Zelda Learns to Dive

During the summer months we get to enjoy our pool, pretty much every day. Some days it’s quite refreshing, others, it’s more like a wet kind of warm and while it’s hard to fathom, on some days, it can actually seem a bit chilly after the sun leaves the back yard and the wind picks up a bit. Regardless of the day, the boys absolutely love to go swimming and we love how much it tires them out.

At the beginning of the summer, Mateo announced there’s a missile on the roof, outside of his room. Uh-huh. Well, as is pretty much always the case, he was right. There was a toy missile, that somehow was launched up and away onto our roof and it looked pretty fun. We returned the missile to our neighbors pool and promised to buy one for Mateo. Of course, when we get to the store, they don’t have the regular missiles, only the mega missiles, baby baseball bat sized ones. And as any seasoned negotiator will tell you, timing plays a key role and Mateo has it in spades. As we place the mega missile in the cart, he points to droopy-faced Lucas, who is saddened by the prospect of sharing a missile, so we add another to the cart. And then, Mateo reminds us that Pete will be coming over tomorrow to swim and will be quite sad if there’s no missile for him to play with, so, we add another.

Well, as it turns out, the allure of the mega missile is quite strong. While our darling Zelda used to love jumping in after a tennis ball, one look at the mega missile and it’s smooth, gliding path through the pool triggered her prey instinct better than mechanical rabbits for a greyhound and ever since, she would have nothing else. She’d snatch the missile out of the boy’s hands when they came close to the edge and soon she began jumping after it as well. Of course, she could never come close, as it travels under water, until one day, out of the splash, there she is, totally soaked with the missile in her mouth.

Just one last hurdle to clear. Joey too, likes the missile, but in a different way. Zelda loves the chase, she wants to catch it, give it back, rinse and repeat. Joey on the other hand is a bit of a stinker, he likes to tease, he takes the toy, wants you to chase him and when caught, engage in puppy combat (tug of war). Joey would take the missile from Zelda as she got out of the pool and do his thing. This was fixed easily enough, Zelda now drops the rocket on the step as she gets out of the water and guess who won’t stick his face in there to get it?

It’s amazing at how adept she’s become at this and how much fun she has, she really can’t get enough. Which of course, is right in line with Mateo and Lucas, they can’t get enough of this either. While Andrea was in Brasil, we’d sometimes have to add a night swim session, which of course doubled as a bath (there’s lots of chlorine in the pool, right?).

And without further adieu, the amazing Zelda

Jason and Janet’s Wedding

Janet and Jason chose one of the most beautiful locations in Arizona to tie the proverbial knot, Sedona.

And what a beautiful day it was too, eventually. We arrived in the midst of a thunder burst, gray and chilly, with a touch of gloom, but since this is Sedona and not Seattle, in less than an hour, the sun shone brightly, the skies were brilliant and the day was a perfect 75 degrees. There’s just something about Sedona that makes for bright, vibrant skies in the middle of the day, they don’t ever seem to get washed out and lose their color.

In real life, Janet is a wedding coordinator at a local venue here in The Valley and this always proves a mixed blessing- they get to see lots and lots of weddings, which can make it a little harder to put their personal touch on things, though Janet did very well and added many personal touches. Sedona proved a great fit, everyone is out of their environment and lots of family came in from across the country to a variety of activities. Destination weddings are neat that way, you get spend more time than normal with those important to you, when everyone is “on vacation”.

The other great thing about photographing a wedding coordinator’s wedding is the planning! We get a two for one, professional wedding planner that knows weddings like the back of her hand and a bride that stays on schedule without even having to try. Easy speasy. As for Jason, he’s a policeman and as such, still carries this air of authority about him, even out of uniform. We’ve also photographed a lot of policeman and have yet to get a proper explanation- just why do they -all shave their heads? Please feel free to share any ideas in the comments section below.

After everyone was ready, we did a “first look” on the veranda and then it was off to Tlaquepaque for some photo fun. Tlaquepaque is a really interesting place, while you know you’re in the southwest, there’s also this village-hamlet vibe, with an European flavor that photographs really well. We had great fun taking some photos and dodging the tourists, one of which was curious if Janet & Jason were actually getting married or just here for a model shoot. I told him both and to check out People magazine in a couple of weeks {grin}, which prompted him to take his own photo as well.

