Dogwoods and Dandelions and Mother's Day

I woke up this morning thinking about the pink dogwood that blooms outside my bedroom window. It is so pretty right now and I knew I wanted to take a photograph of it, more to play with ISO's and settings and all that 'stuff' (yeah, I know, I'm real technical!) So I got George (and you know that's my D3, right?) and a few lenses and went outside.

What a day!! Wow! I started shooting and as I looked around, I saw that there were so many perfectly gorgeous flowers and shrubs in bloom, well it was amazing! And it got me thinking about Mother's Day...

I see all the ads on TV to buy this and that for mom, like you can't show your love without spending a fortune. (Yes, those diamond studs ARE dazzling!) And all the arrangements and dozens of roses from the store are beautiful and thoughtful... but I really think the best gift you'll ever receive will be the bouquet that your little one picked by themselves in the backyard.

So for all the moms out there... I wish you all the joy and love in the world! Happy Mother's Day! :)

And let's not forget the all time favorite!

~ Valeen

Sweet Baby!

It's been just crazy this month! Weddings, families and babies, oh my!! I'm loving every minute of it! Here's a preview of Brooke with more to come!

Superbowl, oh yeah!!

So... did you happen to catch that game last night? :)

~ Valeen Thivierge

4 going on 14!

I'll post the series of shots I did with Katelyn working her new sunglasses with some attitude later this week, but gotta love those baby blues!!

I love this shot and love my D-3! Right out of the camera! :) Yeah!!

~Valeen Thivierge

Too Cute!!

I couldn't think of a better title for this because I'd just laugh each time I'd look at the picture! :)

~Val

A little more Christmas Fun

I know the blog posts are kinda out of order but what the heck, right? It's all about the holiday and I had to share a few more. Okay, I'm going to say it, I have a gorgeous family!!! I had planned on making some amazing Christmas cards and sending them out this year, but... um....well, I got the flu, it got crazy and I didn't get them sent... So here's a big MERRY CHRISTMAS from all of us!

Our very own "Mr. McDreamy!" ... Matthew... he walks in the room and all the girls start to giggle and completely freak out!! Watch out Hollywood!!

Ah Ha!!! Caught ya' chimping!!

Twins! Okay, not really... but I think you can tell they are related!

Love this pic!

Katelyn went to see The Nutcracker this year, can you tell? Here come the ballet classes!

Daddy and Em. And also kind of a before and after set of pictures. Sweet and cute to start....

And then.... ROCKSTAR!!

Of course, now I have to introduce you to my two newest photographers, trust me, you'll love their work! (If they aren't fighting over the camera!)

Katelyn and Emily! Watch out world! They are going to completely change the way we take a picture in the future!! ("I got my first camera when I was 4, and I've been snapping pics ever since")

Love to all! Merry Christmas!!

~Valeen

We need a bigger house!

I have a problem, at least according to my family and there must be a support group for it somewhere. It has something to do with picking a tree that is way too big for the house, every single time!! So this is AFTER we cut a foot off the bottom, and a foot off the top...

Got out the landscaping tools and trimmed it down a little...okay, okay, a lot!! And right when it was almost done....Crash!!! In slow motion and just missed the little guy on the floor! He thought the garland was nice though!

Tom was not amused.

So after some intense work on the stand (which was brand new!) and the trunk (too soft!) and vacuuming for an hour, and redecorating the whole thing...oh, by the way, nothing broke... it's perfect! (Well, sorta!) And what the heck, the Barbies love it!

I have been officially banned from picking out the tree next year!! :)

~Valeen

Can we say.....

CUTE?? Some people just know how to work the camera, at any age!

~ Valeen

Kicks and Pics!

A couple of weeks ago I got to be a part of a fundraiser held by Enshin Karate in Griswold! What a kick!! Literally!! LOL In an effort to raise money for the local food pantry, the students got pledges and donations based on the amount of times they could kick a punching bag in 5 minutes, well, let's just say that you might not want to pledge by the kick, because they are going to surprise you!! There were thousands and thousands of kicks, by the students and instructors, from age 6 to 40!! It was wild!! And be best part?? They dropped off a check for over $1000 to the food pantry before Thanksgiving. How cool is that?

So a HUGE shout out to everyone who participated and especially to the parents, because without their dedication and help, none of this would be possible, you guys are the BEST!!

Images will be up on Pictage shortly, enjoy!!

~ Valeen

Halloween!

Ahh, the holidays. Nothin' like it. The sound of screaming goblins. The smell of decomposing zombies. And my daughter son with a wig on. Yep.

Anyway, I'll get over my failure at parenting and my first-born's cross-dressing tendencies, no worries, but in the meantime enjoy some scenes from Portland this evening...

