Betz Family Blog

Ski Day at Ski Cooper

2012-01-23T22:19:00.001-07:00

All shots from iPhone

Cheyenne Canon playtime

2012-01-23T22:16:00.001-07:00

All shots with iPhone

Bourbon street

2012-01-17T12:54:00.001-07:00

We are in New Orleans Louisiana and this is bourbon street we're here for the professional photographers convention 2012we are enjoying some real Cajun food in this great town

Miss Natalie

2012-01-12T17:33:00.001-07:00

Styling with her glasses upside down

Tyler's tower

2012-01-09T11:46:00.001-07:00

He is really enjoying the Lego blocks he received from uncle Andy

Tyler playing in the kitchen

2012-01-08T13:00:00.001-07:00

Warm 70° day in January!

2012-01-06T00:18:00.001-07:00

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T09:20:00.003-07:00

Thought we'd share our picture card from the biz blog here for you! These are fun pictures we took in October while doing Julie & Keenan's engagement pictures in Garden of the Gods.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

CARDINALS WIN!!!

2011-10-28T23:34:00.002-06:00

Wow!! No one thought the Cards even had a chance when they were 10 1/2 games back in August. Yet, they pulled off the wild card place at the last moment and went on to beat both Philly and Milwaukee and then tonight, after last night's BEST GAME EVER in probably the history of baseball, clinched the World Series title for the 11th time! Enjoy the kids celebrating with all the players and fans on the TV (we were with our friends, the Andresses, who also have two kids).

-L

Natalie's First Day of Preschool!

2011-09-08T10:34:00.004-06:00

Big day for Natalie...first day of PreK! She's attending Sunrise Preschool which is housed in Sunrise United Methodist Church and is in the T/Th program. She has two teachers in her class of 12 students, Mrs. Walsh & Mrs. Seibel. She's been VERY excited to start school and has said for the last 2 weeks, "Is this 'kool' day?" (we're working on that 's' at the beginning of words - took me a few to realize she was asking about school!).

So, she's there now and stays through lunch! I think Tyler is pretty excited to have the house and toys and such to himself and is currently enjoying "dad time." :-)

-L

They did so well while we took these pictures of them together!

Her classroom...

Natalie's spot for circle and also for her hook and cubby are marked by the red circle...she remembered this on her own from over a week ago when we came for the Meet the Teacher day.

Christmas in June (Christmas 2010 Post!)

2011-06-20T23:50:00.002-06:00

Get back in that Christmas spirit with this blog post! I have to say that Christmas was truly fun this year as both Tyler and Natalie were old enough to really participate. Natalie was so excited for everything she received and though there were a few "fits" along the way, overall was just precious in her reactions to her presents. And Tyler was just into everything! Very fun times.

So, a little funny story that relates to Christmas. Natalie has recently gotten very into Toy Story (she started with the 3rd and final movie since it was available on Netflix instant streaming but has since caught up on the first two movies...) and so a few weeks ago, she says this to me:

"Buzz Lightyear...he the coolest toy, Mom. You know what would be good idea? I could ask Santa to bring me Buzz Lightyear for Christmas! And he could bring Woody to Tyler and Jesse to Mom and the dinosaur to Dad. That be a good idea, right?" I just listened, smiled, and nodded...can't really get a word in with her some days, but boy that was a cute earful I got!

Enjoy some pictures!

-L

Our tree...

The entry on Christmas morning...

Surprises in stockings...

Opening her Blues Jersey (she was VERY excited!)

Natalie's first camera... :-)

Annual Christmas Tree Chop

2011-05-23T22:51:00.002-06:00

December 5th was the day we did our annual Christmas Tree Chop in the national forest in Woodland Park. It's one of our favorite family traditions and so very neat that the forest benefits from thinning (part of forest fire prevention) and the community has a fantastic opportunity for a completely Colorado tree! You'll never see the thick, symmetrical trees like those from tree farms, but we love our "Charlie Brown"-esque tree each year and the experience and memories from finding it and cutting it down. Natalie had a blast until the end, and Tyler was his usual happy self.

-L

Our tree (and a very-ready-to-be-done-and-warm-again Natalie)

Thanksgiving in Tucson ARIZONA

2011-05-23T16:37:00.002-06:00

Last Thanksgiving we got to go to Tucson to visit PopPop (Mike), Mimi (Pam), Grandma Bobbie, and Papa Ed! November is a fantastic time to visit since the temps felt just about perfect! The kids had a fantastic time with all the grandparents and great grandparents - especially since there's a slot machine with lights and sounds to play with! :-) Plus, some new toys that then came home with us! We had a fun day trip to the zoo, neighborhood walks, enjoyed the newly redone backyard, FANTASTIC meals (thank you Pam!!) and a great Thanksgiving Day! And Jon and I even got a date night in!! Enjoy pictures from our trip (and ignore that you're looking at them 6 months later...).

-L

Tyler loves his "big boy" car seat!

Day at the Zoo...

Fish as big as Tyler...

The anteaters were my favorite to watch on this zoo trip...

Tyler with a home-grown grapefruit...

Tyler getting to meet and spend time with great-grandpa, Papa Ed...

Natalie "stylin'" with Great-grandma Bobbie...

The SLOT MACHINE...

With Pop Pop and Mimi in their beautifully redone backyard...

First Hair Cuts!

2011-04-10T21:27:00.002-06:00

We're going to skip ahead a little in our timeline on the blog...no worries - we'll catch you up on the end of November and all of December in the near future...

January 23rd was the big day...BOTH Natalie and Tyler together had their first hair cuts! Never would have happened if Tyler was the oldest, but having a girl first made it okay to have waited so long to cut her hair for the first time. We went to Great Clips, and they did a great job with really little kids. Tyler started out on his own and then wanted Dad to sit with him for the last part; Natalie (being older and far more aware) wanted Mommy with her from the start.

We did a "before" and "after" for you...and yes, even from Great Clips, you get great mountain views!

-L

Brave boy! He has absolutely no clue what to expect...

Natalie's turn...

"This is pretty cool since I can hold the combs!"

Our super-cute kids!

Getting Caught Up...A Gigantically Enormous Post!

2011-03-18T19:59:00.003-06:00

This one is for Brenda... :-) Even with our lack of posts, she checks every day!

Let's do this in chronological order, so let's rewind back to October...

Halloween weekend held a great event for the kids called Trunk or Treat at our church. It was such a fun event! There were about 8 rows of cars with decorated trunks and candy to pass to the kids. It was a nice practice for Natalie's first official "trick or treating" experience the next day. We came up with our car's decorations very last minute, but I love how it turned out! We used the Civic and put eyes and then made a mouth so the kids reached into the mouth to get their treats. The pic shows it...

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Tyler had 2 costumes to wear, so we did the sock monkey for Trunk or Treat...Thanks Aunt Jenny!

Natalie was a cow (this was SO CUTE on her and especially funny from behind since the "head" of the cow sits completely above her head...really funny!) Thanks Grandma LaVonna!

And here are fun pictures from Halloween itself with Tyler as the panda bear...Thanks Uncle Andy!

