HAPPY BIRTHDAY, STONEY!

I love you and I miss you so much. I wish you a very happy birthday.
Love, love, love,
Ali

A Wonderful Weekend

This past weekend my three best friends (since kindergarden!) came into Colorado Springs for the weekend. This was our annual get together that I talked about in the post below. After a couple flight delays, I picked Amy and Annie up from the Denver Airport and we met Corrie in downtown Denver at Osteria Marco. I highly recommend this restaurant, by the way.

We had such a great time this weekend catching up, eating great food, shopping....

On friday afternoon we got dressed up (Annie was our stylist), did our hair (thank you Amy) and makeup (Annie rocked out our makeup too), and then went to downtown Colorado Springs for a photo shoot. I got some great shots of my bff's and they got some of me too....yay! We ended our weekend with a delicious meal of bruschetta with heirloom tomatoes, roasted veggies from the farmers market, and mushroom lasagna . For desert we had peanut butter chocolate chip cookies with ice cream. While everything was in the oven, the girls were dying my hair. Yup...they decided I needed to go a little darker. I have gotten my hair dyed before, but it was IN A SALON! I was pretty nervous, but it went OK except for the part where Amy almost broke my neck rinsing my hair out. (All of the photos of me below are pre-darker hair...I'll have to get a post-darker hair photo up soon.)

I love these girls so much. Words can't describe how much it means to me to have such wonderful girlfriends; knowing that we will always there for each other...it's priceless.

Fall!

So the last couple of days here in the Springs has been very Fall-like. I LOVE it! I love when you can feel the seasons changing. There's a different feel in the air, different smells, different sounds, and if you look closely, you can see those few leaves starting to change colors.

I love fall.
I love when I get to start wearing my fuzzy moccasin slippers again.
I love that feeling when you first get into your bed at night and the sheets are cold.
I love getting to wear cozy sweatshirts.
I love going to the farmers market on saturdays and seeing all the fall squash.
I love when Starbucks begins selling their Pumpkin Spice Lattes.
I love knowing that the holidays are right around the corner (and therefore, so is Stoney's R&R!).
I love seeing all the mums for sale at the store.
I love that fall brings back so many great memories.

I miss Kentucky and our time there. Stoney and I had a fantastic Fall in Kentucky...
going to Octoberfest in Louisville,
picking out a pumpkin at Hueber Farms,
walks in Otter Creek Park,
handing out candy at Fort Knox on Halloween,
Thanksgiving with our great friends the Dolan's and the Whitten's...

I will always cherish our memories there.

Last Fall I also took a trip to DC to be with my girls. Annie, Corrie, Amy and I have been best friends since kindergarden (or before). We all know each other better than we might know ourselves. So, since we have all gone our separate ways since college, we have made a silent agreement to get together every year...no matter what. Last year we met in DC where Annie was at the time. This year, we're meeting here in Colorado Springs this coming weekend! I'm really looking forward to a great time.

These are a few photos from last years trip to DC, and our outing to my favorite farmers market - Eastern Market. I LOVE that place! If you've never been there...GO! There's always so much going on; so many great local artists, farmers, and other vendors to see. And, if your ever do go, you must check out Bread and Chocolate. It's a restaurant on the corner by Eastern Market. How could a restaurant with my two favorite items in the name not be amazing?!










And one more.... Stoney and I at Octoberfest drinking Pumpkin Ale. Yum!



HAPPY FALL!

another arrangement: an edible one

Look what showed up at my door today. I've never gotten anything for Edible Arrangements.
My husband is the best.
So far, I've had one chocolate covered strawberry and it was SO yummy.

I love you, Stoney. Thank you.

The Fam in Colorado Springs

So a couple weeks ago now, my mom and dad came into town for about a week. They drove up from Texas with a couple stops along the way (Marfa, Tx and Santa Fe). They stayed at our house in the Springs for a night and then I went with them to Estes Park for a mini-getaway. It was great. I hadn't been to Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park since I was little; I didn't really remember it at all. Then, there was my dad who remembered the exact spot where we listened to a park ranger talk about something or another probably over 20 years ago. He has a memory like a hawk...or is it an elephant...? ;)
When we got back to Colorado Springs, we met up with my grandparents who had just arrived to town. They drove all the way from Texas as well. I had a great time showing them around our new town. My grandparents stayed at Cheyenne Mountain Resort . If you are ever traveling to this area, I highly recommend this place. It is reasonably priced, and gorgeous. The lobby is a true work of great architecture. I had breakfast and dinner at the resort with my parents, grandparents, and my friend Kelly several times. It was fan-tastic! I can not explain how amazing the buffet and omelet bar was (especially after a long saturday run).
Thank you Mom, Dad, Gigi, and Pawpaw for coming to see me. I had a wonderful time and I hope you all did as well.
Love you!




