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Today has been such a great day! We had so many things to do today including going up to pick up the girls, a meeting and a shoot, which was soooo FUN - pics to come soon. Its always hard for us to be away from the girls for more than a day but its awesome when we get to see them after wards. They are super cute and huggy and kissy!(not proper grammar but it suites the subject) We were able to just run around with them in this perfect weather. Who would've thought that chasing after and running away from little girls could be so fun! Ava was laughing so hard that she was snorting - ahh the cuteness was obscene today!

So all in all it was a great day and I love spending time with the family! They are everything and I couldn't be happier to be able to spend quality time with them. I'm sure most of know its not always easy to find that time.

Anyway, below are a few shots from today. I'm kicking myself for not having the camera ready when the girls came out running towards me to give me their hugs and kisses!!

Dinner time with your family is one of those things that has seemed to change for the worse in the last 5 years or so. I remember growing up we would always eat as a family. I loved it and I miss it. We are finding now that with our crazy schedules and so many things to do that its sometimes hard to sit down at the table and eat as a family. I believe it is so important for a family do have this - whether or not you have kids. Its a time where you can just talk, enjoys each others company, unwind after a full day and not have any distractions from the outside world. I look forward to hearing from the girls about there day at school and having their friends over.

Each time we actually get to sit down for dinner together is a special time for our family. I look forward to it everyday. I started thinking about this when I was looking at some recent pictures of the girls we took at dinner one night. Below are two - the first one is AVA and second is Bella.

Happy Easter!


Michael.

Below is a slide show we put together from the wedding we shot yesterday. We had a blast shooting this wedding. Everyone had a great time and it shows in the pictures. Best of luck to Raymond & Lauren, you guys are an amazing couple. Enjoy!

<3 Melissa

This past Saturday we had the opportunity to take pictures of Izzy. She was so easy to shoot and loved the camera. She was absolutely adorable, which also made it easy for us. We got a lot of great pictures of her and some great action shots of her picking at dirt, stones, and a bird nest, but then again what baby doesn't do that. Below are just a few images...

<3 Melissa

This past Saturday we photographed Kris & Liz's wedding. They are two of the most wonderful people we've ever met and we had such a great time! Its always a blessing for us to do what we love and work with such great people! Below is a slideshow put together to give a preview. Enjoy!

One of my favorite things about being in a relationship is the different ways communication happens. There is the obvious - words - and there are the looks and touches. One of my favorite means of communications is through notes. You remember notes don't you?! I'm sure everyone passed notes in school at one point or another. Melissa and I have always written notes to each other and still do. I love them even more now that we're married - there's something very romantic about it. It is something that isn't hard to do but it takes a minute of your time to stop and write; sending a message to another person. It shows that you were thinking of them. Its even more special now in this day and age with text messages and the 200 social networking websites! The reason I thought to write this was because Melissa left me a note just the other day.

Below are two pictures of notes we've recently written for each other. You'll notice that mine is the one with the really small handwriting.

Ok, so there's something I wanted to share with everyone. Some may know about this and some might not.

When our girls were born (05/16/07) I was inspired by the entire experience. Having children is one of the best things that can ever happen to someone. I wanted to take the girls pictures, everyday! You can see all over the place the people who do self portraits for a year or will take one picture every year for 20 years of someone or themselves. There are many variations but you know what I mean.

My idea was kind of similar but a bit more evolved. I wanted to photograph the girls everyday for much longer than a year. For 18 years. ...So you're probably like, "Yeah, whatever", right? Well here's the best part. Its a family project. And my goal isn't to take a picture of their faces in the same way each day like what you'd expect. I wanted to capture each of them in the day. So whether they are playing together and happy or crying in the corner, the picture has to represent them in that day. So how is this possible to do? Remember I said it was a family project? It doesn't matter who takes the picture as long as its taken from someone in our family. I'm expecting to get the girls each a digital camera by their 3rd birthday so they can start taking pictures of themselves.

It's been almost two years. As of yesterdays pictures, we made it to 665 days. Seems like a lot but when I think about Ava & Bella being alive for that long it seems so short. I remember right after the girls were born I told my family about what I was going to be doing. They kept saying, "thats what all fathers say when their kids are first born". It's gonna happen and Melissa and I are committed! Its actually become a habit for me to take their pictures everyday. Definitely a good habit though.

So I guess I'll invite you all to the show we're gonna have in 16 years! I want to line up all of the images, printed small, side by side going all the way around a room(large room!). When/If we have more children, we'll be adding to the pictures up til the 18th year so you'll see another line of pictures added each time a child, or children if we have twins again, is born.

Below is an image that was taken a couple days ago. Ava is the goof in the bag and Bella is the mastermind in the back trying to get into the drawers.