Braden and I just got home from Thailand. It was an absolute amazing trip. I wanted to share a few images from my adventure. We were in Bangkok, Phi Phi island and Phutket. We did everything there was to do and saw everything there was to see. I had an 18 hr plane flight to go through all my photos and I already miss this place. However, I missed my baby more. It was the sweetest homecoming and I cant wait to get back to my work.  Enjoy.

It was so amazing this weekend. My mom came and we had a blast. Here are a few pics from our time together. Cheers.

I am SOOOOO excited to introduce studio portrait sessions! I can come to you or you can come to me! Whatever works best. This is a great option for newborns and kids. I have a bunch of colored backdrops and fun ideas. Contact to book a session. I played around with my setup today with my baby girl Roo. I think she is a pretty cute model. Cheers.

We have been so so so busy with the holidays, family time and work that we were so excited to get up to SF for a quick weekend trip. Im going to work harder on updating my blog! Here are just a few pics from the getaway. Cheers!

Last week it was Rooneys special day. She was blessed at our church. I cant believe my little babe is 4 months now! Time is flying by. She is full of so much personality. We had a great time with family and friends. The food was excellent and so was the company. I am so thankful for the amazing people in my life. Here are a few pics from the day as well as a four month old pic in her fav beanie. Cheers and a happy new year.

I cant believe how quick time flies by. My little Rooney is 3 months now. Her personality is really coming through. She is super smiley and loves to be out and about. She does not like to sit. She likes to stand up and bounce on her chubby little legs. She is my little buddy. I take her everywhere and love spending every second with her. Here is a 3 month picture.

I cant believe it has almost been a month since I had this little peanut. It amazes me how much she changes. I feel like she morphs on an hourly basis. I sometimes find myself just looking at her for hours on end. I cant get enough of her little tiny fingers and toes (actually her toes are not so tiny…she has freakishly large feet), her velvet soft skin and her amazing baby smell. I could pass on the crying, endless starvation and one million poopy diapers though. I guess it is all part of the package. I have taken a lot of photos of her but wanted to share a few that I have done recently. I am sure I will be one of those proud moms that posts WAY to many pictures but oh well! Enjoy.

SO I have been a bit busy the past few weeks. It was 2.5 weeks early and unexpected but my little bun in the oven decided she was fully baked and ready to make her appearance in the world. Rooney Olive Palmer was born Sept 16, 2012 at 5:40am. She was 6lbs 4oz and 18 inches long. It was thursday night when I started to feel back contractions. They progressively got stronger over the next day until they got to the point that I couldnt take it anymore. Braden and I decided to make a hospital trip to see what was going on. They hesitantly admitted me (I think they thought I was being a baby myself) and checked me out. It turned out that my water was broken with a small tear. They told me I wasnt going anywhere until I had that baby girl in my arms. They induced me to speed up my labor to reduce infection. I was in labor all through the night but felt amazing as I had a pain med drip and epidural. Braden and I watched the UofU/Byu game and napped. At about 5:15 the dr came in and decided I was ready to push. I pushed for about 15 min and she was out. She came into the world screaming, just like we expected. We couldnt be more in love with her. I had no idea this is what all other mothers were talking about, there is no other kind of love.

The other day I just could not resist. A few people have asked about sunset shots, especially being in California. I wanted to show that by adjusting your cameras color settings, setting up the shot and cropping it differently can all create unique photos. I had Braden drive me up to a good spot so I could get some shots of the sunset. To me, sunset shots can be so cliche but you can get so many different looks depending on how you use your camera. All the shots below were taken during the same sunset. I played around with my camera and voila, I got some “hot, warm and cold” photos. I also threw one of Braden in, I just had to…Call it revenge;) Enjoy.

By tweaking the saturation and hues on my camera I was able to cool the shot down. I also exposed it differently to get a “bigger sun”

Sometimes its cool to have no focal point at all. I “unfocused” my lens and just shot the pretty orange glow of the sunset.

I also think cropping can have a big part in capturing a cool shot. I just wanted to get these people conversing and I wanted them to be dark.

And here is the shot of Braden. I was able to sneak it in….I wanted to get a profile pic and I wanted the sun pointing towards him. I was able to get both.

This is not a typical type of post for me. I usually do not post my life events on my photography blog, however, I have had so many people asking me about the baby, my life and the accident that I was recently in, that I decided to fill everyone in. I apologize for being so absent! I promise I am still a photographer but have just been really busy with shooting and life events!

First off, I have been SPOILED by my friends and family. They have thrown me the very best baby showers! My sisters and mom threw me a whimsical shower that had the yummiest food and fairytale like decorations

My friends from high school threw me a “D.I.Y. cupcake bar” shower. It was loaded with sugar, talk of memories and the cutest baby gifts around.

My friends from California COMPLETELY spoiled my baby and I by throwing a quaint “Equestrian” themed dinner shower. We had the best time talking for hours and eating my fav mexican food down here. They used my riding gear and my childhood toy horses for part of the decor which made it so nostalgic…anddd lets just say my baby is equipped with a fancy wardrobe!

So that is the GOOD News…now onto the bad

Last week I was involved in a MAJOR car accident. First let me tell you that I am ok and so is my baby. It is truly a miracle. I am not one to be mushy but I really do feel so blessed. This accident opened my eyes and made me really appreciate what I have. Its amazing how scary life events quickly put your life into perspective. Soooo what happened?

I was driving on the 405 going south when I began to feel dizzy. I was going to pull over onto the shoulder of the freeway, however, there was no shoulder. I needed to make it to the next exit. I was driving off of the offramp when the lights went out. I blacked out, hit a guard rail and collided with a few cars. I woke up to the BMW emergency services talking to me as well as the smell of burning car and airbag. I jumped out of the car but was quickly sat down by a nice gentleman who witnessed the accident.

I felt the best I had ever felt right after the accident, come to find out I was in major shock. I called Braden and he was there within 5 min (I was originally meeting him for lunch). The ambulance, police and fire truck all showed up at the same time. They put my in the ambulance and took me to saddleback hospital where I stayed monday and tuesday. They monitored the baby and me the entire time making sure both of our vitals were stable. Braden stayed with me the whole time except when he went to get me my cafe rio and pellet ice soda! It was a huge comfort!

I was having contractions every 3 min for about 9 hrs. The drs thought there was a chance I was having this baby. They basically made me sleep, loaded me with iron and fluids in order to calm my body down. After being in the E.R for about 4-5 hrs I was moved to Labor and delivery where I remained. I was eventually told everything looked ok and was able to get outta there.

Why did I black out? Many of you have asked why it happened? Well, drs said it was basically a perfect storm of medical conditions including, very low iron, low blood pressure, and a few other things. I am still very sore but have minimal cuts, burns and bruises. Its amazing how quickly the body can recover. I am trying to return to normalcy, but have this fear of being in a car now. I have the BEST friends and HUSBAND who have driven me around and taken my mind off of everything. I lucked out!

I am now 33 weeks pregnant and my main goal is keep this little girl in my belly until oct 3rd!! We just had a few ultrasounds to check on her and Braden and I were able to see her little chubby cheeks and ski slope nose. She is already the cutest thing in the world to me. I cant wait to meet her.

above: 33 weeks pregnant

below: Celebrating my hubbys birthday (aug 9th) at the every so classy Roscoes chicken and waffle house a few days after the accident. I am so happy I was able to be there!!…my stomach was pretty happy too.

I promise I will get back to my regular photo blog soon! I am still booking before bebe comes. Feel free to contact me to get your shoot in. Also booking for fall christmas card sessions!! Cheers!