I love this picture of Tyler because it shows his fantastic smile and features the 4 teeth...up until after the new year, he continued to only have 4 teeth...we have been through at least 8 weeks of active teething and he's up to close to 12 now...it has not been fun, but I think the first set of molars is just about completely in now!

Moving along to November 14th - Tyler's first b-day party!! We had a Blues hockey theme, and I'm pretty proud of my decorating on the cake (though it does not hold a candle to the cake pops that Aunt Koren makes and sells now!). We had it at the house and had a great number of our friends there to help him celebrate. Actual 1st b-day was two days later on the 16th.

Natalie was (of course) far more into unwrapping the presents than Tyler, who until the last couple months, enjoyed a laid-back, observant style to his days...currently he's climbing on EVERYTHING and VERY active...100% boy!

"Scout" the dog...both Tyler and Natalie LOVE this dog...so much so that we got the girl version, Violet, for Natalie as incentive to potty train. This was going completely unsuccessfully and then about 4-5 weeks ago, Natalie pretty much trained herself for #1 and needed just a couple days of coaxing for #2. We are now completely potty trained and in "big girl" panties...what a relief to be down to just 1 kid in diapers!!

Hockey jersey from Aunt Julie...

CAKE!

The cake tastes good, so maybe I'll try the players...

More to come...much, much more...

Afternoon at the Park & Tyler's 11 month portraits...

2011-02-06T18:16:00.002-07:00

We took the kids to the park for the afternoon and had fun with the wagon, at the playground, and finding and feeding the squirrels. While there we took time for some great portraits of Tyler.

Enjoy!
L

Natalie using her binoculars made at Sunday school...

Tyler loved walking with things at this age...

"I think I can get in this thing myself..."

Tyler's Dedication - October 16th, 2010

2011-02-06T17:52:00.002-07:00

Tyler's dedication was on October 16th, and we had a great group of friends as well as Aunt Julie and Bobo (my dad) with us for that special time.

Meet Name the Squirrel

2011-02-06T17:23:00.003-07:00

Jon hung a bird feeders in our backyard Fall of 2009 in hopes that Natalie could enjoy watching birds all winter. Well, the birds didn't know it was there last winter, but they certainly discovered the food come spring...and summer...and well, now they know! So Natalie has really taken a liking to having a job for her being to help fill the feeder each time. And we've had almost a whole year now of being very excited to watch the birds at the feeder. About mid-summer, we met a squirrel that frequents our backyard. Natalie took quite a liking to the squirrel, and enjoyed feeding him peanuts. This Fall, Jon asked her, What should we name our squirrel?" and Natalie responded, "Name." So, the squirrel's name became "Name." He has become quite the exciting sighting (Natalie always yells, "It's Name!! I see Name the 'quirrel!!" whenever she she's him) so we took his picture and felt him worth of a blog post...

-L

Fall Trip to Durango & Ouray, Colorado

2011-01-23T13:54:00.004-07:00

Back at the beginning of October, we took our annual fall trip to see a new part of Colorado and enjoy the fall colors. We'd pretty much exhausted the places we could go in just a day trip, so this was a 3 day trip that took us to Durango and Ouray, Colorado. It was a beautiful drive and just awesome colors. Tyler was sick a few times on the trip, so that made for some interesting and unplanned stops (and some less-than-exciting memories...) but nonetheless, it was a fun time to see a new part of the state!

Our favorite part of the whole trip was probably the 4-wheel-drive Lime Creek Road that took us off the highway onto an unpaved road. The views on that road were just incredible, and it was a great adventure. The kids managed to sleep through almost that whole part of the trip, which is kinda funny since it was obviously bumpy and they were getting jostled the whole time.

Ouray is considered the "Switzerland of the Rockies" and is a pretty cute and quaint little town. The crazy thing is that we ran into a family from Colorado Springs who had the exact same itinerary as us for their family! We ran into them in an area of road construction and then later stopped off the road to do some family pictures with them (and had them take a couple of our family too!).

Enjoy the pictures!

-L

Leaving the beaten path for a little 4-wheel-drive fun...

Kids woke up just in time for some great pictures!

Silverton, Colorado...

The train that goes between Silverton & Durango...

On our way back home, we took this short hike to a small waterfall...

Across the street from a gas station was this great wall where Jon did some fun pics of Tyler...

Jon's photography featured with Simply Canvas Pro Lab!

2011-01-14T20:21:00.000-07:00

Simply Canvas, our pro-lab for all our canvas art, recently requested studios to submit favorite images to them. Each year they look for fresh images to use in all of their marketing to professional photographers. We are thrilled that at least two of our images were selected by them and appear in the national ad below.

Imaging USA, the national convention for PPA (Professional Photographers of America) begins Sunday in San Antonio, and we're in Texas now for it! We'll be spending a good amount of our time at the trade show, and we'll take pictures and let you know if our images also appear on canvas samples at their booth.

Check it out! Jon's images are credited and include both the close-up portrait of the high school senior and the wedding image at the Arch from a destination wedding to St. Louis.

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T15:29:00.004-07:00

As always, time flies! Hard to believe 2010 is over and 2011 has begun! We know that you'll continue to enjoy the posts that are still do do from fun moments through the end of 2010, and we'll get them to you soon! For now, enjoy some favorite portraits of our family from November! We went to Red Rock Canyon with our friends, Daron & Rachael (Daron is our associate photographer for weddings when our couples want a 2nd photographer) and Jon photographed them (with Belle, their golden retriever) and Daron photographed us! It was really fun to have a "session" for ourselves - I know it was different for Jon to be on the other side of the lens, but it truly was so fun and something we're planning to do again with them!

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-L

Mt. Cutler Hike - September 19th

2010-11-27T19:12:00.003-07:00

Jon had a high school senior who wanted to hike Mt. Cutler for most of his senior session. It's a fairly short hike up this smaller mountain, and the trailhead is in Cheyenne Canyon. Jon loved this hike, so a few days later, we did the hike as a family, with Aunt Julie along too! This was Natalie's first mountain to peak on her "own feet" (and she did do pretty much the entire hike herself) and Tyler's first peak ever (not at all on his "own feet" of course). It is the perfect beginner family hike, and we loved it! Enjoy the pics...

-L

Our happy boy lovin' the outdoors!

Natalie and Aunt Julie using "fast feet" on the trail...

Natalie in a tree...

Tyler & Mom...

Family pic! These are hard to do with little kids!

Aunt Julie and Natalie (Natalie has quite a dirty face from throwing dirt on the way up...)

Still a happy guy at the top!

Couple more family pictures on the bridge...thanks, Julie!

Tyler at 10 months...

2010-11-23T04:10:00.002-07:00

Here's favorites from Tyler's 10 month session as well as a few of Natalie (of course!)...

Another time with the traditional Chinese outfits from Nana & Bobo's second trip to China...

Tyler loves to bang on pretty much anything...

And he was great at "high 5"...

"I look just like my daddy!"

