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It took several re-schedules due to poison ivy, injuries and crazy weather, but I finally got together with this family, and when we did, it was so worth it. Mom and dad were so relaxed in front of my camera and willing to just sit back, relax and spend time with their boys. I absolutely love when my families let me come along for an afternoon at their home, hanging out, having fun, and just doing what they do. I know that many many many people out there think that for family photos you have to be dressed up and sitting in front of some gorgeous landscaping. But my favorite shoots are the ones where I get the amazing opportunity to photograph little kiddos riding their bikes, jumping on their beds, jumping on their parents , eating messy popsicles and showing off all of their prized possessions. I love finding the little treasures in your every day life that you often times never knew existed.

Peoria is lucky enough to have a cute little riverfront downtown. On Saturdays in the summer there is a great farmers market, there are constantly bands playing in the little pavilions, tons of great restaurants, and of course, the awesome water fountain, there is always something going on!

I love taking my clients down there, just walking around and seeing what we see. It seems like the scenery is constantly evolving, and every time we go there we find something new. This session was no different. Lucky for me, these guys were totally up for exploring.

I had so much fun and just might have to hook Hailey up with this handsome little blond-haired, blue-eyed charmer .

This morning she told me she wanted to go for a walk and get pink, purple, red and yellow flowers. She grabbed a little bag and collected every little weed flower along the way. It was the cutest thing in the world! Just had to share

I am very excited to introduce Anastasia Minis! All of the info is below, if you have any questions at all feel free to get in touch.

 The sessions will be held Saturday August 14, 2010. Location will be announced closer to the date. Sessions will be in 20-30 minute segments and there are a very limited number available. Your session will not be reserved until I receive payment in full for either a Mini One or Mini Two session.

 If you would love to take part in Anastasia Minis, but aren’t available August 14, let me know ~ we may book a second date. Thanks so much! I look forward to seeing you!

Don’t let those cute little pigtails fool you…

See this look right here? This look means she is up to no good…

This one right here means ‘Hey mom, I’m going to grab your camera and pretend to take a picture even though I’m soaking wet! K?’

Even when I retaliate with crazy swings in the air, she still has that sneaky little look on her face! She is definitely a little stinker, this one. But we love her anyway ;)

This little sweetheart holds a special place in my heart. Maybe its because she’s only a few weeks younger than my daughter, and they are so much alike! Regardless, there is something magical about 2 year olds…especially 2 year old girls . Everything is so pretty and fun and exciting…us moms get to re-live our princess days with them, and I love it!

We sweated it out for this session…it was seriously HOT! But I enjoyed every second.

…than being a kid in the summer? I think not.

Can you believe it’s already the middle of July?! I can’t…its just cruel how fast summer goes by. Well, I’ve done a few things this year that I haven’t done before. The first one, which I’ve talked about before, is to block out a LOT of weekends to just be at home and enjo the ‘lazy days’ of summer. And I hvae to say I think we’re doing that one pretty well.

The next thing is to create a summer to-do list for our family. Justin thinks I’m crazy, but for real, if we want to do anything before it gets cold, we have to actuall plan to do it. So I made this nice little list (with Justin’s input of course )! I have to say I did not come up with this on my own…I’ve seen several floating around. The first one I saw was Meg Duerksen’s whatever: the summer list. I also recently came across this summer list ~ 10 little ideas for summer bliss from Melissa at The Inspired Rom, one of my very favorite home decorating blogs!

I think I am going to have to add a few from the 10 little ideas list ~
~ put fresh flowers on the table
~ have a stack of books for summer reading
~ eat breakfast outside
~ go out for ice cream instead of dinner
~ make smores!!

So tell me, what’s on *your* summer list!!

I adore weddings. Don’t you? Everything about them is just so pretty and happy and fun. I had the honor of celebrating this very special day with Jason & Lauren a few weeks ago. Lauren & Jason adore each other and their love was contageous on their wedding day. Congrats you two, and thank you again for allowing me to cpature these treasures for you.

Oh folks…I am soooo late on this! I’m behind on a lot of things lately though…please forgive me . So I promised I would hold out until the end of June to announce our second Father’s Day winner of a free AMP session! Yay! After a ton of really great notes from dads, the randomly chosen winner is…drumroll please…………………..

Dan Cook! Here’s what Dan had to say:

Well finally someone givings some props to the dads! In our experience, the day we met Stacy was just another day for us to hang out as a family. Nobody felt pressured or stressed, it was very laid back and I actually had a great time! Thanks Stacy!

Congrats Dan! I’ll be in touch soon to chat about the details. And because, as they say, every post is better with a picture, here’s one from one of my favorite recent sessions!

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