soccer monster!

Anna is fulfilling one of my dreams of parenthood, she is playing soccer! i love soccer. and it makes my heart swell to watch my little one dribble a ball. i feel a little bad since she is on a team with all boys who have played before. that's a little intimidating for her first season. but she seems to be holding her own!

and boy is she cute! does life get any better than pink cleats?

lake Earl, and other unusual bodies of water

if you have been to our house, you know that the pool i said i would not move to AZ without, is still a huge pit of rocks in our backyard. but every now and then, when we get a monsoon, or other freak rain storm, i get my pool: now that we have pool furniture (thank you Powells), the seasonal "pool" really looks convincing:

we weren't the only flood around. i think people thought i was crazy jumping out of my car and snapping pics of huge puddles. but, to me it just looked so beautiful and fleeting.

i know all too well how soon the sun will come out, and with it....the dreaded HEAT. for now, i'll enjoy the rain!

dress as you dream

so, for this week's spirit day at pre-school, the theme was dress as you dream. there were doctors, nurses, a businessman, football players, firemen, and many, many little princesses. including this little lady:

i was privileged to be asked to come photography all the little lovelies, and will be able to present those at the end of this term. after our big day, my big dreamer came home and danced in the cul-se-sac all by herself. because she has taken to "posing" whenever she sees the camera, i tried to sneak up on her cutie self to capture the moment:


and now the posing:

i mean, she's always cute and everything, i just prefer her candid expressions! Anna, you will always be a princess, you can be whatever you dream!

very engaging

this couple is preparing for their autumn wedding. they're getting their Save the Dates out, and asked me to take the pics and design the announcements! i think all their guests are going to be thrilled as they prepare to go to Michigan in October! congratulations you two.

furry fun

i have been super busy lately with photography! this weekend i did two shoots. first up, this big family:that's right, seven kids in all, 4 with 2 legs, and 3 with 4! we started with the furries first, because they were the most restless:then it was on to family shots:

i got to steal some time with this fabulous foursome:and finally, the big kids:

thanks for a great afternoon!

Autumn in January

you may look at these pictures and think, "what a beautiful autumn day!" and yes, it was a beautiful day - in January! you see, here in Arizona we do seasons a little differently. we have summer from April to November (give or take a few weeks, and i'm including days over 90 degrees because anywhere else in the world that is HOT), and then we have winter and autumn intermittently throughout the rest of the year. one day it's 75, the next it's 50 and flash floods. so our leaves don't really know when to turn. but on this day the kids had a traditional fall day, raking up piles of leaves and jumping around. it was so cute i ran inside for the camera!

this cracked me up - she is working so hard to go fast! my little eczema face - doesn't that look painful? it is, she is always so itchy and uncomfortable. but look at that smile!

this little cupcake didn't quite get in on the leaf throwing action. but she was an adorable onlooker.

clean up! all the wagons and dump trucks were used to aid in the process. some how the bigger boys (who were so enthusiastic about jumping in the leaves) were suddenly missing during this time, i had to go gather them back up again....coincidence, i think not.

Anna's hammy pose. i like to try and catch her not looking, or else i get this coy, over-the-shoulder smile. oh well, it's still cute!

happy fall - in January!

5 sick Earls + 3 sick Beardsleys = new year's rockin'eve!

it's always a party when grandma and grandpa come to town! throw in aunt Corby and you're in for a real treat. so we knew it would be a rockin' new year's eve when we heard they were stopping by. my mom called and asked if we wanted to cancel since we were sick, they were sick too, but i said, "no way". so glad we didn't let a little (or even a lot) of phlegm keep us from partying in 2010!

the 'rents rolled in about 8pm so the kids got their party on for a little while before hitting the hay. everyone was really excited to see Avery's new walking moves. so, she was eager to show them off!

we called uncle Coll so that he knew we were having fun without him. and hoped he regretted staying in town to eat lobster and watch football with friends. i mean seriously, doesn't every 18 year old high school senior want to ring in the new year with 3 toddlers and their parents? what's his problem?
we watched football, ate yummy food, and even saw a movie with Corb while grandma and grandpa babysat! (thanks Mom and Dad!) all in all, and awesome way to spend a holiday!