Cottage Country

Many years ago, my great grandpa built a nice little cottage on a lake in Northern Ontario called 4 Mile Lake. The cottage itself was called Beatonia, as his last name was Beaton. I'm lucky enough to have some old photos of the cottage being built and they reside in a photo album that's falling apart. However, I just discovered that the photos scan in rather well.

My great grandpa Blake (left) on the foundation of Beatonia

Beatonia Taking Shape

Blake (great grandpa), Margaret (Grandma), Robert (Grandpa)

When I was 8 years old, my grandma and grandpa put an addition on to the cottage that included 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and a laundry room. They took me up to the cottage in the middle of winter and surprised me (and Greg - a very close family friend) with a decorated Christmas tree in the corner of the new living room. I think that may have been the only time I was at the cottage in winter. Starting the following year, I spent 13 summers at the cottage, for 2 or 3 weeks each summer. It's such a huge, wonderful part of my life. From those years, I got to know and love people that were a big part of my grandparents' life who are now like family to me. It's a whole other aspect of my world. My grandparents and great grandparents are no longer with us, but the memories of this wonderful place are still so vivid in my mind.

The cottage is now owned by very close family friends, Roy & Lynda. I feel so lucky that I still have access to it and even more fortunate that I'm able to bring my kids to the cottage. I can't imagine not being able to share this amazing place with them and create our own family memories. M & P are five years old and I realized they have already been there 3 times. Happiness!

We recently came back from a family vacation and added more experiences to the memory bank.

We even squeezed in an impromptu photo shoot!

I had a great time off on my own, having fun with my camera, trying out a bunch of settings and seeing what happened. These images are snippets of what cottage life means to me. And, no matter where I am at the cottage, I still feel my grandparents all around.

Until next time....

S and The Red Ball

It's been awhile since I last posted. Summertime and the start of kindergarten...who knows where the time goes. I have several sessions coming up in the next few weeks so I'm sure my posting track record will improve.

Kevin and I went to his company picnic yesterday. One of our friends had their three kids with them, the newest and youngest having just turned one. She had this adorable black and white outfit on with the prettiest little headband. I couldn't resist taking a bunch of photos. I'll most definitely be adding big colorful kids' balls to my collection of props for upcoming sessions.

A Quick Look Back

As I started this blog after my first official photography gig, I thought I should take some time to post some photos from that first session. I was nervous as I headed into the day, considering I would be photographing six children. But what a wonderful day it turned out to be. We headed down to the Riverwalk and let the kids enjoy the outdoor air. The kids ranged in age from 18 months to 18 years. We let them explore and go where they wanted. I simply followed with my camera and had so much fun! Thanks to Sheri and all of her sisters for giving me this wonderful experience.

Shooting the Goos

A little over a week ago, I had an amazing experience. I got the opportunity to shoot at the Goo Goo Dolls concert which took place outside the Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet. A few months ago, I was on the phone with Krista and just tossed it out there and asked if she thought it would be possible to shoot one of their shows. She said she didn't see why not and that it would depend on the show and if there were extra media passes. Lo and behold, at this last concert, Mike was able to leave a media pass for me. Honestly, this was one of the coolest, most fun and exciting things I've ever gotten to do. Here are a few shots from the night. HUGE thanks to Mike and Krista for making this happen for me!

My How They've Grown

Our munchkins turned five on July 5th. FIVE! How did that happen? It seems like just yesterday they were the 2 little people at the top of this photo, not the seemingly gigantic kids in the bottom 2 photos. It's such a cliche but times seems to be going faster and faster.

Maggie & Peyton had a wonderful birthday party with friends from both preschool and daycare. In the words of Maggie, "Mommy. This is the BEST birthday party. EVER. I never want it to end." Who could ask for any other sentiment from their sweet little girl on her birthday?

The ball pit at Odyssey Fun World was a big hit with the kids. And, they were all so willing to pose and have their picture taken! I have to say, though, as an adult, that ball pit doesn't feel so good. It's much, much harder on the feet than it looks.
For those of you who don't know, my son has already chosen his bride. And, from the looks of things below, she is right on board with him. Peyton has said he's going to marry Ashlyn. He likes her because, "her cute little laugh makes my heart shine." Where does this kid come up with these things?

M&P got many wonderful gifts. Peyton did his best to wait patiently all day to see if Mommy & Daddy came through with his requested Pirate costume. He almost didn't make it through the waiting. Once he got the costume on, he was more than happy to start posing for me. An impromptu photo shoot if you will.

Maggie was just thrilled with her Minnie Mouse ballerina costume! Pretty much, anything Minnie makes her happy these days.

Happy, Happy Birthday my sweet little people. May you enjoy this 5th year to the fullest!

Tents and S'mores

We kicked this past weekend off with a little camping...in our backyard! Now, this is the kind of camping I could most definitely do on a regular basis. Clean bathrooms, a full kitchen, no suitcases and no coolers filled with ice in which you can quickly freeze your hands digging for that bottle of ketchup. The weather was absolutely perfect! The four of us had a yummy dinner of hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill followed by....

S'MORES!!! And oh were they ever good. Maggie & Kevin each had one while Peyton and I managed to score two a piece! It took us awhile to get a hang of heating up the marshmellows without starting a small fire.

Our two little campers stayed up until about 10pm. Kevin and I had forgotten that July 3rd would be the start of many neighborhood fireworks. However, much to our surprise, once their sweet heads hit their pillows, they were both out like a light! Not even the continuing booming down the street woke them from their slumber (which I'm thrilled to say lasted until 7:30 am the next morning). You can be assured that there is more backyard camping in our future!

A Need for Speed

If you know my husband, you know he has an incredible taste for adrenaline rushes in the form of fast moving vehicles. It doesn't matter if it's a go-cart, motorcycle, race car, snowmobile or anything else that can move really, REALLY fast. A true need for speed. And, he loves to watch racing. All kinds. He always jokes that if potato sack races were on TV, he'd probably watch those too.

This past weekend, Kevin got a taste of what it would be like to be a professional race car driver by actually driving an Indy car. He was behind the wheel. By himself. And he topped out at 142.49 MPH. Yes, you read that right! One hundred and forty two miles an hour. If he could have gone faster, believe me, he would have.

Maggie & Peyton were so proud of their Daddy! I wonder what's next on the speed agenda...