girls + lots of time on my hands + Pinterest = hair experiments

since i have a lot of time on my hands lately, i have been spending a lot of time on Pinterest.  there are a million hair tutorials, and i am pretty lame with hair.  i figured since i have 3 girls, i should try to improve my skills.  i had the girls each choose a hair tutorial to try and we went for it.  

Maddie chose the triple loop pony:

Avery chose a french-fishtail-braid-bun:

Anna chose a french braid bun:

not perfect, but we will keep practicing!

more adventures in hair!

this holiday season i had the pleasure of photographing many an adorable family.  one of my favorites was a little trade i did with a pal, photos for haircuts.  these two little cuties needed their stragglies trimmed up. 

Avery kind of looks like she's posing for a mug shot, but i like this photo because it shows just how cute the little cut is. 

 Madeline surprised us with her transformation.  i thought her curls were being wieghed down by extra length, but once we trimmed it up her whole look just became sleek and sophisticated.  her curls are no more!  it's a little sad.  but Madeline was pleasantly surprised, she's been wanting straight hair for a while.

daddy daughter campout!

Jason took the girls camping this weekend, while i stayed home to shoot a wedding.  i was sad not to go, we always have a great time and soon it will be too cold.  he didn't take a camera, but i grabbed mine as soon as these faces walked through the door:

i think he took a brush but was too intimidated by the rubber bands and such to actually use one.  he just left their hair as is for 3 days.  needless to say, the bath that followed these photos was much  deserved.  many gallons of conditioner were used!

the first cut is the deepest - Madeline

i think it's a rite of  passage or something.  maybe it's more of a flexing of independence, but it seems many a child give cutting their own hair a whirl.  Anna had her moment last year.  and now, Maddie has followed suit.  after months of complaining about her bangs, me pinning them back each day, she finally decided to take matters into her own hands.  she chopped them right off.  there you go - no bangs!  problem solved!

they definitely stay out of her eyes now. 

quien es esa niña? who's that girl?

that is what i've been saying when i look in the mirror the past 24 hours.



i needed a change. i like it. thanks Rachael! (ps: please ignore the unmade bed and dirty mirror)

hair we are again

last year, it was off with the hair. this year it's back to blonde. i was recently told for the very first time in my life that i look nothing like my sisters. what? then it was, "maybe bacause they are blonde..." double what? i've been blonde my whole life, natural or otherwise, with brief dalliances with red and different shades of brown. the past 18 months i've been more of a dark blonde, okay, brown with blond highlights, but now i'm back to my roots. or rather, the bleach...what's with a woman and her hair?

hair today....gone tomorrow

(so, i've been wanting to write this post for the past 8 weeks now, but there are never any pictures of me. we took some family shots with my in-laws and i just got a hold of them.) here's the story, for the better part of my life, i have had long hair...really long hair. whenever i wanted to change it, i opted for color feeling that my length hid a myriad of flaws. i was scared to cut it. recently, craving a change and hating the 100+ degree weather, i finally took the plunge! the result - i love it. i decided being afraid to cut your hair is one of the silliest things to dread. some may still feel i look better with the long locks, and that's cool. at 31 i am finally okay with only caring about how i feel about my looks. (okay, that is a little lie. i still care what Jason thinks. he was skeptical about the cut, until he saw it. as it turns out, he loves me for more than my hair! who would have guessed!) anyway, i post this because i think a lot of women worry unnecessarily about changing their looks. and i am happy to say i am not one of them anymore. finally, i am free of feeling like i'm defined by my hair. next challenge - loving my body! yikes, this will take another 31 years! anyway, here are some before and after pics of my hair: this picture was taken just days before i was scheduled for the cut. i actually backed out and waited another 3 weeks because of this picture. everyone looked at this pic and said, "how can you cut that hair?" it scared me.

we took family pictures with the Earls 1 week after the cut. i cut 9 inches, and i don't think you'd notice if i didn't point it out. here's one of the reasons i finally took the plunge - note that Madeline does not have a handful of hair! also, on this beautiful Arizona morning at 9am, it is over 100 degrees. now it doesn't feel like i'm wearing a sweater and a scarf! talk about liberating!!!!