Estes Park & Cheley Camp

2010-11-22T21:54:00.002-07:00

The Sunday before Labor Day, we headed up to Estes Park, Co to see family, friends, and do a photography session! It was the final day for Cheley Camps' 90th Reunion weekend, so it was really fun to connect with some old camp friends, especially Holly (though the visit was MUCH too brief!!). My dad, sister, Aunt Jane, and cousin Dan were there as well, so great to spend a little time with them too. And then a college friend of mine, Jill Mitchell, had contacted us a few weeks prior to say that she and her family were coming to Colorado for a visit and wanted family portraits. So, we thought they'd love a session in Estes and met them at Lily Lake for their pictures and then for dinner after. It was a short but good trip up there, and it's always such a beautiful place!

-L

Natalie loves her sunglasses and almost always puts them on upside down!

Cooling her feet off in the water in this neat area in downtown Estes...

At camp...

Tyler at 9 months...

2010-11-09T22:43:00.004-07:00

Look at us updating this blog!! You have a few posts to catch up on since I'm doing a handful tonight. Exciting for you!

Here are favorites from Tyler's 9 month session. We did this one on the back deck. For being fully capable of standing with a support for these, he sure was a bit uncooperative. You won't be able to tell from these pictures, but we did work hard for these! And, like always, Natalie has to have some pictures of her as well.

Just yesterday he took his first independent steps! Yea! But...I'm told that it doesn't count toward the contest we had among Jon, Nana, and myself since the bet winner is determined by the day Tyler takes his first steps without any initial assistance (my last day to be the winner was yesterday). When he took the steps yesterday, I was helping him and then pulled my hands away and he kept going a few steps. I think this definitely counts for the baby book. Weigh in on this if you like. Does this count for the baby book as the day he walked independently or do we wait for him to initiate it fully on his own??

-L

Natalie in a traditional Chinese outfit brought back from Nana & Bobo's second trip to China to see Uncle Andy...

We Love Nana!

2010-11-09T22:38:00.003-07:00

Jon did some pictures with Nana and the kids...enjoy!

-L

Nana's Visit in August

2010-11-09T22:30:00.002-07:00

Nana (my mom) came out to visit in August and helped us out for a wedding day and multiple appointments and sessions. August is a HUGE month for the photography business, so we put her to work!! She got lots of time with Natalie and Tyler, and they loved having her here! We did a day trip to the Prison Museum in Canyon City (figured we'd get our kids an early lesson in following the rules... ha, ha, ha) and then went to the Royal Gorge (see...you're expecting this now!). Natalie rode the burro. Pretty cute. That same day we also celebrated Aunt Julie's birthday.

-L

Everything is always in focus when a tourist takes the picture for you...

Storm moving in while on Skyline Drive...

Happy Birthday, Julie!

August Night - The Moon over Pikes Peak & Garden of the Gods

2010-11-09T22:28:00.000-07:00

Casey & Marcus Come to Visit!

2010-10-31T22:57:00.002-06:00

Toward the end of July, Jon's cousin, Casey and her boyfriend, Marcus, came to Colorado Springs for a short visit. It was great to see them! They took Jon out climbing at Red Rock Canyon and then the kids and I met them and we took them to the Royal Gorge (we told you everyone would get to go there with us!). Thanks for coming out guys...you are ALWAYS most welcome for a visit!

-L

Tyler at 8 months...

2010-10-31T21:50:00.003-06:00

In July, Tyler was eight months old. We'd just returned from our Houston trip with this new baseball outfit from Nana (in Cardinals red, of course!), so we thought we'd do some "little league" pics for his 8 month pictures. Enjoy!

-L

This one just is 100% little boy...

Tyler's been a thumb-sucker for a long time. He had his first two teeth months ago and just in the past 3-4 weeks got in his top two teeth. With those in, I'm seeing less thumb-sucking, but he still does it occasionally. Back when this picture was taken, it was a VERY typical way to see him!

In the Wiese Basket. This is a basket that has been handed down through my dad's side of the family for over 100 years now. Pretty cool. The names of every baby who has slept in it are recorded on a paper with the basket...including me!

Unable to be left out of any event, Natalie had to have her picture taken as well!

More Houston Pictures...

2010-10-26T16:58:00.002-06:00

I realized I did not post any of the pictures from Houston that my mom took, and some are really fun. Enjoy some more pics from Houston!

-L

Tyler with his Great Aunt Polly...

Aunt Julie got Natalie to put her face in a little to blow bubbles! Momentous! And then she would not do it again.

Natalie checks out the turtle that Uncle Andy found in the pool!

All the swimming wears you out...especially after Uncle Andy feeds you!

Tyler with Bobo...

July's Trip to Houston!

2010-10-22T21:50:00.003-06:00

Natalie, Tyler, and I traveled to Houston for Meredith's wedding. Meredith is a sorority sister from SMU and great friend, and since we both grew up in Houston, we've gotten to see each other pretty much every year. I have to say that I was so excited to be at Meredith's wedding, but I was not quite as excited to be in the Houston heat and humidity in July...but Meredith is worth a trip. It's honestly been 9 years since I've been in Houston during the summer. I've very purposely come between the months of November-April since graduating college. Jon stayed home since Natalie is now another plane ticket, and I pretty much figured I would not have a ride from the airport (or a place to stay) if I arrived without grandkids. This was Tyler's first flight!

We enjoyed some great time in the pool (well, Tyler literally loved it and floated around completely content for 30 minutes at a time; Natalie spend about 5-10 min max in the pool and then preferred to be "fish out of water") and great time with family - and even Andy was in from CHINA...yea!

Now, I have to give a big disclaimer about the pictures...these are ones I took...with a point-and-shoot...so they are a far cry from Jon's pictures from everywhere else we go. And looking through these, I realize why it does not make any sense for me to have a camera when Jon's around!

-L

Commemorating Tyler's first flight (I'm attempting the picture)...

Doing better now that I'm holding him and a complete stranger is taking the picture...

Pool time!

Julie and I having fun testing out the underwater aspect of our point-and-shoot camera...

Natalie really wanted to wear my goggles...

Rehearsal Dinner at the Cadillac Bar...it was SO GREAT to see old friends!
Gamma Phis...
Britta, Kelly, and Meredith

The Wedding Day...

All the Gamma Phis...Kelly, Britta, Meredith, Dani, and me. And I'd like to point out that Meredith and I are the only ones NOT pregnant in this picture!

I took my sister as my date...Andy got to come with me to the horse races for Meredith & Chris' party a couple days before the wedding.

SUSHI DINNER...boy I love it when we get treated to this! In this picture, Natalie is eating a bunch of rice, but earlier in the meal, she ate ROE by the SPOONFUL. It was hilarious. It IS colorful and looks fun...

Ice Cream at the Park...

2010-10-09T22:27:00.002-06:00

At the start of July, we did a little event for our photography business at our local park. It was a Bebe Reunion so that we could catch up with families we have not seen for at least a year since completing their baby's first year photography. We served ice cream and offered mini-sessions for updated family portraits for the families who came. It was a really fun time and a perfect evening for the event. Natalie ate her whole ice cream cone over the span of about 30 min, so needless to say, she wore much of it all over her, but again, she loved it! Tyler had some funny moments too...

Tyler loves putting things in his mouth, and this was no exception...

Lindsay's 32nd Birthday!

2010-10-09T22:12:00.003-06:00

Okay, so yes, my birthday was back on June 28th, but all of you know that we're pretty far behind on posts...

