Trick Or Treat

This was our very first year trick-or-treating with our children! The past two years we've either been sick, had bad weather, or Mason just wasn't old enough to understand or enjoy himself. But this year we made it out, and we were joined by lots of cousins and family! Everyone had a great time!

Mason and Charlie went as characters from the movie, How To Train Your Dragon.

Mason was Hiccup...

...and Charlie was Toothless the Dragon/Night Fury. Both of their costumes were homemade.




Next up, Laura the witch,

Sarah the Wizard,

Daniel the Pirate,

good ole' Harry Potter, or Evan as we know him,

Marian the Cowgirl,

"Freak-enstein" (Sofia's words, not mine),



Emmeline the Hula dancer,


and her very adorable sister, Hula Hazel.

We went trick-or-treating in Daybreak, and some of the homes were really decked out. Here are a few of the unique decorations we saw. 



I hope you all had a fun Halloween! 

Happy Halloween!

Have a safe and spook-tacular day!





Lens: 50mm
Aperture: f/ 1.4
ISO: 5000 (thank heavens for the noise reduction tool in Lightroom!)
Shutter speed: 1/40 sec (top) 1/160th (bottom)
camera mounted on a tripod

Alpine Loop Drive

This morning we loaded the kids in the car and headed out for a scenic drive around the Alpine Loop. I always seem to forget how beautiful the Utah Mountains are! I see them everyday, but until I have a chance to slow down my life and take in the nature around me,  I forget how amazingly beautiful this area of Utah is! The colors on the mountains are so vibrant right now, and with every turn of the road I made some kind of exclamation at the beauty I was beholding! I just couldn't help myself! To say the least, I thoroughly enjoyed our little family outing today! It brought peace to my soul, and reminded me that I am truly blessed!

Barn Raising | Part 1

Last Saturday we headed down to the Mapleton farm to help build a new structure for the goats. Last year around this time, there were only 3 goats on the farm, and now there are 10! The tiny structure that they had been using was inadequate, and with the sudden onset of "winter", it became a top priority to build them a bigger, and better ventilated structure.

Although I had origianlly intended to be more helpful with the physical labor of constructing the barn, I was immediately assigned to the position of photographer. So here are some pictures from our day! This first set is mostly of the kids and animals, but I'll be editing more of the actual construction, soon!

Busy Boy

Who told him he could grow up? It's like I blinked today, and he was no longer a baby! He played on this park equipment like he had been doing it for months. He climbed up the stairs, walked through the tunnel, went down the slides, climbed up the slides, and enjoyed every second of it! It made me beam with pride, but I also cried a little inside. My baby is growing up too quickly!


On a side note, I've started shooting wide open again (f1.4). I went through a little phase where I only shot f2.0 or higher, but I decided to give it another try, and I'm in love! I love the bokeh! I love the softness! Just another reminder to myself to not get stuck in a box when it comes to photographic style. There is a time and place for all apertures, and all settings, for that matter. You know you've become a better photographer when you feel comfortable using any and all settings available to you!