Air Force Academy Chapel


We did a little photo session at Garden of the Gods. I don't think Gigi and Pawpaw were very excited about it, but they were great sports. Thank you.




This is classic Pawpaw.




My mom and dad. Aren't they cute?!




I just liked these pictures...Mom and I took a hike in the Park and came across a tree that had fallen over; these are photos of it's roots.

SENIORS 2010

So the 2010 school year is here!

This past week I photographed two awesome seniors who are part of my senior rep program. These two stunning seniors will be helping me spread the word about my senior sessions. I am still looking for two additional seniors that would like to participate - you will get a free mini session now, and full portrait session later in the year. In return, I will give you senior rep cards with your photo and my info to pass out to all of your friends. There are some other awesome perks (other than the TWO FREE SESSIONS!), so contact me for more information.

Tony - Tony is a senior at Pine Creek High School this year. He's super athletic and really outgoing. He's involved in nearly every sport but especially loves rock climbing, hiking, and biking. We had a great mini session at Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs where Tony has climbed before. This kid was willing to do whatever; he even came up with some of his own awesome poses. His dad, Bob, and sister Sarah, were also a huge help and made him laugh and smile even more than he already was. They also told me about a chicken costume he likes to wear while doing jazzercise (whaaaat?). I'm pretty sure that somehow was related to his job. Tony, I think in your next session we'll have to include that, hah!











Jordan - Jordan is a Senior at Doherty High School. She is such a sweet girl...and did I mention gorgeous! I love that blonde hair of hers. She's a cross country and track runner who has been on the Varsity team all four years of high school! Jordan and her mom, Gaye recently won the State Games of America 5K in their age division. Way to go ladies! Jordan is also a member of the National Honors Society and participates in Young Life. Jordan, I hope your first day of practice went well, and good luck with cross country this season. I'm really looking forward to your full session this spring.

Wild West Relay

This past Friday and Saturday I participated in the Wild West Relay - a relay race from Fort Collins, CO to Steamboat Springs, CO. It is a 200 mile run that takes most just over 24 hours. Our team consisted of 12 people and each person ran about three legs. What was our team name you ask...Team TRASH: Them Rockies Ain't So Huge. Great name, huh? My bff, Annie talked me into joining the team way back in the fall when Stoney and I were still at Fort Knox, KY, and I'm so glad she did. Everyone on our team was so much fun; everyone really seemed to enjoy everyone else's company. We had some fantastic runners on our team.

This run was a great experience and I'm so glad I was a part of Team TRASH. Thanks fellow TRASHers.
Here are a handful of "snap shots" from the weekend.

Team TRASH at the starting line Friday morning.


Streching it out


Perfect weather for a run.


Handing it off to Jeff


Just a fun shot of Annie, Brenda, and a new friend we made...we were definitely the most friendly team there. If they had an award for the nicest team, we would have won it. And just look at that sky - gorgeous!


Annie B. and me.




There was plenty of time between runs for photo opps...unless you wanted to sleep. Who needs sleep? (ummmm, me)


This was the end to my final leg into Steamboat. The night leg was my favorite, but this one was pretty great. I knew the end was near.


Our trip back to Fort Collins after the run


A stop for lunch along the way back. We decided to toast our Rocky Mountain Oysters...hah. If you don't know what those are, I'll let you google it. Notice the guys faces in the following photos.






I didn't mention before that our team ended up getting 7th in our division out of about 40 teams, and overall, we got 39th out of about 150 teams. Our final time was 28:55:34 and our overall pace was 8:56. We were all pretty excited about the results.

The race was great, my team was great, and the scenery was great. I couldn't have asked for a better first relay race experience!

AMAZING workshop

I got back home this past friday from an amazing workshop. I feel a little silly saying it was life-changing...BUT IT WAS! The workshop is called Love Affair. Four amazing women photographers put it on (see my post below). They are all incredible photographers, but more than that, they are incredible women. There were about 60 other ladies who attended the workshop and each of them were so talented. Sometimes when you get a big group of women together, things get a little competitive, maybe even kind of caddy; not with this group.

The workshop was based in the awesome W Hotel Midtown, Atlanta. It was oh-so sheek. As soon as we got to our rooms, there were welcome bags and fresh flowers waiting for us. There were so many little details that made our stay so special. Each day we had classes, learned SO much, watched the photographers shoot, learned SOO much more, did some of our own shooting with models, ate way too much great food, and then learned even more. I left the workshop with my brain packed so full of great information, I couldn't wait to come home and get started on all my new ideas.

Here are some of my images from this past week.
Thanks to our beautiful model.

The W Hotel Midtown.


The finale night par-taaay. They had an event coordinator that did a beautiful job.






The headpieces were made and provided by Joanne Miranda Designs.




I'm loving the off camera lighting!





The biggest thank you ever goes to my sweet, sweet husband, Stoney. THANK YOU STONE!