This was the day after our rafting trip, and Jenny and Jeremy took me out to Pei Wei for dinner (yum!) and then we took them to Josh & John's for ice cream. This is our local place that is just awesome. It was Natalie's first time to have an actual ice cream cone! As you'd expect, that was a messy experience, but she loved it (of course!). Natalie thought the huge "tropical bird" (this is from Baby Einstein's World Animals DVD) was pretty cool to see as well. It was after the ice cream that we had this gorgeous sunset and went to the park where the "dizzy" movie was filmed...

Back to that movie... every so often, I'll be upstairs and I'll be able to hear Jon laughing hysterically downstairs. Every time it's because he's on our blog watching that video. I don't know if everyone thinks it's as funny as we do, but any time we need a laugh, we watch it!

-L

Aunt Jenny with her niece and nephew!

Surprises in Parenting...

2010-09-22T23:17:00.003-06:00

So, I think we all know intrinsically that parenting is full of surprises, yet, when it actually happens to you, the shock is still there. I had one of those moments on Monday. Tyler was blissfully still napping when Natalie woke up. Oh, on that note, her newest milestone is that she officially (at the age of 28 months) became able to get in and out of her crib independently, regardless of the toybox at the foot of her crib. We therefore, just removed the one crib wall and put up a mesh half-wall to prevent middle-of-the-night falls. She is now on night 2 of her "big girl bed" and doing GREAT. Okay, back to the original story!

So, Tyler still sleeping but Natalie now awake, I (like always) have a few things that really need to get done for our business. So, I set Natalie up with a movie and run down to the office to try and get those things done. Just about 10 minutes later, I hear her at the top of the stairs saying to me, "Mom, big mess. I made big mess..." Well, I'm thinking to myself that I didn't leave her with food or drink, so what in the world could really be a "big mess." NEVER think this... it's ALWAYS possible I guess. So, I get upstairs to find that she somehow got into the TUB of Vaseline (which was half full and is now EMPTY) and smeared it all over the following:

- The bottom half of the wooden TV stand
- The ENTIRE TV screen and part of the speakers built into the TV
- At least one part of all of our leather furniture
- 60% of the gate at the top of the stairs
- Her clothes, face, arms, and HAIR (ALL OVER HER HAIR)

I'm mortified and she thinks it's just hilarious. That's when discipline kicked in so that she stopped thinking this was so funny. I mean, of course it IS pretty funny, but you don't really want your 2 year old to think it's funny. So, 45 minutes later, I've cleaned up everything but her. She's been in the bath this whole time, mind you, partly as punishment but also because Tyler has been up at this point and I had to clean up everything else first so as not to have him making things even worse. Now, in her defense, I have to say that she did avoid key areas, such as the carpet, and I'm quite thankful to have leather (vs. cloth) furniture. Our TV has never been so shiny, and there's newly hydrated portions to all our furniture...

Little did I know going into this cleaning process that Natalie would actually be the most difficult part of the whole thing! We shampooed twice and when Jon got home, he totally thought her hair was still wet. Nope, 4 hours later, it looked exactly the same since it was just coated with Vaseline that is quite stubborn to get out. So we get to Tuesday and again do 2 shampoos in the am and 2 shampoos at night, all day still looking like we have wet hair. Gross! So, today, I decide I need to do online research. I find that you can either rub cornstarch into the hair or combine some baking soda with your shampoo. We do this and viola! her hair is BEGINNING to look like normal. I'm sure it is some of the most nourished hair at this point but I personally would like it to stop looking like it's wet all the time and feeling sticky/tacky. So, all this to share a funny story and also let you know that if YOU need to get Vaseline out of hair, the baking soda works amazingly well! So now you know.

Dizzy, Dizzy Natalie!

2010-09-09T15:28:00.002-06:00

Oh the fun of the playground! This was from my birthday. We went for ice cream after Jenny & Jeremy treated me to Pei Wei for dinner and then headed to America the Beautiful Park in downtown Colorado Springs for a little playtime and to enjoy a gorgeous Colorado sunset. Natalie loves the spinning and is HILARIOUS afterwards! ENJOY!

Rafting on the Arkansas River...

2010-08-29T23:12:00.003-06:00

Jenny & Jeremy came to visit us late June, and we had a BLAST taking them on their first white-water rafting trip! We did a full-day on the Bighorn Sheep section of the Arkansas River in the Canyon City area of Colorado. It was just awesome. During the morning, we had a stop for a break by this big rock outcropping, and we got to jump off into the river. It was really fun and such a rush. The afternoon had the bigger rapids to go through. The whole day was so fun, and we ended the day taking them to (drumroll, please...) ROYAL GORGE! We'll skip the gorge pics from this trip since all of you blog readers are becoming very familiar with the place!

-L

Ready to raft!

Proof that I jumped!

Jenny & Jeremy

Tyler LOVES to eat!!

2010-08-29T23:05:00.002-06:00

We actually began foods with Tyler at about 4 months old in hopes that I would be able to start getting more sleep, but we hadn't done any pictures of the messy endeavors until June. Tyler actually loves absolutely everything we've ever given him, and in the past month or so he's been doing true solid foods with Cheerios, mac 'n cheese, hot dogs, and frozen peas topping his list of favorites. These are some pretty fun pictures of him enjoying a meal!

-L

Tyler at 7 months

2010-08-24T23:23:00.003-06:00

So, back in JUNE (forget that it's almost September...), Tyler was 7 months old. He's just such a happy guy (unless he's hungry!). We did a fun mini-hike in Cheyenne Canyon and took some 7-month portraits in the canyon. It was a great night, and by the end, just like most kids, Tyler was asleep in the carrier. I just love how babies become dead weight when you're carrying them...

Enjoy some favorites of Tyler and our hike and also my favorite updated siblings pic...

This one is awesome because it shows you why he's our "Rockhopper"...if you know what the penguin looks like, you'll see the resemblance with those long tufts of hair that stick out from behind his ears!

Garden of the Gods Hike

2010-08-24T23:17:00.002-06:00

Back in June we did a little evening family hike. Natalie is doing really well on her "own feet" when we're out and about and did awesome on this 15-20 min uphill hike. There were some pretty big steps in the trail, and she did great with all of it! This spot is called The Siamese Twins and is where the well-known hole in the rock formation frames Pikes Peak. It was a beautiful summer evening!

-L

Natalie on the trail...everywhere we go, we take our "friends"!

Our happy guy at 7 months old...

Times like these remind us why we love living in Colorado...we get these views all the time and can up and decide at 7 pm to go take a hike!

Grandma LaVonna's Visit...

2010-07-21T22:02:00.003-06:00

What a treat! After having Grandma out in March when we attended WPPI, she got to bum a ride with friends from church out to Colorado to see us again! We (of course) took her to The Royal Gorge with our family pass! It was great for Natalie and Tyler to have some great time with Grandma again.

-L

Getting ready to ride the kids' train at Royal Gorge...

Natalie could not get enough of the carousel on this visit (the zebra is her favorite)...

Mom and Grandma think this is a fun picture, but the kids don't...but maybe that's a good thing!