The ceremony site was rather stunning, those big blue skies again, set against Sedona’s red rock, off in the distance, it proved both grandiose and cozy at the same time. Janet was given away by their son Trey, who walked mom down the aisle as a perfect gentleman, it was just so adorable to see, the two of them, meandering down the path slowly. The ceremony was over before we knew it and then it was off to Agave for dinner and dancing and cupcakes! The cupcake display tower was specially designed and created for the wedding day by Jason’s dad and best of all, it was full of cupcakes!

There was much dancing and laughter and a wonderful evening was had by all. Congratulations Jason and Janet & Trey!

Baby Zach

I got the chance to photograph baby right before I left for Brazil. What a cutie! Here are some images from the photoshoot.

Meet One of Arizona’s Newest Newborn: Riley!

Oh my, seems I am once again suffering from BDD (Baby Deficit Disorder). They are just soooo cute and adorable, every time I photograph a newborn, the thought of adding another little one to my family takes root and it last for days. Especially girls. I’ve got the boy thing down, but dresses and bows and pink and purple, those are all so new and shiny.

Babies are just so sweet, Riley was so little and just a dream to photograph. She was super easy going and so cute I could not help myself and I totally got addicted to photographing her.

Newborn photography sessions are so much fun. Baby photos in general are fun, but with newborns, you just never get that same sense of how truly small and delicate they are, within a week or two, they just grow so much. I still have a purse with Mateo’s newborn photos. He starts kindergarten in two weeks.

Here are some of my favorite images. Congratulations to the proud parents Heather and Josh for such a perfect little baby.

Brittany & Brent’s Wedding: It Was Meant to Be

While patience may be a virtue, there’s also another saying, just as valid, there’s a time and a place for everything and in this time and place, there wasn’t so much room for waiting. While most engagements last a year or two, Brittany and Brent chose the fast track and were engaged for a grand total of four months, after all they had been dating for 6 years. While this shortened timeline made all the planning articles pretty much useless, it did prove to be plenty of time for them to plan their perfect day.  In their own words, “It was meant to be”.

As for the time, that was June! When they told their friends they were getting married outside, in June, in Arizona, I’m sure that raised a few eyebrows, with everybody thinking, it’s going to be unbearable. Well, on the day of their wedding we had this amazing weather in Arizona, so perfect it felt a spring-like 80 degrees. Who woulda thunk it.?

As for the place, another fine selection, they chose Sassi for their ceremony and reception venue, a wonderful little Italian Villa, right here in Scottsdale. We may be partial to Sassi since we work there a lot, but you just can’t argue with the results- fun weddings, talented staff, stellar food and Sassi photographs like a dream. When I asked Brittany if the wedding day was everything she always imagined it would be, she said “Yes, everything and much more, it all was so perfect” then she added, “Well, we did have a couple of little hiccups.” Uh-huh, just like Brazilians are a little into soccer.

They had sent their rings off to the jeweler to be cleaned and for one reason or another the jeweler failed to send them back their rings. On the wedding day at 9:00AM they still did not have the rings. That’s when Brent steps in, finds a courier that was able to send the rings via air, from out of state and they finally arrived, just a few hours before the ceremony started. Well done Brent- a man of action.

Amazingly, that did not worry our easy going couple at all. Brittany said she would marry him with rubber bands if the rings did not make it, she couldn’t care less.  I cared, rubber bands, purple fingers, not so good for my photos. I spied some Cracker Jacks in the corner, and considered the odds and kept that fallback for plan B.

As for the second, minor hiccup. On the morning of their wedding day, Brittany and Brent had yet to get their marriage license, you know, that little piece of paper in the manila envelope, that makes this whole thing official, yes, that one. Well, as previously stated, it was meant to be. Somehow, our happy couple was able to go to the courthouse on their wedding day and secure this precious document! Looks like deciding to get married on a Friday was a better decision than they could have ever possibly known at the time.

As an avid movie goer and lover of romantic comedies, it reminded me of this exchange between Philip & Hugh (Shakespeare in Love)- I made just one tiny, little edit

Philip: Mr. Fennyman, allow me to explain about the wedding business. The natural condition is one of insurmountable obstacles on the road to imminent disaster.

Hugh: So what do we do?

Philip: Nothing. Strangely enough, it all turns out well.

Hugh: How?

Philip: I don’t know. It’s a mystery.

It’s still a mystery. And it all turned out well. The ceremony was charming, complete with real, shiny wedding rings, on a splendid day, all followed with the signing of an actual marriage certificate. A grand time was had by all and they have already started living happily ever after.

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