A New Lens

I just bought a new zoom lens for weddings and family pictures. A 17-50mm Tamaron lens. It is so neat but definately different than my prime lenses. You can get so much more in the pictures. Here is our messy room. I am just standing in the corner.....those are dried up wipes on the floor.

This is like 1-2 inches from my face.....all the pictures are disorted a little b/c they are so close. And at 17 mm.

1st picture with the new lens

NICE!

Look at those cheeks!

And here are some better ones. ;) These are just by my house. I wish there were prettier places close by.....I just feel so blah about the backgrounds.

I got this umbrella for 1 dollar at Beals...(my mom's favorite discount store.)

I just love her expression
This is the only picture where she was looking at me! Ah the joys of raising 2 toddlers!

An Amazing Read

I just finished this book that was recommened to me by a few people. It is a really neat story about a woman in the 1800 who comes to Arizona. It is amazing to me to think about what the pioneers went through. I don't know if I could have handled it. Her family was attacked by Indians, and illness as they came here. Then it goes on with the story of her life. Anyways, while you are waiting for the next book in the Twilight series to come out.....get this one! ;)

Sorry no pictures....I need to upload them to my computer!

When was the last time you left a movie Smiling?

I just did! I went and watched Stardust and it was just awesome! There is everything in it. Drama, romance, action, comedy, and very clean. I laughed out loud and felt so happy after leaving it. You should go check it out! It was really enjoyable!

We also went to dinner tonight with Jill and Brad http://stoddardstuff.blogspot.com/ thanks guys. We went to a place called that's like Cafe Rio on Val vista and baseline. I wish I could remember the name. It was yummy!

Around our house these days

The girls like to push each other around in the doll stroller.

Audree found my bra the other night and was trying to hard to put it on. So I helped her....and then of course Olivia had to have one too.......their 1st bra's! Just a tad too big!

We are getting ready for Haloween! I just ordered these cute monkey outfits for the girls from Old Navy. They were like 20 each and a steal for how cute they look in them. They love to wear them too.....They will be 2 little monkeys, I will be the mommy calling the doctor, and Doug will be the doctor telling them not to jump on the bed!

Here is a preview!

A few nights ago Audree was cleaning up the "Gogo's" (legos) and counting. And she was counting to 10~ I don't know where she learned that from....I don't remember counting that high with them. She likes "SEBAN" the best though. It's so cute!

And last night we were playing in our homemade sheet fort and it was time to take it down. Audree was so sad so I sugessted we go to her room and play with the legos. She walked over to Olivia and asked her to come..."Wibia.....Gogo's?" Olivia said "No!" Audree was crushed! She burst into tears...she so wanted her to play! Audree asked again...."WIBIA.....gogo's" (with alot of emotion in her voice. She was so sad....I told her I would play with her. I just loved seeing that Audree really wanted to play with Olivia. It's so neat to have a friend to play with.

It was just a really cute moment that I wanted to document!

And......Happy 1st Birthday to my sweet nephew baby Curtis!

He just turned one yesterday.....he is walking and just adorable! Love you Curtie!

Happy Birthday Amanda~

She was 2 months further along than I was here:)

My sweet Sister turns 28 today. She is such a good sister, mother, scrapbooker, singer, babysitter, and friend. She is such an amazing example to me. She is such a help to me and my little ones. I am so grateful to have her close! I love you Ma!

20 amazing months

I took these pictures just for me......I haven't taken any of the girls in a while. These are natural light in my house. I can't wait until next month and we will be outside....everyday! I know that the next few months will be busy...so if you or your friends or family want some pictures, make sure to call a little in advance! And just b/c I am excited I wanted to share that I booked my 1st wedding! Yippe! That means I get to use the money I make on it to get a new lens!

More Mexico Pics

So in LOVE!

Our faces After 4 wheeling( Wish I knew how to put them 4 side by side):(

We had some leftover pesos so we bought the girls these dresses! They are just too cute on them!

So things are good and busy around here. Doug and I got asked to speak in church on Sunday and he spent 4.5 hours last night preparing. He is really nervous and Hates talking in church. We haven't done it in a few years though....so it's our turn. Just wanted to share a few more pics from our trip that wouldn't fit on our slide show.

My latest Project

So I bought this Big "D" at Joanns for like $8.00 and it is made of paper mache type material. I bought some cheap black paint and painted it. As well as a family sign that I already had. I am going to put them up high on my tall shelves. Yay for new house stuff!

Here are the girls showing off....we just taught them how to say Davis....it's soo cute!

This is seriously my life all day long! They fight over lots of little things and Olivia loves to steal Audree's toys. Grr......It gets old quick!

New look thanks to Amber

Don't you love it! Amber Halversen is a friend of mine from Thatcher. She has twin girls and when I became pregnant with twins I went to her house to talk about having 2 babies. We recently became connected again through blogging(I love that!) and now she helped me get a new look for my blog in exchange for a discount on some pictures! YIPPE! I love swapping! Thanks so much Amber....I really love it!
Here is her blog http://threewishesinc.blogspot.com/ Super cute as well:)

Cruisin in Cali!!!