Beautiful view heading down into the gorge on the incline railway...

Okay, this was such a cool part of our trip back. We finally checked out Skyline Drive (a road Jon has been wanting to check out). It is crazy cool...at the top, it's just slightly wider than the one-way road...big drop offs on both sides...only in Colorado would they think to make a road here!! And this picture just does not do it justice, so come out and we'll take you there so you can see it and experience it for yourself!

Walking our "Friends"

2010-07-21T21:58:00.002-06:00

Natalie has so many "friends" (stuffed animals, dolls) and LOVES the doll stroller from Aunt Jenny and Uncle Jeremy. This is a precious picture of her walking with her stroller on our sidewalks...

-L

Need a Laugh Today... ?

2010-07-21T21:53:00.002-06:00

Natalie all of a sudden just LOVES her sunglasses, and while often upside down, puts them on herself. These pictures were from a day in June when Jon was just out having fun with her and taking some pictures. We think you'll agree that they are just hilarious!

-L

Okay, this is one that is just cute and a little "movie-star"ish...

This is the one that is SO FUNNY and may be used in the future to deter dating in later years...

This one cracks me up since it looks like some fashion model shoot with a wind machine...

Natalie and Katie

2010-07-20T22:23:00.002-06:00

This video is TOO FUNNY of Natalie and Katie while waiting to ride the Incline Railway at The Royal Gorge. Oh to have this much energy!!

Great Sand Dunes & The Royal Gorge

2010-07-20T22:07:00.002-06:00

Okay, so get ready for UPDATES! This one takes us back to Memorial Day weekend and Josh, Koren, and Katie's trip out here! We had a great time with them, and Katie and Natalie are at very fun ages to play together. I was so hoping that Katie's amazing potty abilities would rub off more permanently on Natalie, but for now, it seems we should give it a break and then revisit...

Natalie was rather enamored as well of Katie's "big girl bed" (Koren brought her MATTRESS with them...but hey, it worked awesome, and it fit in the car, so maybe it's not a crazy notion!). They were too funny together.

While with us, we camped for a night at The Great Sand Dunes National Park. It was our second time to go, but since we were visiting during the spring this time, the water was flowing, so that was great. Natalie got braver and braver by the minute with the sand and water, and while timid at first, was running by herself through the sand and water by the end! And then the next day, we went to the Royal Gorge. We ended up buying the family pass, so EVERYONE who visits us this summer will be treated with a trip there!!

-L

Our campsite...what a view!

Natalie took these pics of Mom (with Dad's help, of course!)...

We are dirty, but still cute...

Night Star trails...it's always awesome to get away from the city and realize just how many stars are out there!

At the Dunes and "beach"...

The whole group at the Royal Gorge!

On the bridge over the gorge...

Katie riding the incline railway...

Happy 4th of July!!

2010-07-04T23:06:00.000-06:00

We hope everyone takes time today for a moment of appreciation for the freedom we have in America. It's truly amazing. We are so blessed to live here and experience freedom on a daily basis. And we thank all of you who serve our country to continue to fight for our freedom and safety. THANK YOU!!

Our 4th of July was fairly quiet. We contemplated whether we would attempt to go out to The Broadmoor, The Air Force Academy, or Palmer Lake for an evening fireworks show, but at around 7 pm when Tyler was clearly ready for bed and Natalie was looking rather tired herself, we realized that as parents of little ones, it'll likely be a couple years before keeping the kids out past 10 pm makes sense! Anyway, this is actually the very first year (since moving to Colorado) that we have not worked a wedding on the 4th of July, so little did we know that leaving our house just was not even necessary to enjoy some pretty amazing displays in our own neighborhood! So...we enjoyed quite a great show simply sitting out on the corner and snuggled under blankets! And not only did we have great fireworks, but the lightning was also all around us. It ended up being just perfect since Tyler slept peacefully through it all, Natalie got to watch some, and then we watched more once she was happily asleep. So it is possible to have a great 4th of July, complete with impressive fireworks, without leaving your home and with two little kids!

P.S. We PROMISE that we will soon get you updated on all the pics from June! It's been pretty busy with lots of visitors and just parenting, not to mention the business!

Sky Sox Game

2010-06-18T20:51:00.003-06:00

Tyler had his first baseball game experience last evening right here in town with our minor league Sky Sox! They won the game, and it was quite a nice night to watch the game. Natalie was pretty excited to see Sox the Fox every time he appeared (which is great since she's been freaked out in the past...). We had a fun time, though have paid for it today with cranky kids who got to bed way too late last night!! Now, in Tyler's defense, I am pretty sure he's been cranky from getting ready to cut his first teeth, but it's definitely been a rough day...

-L

Tyler at 6 months

2010-06-05T15:08:00.002-06:00

Mr. T is now approaching 7 months, so no better time than to get the 6 month portraits posted for you! He's doing great with is t...not without topples, but his recovery on his own is great. He still love being on his tummy more than anything, and flips himself there all the time. He grabs EVERYTHING and just graduated to the high chair for meals! This means that big sis Natalie is now at the big table in a booster seat. As a side note, you might not be able to see it in the pictures, but Tyler has earned the nickname "Rockhopper" (after the penguin) for two reasons...one, he LOVES bouncing and jumping and two, he has these two tufts of really long hair that stick out from behind his ears. It's super cute and just like the penguin!

-L

Storytime Under the Stars...

2010-05-24T22:49:00.004-06:00

We enjoyed a great evening treat with Natalie tonight...storytime under the stars! Jon recently put up our lights in the back, and it creates such a neat atmosphere outside on the deck at night. We read two stories before getting her to bed - Baby Bear, Baby Bear What Do You See? and One Duck Stuck.

-L

Natalie at Two Years Old...

2010-05-14T21:01:00.002-06:00

Favorites from Natalie's two year portraits!

-L

A rare moment of quiet and calm...I love this one!

My favorite favorite...

Natalie's 2nd Birthday!

2010-05-14T20:56:00.003-06:00

We had a great time on Natalie's (oh, wait, it was also JON'S birthday...) birthday. During the day, I made her birthday crown with her and then later the cookie-brownie-cake. We all went to Chuck E. Cheese's for dinner & games that night. While quite expensive, it was really fun, and Natalie continues to talk about seeing the "mouse." When we got home, we were on Skype with Uncle Andy in China and he got to be there (via computer) to sing "Happy birthday" and watch her blow out her candles!

-L

In her b-day crown...

Trying very hard to "show" that she's two! We know that answer but the fingers are tricky!!

Receiving her big gift from Mom & Dad...

With the "mouse"...

Tyler at 5 months

2010-05-14T20:52:00.002-06:00

Here are the long awaited 5 month portrait favorites of our little guy...and now he's almost 6 months!

-L

Hilarious...

This is my favorite favorite!

Lovin' the hair dryer...

2010-05-11T16:22:00.000-06:00

How does your garden grow...?

2010-05-11T16:17:00.002-06:00

Jon and Natalie have begun our garden indoors! This was wise since we've had a snow and a couple more freezes since they planted all the seeds. We are (hopefully) growing bell peppers, tomatoes, and pumpkin! Things are starting to grow!!

