photography: a family photo shoot by the trains

I recently got to take some fun photos of one of my favorite families!! I have been friends with them for  several years. I have taken 'couple photos' of them before they had kids & I have taken pictures of their girls when they were only days old... So taking family shots of all four of them was really fun!! Their girls are so cute & they are growing so fast! When I look at these photos I can't help but think about how fast time goes...

For this shoot, we went down to the old trains... Thinking back on several of the past photo shoots I have done, they all seem to be down by the trains. This place is the most popular location where I live! I am even taking some engagement shots there this weekend. Everyone loves old trains, including me!! :)

photography: hosta blooms

Our monsoon season is here!! Lately we have had a few really good rain storms & it seems to rain at least a little bit almost every afternoon/night. Every morning the outdoor furniture is wet & even though that is a bit annoying, I am so thankful for the rain that this dry land needs so badly. And, of course, listening to and watching a summer storm is universally acknowledged as one of the best things about summer time!!

 Noticing the slight change in the weather has me realizing that fall will be here very soon. After all, August is half finished and the school buses are already out & about again. Even though I deeply love the change in the season, there is always a part of me that is a bit sad to see summer go... So, I will be thankful & cherish the little bits of summer that are still left. Like pretty purple hosta blooms in my front yard!!

thankful snapshots from lately...

Thankful for the summer sky. //  These shots were both taken on the same day, one in the morning, one in the evening. There is just something so special about sitting outside & looking up into the heavens... and I am convinced that the Colorado sky is the best!  :)

Thankful for light blue nail polish & watermelon.  //  I have been eating a lot of watermelon this summer!

Thankful for white adirondack chairs.  //  Over the last few weeks I have worked on painting a couple of adirondack chairs white. Getting the paint in between all of the wood was harder than I thought & they required two coats, but in the end, all the work was worth it. They are so cute! I am so excited that I have an adirondack chair now!!

Thankful for painting with watercolors.  //  Over the past couple of weeks, I have had so much fun playing around with watercolors. The set that I got was cheap, but I love all of the colors. So far, I have really loved how my little paintings have turned out. I am hoping to keep this up & paint more butterflies & flowers!! 

Thankful for musicals & flowers.  //  My local art center put on Oklahoma as their annual summer musical & I got to go see it! I SO love seeing musicals & plays. My grandpa wanted to go for his birthday, so we all got to enjoy it. There was an orchestra & the actors/singers did so great. It was a really fun time! PS. Those black-eyed Susans were all over in the art center parking lot. Loved seeing them all bunched up together like that!

Thankful for a new turquoise ring & for favorite snack/tv show time.  //  I had been looking around for the perfect turquoise ring for a little while and I found this one while in Manitou a couple of weeks ago. Just what I wanted. So happy that I got it!

Thankful for homemade strawberry ice cream & for a post-rain summer sunset.  //  Life is beautiful. GOD is GOOD!!