2009 Favorites

2009 has been such a fabulous year and I have been incredibly blessed and oh-so fortunate. I'm REEEEAAAALLLLYYYYY (yes, that much) looking forward to be 2010 and everything that it has to offer, I just know its going to be a fantabulous year!

As a tribute to 2009 I picked out some of my favorite photos from various sessions from this past year. This is no where near what I wanted to post but this was getting rrrrrrrreeeeeeaaaallllllyyyy long already. ;)

Happy Monday everyone!

Happy Accidents

It was just the three of us at the house. At a complete loss as to how to entertain them I suggested a photo shoot. The conversation went something like this:

Them: Can we do a wacky photo shoot?!

Me: Sure, we'll do your hair wacky, you can dress wacky and...

M1: YESSSSSSSS!!!

M2: Oh, I'm going to dress like I just came off the turnip truck. Sister C says sometimes thats how I look when I get dressed for school.

Me: {Chortles and laughs}

So after much trepidation about what looks wacky, what shoes look wacky with two different socks, and is their hair too pretty to be wacky?, we head downstairs and grab my three little excuses for lighting and began to play...and how I wish I was working in film when I took these. Not because these photos give any applause to the lack of my lighting capabilities, but because they show all those in between moments. The contemplations, the boredom, the laughter. The freedom they felt from being able to be...wacky.

I hope everyone had a fabulously Merry Christmas. Happy Saturday!

The Balboa Family

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream! And so ice cream became the bargaining chip of the hour...I mean, how else do you get four kids to come to order at a park? :) I had such a fabulous time with the Balboa family yesterday--you won't meet a nicer and more charismatic family than theirs. They came looking festive, dapper and ready to have fun. Sam and Aimee~you have a beeeautiful family; Mat and I tip our hats to you for having the energy to love four kiddos--we can't seem to get past the one dog stage of life. :) And thank you for allowing me to spend the hour with you and capture your lives.

Hugs,
Deanna

Okay these photos were taken last but I HAD to put them first because its just such a fabulous series.









50% of the time was spend trying to keep everyone rounded. :)

I love this~it seriously could make me cry thinking of Dads playing with their children.









You know that song by Trace Adkins "Hot Mama"...um yeah, pretty much.

A 15 Minute Photo

They luuuurrrve the camera and are constantly posing if I have it in front of them. That's why I love this picture so much. They weren't posing and had forgotten for a moment that I had decided to take pictures of them. All they remembered was that I was the only one had responded to their meager hand written invitations to come outside and play. Since I was shooting film I had no idea what photos I had gotten until I developed them in my film class later that week. But when I printed my contact sheet and saw this photo, the day came back to me in a flash. I remember them being sad that no one wanted to come outside that windy day and the flash of doubt that came in their eyes for a second when I stepped outside to play with them, wondering how long I would be out with them. Then I remember the delight as they began to get excited, play waitress taking my order, jumping on our little trampoline and learning how to cut hearts out of paper. We laughed as the wind took our paper hearts over the fence and we had to chase them down the street and hunt in the bushes, and finally the performance they put on for me before going inside. It was a good day and the story behind the photo.



Happy Monday!

Poetry to My Ears

To borrow the poetic wording from the ever funny and fabulous Barney Fife, "Stefanie, Stefanie, lovely sweet Stefanie. From your head down to your feet there is nothing quite as sweet as Stefanie, Stefanie, lovely dear Steff-ee."
I was FINALLY going through some of my photos from our annual day after Thanksgiving trip to Yosemite and came across this mini series of pictures and fell in like. Stef is characterized so well in these: a little goofy, a little blurry, a little...tired looking. lol. And oh so fun to be around. In one month she'll be 18 and legally able to vote, sign her own contracts, open up her own bank account and start her college career. I refuse to go into sentiments until next month, especially about how she was only seven when we moved here, so I cease my expressions.

Hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful holiday season!


Oh, and Stef, does it hurt much?!