-L

Too Much Fun for Tyler...

2010-04-26T22:01:00.002-06:00

So Tyler has been really enjoying his exersaucer time. He's usually content for awhile in it, playing with all the different toys and sounds. This day, things seemed really quiet, and when I looked, he'd fallen asleep! It's pretty hilarious, so we thought we should share!

-L

Easter 2010

2010-04-26T21:47:00.002-06:00

I was singing at church on Easter Sunday, so our egg hunt was in the afternoon once nap time was over. Natalie knew just what to do this year! The cutest part was when she found the 6th or 7th egg and looked over at Tyler and his basket and realized he didn't have any. She brought the next two eggs over to Tyler's basket saying, "share Tyree, share Tyree." We were pretty proud of her and that moment of sharing! She quite enjoyed opening the eggs inside and finding chocolate and coins. She loves putting money in her bank and shared with Tyler as well, putting almost half of the coins in his bank and the other half in hers. Fun day...and then we ate a very non-traditional, yet very tasty, hamburger dinner!

-L

Tyler at 4 months

2010-04-05T19:57:00.002-06:00

Tyler's already 4 1/2 months old...crazy! He's a little over 14 pounds and 27 inches long, which makes him the same size Natalie was at 9 months! We call him (very affectionately) our "chunky monkey" since he's so big compared to Natalie at his age, but according to the charts, his weight is just 35% of the national averages. He is tall...83% for that! He's doing great...really smiling and giggling. He's ticklish now too. He also just adores Natalie. He smiles even when she's pushing toys right into him or right in his face, and he lights up when he sees her. We've introduced some veggies and fruits into his oatmeal 2x a day. So far, he's enjoyed sweet potatoes, butternut squash, carrots, and peaches. Seems to love them all so far!

-L

Here's some favorites from the 4 month portraits...

Cute Video of Natalie after a Bath!

2010-03-11T11:15:00.002-07:00

We've been out of town this week in Las Vegas for our annual WPPI convention! We've had a BLAST and also are returning this evening with so many fantastic ideas and tons of energy to bring our business to a whole new level. While we have been here without Natalie and Tyler, LaVonna has been taking care of them at home. We miss them lots and have thoroughly enjoyed our time away for learning and fun (I'd like to say rest and relaxation too, but convention is SO BUSY!)... This is a totally cute video LaVonna did with Natalie and sent to us while we've been in Vegas, and we thought we'd share it with you!

Tyler at 3 months

2010-02-19T22:26:00.003-07:00

Tyler is now already 3 months old and "little" Natalie is just about 22 months! Life is crazy but wonderful with both of them! Tyler is now 13 1/2 pounds...well over half of Natalie's current weight of about 22 lbs and more than she weighed at 7 months! She's doing so well with Tyler and loves her little bro. We cannot wait until he's able to hold his own more so she can play with him more. She really wants to and it's so hard to understand that he's too little to play ball and such. He's not sleeping through the night yet, but we'll get there (hopefully soon!). He's smiling all the time now (I love that!) and really cooing and vocalizing a lot as well. It's really fun to "talk" back and forth with him and he loves it! I have to say that while we're excited for the photography season to pick up momentum again, it's been quite a blessing to have so much time just to parent during these first few months of two little ones!

Enjoy these latest pics...there's a bunch cause I just love them all!

-L

...with blanket from Aunt Jenny

This one makes me smile...wow he's loving life at this moment!!

And here's Natalie...

Best buds...are we blessed or what?!?!

Natalie's reaction as Tyler is slipping out of her grip...this part is funny but then we had tears when he landed on the hardwoods...

Trying again...this time with an outfit change. Tyler's in the custom onesie from Todd, Nicola, & Gabrielle...

Fun with Dad! While Jon runs back and forth (with Natalie following each time he resets the camera timer), Mom desperately tries to calm Tyler down with more to eat...these pictures are much more appreciated when you know how hard he worked for them!

Content again with a full tummy...

If I HAD to choose a favorite favorite, this just might be the one!

Tyler at 2 months

2010-02-02T11:53:00.002-07:00

Our little boy is growing up! We'll soon be taking his 3 month pictures, but here are favorites from the 2 month session in January. Currently he's still eating all the time and at least 12 pounds already! At his 8 week well-check, he was 65% for weight and 85% for height...what a different experience from Natalie!! For comparison, Natalie finally hit 12 pounds just before she was 6 months old! He's doing much better with his gas/screaming episodes...they've decreased a lot. He sometimes goes down on his own at night (around 10 pm) but lately is pretty active until closer to midnight. Once he's asleep for that first round, he gives me about 5 hours and then goes back to needing to eat every 2-3. Overall not bad. Life is pretty crazy and busy with 2 kids and the business (thankfully we are in the slow times as far as my time every day goes). We're currently enjoying a great visit with Jon's sister Julie (Aunt Lil) and one of her dogs, Treo. We'll have to post some of our snowshoeing pictures with her from this past weekend.

-L

Too funny!

Super-baby!

"Okay guys, do you think we can be done soon?"

Tyler at 5 weeks old...

2010-01-13T23:44:00.001-07:00

Okay, okay, so Tyler is now EIGHT weeks old, but here are the 5 week old pictures we did last month...Life is more than a little crazy and sleep-deprived, so we appreciate patience as we get some updates to our faithful following!

-L

tiny fingers...

tiny toes...

a baby's life is exhausting!

"What you talkin' 'bout?"

One of my favorites!

Natalie's "gentle hand" with Baby Bro Tyler...

Christmas Eve

2010-01-13T23:03:00.003-07:00

Natalie and Tyler were the pinnacle of adorable and preppy in their great Christmas Eve outfits from Pop Pop and Mimi (Mike and Pam). I LOVE our family picture from this night!

-L

Ski Day at Arapahoe Basin

2010-01-13T22:59:00.003-07:00

While my family was in town, Mom and Dad watched Natalie in Tyler so that we could have a great ski day with Julie and Andy. It was FREEZING COLD...seriously...it was frigid...but very fun and no wait at the lifts. Beautiful place to ski too where you're completely surrounded by peaks. A big THANK YOU to my parents for watching the little ones so we could get away!

-L

icicles on eyelashes...

...frosted hair

Andy

Looking down at the beautiful valley below...

Schorr Family Christmas Picture

2010-01-13T22:46:00.002-07:00

We had such a great time with my family in town over Christmas! They were here for 10 days, and it all went so fast! Enjoy the portrait we did with Bob ("Bobo"), Nancy ("Nana"), Uncle Andy, and Aunt Julie...

Here's to a good Christmas time laugh!

2009-12-17T00:06:00.002-07:00

If you are needing a good laugh, just press play and sit back!

5th Annual Christmas Tree Chop!

2009-12-14T19:12:00.002-07:00

here it is! well the middle section at least. This is our 5th annual Christmas Tree Chop and 3rd here in Colorado! We had our hands full this year with Natalie trying to trudge through the 8 inches of snow in her 2 inches too big boots and wearing dad big mittens that go up to her shoulders made it hard for her to focus on looking for our tree this year. Meanwhile Lindsay is got Tyler in a polar bear suit and thrown over her shoulder on the look out for the tree. Lindsay spotted our tree this year (fir tree 7 feet tall) and then called in the calvary to chop it down! We had a blast this year even though our hands were very full of kids and tree sap. On the way back home Natalie fell asleep while the snow was coming down as we drove through Garden of the Gods singing Christmas tunes on the radio and spotting deer in the park. Merry Christmas!

