saturday mornings session ended up being at an unexpected location, dunvegan keep. it's an amazing place located on the southern edge of shady hollow. the owner has spent the last 17 years turning his backyard into a medieval wonderland. now, if your like me and not quite into the whole renaissance experience, you might be having the same thoughts i did, it can be a little over the top at times. dunvegan keep was nothing of the kind. all the structures were beautifully placed among stone paths lined with native plants and flowers. it really is a beautiful place.

i met the morris family there and we had a fun time exploring, running and playing. it was right up their alley.

holly's people

when holly approached me to photograph her "people" as she calls them, i was ecstatic. my first photo shoot with her oldest, grace. i couldn't wait to add meg and baby anna as well. to see these sweet girls together will melt your heart. their open affection with each other was soooo endearing. there were plenty of sis kisses and hugs that morning. i LOVED hanging out with them.

garden cupcakes

this was my second attempt at using my "hello cupcake" cookbook, the first being this one. i love to tackle projects like this once or twice a year. it requires a level or organization, which i've yet to master, to keep the kitchen from becoming a baking disaster. our kitchen has yet to recover. but, the results were fantastic. these cupcakes were for my friend mindys 30th birthday party. she loves her little veggie garden so i decided to pay tribute to it. something i didn't anticipate was the fact that carrying in cupcakes such as these makes for a great ice breaker. i'd met most of the people at the party before i even set them down on the table. i hate walking into a room filled with people i don't know. cupcakes make everyone so friendly.

joe, kate, haddy & jude

erin invited me out to her parents property...where eventually she and her siblings will build their homes as well...for this shoot. the property is beautiful and the little guest house her parents have built is adorable. i love the idea of a family living in community like that.

this was my third photo shoot with joe and my second with kate. so, when erin contacted me to set this up i was delighted. it's so much fun to watch kids grow through my lense. sweet little hadassah and adorable jude, their cousins, were a wonderful addition to this session. i just think about how fun it's going to be for these four to grow up together, knowing each other almost as brother and sister. they are truely blessed to have such a close knit family.

my sweet friends turn 40

as i edited these photos it really made me start thinking about the friends in my life and how my definition of the word "friend" has changed over the years. as i think back on my high school friendships, i, ofcourse had my bff, who i spent every waking second with and who made my high school experience so memorable with her vivacious spirit. but after high school ended, that friendship quickly ended as well. for the longest time my heart was broken about that. was high school the only glue that held us together? i think probably so.

when my husband and i reconnected as friends...we knew each other in jr high...he fell into the roll of being my best friend so seamlessly that the transition from friend to love of my life happened almost without my realizing it. it struck me like a bolt of lightening the day i realized that i looked at him completely different. i couldn't even tell you the moment i fell in love with him. for those of you who know me best in this world, you know that that was the only way i was going to fall in love. having travis as my best friend has been the greatest relationship of my life. and while that will never change, after having my daughter i started to long for that one girlfriend who could fill the roll as my best gal pal.

as i became more involved with playgroups and MOPs, i looked at those women and wondered which one of them was going to fill that need in my heart. over the past two years i have come to realize that all of them have. best friend has become best friends. wendi, marilisa, jill, allison, candice, stacy, kristen, michelle, cathleen, jennifer, laura, janna, dina, the list goes on and on. and i can't forget my three sisters, jennifer, shawna and karen who are my dearest and sweetest friends of all. god has made me rich with friendships. my heart if full.