It’s been so long since I have blogged!  I’ve been thinking about what to post for the past two days and I had no idea where to begin.  So much has happened in my personal and proffesional life over the past few months that it would take forever to go back and catch up.  So, I decided to start with a fun post…VACATION!!

Last month my sister, cousin, a few friends and I went to the Riviera Maya in Mexico.  It was a much needed vacation and I was looking forward to it since my last beach vacation a year ago.  We had a blast!  The weather was beautiful…almost every day was in the 80’s and we had no rain at all.  We went on two “adventure” trips which included snorkeling, cliff jumping, zip lining, and much more.  There was also a lot of lazy days by the beach & the pool soaking up the sun and relaxing.  There were so many pools at this resort!  My favorite was the saltwater pool that you can see in the collage below (top left).  Beautiful!  We also ate a ton of food, but the resort was so big that I’m sure we walked all the calories off!  I’m ready for my trip already…hope one happens soon.  My sister is going back this summer with another friend and I’m so jealous!

I hope you enjoyed the pictures!  One of these days maybe we can wear tank tops here in Illinois again.  Sure seems like a long winter!

This was one of the spots we went snorkeling.  Unfortunately it was very windy so we had a hard time seeing a whole lot of fish, but it was still a blast!

We also snorkeling in a cave and it was VERY COLD!  Our tour guide for the day was Jesus and he was a funny, funny man.  Apparently the average age for these trips is a bit older than we were so he was pretty excited to have a group of young people to hang out with for the day.  We were named Charlie’s Angels and I think we fit it pretty well don’t you?

Tubing down a river under the mangroves.  So cool (except for the part of having to wear life jackets all day)!

This year has been amazing!  With the opening of the new studio I have been busier than I could have ever imagined.  I feel so blessed to have the clients that I do and I thank each one of you for trusting me to photograph your milestones and once in a lifetime events.  The relationships I have formed with you are priceless to me and I look forward to helping to create more memories as your lives grow and change. I can hardly believe it’s December 5th already!  Christmas is just 20 short days away and I have hardly even begun to shop or decorate.  The decorating may actually just have to take a one year hiatus and return bigger and badder then ever in the Holiday Season of 2010!

With all that said I do have to say that I am very ready for some time to breathe and get back to a somewhat normal lifestyle once this busy Christmas season is over.  I have put my relationships with friends, family and God on the back burner since September and hopefully, with some much needed changes to my studio workflow and organization, that will never happen again!  I will be taking a few months “off” in the beginning of 2010 to take a vacation, organize my studio (well, it is organized, but I am an organization freak so I must do this over and over again!), work on getting a better system for my workflow and many, many other awesome things.  I do say “off” in a very loose way as I will still be working and will take a very limited number of portrait sessions.  If you are pregnant, have a newborn or would like a session that just can’t happen any other time please contact me.  I don’t want to let that pass me by!

In January I will be celebrating my last birthday that starts with the number 2!  Yikes, 30 is almost here.  Where did the careless days of summer and pigtails go?!  I am a dreamer and always have a millon and one ideas going through my head, but I also have a bad habit of letting time slip by way too fast.  I have decided to make a list of the top 30 things I want to do or accomplish before I am 30 and I will be sharing that with you folks in early January.  I feel if I share it on here I may be more likely to finish those goals since I will have so many people to hold me accountable!  Keep an eye out for this…I am excited myself to see what I come up with.

If you are patiently (and thank your for being so patient!) awaiting your wedding proofs, album design, or print order I will be getting those to you very quickly!  I am hoping to have all print orders finished and ready to pick up by Monday, December 21.  I will call you as soon as they arrive.   If you are waiting on a Wedding Album design from me it will be done in early January.  And finally if I had the amazing opportunity to photograph your wedding I will be in touch when they are done which should be very soon.

The blog posts have been very few and far between, but I have TONS of great shoots to post in the new year so I hope to have you back to check it out soon.  If I don’t post before then, I hope everyone has a blessed Christmas and a safe and happy New Year.

Much love,

Nicole

I am a few days late with this post, but better late than never, right?!  His card and gift arrived on time this year…next year I will get this done on time!  My dad is the backbone of our family.  My mother, two sisters and I have depended on him for much throughout the years and he has expected nothing in return.  As our family grows I now see the way he interacts with my nieces and nephew and I feel like I have a front row seat to what he was like when we were kids.  He is not only an AMAZING Father and Grandpa, but an amazing man.  Every time I meet someone new and they find out who my dad is they all tell me what a great man he is, I couldn’t agree more.  About 7 years ago my Dad had a heart attack and I can say without a doubt it was the biggest, most frightening day of my life.  I didn’t know I could love or appreciate him more that I had before that day, but I do and  I thank God for giving me seven more years with him.  I pray for many, many more!

