Some of my best memories of being in South Dakota visiting as a kid was going to the public pool.  Something about it reminds me of the movie The Sandlot ~ I couldn’t wait to take my kids there and I think they are going to remember this too!

This is my cousin’s boy, he is quite the diving extraordinaire.  A dang good cannon-baller too!

Halle hesitated going down a huge water slide for  - oh, about… a half a second, then

After swimming, we went to the Kree Mee to get an ice cream cone.  Contrary to this face, he was REALLY excited!

Cole had never really seen kitties and he was VERY interested…

not for long though:)

The view from my Auntie’s porch at about 9:45pm ~  I feel like I’m in Alaska for cripes sakes!!!  The sunsets are BEAUTIFUL here!

This little hottie made an appearance on my blog back when this session took place, but I had a few more that needed to see that light of day.

I love mom’s idea with the scrabble pieces!

I’m sure little Teagan is not so little anymore and she’s just a GORGEOUS as mama ~ I can’t wait to see her again!!!

More from South Dakota tomorrow:)

South Dakota has got to be one of the most beautiful landscapes in North America.  I cannot wait to share some of the scenery here.  Makes me wanna pack up and leave the triple digit heat of AZ.  My kiddos are having a great time meeting their cousins.  Just some of our fun.

Just arriving at the Fargo airport

How beautiful is this?  it was a few hour drive from Fargo to a small town in South Dakota that my folks grew up in.  This is a gas station along the way – yes, I said gas station.  They don’t look like this in AZ!

Meet my newest cousin “L”  She is 10 weeks old and this is me holding her – I couldn’t wait to take a pic, so this is a self picture.  Not too bad, in focus anyway:)

Exploring the farm

Uncle was showing us how the cottonwood trees make “snow”

More cousins

Uncle Randy also made the kids a rope swing – they LOVED it!!!

Bruce swatting the mosquitos – they LOVE him, surprised?

Well I am enjoying a couple weeks at the farm in South Dakota where my mother grew up.  We are exploring the farm and visiting with Cousins and Aunties and Uncles and having a blast!  We must be juicy because the mosquitos are LOVING us too:)  Anyway, I am in photographers absolute PARADISE, but before I share any of that fun, I gotta show off this little fella.  I can’t believe I am saying this, but he has turned ONE as well and this year has just been a blur.  I was giant and prego with my little guy when I was shooting this session and seeing him just made me soooo excited to meet my little bambino just two weeks later.  His parents were so great and even though this was their first baby, they looked like pro’s and grandpa is one heck of a photographer too so I know they have some fabulous images of his first year.  Happy belated 1st “R”

Again… these are posted in no particular order except to say they are from last year and waaaaay past due their blog life ~ by I’m goin for it!.  I love them all {and their owners} and wish I had blogged them a loooooong time ago!  But I’ll catch up, besides I have some REALLY fun vacation pics to show off once I’m caught up.  Enjoy!

These girls were a hoot!

Whew!  sheesh, that was only two sessions? ~ ok, more coming tomorrow:)

So of course it’s been ages since my last post and I keep telling myself, “self, this will be the week I start posting every week”.  I literally have DOZENS of sessions to post and sadly I was looking through my BIG file of photos I’d like to post, but haven’t quite gotten to yet, and just realized it’s been OVER ONE YEAR for a couple of them!!!!  WHAT?!?!?  That is unacceptable!  I’m fired!  And the really sad part is that I probably wouldn’t have even noticed it, but this past weekend I just took one of my newborn baby clients ONE YEAR photos.  Akkkkk!

Having said that, I have given myself 20 lashings and a few hail Mary’s for my sins and I am ready to get going on 1 of what will probably end up as a 3-4 part MONSTER blog post.  Now I would love to write about each of these sessions because they are all so different and fun and ALL of my clients have truly been DA BEST, but really you just want to see the pics right?  Well here goes…

Oh, and sorry about all the watermarking at the bottom.

And last but not least, a post would not be complete without one of my little sweethearts would it?  Here is my most recent FAVE of BIG Bruce – who just turned ONE by the way!  But that’s a whole other post… maybe part 5 to this posting saga.

I can not get enough of this boy!

So… I’ve decided there are certain battles I choose not to engage in anymore, one being ~ the wardrobe!

I have resorted to lovingly referring to my girl as  Little Miss Frankenstien. So anyway I bought her some super cute one piece romper-like outfits that I would wear everyday given it would be cutting edge fashion for a slightly “fluffy” adult to be wearing a romper /unitard /whatever:)  Well, I thought “there’s no way she could make this ONE PIECE  outfit look akward”…   wait, scratch that, sure she can!

Enter into evidence exhibit A:

Oh, and notice her full cooperation with the photographer, yeah, that’s me!