music + art = good time

I'm headed to the winnipeg art gallery tomorrow afternoon for a winnipeg jazz orchestra concert featuring my sister! She's singing with a trio as part of the wjo's big band series. It's going to be fabulous! I love big band music and I love my sister - total win/win. There is a show in the evening too, so if you can't get tickets for one, maybe you can for the other. And you totally should get tickets, because, like I already said, it's going to be fabulous!

I took these head shots of her for this express purpose. It was rather impromptu. She was over for a birthday party and we left the group for a few minutes to quickly shoot these off. The pictures are a little unlike me - a little more formal than I usually am, but I figured that's what the wjo would want, so that's what I went for. (Sometimes you gotta go with the flow.)

Tim & Nicole: part 1

There was love in his look. Every time he looked at his bride his face shone with love. I loved it. I loved seeing her excitement as she waited to get ready. I loved it that she was so preoccupied with seeing him that she forgot all of our pre-laid plans. I loved it! I could've photographed their love all day... of course, I very nearly did.

At our first meeting, Nicole told me she wanted a focus on the pictures. She had already planned on using most of the day for picture taking with 4 different locations in mind, not including the ceremony and reception. LOVED it! LOVED her! Tim even threw in a suggestion for a location - which could be my favorite of the day. LOVED him!

I've broken this post into two parts because I had so many picture to share. So without any further "love"-ing, here's part 1:

Happy November!

Ahhh... November. I woke up Sunday morning feeling like I had a clean slate. Like this was the month for me to start again. October felt like some kind of crazy. Seriously. Towards the end, I thought I was going to go nuts. This is the month to fix that. This month I'm going to be organized and calm and not get all crazy when things are out of my control. I'm going to catch up on all the things October made me fall behind in. I'm going to get a head start on all the things that will need to be done next month. That was the attitude that I awoke to Sunday morning and it's Tuesday now and I'm still feeling pretty good.

So, to get started on my "catching up", I'm going to share this post with you that I wanted to do last week.

It was my son's class halloween party last week. Now, my son is a little bit reserved in large groups. He's quiet and keeps to himself and he's comfortable that way. And yet, he went dressed to this party as Elvis.

That's right - "the king". Uh hunh.

White and gold jumpsuit, cool shades, silk scarf - he was the best looking little Elvis I've ever seen. But I think he felt a little conspicuous on the playground. I mean, a white and gold bell bottomed jumpsuit kinda jumps out at you, y'know? He didn't quite know what to do when a couple of older girls came over the check out the little Elvis. And I saw him look around for an escape route when they came back with some more friends. But he survived. More than that - I think he enjoyed it. He got to spend the morning in the spotlight.

Most of us can appreciate that when it comes our way - even the quiet ones.

Favorite of the month: October

Okay, now you may be thinking I'm crazy here - having this image as my favorite for the month.. but it's my blog and I can do what I want! No, really, this one is my favorite because of the story it tells about me. Let's see if you can figure it out. (Don't worry - I'll help you along.)

So. There are two pairs of rubber boots. They are adult sized boots and one looks slightly larger than the other. The owners obviously take their boots off differently, one is maybe a little more dainty about it perhaps? (if rubber boots can be removed daintily) I think it's safe to assume that these boots have been out together. Perhaps they were in the garden working together, although they don't look too muddy, do they? Well then, perhaps they were happily walking through the rain. Perhaps they walked through a wet forest because they had nothing that was required of them and a walk seemed like a nice idea. If we can't assume they were out together, we can at least assume that they are now together. And their feet are dry:)

Alright, I'll let you in on the best part: mine is a family of 5.

And this is a picture of 2 adult pairs of rubber boots.

Jason & Jacelyn

It's about time I posted a wedding!

I had to really concentrate to keep the names straight for this one. Even so, when I would call one, the other would turn - I guess it could've used a little more concentration.

We spent some time wandering the streets and got in some good shots (in spite of the mosquitos and threat of rain) before we headed to the church for the ceremony. I loved the church with its high ceiling and stained glass windows... beautiful. As was everything else about this wedding.

Two Birds With One ... Quarter?

We went grocery shopping the other day. That's right: "we". I took the boys. I usually do. I wouldn't say it's the hightlight of my day - towing along 3 little boys, but it's usually manageable.
This particular shopping experience was . . . a little more trying. I think I was just tired. Tired of little boy car noises. Tired of loud boy sounds. Tired of trying to make a decision about whether or not we would all be in agreement with the vegetable crackers or the cheese crackers while refereeing who gets to ride on the cart.
Everything is worse when you're tired.
One of my boys was complaining about how his brother had found a penny and why couldn't he find a penny too? While I couldn't do anything about the boy noises and the fact that only one boy fits on the back of the cart at a time, I thought I could do something about this. So when we made it out to the parking lot and went to load up, I put a quarter on the ground and then asked my son to come help me unpack the cart. When he came over and saw that quarter, his face lit up and the excitement there was enough to make even me smile - and banish my case of "Seriously Tired and Grumpy".
And all it cost was a quarter.

Just Because: Kevin and Jenn + kids

I'm way behind in my posts here, and I'm going to start somewhere in the middle with Kevin and Jenn. We had a lovely day for pictures and we made the most of our time together with Jenn directing where to go and Kevin making sure we got there. Although the kids know me, I don't think they like me with a camera. They were a little unsure, but they gave me some beautiful smiles!
Here's a few of my favorites: