The perfect gift for a mama or grandmother you love?  Amazing family pictures!

We moved to Minnesota in September and we’ve now seen fall and winter come and go.   It’s fun to experience a change of seasons and I love the weather variations (especially this year when we’ve had it so easy with mild temps).  Now that we are heading into spring/summer, I am especially excited to explore the areas around and discover sites in this great state.

What are YOUR favorite MN locations?

Is there a park or picnic site you love?  Do you go to a Farmer’s Market on Saturday mornings?  Maybe you hide away in a quiet bookstore when you find some time…or go antiquing…play tennis…or golf?  Your favorite place may be your own home – the place where your family lives and loves.  Maybe it’s specifically your kitchen.

I want to see what you love about Minnesota.  It will help me learn more quickly about interesting places nearby and know more about our new home in MN.

So, I offer this…

If you book a session May-Aug and share an idea for a special location, you will get a complimentary 2nd session*.  This is a rare promotion for sure…but it’s one I’m excited about because it will help me to see the best of MN and explore what is close to home.   Maybe you want pictures at home but also want to do a session at the golf course.  Now you can have both!  We’ll do what you love to do, with the people you love most.

Also, if you can’t book a session now but have an idea for a place that you would love to have a family photo session, you will get $50 credit to KA photo design (toward a photo session at a time of your choosing) for sharing.  Simply send me a message by clicking on the contact tab of this site and let me know where your dream session would be.  I will keep you on the books for a $50 credit.

I’m looking for amazing scenery, yes – always…but a great photo location is usually an ordinary place made beautiful by the way it is captured.  The site may not have obvious beauty.  Often times it’s a normal, everyday place that is special because it is a setting for a story about your life.  I want to see what you love to do…

So tell me about the county fair you visit every year…your secret picnic spot…the lake cabin you rent on long weekends…the beautiful field in your backyard (or your neighbor’s backyard – that works too).  Let’s go out for an adventure!

p.s.  Oh, yes – there was also mention of a contest.  At the end of summer, there will be a GRAND prize awarded to the family with the coolest location idea.  Think big people

* NOTE: Print and digital images are purchased separately.  This promotion is for session fee only.  Your viewing gallery will be larger and have a great variety so if you plan to purchase a CD of all images you get everything.  Yes, everything.  Now that’s awesome, right??

I am currently booking for May-Aug and with double sessions my schedule will fill very quickly so if you want to make sure you get a session, make sure to plan ahead. Many thanks!!

Wake up little dreamer…

It’s time!

The tooth fairy was here!  Hooray  She left a cute little pouch with a note and 2 silver dollars (for 2 little teeth).

Yes, I know a lot of these photos all look the same.  It’s just a proud mama moment!

I love, love, love…

her new toothless grin.

the morning light in this bedroom.

how peaceful she looks when she’s sleeping.

re-living the sweet moments of childhood as a parent.

Special, special days.

I will be forever grateful for the memories we made here.

So I’ve had A LOT of emails asking about the 30 days to kinder countdown I did with Madelyn before she started school this last fall.  Some of you have asked me to do a full post where all 30 days are together in one place.  It sounds like a great idea – but there are sooo many pictures so I think it might be too much for one post.  I will consider a doing a special recap post…but in the meantime, you can view our countdown by clicking on ’30 days to kinder’ under the categories tab.  The posts will appear backwards (day 30 first).  Unfortunatly that’s the way it is for now – if you want to start at the begining you can just go to the end and read backwards.  ;)

Here’s a list of all that we did:

Day 1: Ice cream date (and make lists together for what we wanted to do in the 30 days)

Day 2: Movie night (we made a nest on the floor with blankets and pillows, ate popcorn + sweets, and watched our favorite – Rio)

Day 3: Fort building

Day 4: Favorite books (and a special crown for my school girl)

Day 5: Baked cupcakes

Day 6: BBQ and swimming with Mad’s bestie

Day 7:  Learned to write new words

Day 8: Painted with nail polish

Day 9:  Went swimming and experimented with underwater camera

Day 10: School shopping

Day 11: Packed up boxes in Mad’s room and played games

Day 12: Made pipe cleaner sunglasses and other fashion accessories

Day 13: Made cupcake toppers for a party

Day 14: Farewell party with Arizona friends

Day 15: Hungry Hungry Hippos marathon

Day 16: Mini golf adventure

Day 17:  Pool time fun

Day 18:  Shopped at Trader Joes

Day 19: Cotton Candy treats

Day 20: Rock climbing

Day 21: Carnival

Day 22: Lunch date

Day 23: Baskin Robbins

Day 24: Rooftop bowling

Day 25: made gumball necklaces

Day 26: Packed up to move across country (lots of games involving a house full of giant moving boxes)

Day 27 and 28: Interview with Madelyn

Day 29: Explore MN

Day 30: Apple orchard

And then school began!  Day 1 of kinder was a good day.  I felt like I was a little more ready to watch her walk into her new classroom because I knew that we had stocked up on so many special experiences before the big day.

I’ve heard from many of you that you are planning a countdown.  I would love to hear your stories + see pics!  Please link up and share.

It’s TONS of fun so enjoy the moments!

Madelyn has been sick for 3 days and we’ve been cuddling in bed a lot. This morning she told me that she wanted to do something fun but didn’t feel good enough to get out of bed…so I asked her what she would want to do if she was feeling well. Her answer: Build a fort and read books.

Shortly after that she fell to sleep…and while she was dreaming Julia helped me build a fort over the bed. Then we woke Mads up with our sweet surprise and read her favorite books.

Love this moment.

please contact me for info if you are interested! Thanks

I better share this post before 2011 ends and the holidays are far in the past (that happens soooo fast).

Hot cocoa bar:

Toppings included gourmet cocoa, mint sitcks, cookie crumbles, mini choc chips, marshmallows, crushed peppermint, and ‘dasher and dancer’ whipped cream.

The menu:

Waffles + berries with Dasher & Dasher whipped cream

Blitzenberry + Vixon Very Vanilla yogurt

Egg bake dishes lovingly created by my mother-in-law

Christmas tea loaf

sweets and treats

The drinks:

Snow-chilled milk (from the North pole, of course)

Hot cocoa bar

Bloody Marys

Daiquiris

It should be mentioned that this party never would have come together without my amazing mother-in-law.  She came up with most of the delicious food and made all of the details come together.  I give her full credit for this tasty breakfast (including the fab drinks).   While I worked on the party pieces and decor, she pulled it all together with the main element of the gathering.  I mean really…what would a party be without food?

The stylish labels for yogurt, whipped cream, and ‘cup of cheer’ are by LoraLee Lewis.

Always a treat to work with her!  You can see more of her designs here and here.

My sweet niece, Olivia, made reindeer antlers out of candy covered pretzel sticks.  Love the imagination!

Kids favorite activity:  The reindeer food bar.

Each guest was given a reindeer food jar to fill with oats, raisins, bread crumbs and cocoa…and other special ingredients like glitter and flying powder.  Kiddos really got into this activiity.  They loved to scoop up the assorted ingredients, mix together (and then dump it all out and start over again).  It was tough to get a seat at the ‘production’ table throughout the entire party (it certainly was the place to be).

I always love a good ‘creative mess’ – the kind of disarray that shows it’s face when kids have been playing, exploring, learning. It’s a symbol of true-to-life good fun.

‘Please excuse the mess….my children are busy making memories’ – unknown (but genius)

The favorite ingredient:

Miss Julia demonstrated how to sprinkle reindeer food on the driveway (so the reindeer have something to munch on while Santa delivers presents inside on Christmas eve).  This is such a fun tradition for little ones.

Putting out reindeer food has been a big hit with our girls in recent years.  I hope the party guests enjoyed this as much as our kiddos do (and hopefully parents are not too upset about having to shovel up the mess)!    Tip:  Just like Santa’s cookies…remember to clean up the reindeer food.  Your kids will notice if rudolph and friends do not eat their treats!

More LoraLee Lewis style: packaging for take home treats (she gets it right every time).

And, lastly…a photobooth series.

Ever since this party, friends always ask if we’ll have a photobooth…

So we did.

Always fun…but I really need a photography assistant because I spend so much time doing the photobooth that I miss other great party moments.

The fab props are from Little Retreats - my go-to place for props on a stick.  Brooke is so sweet and lovely to work with.

Yes, we had even MORE ice time today.  Can’t beat this gorgeous warm December weather!  Loving every minute…

What a change of scenery from Arizona!  Our world is so different now and it’s fun to welcome new experiences.

Just a glimpse of the fun we had last week at our holiday breakfast party…

more pics to come!