Amy and Matt June 2014

June is a popular month for weddings!  This year, my husband and I were invited to 3 weddings on the same day!!

My friend Amy's wedding took place on the campus of Heidelberg University.  It was a lovely wedding with lots of special and unique touches that made the day very reflective of the bride and groom's personalities and interests!

 ...and while I have no desire to ever be a wedding photographer, it was fun snapping photos of my friend on her wedding day!

I hope you enjoy a little peak at Amy and Matt's amazing wedding!

Jacob's First Communion

Me... on the day of my first communion (taken in the early 70's at a local store where you sat on a rug covered table and they snapped your photo - the original is all shades of muddy red).  Despite the low resolution photo, I do remember feeling happy in my first communion dress and veil.  On my first communion day, my godparents gave me a little white mass booklet, which until last Wed., I kept in my jewelry box.

Last Wed. I met my godson and nephew, Jacob, at the same church where I made my first communion.  Can it really be almost 40 years later?!  Jacob is an amazing little boy in so many ways!  He is loving, happy, smart, caring and competitive!  I love him dearly and am honored to be his godmother.  I know his first communion day will be special and I'll be there to support him.

Our little photo session was kind of a "spur of the moment" type of activity that just happened to turn out PERFECTLY!

I can't believe how grown up he looks in his suit and dress shoes!    ...and yes, that little white mass book is now his.  The pictures are a little outdated, but the content is still pretty much the same.  I love how he posed with the little book in many of the photos!  He knows just how to make an Aunt feel special and loved!











 Happy First Communion Day Jacob!
Love, Aunt Lisa

Megan

Ah, it feels good to be shooting photos again!  

It felt great to be snapping some photos today at my niece's basketball game!  She's going to be 5 in May and it's always fun to watch the littlest people play any kind of sport.  I remember when her big sister played soccer and would run off the field in the middle of the game because she "was hungry and needed a snack!"  It's always REALLY fun to watch those little ones get out there and do their thing!  

Megan was running up and down the court (with a big smile on her face as she ran past us... making sure we were all watching her) and shooting baskets like a pro.  I took some action shots, but since I don't have the right equipment or skills for that, I never like them.  I'll leave the action shots to her Uncle Jeff (who is spectacular at action photography)!  I did get some photos that captured the event in a way that I am much more comfortable with... 

Hooray for Megan... who can play a basketball game and still strike some great poses for her Aunt Lisa when the game is over.  She is multi-talented for sure!

*Click on the first photo to view in a slideshow (larger view).

After the game!  Big smile for Aunt Lisa!

Getting some support from Mommy!

Grandpa cheers for Megan!

Defense!

After the game

Uncle Don came to watch (and a photo bomb by brother Jake)!

Big hug from Daddy after the game!

After the game... hey, it's snowing!

Looking all cute after the game!

My Family Photo Session...

I'm enjoying all these lovely winter days.  Most people are "hating" winter, but I love the snow and chilly weather.  Way back in September, I did a family photo session for MY OWN family.  It's always a bit stressful to take the pictures and the be IN the photos!  I have no idea what I'm getting as I just keep clicking my remote (hoping that everyone is looking forward and smiling).  While there are plenty of out takes, I did manage to get a few nice shoots.

So, for all those people who are "so over winter", take a look at these sunny images taken when it was about 75-80 degrees.

A Christmas Party 2013

Every year since I moved out on my own I've been hosting a Christmas party for my family.  It started out as a very simple get together at my apartment where everyone managed to SQUEEZE into my tiny living room.  Now there is much more room and  I get lots of help from my husband (it's especially nice to have help with the food since I don't really enjoy cooking... I'm more of an "out to eat" or "order take out" kind of girl)!

This year it was snowing like crazy a few days before and continued on the day of the party.  It looked so pretty and Christmas-y outside and put us all in the mood.   The kids are always excited since our party is early in December and the gifts they receive are usually the first ones of the season.  I usually have some sort of game, but this year, I decided to have Christmas crafts.  Do you remember poking holes into oranges and creating designs with cloves?  Oh, they smell so good!  Everyone also created a "scratch art" Christmas ornament.  I bought them from Oriental Trading company, but I remember making scratch art projects when I was little.  We had to color the entire paper with rainbow colors and then completely cover it with black.  Then, we used a toothpick (or a pen cap) to scratch off the black.  It was fun and creative.

I hope you enjoy taking a peak at my family Christmas party.
Merry Christmas to all of you!!

PS  For my photographer friends...  some of the pictures were shot with flash (ew, I just hate flash photography) and others in aperture mode with the ISO cranked up so high that I cringed when I saw all the noise (previously referred to as film grain when I shot film)!  My indoor lighting skills are still a "work in progress".  For now, I'm trying to just enjoy the moments captured and not be so critical of the technical imperfections.  :-)