Book reports and spirit days are a good idea for the day before Halloween at school.  Jake had a book report to present on the biography of Abraham Lincoln and was required to dress as his subject.  It was also spirit day at the boy’s school and the theme was cowboys.  Here are my two little men the day before Halloween, dressed up–but not in their Halloween costumes.  The cowboy had kindergarten treats all over his face and Abe’s beard had a hard time staying put in today’s crazy wind.

When I got home from this session and was downloading and backing up the images, my boys were looking over my shoulder. Jake said, “Mom, look…if we could have a little sister, this would look like our family.”  Cody said, “Yeah, let’s have a little girl and then we can be the perfect family…just like this one.”  Wouldn’t that be nice! 

I’ve just adored the Eblen Family ever since our first shoot almost two years ago.  Since then they’ve added baby Noah, who’s now 7 months old, to their gorgeous family.  Big brother Sam will always have a special place in my heart…especially since he jumped out of the car to come give me a big bear hug at this shoot.  Seriously people, that’s all it takes. 

Noah (just like another little one I shot this week) was enamored with the leaves and grass on the ground.  He refused to be distracted by the funny noises, silly faces, and crazy dances we were performing.  He was much happier eating dead leaves. 

At the end, when mom picked him up to say our final goodbyes, we got a whole series of cute shots like this one.  Go figure. 

Emma…such a breath of fresh air.  She came prepared with props and examples of photos she loves.  Everyone likes a good photo of themselves, but it makes my heart smile to meet someone who truly appreciates the art and beauty that can be found in photographs.  I just hope she loves these as much.  Thanks Emma, for spending your time with me.

Okay, so this is completely non-related to photography, but I just had to share. 

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve developed some rather irrational fears.  I don’t know if it has to do with being a mom or just preservation of life or what.  All I know is that some things scare the crap outta me…like bears.  This started when I was pregnant with my oldest son.  We lived on a lake in Washington and I started having nightmares about bear attacks.  I’m obsessed with bear attack stories but you won’t get me to go camping…not even in Kansas.  (Kansas has mountain lions, you know!)

I could probably give you a list of my Top Ten Panic Attack Items, but I don’t want you to think I’m too weird so we’ll just stop with bears.  My hubby knows how I feel about these big furry beasts, so he kindly sent me this email the other night.  It’s pretty funny…even if it does keep you up at night.