REALLY RANDOM

The other day I was looking through my pictures and I noticed a few that I intended on posting on here but I never got around to it.

About a month ago we had the Ballards over after going to dinner one night. Max needed a haircut and Misty's husband Ryan really wanted him to have a mohawk. So Misty being the awesome wife she is agreed to it. I was the lucky one that got to cut max buddy's hair into a mohawk. I was telling Misty how I wasn't so sure about it and she agreed and just said if all else fails we will just shave it off.

So this is max before...
and after...
I think it turned out pretty dang cute!!

Dylen and Brooklyn alway's have so much fun hanging out together and are such cute friends.
A while back a few dance friends went out to dinner after having our dance pictures taken. I love all my dance ladies and am looking forward to next year! My dance instructor who is sitting to my left in this picture asked me to be the assistant dance teacher for jazz and hip hop next year and I am soooooooo excited!

On my way to a movie a few months back I walked outside after a rain storm and saw this rainbow. This picture isn't great but I love rainbows and this one stretched clear across the sky. So pretty!
I got a new lense for my camera, 50mm 1.8, I am still getting used to it but like that opens wider than my other lense.
These are some pics Misty took after swimming and I think they are so cute!

having dinner and ice cream after swimming.

More pictures of the workshop. Love these girls!!!

This one cracks me up because my friend Lisa and I were goofing off at the workshop. Michelle, don't worry about getting models next time you have a workshop I will be happy to pose for everyone! H-O-T!

I SCORED!

I'm really excited about all of the things I got from my workshop. During the second day we had a few drawings and I won some cute flower headbands from the banner boutique and a really nice photo album from the album cafe. We all got some gift certificates to places like EW couture, simply color lab, WHCC and a few others. I also got this cute little business card holder from baffin bags.

One of the things I was most excited about is this book that Michelle made for the workshop. It is such a great thing to have especially now that I am back home and I am trying to remember things she taught us. She worked really hard on everything and went out of her way to make things really great for everyone.

MORE SWIMMING

First of all I just want to tell Toby how great I think he is! My girls love their daddy and I feel like I'm the luckiest girl there is to be married to such a wonderful man!

This week Brooklyn did much better at her swimming lessons. She became a lot more comfortable with everything and she started really participating and learning. She loves going under the water. The whole time all we see her doing is going up and down out of the water. The class she was in was so large that they needed to have two teachers. Brooklyn fell in love with the girl teacher and said every time on the way to swimming if it was ok if she has the girl teacher. Her exact words were "mommy, is it ok if I take the girl today?" This teacher was really good with her and went out of her way to try to make Brooklyn feel comfortable.

The last day of swimming they had the kids put on life jackets and jump off the diving board. Brooklyn wasn't sure about this idea and right away said she didn't want too. This is how it all went down.

Walking over to get her life jacket on with her favorite teacher. The whole time she was making sure we knew she wasn't going to jump.
Getting her life jacket on still telling us she isn't going to jump
even walking to the diving board to watch was scary
Her teacher told her she could just watch if she wanted. She sat down and watched her friend Dylen take a jump.
After that she decided it looked kind of fun. So she went and got in line:)

She was great getting on the diving board
but then when she got to here she froze. Two teachers got up there to see if they could coax her out further to jump. lol
Nikki and daddy watching and waiting
She decided there was no way she was jumping off but she said she would jump off the side of the pool. Which is hilarious because last summer she was diving off the side by herself and this year she was scared to do even that. After jumping off the side this is daddy trying to convince her to go off the diving board.

more coaxing
Finally she agreed to jump off with the teacher. yeah!


Sydney
Dylen (she got some air!)
I think we are going to stick to smaller classes and her private lessons that are in August. She was a little young for this class and I think she does better with more one on one lessons. But we are proud of her for really trying!

NEW FRIENDS

Another reason that the workshop was so much fun for me is the friends that I met there. Toby and I both got to know these people really well in the few day's we got to spend together. It almost feels like with some of them that I have known them for so much longer! Some of the other photographers had their husbands with them and Toby really got to know them and had so much fun with them. The last day we were there the guys all went to a ranch up in the hills and hung out all day. He had a great time! The woman that I met are all so talented and I seriously learned so much from them. Since being back it has been great to still talk back and forth on email and facebook because I seriously was so sad to leave them! We got an invite to go visit Amy and Jake in Alaska and Toby is already planning the trip:).
I just want all you girls to know how much I loved getting to know you and that I look forward to our next adventure together. Michelle, I will host a workshop in yosemite or Lake Tahoe!! Who's in?:)

Someone took a big group photo so when I get that I will post it for sure!

This is me and Michelle, I was seriously in awe of how much she knows! I could have just sat back and watched her work all day. I asked her if her and her family wanted to just move in with us and she can teach me everything she knows, I think she is seriously thinking about it;)
When all of us were shooting it would sometimes be a little be chaotic. Everyone wants to get the shot in but their were so many of us that at certain points it got a little frustrating. This is when everyone's true side would come out, lol. At one point I just sat back and watched because I didn't want to get in anyones way. For the most part though everyone was pretty nice about not getting right in your way or giving others a chance to get their shot. Good times!
From left to right,

Nitny nitnysphotography, RaNae mysimplysaiddesigns, Melody melodywhitestudios , me, Kelli kmarekphotography, Lisa sparkedphotos, Tiffany was taking the pictures but not sure what her website/blog is.
Audrey, audreylitfin
Audrey, Jen jengraberphotography, RaNae, Amy simplybphotos, Lisa, Michelle michellekanephotography, me, Michelle michellebolton, Jen jenvandam

While I was in the middle of shooting Toby drove around and checked out all the beautiful places in the area. He took our little point and shoot camera and took these pictures and I was actually very impressed. I like the composition on these shots and think he should learn to use my camera so that he can take pictures of scenery, the kind of photo's he loves. (then I can get myself the camera I REALLY want!;)




To see a few more shots I took I have added a few here

WEEKEND AWAY

I was a little nervous to be going out of town with Toby and leaving the girls. I have complete trust in Brittney, I just haven't ever left them overnight with her before. so being away for two nights and 3 day's was a little much for me to take in! SO, I was freaking out a tiny bit before we left. Brittney was probably cracking up at me because I seriously gave her the run down of everything.... like, leaving out insurance cards, setting out all kinds of medicine, showing her were the thermometer is, leaving her an emergency first aid manuel, numbers of dr's friends and family in case of emergency. Yes, the list goes on and on! lol, she seriously was like who is this crazy lady.

Brittney did such a good job and the girls had a blast with her! I am so glad that Toby and I went together on this little trip to spend some alone time together. I love that he makes me laugh and that he understs and knows me so well. I love that we can sing at the top of our lungs to a song on the radio and not care that we both sound really, really BAD! We just had so much fun!

Thanks Babe for coming along with me and for being so suppotive!!!!

We didn't get to take very many pictures but here are a few that we did take together.

Tami G. Photography

Hi everyone, I have finally got my photography website and blog going. My good friend Megan did my logo for me and I am so happy with what she did! Megan is such a good graphic desiner and you should definetely check out her website HERE.

I just got back from the wine country workshop and I seriously had a blast and met so many awesome photographers who I am so happy to have met and become friends with!! I will be posting all about it as soon as I can on my photography website.

Toby came along with me and I seriously loved having him there. He is truly my best friend and it was so fun to have a few day's together alone. I will post more on this a little later when I can add some pictures of our fun trip.

Come check out, tami g. photography Keep in mind it's a work in progress.:)

SWIMMING LESSONS

Last year Brooklyn took swimming private swimming lessons and she loved them! She is still signed up to do some private lessons this summer too but they aren't until August. So, in the meantime I signed her up to take swimming lessons with her friends. She was so excited to start and would talk about it all the time. Well for our first lesson last week she was really happy at the beginning of the lesson and she got in the water, put her head all the way under, did the things the teacher was teaching and then all of a sudden I see her face go from...


happy ...
to, very sad...

She never said a word and didn't cry but I could tell something was wrong. So when we left I asked her what was up and she just said "I miss my dad". So later that night I told her she had swimming the next day and she goes, mommy I don't want to be with the big kids in the big pool. So, I asked her if she wanted to take a class with the three year olds and she said that she didn't . I was getting a little confused about what was going through her head. So the next day when we went back to swimming she cried the whole time and this continued the next day. Every time I asked her what was wrong she would say she missed her dad. I think she is a little bit afraid of all the kids that are taller than her and splashing around right next to her but she doesn't really know how to tell me. So, everyday I just tried to talk to her and make her feel a little more comfortable and by the last day of the week she did a really good job! Toby and I tried to just teach her that when you start something you really need to finish it and that all we ask is that you try, (even if that means sitting on the edge of the pool watching or just standing in the water watching.) I'm really glad we stuck with it and got through the hard day's because she really started to get so much more comfortable by the end of the week. So, Hopefully this week will go even smoother!
Nikell loves coming to swimming lessons with us. The first day she got Brooklyn's sunglasses out of my purse and laid down on the towell to watch.

Dylen and Brooklyn are such cute friends, they love each other!