My Dad is very goofy and I still believe to this day his life’s mission is to mess with me until I get frustrated.  I got better at ignoring it over the years, but as I get older I secretly enjoy it!  Makes me feel like his little girl again.  I have so many fond memories that I could post for days, but I’ll just share a few:

When I was a little girl I had LONG hair past my butt and each night after Dad would give us girls a bath he would brush my hair out on his jeans.  Then he would take his spot on the bed and me on the floor in front of the full length mirror.  After he was done braiding my hair he would poke my ears from behind so it looked like the wiggled on their own.  We also had a lot of footie pajamas and he would always take the hair dryer and stick it in the legs for a few minutes so when we put them on they would be roasty toasty!

Many, many times I remember sitting in the living room with my hand outstretched to recieve the drink he was bringing me.  As soon as he got within a few feet he would fake trip and the cup would go flying onto me…of course the cup was empty.  Good trick Dad.  I can’t wait to use it on my kids someday.

I’ll leave with a few of his silly sayings that my sister’s and I are beginning to incorporate into our adult lives!

“Up your nose with a rubber hose.”

“Head ‘em up. Move ‘em out.”

“Little birdie in the sky, dropped some white wash in my eye.  I don’t wimper, I don’t cry, I’m just glad cows don’t fly.”

“I always said I had one good kid.”

Happy Father’s Day, Dad  (Daddy, Tommy Boy, TI, Pappi, Pops….)!  Over the years you have shown me what the definition of unconditional love and sacrifice is.  I couldn’t be more proud to call you my Father.  Thank you.  I love you so much!

I took this photograph of my Dad back in 2004 while in school at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale.  My portfolio at the time was shot with a 4×5 view camera and Polaroid Type 55 film.  I’m so glad to have had the chance to learn film cameras and darkroom printing even though I haven’t shot film in about five years!  In fact I haven’t touched a view camera, darkroom tray or box of photo paper since 2004 and my fellow classmates will understand the sadness of Type 55 being extinct.  So sad.  I still have a big 20 x 24 framed print of this hanging in my studio.  Everyone that comes by comments on what a great photo it is and those that know him think it portrays his strength and gentle spirit perfectly.  I think he is pretty darn handsome (especially for an old fart!).  The dog in the background is our dearly missed Golden, Willy.  I am partial, but I am pretty sure he was the best dog that EVER lived.  He was so odd that day…just stood in the water up to his chest for the 20 minutes it took to get a few shots and never moved his eyes from me.

Dear Kyla,

I can’t hardly believe that today is your 5th birthday!  It sure doesn’t seem like that long ago that I got a call from your Grandma and Grandpa telling me you were born.  I was away at college working on a crummy digital photography project and the news sure brightened my day.  You were the first of the four rugrats in our family to be born and you had so many people excited to finally meet you.  I remember the first night I rocked you to sleep when I came to visit you.  I stood in the play room rocking you back and forth in my arms,  I sang you songs (sorry if that has scarred you for life) and you were so precious that I couldn’t stop crying.  People say that you cannot prepare for what your heart feels when you have your own kids, but I am pretty sure I have a good idea.  You, your brother and cousins have filled my heart with so much joy.  You never cease to crack me up with your silly ways, sweet spirit and matter of fact maturity…you are difinately five going on seventeen!  I love you so much Kyla Peak and I miss you every day!  I’m sorry that I can’t be there this year to celebrate with you.  I hope you like your new princess bike.  Take lots of pictures for me and save me a piece of cake!

Much Love,

Aunt Nikki

Since I didn’t have this blog until recently, I decided to dig up a bunch of old photos of Kyla to show how she has grown.  I got a little weepy today when I realized how big she has gotten.  Like many photographers I am really bad at printing out my own personal photos, so a lot of these I haven’t looked at for years.  I must get better at this!  I hope you all enjoy these as much as I do.

As you can tell this was her first birthday party.  The first shot cracks me up…”cake, give me my caaaaake!”.

This is my favorite photo I have ever taken.  It captures such an innocence.  One look at this photo and her eyes melt my heart.

She’s so beautiful (and such a little poser).

I have SO many pictures of Kyla and I.  I tried to pick a few of my favorites.  Love you girl!