-J

Garden of the Gods

its hard to see but yes, that's our tree on top of the trooper.

natalie's all worn out.

Thanksgiving

2009-12-14T18:06:00.004-07:00

We had lot's of visits from friends and family this Thanksgiving since Tyler was a popular man to see. Thanks everyone who took a moment to come by the house to see Tyler or to send a gift to him, we are very grateful. Lindsay's folks were here to stay through turkey day and will be coming back during Christmas! We had everyone pitch in to help us out from cooking in the kitchen to dirty diaper changes and then everyone left and reality set in that we now have 2 kids and a family of 4! Anyways here are a bunch of photos from this time.

-J

PS. Tyler is 4 weeks today!

great aunt jane holding tyler

great uncle david holding tyler

natalie tries to tickle tyler

the whole clan.....sorry julie.

julie and uncle david

heres natalie posing for dad during a photo shoot light test....thanks natalie!

we thought we should all jump in for an update since tyler has arrived! fun with the self-timer

we have a photography business and all we get to choose from is 3 family pix?!! thats not fair! tyler was saying he had enough.

natalie's first time to hold tyler

uh oh

Tylers 1st Photo shoot

2009-11-23T23:38:00.003-07:00

5 days old!

Tyler's First Bath

2009-11-23T23:29:00.002-07:00

Tyler and I arrived home on Wednesday morning and we all jumped right into a couple of work appointments (yes, we may be crazy, but we really didn't want to reschedule anything for this week!). Thursday was a little busy too, so we decided that his first bath would be on Friday. My mom arrived Friday morning and was very excited to be there for bath #1! Here's some favorites from bathtime!

-L

Natalie's Animal Sounds (17 months old)

2009-11-23T23:24:00.004-07:00

Introducing Tyler!

2009-11-23T23:24:00.001-07:00

Maternity Portraits

2009-11-14T10:41:00.002-07:00

Jon and I finally captured some maternity portraits recently, and I have to say, I am so glad we did them! I'm so close to the end that I didn't feel too great about taking them this late in the pregnancy, but Jon managed to have his talents create beautiful images that I love. The ones with Natalie are just precious, so I'm mostly sharing some of those here!

-L

Our Halloween Panda

2009-11-14T10:38:00.002-07:00

Natalie was a panda this Halloween (in a costume actually from China from Uncle Andy)...enjoy these pics!

-L

Two Weeks or so to go!

2009-11-11T07:09:00.002-07:00

I am just about to the end of my pregnancy and have had the "all clear" for Tyler's arrival for one week now. Still hoping he waits to come until closer to the due date of Nov 23rd, but I have little control over that timing!! We are getting excited to meet the newest addition to the family and excited to have my parents and sister here with us for Thanksgiving. We're busy, busy, busy getting things taken care of before having a newborn in the house, so hopefully the posts I've done for you today will keep you satisfied until we're announcing Tyler's arrival!

-L

My Little Pony Princesses Party

2009-11-11T07:03:00.002-07:00

Natalie was invited to Adelaide's 1st Birthday Party at the end of October, and there were real ponies there to ride!! A little timid at first, but then I think she had fun. It was the perfect time too to wear our party dress from Nana with our necklace. Natalie loved playing in the backyard (we are really excited for swings and slides anywhere we find them, and we are getting very brave going down on our own and climbing up playground stuff) and with the balloons inside!

-L

Great Grandma B

2009-11-11T06:54:00.002-07:00

Grandma B came up to STL while we were in town and got to spend time with all of us! Here's a favorite of her with Natalie...

St. Louis Zoo

2009-11-11T06:44:00.002-07:00

Toward the end of October, we traveled to St. Louis to shoot the wedding of one of Jenny's good friends. We added time on either side of the job to see family and some friends and go to some of our favorite places. It was pretty cold and dreary on this day at the zoo, but it was a great day since it wasn't crowded and the animals were all really active. Natalie LOVES animals, but she's a little hesitant when they are REAL and not just pictures in a book! Jason & Lisa met up with us with their boys, Jacob and Jonathan (our first time to meet little Jonathan) and then we went and had our Imo's Pizza for dinner after the zoo! Our time FLEW while we were in town, so if we did not get the chance to see you, know that we miss you and hope to have more time when we are next in town!

Enjoy!
-L

P.S. As with the pumpkin patch, Monkey came to the zoo with us!

Riding the Zoo Train...

Sharing her thoughts on the huge hippos swimming around...

The Cole Family

Pumpkin Patch!

2009-11-11T06:27:00.002-07:00

Early October we went to the Happy Apple Farm about an hour south of Colorado Springs. It was a great day for choosing pumpkins! Natalie absolutely loves her stuffed animals (she sleeps with about 3+ of her "friends" each night) and Monkey accompanied us on this trip! He was quite dirty after this outing, but pretty impressive that she kept up with him the whole time! Natalie is so active, it's pretty hard to get pictures of her lately, but here's some favorites!

-L

Natalie plays "peek-a-boo"

We LOVE being outside and finding leaves, sticks, rocks, etc...this is a REALLY cool stick!!

October Frost!

2009-10-11T14:37:00.003-06:00

Seasons come and go but this year the fall fell rather quickly with the frost and frozen rain we had yesterday. It's only 20 degrees outside and we are not even half way through October yet. Time to get a hot fire going!

-J

these are all from our front yard. I touched a leaf and it almost shattered it was so cold.

same tree but from the inside by the trunk.

Fall Drive to Gunnison Colorado 2009

2009-09-28T22:59:00.002-06:00

Tonight we witnessed a fire in the sky, it was on Monarch Pass at sunset around 11,000 feet. It was glorious! We have SO many great shots from today that we will be sure to post but wanted to get this posted quick.

-J

POST UPDATES!

2009-09-16T01:21:00.003-06:00

hey all we finally posted stuff so be sure to look in the "older posts" we just posted 8 posts for September (not counting this one) so be sure you see them all!

-J

Labor Day 2009

2009-09-16T01:11:00.003-06:00

Labor Day weekend we were invited to two bbq's and then grilled out ourselves for a total of three great meals in one weekend! We also went to see the colorado springs classic balloon glow on Saturday and for the actually day of Labor Day we worked.

-J

Camping in Estes Park

2009-09-16T00:57:00.004-06:00

Sorry once again. We are a few months behind on posting stuff. We went camping in Estes Park this July and had a good time!
check out the shot of natalie when she realizes she has a cricket on her green croc. they are so funny. We also had a bear in our camp site the last night we were there but didn't want to take a chance on getting a picture and spooking it and then getting mauled.

-J

moms roasting a dog on a stick.