-Bruce

 

 

 

 

Simply Sweet and Perfect

Brody...say hello to the world. (he will when he wakes up)

Quick updates...

So Bruce is working on editing the wedding of Bridget and John, it was really great and we will blog some of the shots soon (hint! hint!) ;) And then on Wednesday Krista had the baby! Little Brody is such a cutie, I can't wait to see him with his eyes open, he sleeps all the time. I'll have tons more photos to blog of him soon. I ended up sick on Saturday,I think it's the flu. So much for the flu shot, of course I get to thinking was it the day care center, the hospital, Walmart??

Here's a pic of Katelyn meeting her little brother for the first time at the hospital, he's not even a day old in the picture. I don't think she knew quite what to make of him that day, but now they are the best of buddies.



This is right out of the camera (my beloved D3) and I'll spend some time editing more baby pictures soon... but aren't they just beautiful together?

Emily Runs on Dunkin!

No, it's not coffee...although she has so much energy, I swear she's on expresso all day long!!

Listening....

Katelyn waiting for her baby brother...

Accidental Photography

No, we are not in the "glamour" kids photography business! I had the camera out on Easter (no? really??) and Katelyn was running around away from me because she didn't want her picture taken, can you believe that?? So she hides behind the cushion of the sofa, then when she peeked out I took the shot... this is the photograph I got. Not kidding... pure accidental photography. LOL (She will be locked in her room till she is 30!)

Six Degrees of ?

We have our first wedding of the season this Saturday and it should be great, we are so looking forward to it! It's actually my brother-in-law's (Bruce) wife's (Laureen) brother (John)...now doesn't that make me related somehow? LOL Anyhow, I can't wait to use the new camera and some techniques we picked up at the last class we went to as well. Bruce's 2 sons are in the wedding as well, so you know we are going to have some great shots of them, they are just awesome kids, can't wait to see them in a tux! Of course Roland will have his Yankee shirt on underneath, and Brett will have his Red Sox shirt on too... but shhhhh... we won't tell! Go Sox!!




This was taken at Easter... I think you can guess what kind of fun we are going to have with them on Saturday!

P.S. That photograph was taken with George...the new D3... ok, so we name our equipment, doesn't everyone?? By the way, no retouching at all, none!

Val

Roland's Schoolwork

Roland came home from school today with one of those "what do you want to be when you grow up" type of assignments. This is the first time he's ever expressed this and, well...it was very cute, and very insightful for a 9 year old, but I'm kinda partial so you decide...I think Val and I need to hire him to do our marketing for us!

Someone get me a tissue :)

-Bruce

Random Pics

Just some random shots from the weekend. I was in a collage mood ;)

Val is not under the weather, she's SICK! Like icky, wouldn't wanna be ya, sick. So send her some love and wish her well!

Take care. And don't forget to wash your hands. And take your vitamins ;)

-Bruce

Gone Fishin'

I'm baaaack! What a crazy week it's been, I haven't even had a chance to post the pics from "Me and Roland's Excellent Adventure" in Florida last weekend! So here we go...

The view out the window of our kitchen last Friday as we were leaving for the airport. Feet don't fail me now!

Roland in front of the marina. No he's not named after Roland Martin, he's actually named after his grandfather (my Dad) but hey, if you're gonna visit Roland Martin's marina in Florida and your name is Roland, people remember you!

When we arrived, it was late Friday night and we were greeted by this notice in the hotel room. Lovely ;) Off to Wal-Mart to get bottled water!

The streetlights on the road where the marina is located are bass! I'm home!!

 

The marina is on one of the canals outside of the lake itself. Normally you have to go through a set of locks (you can see the entrance in the back of this pic) to get out to the main lake but with the terrible drought they've been having, the lake is so low that the locks are just kept open full time.

Roland was a little anxious to wet a line ;)

Here's the entrance to the locks as we head out to the main lake.

 

Our guide, Boyd. He lives on Lake Superior in Michigan and owns a charter fishing operation there, but comes down to Lake Okechobee for the winter to guide for bass. The three of us had a great time!

And here's the video of Roland's very first bass! He's a had a few on before on trips we've taken here in Connecticut, but never landed one. This is what we came for!

My number 1 with his Number 1.

And one for Dad ;)

Lake Okechobee is paradise. Well if you like bass fishing. For everyone else, not so much. Why? These guys:

No water skiers, no jet-skis, no pleasure boats. Nothing but bass fisherman, for the most part. I think we need some 'gators in Connecticut!!

Sunrise on day 2. Gorgeous!

Roland was tearin' it up!

 

Ok, ok I was having fun too!

Ok that's enough fish stories for now, hopefully we haven't bored you too much!

Peace!

-Bruce and Roland