Click to play Make your own Smilebox

Here is a slideshow that I made of our trip. I took over 600 pictures and I posted my favorites. Sorry about the ad's...I just loved the scrapbooky feel to this slideshow.

We laughed a whole lot on this trip and loved each other's company. We went to the San Diego Zoo, Snorkeling in Catalina Island and 4 wheeler riding in Mexico. The cruise was really nice and the food was YUMMY! Our girls were watched by My sister Amanda, my 2 sis-in-laws Allison and Christi and my cousin Dena. A big huge thank you to all those that helped. It's so nice to not worry about your kiddos.

All is back to normal here. I have like 3 sessions to edit and loads of laundry. Doug and I cleaned the floors last night and the girls are SUPER winy! I think they are letting us know that they didn't like us leaving! Thanks for all of the comments and well wishes everyone!

Big News!!!

Doug is now officially liscened as an A/C Repair Contractor Commercial and Residential! Yippe! He passed his test on Wednesday with an 87%! Go my Dougers! Now we just have to pay to be bonding and insured and we are set to start our business next year! Yippee(with a little scare in my voice);)


And on Sunday we are leaving to go on a cruise baby! With our sweet cousin/bff John and Lisa! I can't wait. We are going to San Diego, Encenda, and Catalina Island. So be waiting for pictures! Hope all is well with all my sweet friends reading this!
And here is our girls the other day putting on some "Nonant"

Our 1st Camping Trip

So this past weekend Doug and I and our good friend Eric and Alicia went camping up past Payson. It was an awesome experiance! I had such apprehension going into it b/c of my horror camping stories I had heard in the past, but our trip turned out to be so memorable. It's going to be a fun part of our lives. This is what the girls did while we set up the tents. They loved playing around in the car.Sitting around the fire, right before bed with our cute Daddy
Our girls slept from 10-6 that night! Not to bad for being in the woods, in a tent, getting rained on and having the sun in your face at the crack of dawn!

Breakfast time!

Eric and Alicia

Eric and Doug serve in Weblos together. They have alot in common and hang out often. Sweet Alicia is a teacher too!

So fun exploring nature!

We went to the Fish Hatchery and Livvy was facinated by the jumping fish!

Audree in a field

Yay for mini-vacations!

KIDS CLUB at the Superstition Mall

Just about every Thursday we go to the Mall and go to kids club. A cute lady named Persephonie and Duper the Priare Dog, sing and dance for the kiddos. My girls love it and you get to ride the carosel for free! So if any one else is available come on down Thursday's at 10:00!
Sorry about the horrible quality of these pics....sometimes I feel like I can't use my camera on Auto mode anymore!

Our friends Sage and Sydney came with us today!

Duper and Persephonie

Dont' they look so happy;) At the end A had the hugest melt down....It's so hard to be patient when they are freaking out in public.

I'm teaching Enrichment on Thursday!:)

I am teaching a photography class to the ladies in my ward. I am little nervous and wanted to run my handout by you all. Please check for spelling, things that don't make sense, or any other tips you have. I definatly not a pro, but am happy to share what I know! There are picture examples to go along with these as well. :) I'm just too lazy to upload them all:)

Photography Tips

Lighting
Natural light is best!
Don’t use your flash to reduce red eye. Move subject more to the light.
Best time of day to shoot indoors is 9-4
Garages and Doorways are great
Close to a window
North Facing big windows are best
Look around your home during different times of day to see the best lighting
Outdoor shooting is best 1-2 hours before sunset in open shade area.
You can use a reflector to bounce the light off the subject

Posing
Make sure it’s a good time of day for your subjects
Arrange heads at different levels watch for visual triangles
Have subjects srunch together before
Take pictures from different angles
Simple Props-Chair, stool, bean bags for newborn
Set up poses and let the subjects interact

Composition
Refocus and compose
Rule of thirds-try and have the subject a little off to the side instead of dead center
Be aware of your backgrounds

Ways to get attention and smiles
Bathroom Humor:)
Give us a big kiss!
Animal noises
Cover the penny
Where’s your tummy
Look in the lens...what do you see?
Show me...an emotion (happy)
How old are you?

What to wear
Something that suits your personality. Bright colors, or black and white work well too. For family sessions, colors with similar tones work great. Try to avoid busy patterns, and cartoon characters on clothing.

I can't sleep.....I can't eat......

These books are consuming my every thought!!! I borrowed "Twilight" and "New Moon" from my friend on Sunday and have finished both of them already! They are both like 500 pages each and soooooo very addicting! When I first told Doug what they were about he was like, "A girl falls in love with a vampire? And you like reading that kind of stuff?" My dishes and laundry are coming out of my ears, and I have lost so much sleep!

SERIOUSLY If you have not read these, buy, borrow, check out, or do whatever it takes to read them. You will not be dissapointed!

I can't wait to read Eclipse!

It's been a long time that I couldn't put a book down. Go get them!