Natalie enjoys the HOT fire

and a carrot...

i think i need to get Lindsay a point and shoot camera.....this is out of focus....

she got one in focus out of about ten

this was SO hilarious!

we did a day hike up to the top of Deer Mountain in RMNP

we saw grande views and counted 25 different kinds of wild flowers with our flower guide book.

we had a quick snack at the top and then had to zip down the mountain before the lighting storm came in.

grande skies in Colorado!

2009-09-16T00:45:00.002-06:00

we have had some incredible clouds here in Colorado the past couple days and wanted to post a shot.

-J

Beef

2009-09-16T00:42:00.001-06:00

Heart-a-tack waiting to happen! We enjoyed some bacon cheeseburgers with a side of greasy potato's and a cherry Coke to wash it down. Don't worry we don't eat like this every night!

-J

Nana and Aunt Julie come to visit!

2009-09-16T00:29:00.002-06:00

Sorry this is kinda late but better late than never. This was the weekend before Julie moved to Denver for grad school and so we were up in Denver getting Julie to her interview. We played in the park for a couple hours and took pictures- thanks Nancy!
Afterwards we went to Bonnie Braes 50's diner and then topped it off with some ice cream . It was a fun trip and look forward to the next one!

-J

summer time fun with Bobo!

2009-09-16T00:21:00.003-06:00

Bobo made a visit to see Natalie and help us out on a big wedding weekend in August. He taught natalie how to nose nuzzle and also fixed up our American Flag with some new hardware and a brand new flag to fly for Labor Day! Thanks Bob!

-J

just pictures and rain!

2009-09-15T23:24:00.004-06:00

here are some shots from on location during our work days. we have had tons and tons of rain this summer but have not canceled any sessions because of the it. these are mostly taken in between outfit changes during seniors sessions. Natalie's hair is sure getting long as we are really loving being outside this fall photographing people.

-J

downtown

garden of the gods

manitou springs

Natalie and the big LENS.

2009-09-15T23:19:00.003-06:00

Natalie has been such a big help on our sessions as of late. we have been SO busy this summer with high school seniors sessions and gotta say sorry for the neglect, we have some things coming to the blog. we promise!

-J

New lighting assistant!

2009-08-28T16:34:00.002-06:00

natalie is checking the lights to make sure we have a good exposure during our recent h.s. senior session.

Jenny & Jeremy come to Colorado!

2009-08-14T23:47:00.002-06:00

The end of June, Jenny & Jeremy drove out to see us as part of their big road trip to also see Arizona! We had a great time with them, and they were here for my birthday! In just a couple short days, we managed to see some of the big highlights in Colorado Springs, including Garden of the Gods, the Manitou Cliff Dwellings, and going to the top of Pikes Peak! We also had a great time just hanging out and enjoying relaxing times around the fire pit in the backyard.

-L

A trip to Colorado Springs is really not complete without visiting Garden of the Gods!

At the Manitou Cliff Dwellings...

Riding the cog railroad to the top of Pikes Peak!

arriving at the top!

Natalie can't really see, but we're up there!

So yes, if you're curious, even in the middle of summer, the top of Pikes Peak is still chilly...you can pretty much expect it to be 30 degrees cooler than whatever the temp is in the city...

<

end of the road...

Looking down at our city (and if you look closely, you can see Garden of the Gods)...

Hot Pink Cowgirl!

2009-08-14T18:50:00.002-06:00

here's Natalie in her cowgirl boots she finally fits in. this was about 10 minutes ago on the back deck.

Get excited for some updates!!

2009-08-10T08:29:00.002-06:00

So here are the updates that will be arriving to the blog in the near future. We know it's been awhile and we're behind, but we've literally been going full steam on photography jobs since the start of July and we do need our time just to relax as well!

Be looking for posts on...
Jenny & Jeremy's trip to see us
My mom and sister's trip to see us and go to Denver & Estes Park
Our trip up to Boulder via Golden on our way to our wedding job outside Estes Park the beginning of Aug
My dad's trip that just happened out here

Also, my sister now lives in DENVER!!! Yea! We're very excited that we'll get to see much more of her being just up the road from us. She's beginning grad school at DU and working both a fellowship for the university and serving as the house "mom" for her Delta Gamma chapter on campus! She'll be coming to see us this weekend to celebrate her birthday and also watch Natalie during our wedding job on Saturday.

Anyway, hang with us and be patient a little longer!

Love,
L

Got Milk??

2009-07-23T14:12:00.000-06:00

Too cute and funny...

-L

It's a BOY!!!!

2009-07-08T22:29:00.003-06:00

We are so excited to announce that Natalie is having a little brother come November! We had our "Baby Cakes" party this evening and had a blast with some of our friends and family that could join us! I had the big ultrasound earlier today but had the tech seal the gender in an envelope which we then took to a friend who frosted the middle layer of our baby cake with pink or blue. The outside of the cake was just white, so it wasn't until we cut the cake that we found out it's little Tyler in there!! Very fun times and quite an exciting way to find out! We polled the group before we cut the cake and only my mom and Brittany thought girl, so the vast majority all were expecting to see blue frosting inside. The majority was right!

-L

Cutting the cake...

Excited reactions around the room...

Our baby cake...

New Carpet!

2009-07-08T22:26:00.002-06:00

Just before Jenny & Jeremy came to visit, we had new carpet installed in our living room and then in the gallery area downstairs. We love it! I have to say that it also made me never want to move since just clearing those 3 spaces (with the help of the carpet guys for the big stuff) was such a hassle!! Playing on the floor with Natalie is such a better experience now!

-L

Before...

During...

AFTER!

The Cooper family comes for a visit!

2009-07-08T22:22:00.002-06:00

John, Nicole, & Johnny Cooper came for a Colorado visit and took the time to come down to Colorado Springs to see us! It was hard to believe that the last time we've seen them was when we lived in STL!! It was really fun to meet Johnny! Nicole grew up in Colorado Springs for awhile but hadn't been back for years, so we took them to Garden of the Gods after enjoying a BBQ at our place! It was so fun to hang out again, even if brief!

-J

Natalie's new Crocs!

2009-07-08T16:23:00.002-06:00

We were finishing a high school senior session at the US Air Force Academy and as we were walking back to the car Natalie was looking very cute in her new green Crocs and having a little snack. Here they are, very small and cute!

-J

Black Bears!

2009-07-08T16:12:00.002-06:00

We did a wedding a couple weeks ago now in the grand town of Twin Lakes, Colorado and on our way back home Lindsay said "is that a BEAR?" I quickly looked and said YES and stopped the car as fast as a honda civic can stop, jumped out popped the trunk, unzipped my camera bag and pulled out my camera trying to get the right exposure all in about 30 seconds before the bears were spooked enough and chugged their way back to the trees. I wrapped off like 4 or 5 shots and these were the best that I got from the road side.

-J

ps. these are black bears, since colorado does not have grizzly bears yet...

Water Drops!

2009-07-08T16:03:00.002-06:00

ok so we are on a mission to catch up all of our loyal readers with everything that happened in June. This is a post about water drops. did you ever think about how cool the rain is when it it's your head or the ground or a lake? There is a splash that takes place and I was out to find out just how the water looks in a split second. This was my first attempt and but not my last. I did the experiment with my photography intern in my garage. Here are my favorites from what I took.

-J

this one I added a blue gel