so they don’t crumble as much.  I use about 2 tablespoons more of flour than the recipe calls for, it tends to need just a little bit more if it is a regular recipe.  I loved how they turned out.. and I may have eaten one or two  ate every single cookie that I could until my tummy hurt.  Apparently I was sugared out.

Randy prefers a straight chocolate chip cookie.  I a couple of years ago I found a great recipe off of Smitten Kitchen that I love.  And I decided last night I was going to try it with my gluten free flour.  And I am so excited to say that it turned out amazing!  They are the best chocolate chip cookies I have had in forever.  My kids had friends over and the kids helped make them, ate some cookie dough and devoured the cookies.  And everyone was happy.  Randy likes them, and so do my kiddos.  Success!  And today I only ate a couple.. rather than everything and end up with a tummy ache.

One more thing before I forget I found chocolate chips that are soy free!  I was at Albertson’s and Nestle has a dark chocolate chip that is soy free.  These are hard to find, but they are pretty good.  I am not a dark chocolate fan, but these aren’t crazy strong.  I like them.  You might too!

I will add recipes I like as I try.  But for now if you have questions let me know!  And since all posts are better with pictures I decided I would include one of my favorite iPhone pictures from last Spring.  I am dreaming of Spring today.  My morning run left me freezing cold and I am ready for spring!

I have a goal.  To blog more, stay true to me, and keep it real.  I am going to start a new blog instalment that will be weekly.. Talkative Tuesday.  Rad right?  And how fitting.. I can talk for every to anyone.  Just ask anyone who has ever met me.  Actually funny story.. I was talking to a friend and she mentioned how another mutual friend is quiet and they never talk that long on the phone.  And I said really?  We talk forever on the phone sometimes.. then I thought again.. I talk forever at her.  Maybe she puts the phone down and wonders how long I will talk before I clue in she’s not there?  Could happen?  Does this happen friend that I am notnamingmistynaming?  But I do listen to people too.. but I really do like to talk a lot.  I might as well talk a lot here.

The past couple of weeks I have been thinking a lot about life.  I have been at the hospital to see two brand new babies less than twelve hours old and I am left speechless.  There is something about these babies that brings me back 8 1/2 years ago.. 10 years ago.  I wonder… I wonder what they are thinking, these sweet babies so fresh from heaven.  And I am always grateful to be blessed to see these babies so fresh and new.  And since these are good friends having babies I take my camera along.. because what kind of friend would I be if I didn’t at least take a picture.  And since my best friend had kid number FIVE last week.  Congrats Tiff!  I have to showcase just a quick little snippet of him.  First I am not a newborn or birth photographer.  I can recommend great photographers for that.  But I wanted to share this moment I caught that is what it is all about.  I love the gentleness that Tiffany is showing with her baby boy just hours old.  It’s the moments like these that bring me back to what is most important. 
Isn’t he the sweetest thing?  I feel blessed I was able to see him so fresh and new.  It brings me back to what is really important.. my family.

I am striving to keep that balance of my family, and my business that I love.  My family will always come first.  In an effort to maintain, or find, I am not sure which one it is.. although I am thinking the latter, I will be taking only 4-6 shoots per month.  I would love to still capture you.  But my schedule will book up quickly.  FYI the Summer months are already booking up quickly.  I am so excited for 2012.  I am hoping that I can balance my life… attend all of the kiddos things, shoot the weddings and families that I love, and run a long, long, long, long way.

Oh wait!  I have one more thing.  I keep getting asked if I shoot destination weddings.  I do, and I LOVE THEM!  In fact if you have a destination wedding for 2012 email.  I have a fantastic wedding package for you!  You don’t want to miss out.  And I am excited because I already have a fabulous destination wedding booked for 2013!  It is going to be awesome!

Happy Tuesday!

I am so very excited for the 2012 wedding season.  It starts for me in just one month, and I can’t wait!  And I am so thrilled that I was featured on Apple Brides today, showing off an engagement session from last July in Spokane.  And I am super excited for this July when I get to capture their wedding.  Go HERE and check it out!

Make sure you read it all too.  :) And since all posts are better with a picture, here are a few favorites from this session.

P.S. Leave some comments for Apple Brides!

I love the snow. And I love capturing people in the snow.  It is the best!

Meet Kelli+Sam.

They started dating many years ago, when they were just 16.  And after many years they are getting hitched!  I am so excited for them.  And I was so excited to shoot their engagements in the snowy mountains.  We lucked out with gorgeous weather, and lots and lots of gorgeous snow.  We had lots of fun.  The snow was so deep we would randomly sink into huge holes.  They had a great snowball fight, tried to build a snowman.  And had lots of love and laughter!

Thank you for letting me capture your love!  I cannot wait for your wedding in just over a month!