Tag Archives: engagement portraits

November 21, 2015 · 3:00 pm

Coming home: Wisconsin Summer

I love coming home from a trip- I am so thankful for my husband, and my home, and my own bed… and of course, my little pup.

With that said, I apologize for the next few posts, as they’re a little behind schedule. 🙂

My first morning home, I had lots of work to catch up on, including errands. I hooked Abbie up, laced up my running shoes, and ran to the post office and the bank. I even ran through the “drive through” at the bank, since I can’t take Abbie inside, and when the tube came back through the little vacuum thing, there was a biscuit inside!

She sure earned it, as she did a great job as District 4 Alderdog and welcomed everyone we saw on the run. Thanks, Chase!

This is random, but we picked up some sweet corn, and I just LOVED this middle cob. Why have straight lines, when you can be crazy? 🙂

I was able to squeeze in an engagement photo shoot with Brigitta and Stryder. They’re such a neat couple, and we were so excited to work with them!

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We had gorgeous weather, and we went for a little walk on the Green Circle. Lovely!

It is so hard going on vacation during the middle of wedding season, and I have so much to try and catch up on. This year was even crazier, as I am also staying very active as a new alderwoman, and trying to learn as much as I can from everyone around me. This brings me to Bob. Meet Bob!

Bob runs Poky Pedaling, a totally free group of organized bicycle rides around our community. He’s an active advocate for pedestrian and bicycle safety, so I had my meeting with him on our bikes, and we rode around the city. Thanks for sharing your thoughts during our “mobile meeting,” Bob!

I made it home in time to help stack some wood near our shed, and I amazed at this piece that I found…

Bark beetles do some beautiful work. Art by bugs. They must have been incredibly busy before the bark fell off, revealing this masterpiece. 🙂

We worked up quite an appetite working in the yard, and we were more than happy to have dinner with Brian’s family, at Dale and Sheri’s house.

Fish fry, jalepeno poppers, french fries… yes, we’re spoiled.

It was really awesome. I sure love these people!

We got home late Friday night, and I was exhausted, but I climbed out of the covers just early enough to run the Violet Thompson 5K, a fundraiser for a very special little girl in town. I had no idea if I’d know anyone there, but sure enough, I found George and Marc around mile 1.5. 🙂

Great run, boys. 🙂

I’ll leave you all with a few photos from paddling out on the chain. I just can’t get enough of my SUP and Marl Lake.

I made us SUP hatch-friendly blackberry mojitos. I muddled the rum and mint and berries before we left, and the rest is a delicious memory. We know how to spend a day on the water. 🙂

So many more shoots to share with you- it will be an engagement and wedding explosion here for a while!

As always, thanks for reading, friends!

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July 23, 2015 · 1:27 pm

Killeen and Ernie + Wisconsin Adventures

I was home just long enough to charge my camera batteries, do a load of laundry, kiss my Mr. Mustache and my pup, then I headed down to shoot the engagement photos of the gorgeous Killeen and handsome Ernie in Elk Grove.

This shoot was extra special because Killeen is my cousin, and you can definitely see a family resemblence! 🙂

We lucked out with fabulous weather, perfect lighting, and a cute little nature reserve right near their house. You’d never guess we were in the city!

We shot, and posed, and laughed, then headed back for an Italian dinner (Chicago has the best food options!), a sound sleep, and a short run before I hit the road home. I had a meeting with my accountant (my aunt, Tina) in Madison, to work on my taxes. Being self-employed is difficult for many reasons, only one of which is doing my taxes. Another quick meeting at city hall, then Brian and I headed off to Waupaca to deliver our little Abbie monster to my mother-in-love. We made the switch at a very funny and Wisconsin-y bar, JR Sportsmans, with a gigantic fish out front, and a little game farm.

We ran home, performed minor surgery on my kayak (a new compass!)…

…then headed up north to meet Nikki and celebrate the long Memorial Day weekend.

We swung by my grandparents’ home to give my grammie and grampie a little love and share the news about the alderwoman gig. They’d already seen it in the paper, and saved me the clipping. I love these people. ❤

Once we made it up north, we kayaked, ran, did yoga, napped, sat in the hot tub, went to the Tomahawk old car show (saw Adam, a pianist friend from college!), sent the boys fishing, and caught a tree frog.

It was an incredible weekend of relaxation, laughter, and a fabulous reminder that sometimes the oldest friends are the best friends! Love you, Nikki.<3

We met my mother-in-love again in Waupaca to pick up our puppy, and we took her out to dinner. We love the food at the Chain Bar in King- their pizza is delicious! While we sat at the covered outdoor bar, we watched a storm roll in, and a double rainbow appeared. How cool! 🙂

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I spent the following week in meetings as an alder, including meeting the president of our neighboring town, since we share a boundary line.

I went on a fun run with the SP running group (and saw Margaret and her new babe!), shot a few headshots, and spent some time playing outside with Abbie.

I also went down to southern Wisconsin for a Wisconsin League of Municipalities training for newly elected government officials. I have learned so much with this job- more than I ever realized I needed to know! Do you know the average lifespan of a Wisconsin police car? I do! 🙂

I spent the night in Madison with our friends, the Langes, and we went out to dinner at this crazy but delicious Jamacan restaurant.

Before I knew it, I was back at home with Mr. Mustache, and ready for a whole new week of adventures.

As always, thanks for reading, friends!

Miles this year: 288.1

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June 26, 2015 · 4:17 pm

Hannah’s Haircut + Kris and Shane, engaged!

My TU friend, Hannah, is a rockstar. She’s a badass farmer and triathlete who lives in the northern Wisconsin country. She also has been growing out her waist-length hair for years, and she volunteered to shave her head and donate all of her hair. What a champ!
The stylist is my beautiful friend, Stef, at Kasha Salon, and she volunteered her time and services. Thanks, girl!
Hannah, your hair is going to make a child very happy! Thanks for being awesome. Enjoy your newfound scalp freedom!

The next day, I went to help out at a Friends of the Little Plover River event- the fourth graders from the Stevens Point district all come out on an afternoon field trip and learn about their local stream. I was at the fly casting station with Stu, a member of my TU chapter. I left the FOTR event early to head down to Madison for a very special photo shoot- a lifestyle shoot with Kris and Shane… turned surprise proposal! Kris had been planning this day for months, and I was in on the surprise. It’s hard to plan a photo shoot for “no reason” with someone less-than-thrilled to ham it up for the camera without giving it away, but Kris’ masterfully laid plans worked perfectly. He convinced Shane to play along, and we ended up having a lot of fun!

We started taking photos at Kris’ mentor’s piano, then headed downtown at the Capitol (to drink wine on the lawn, of course!), around the square, then over to the Monona Terrace.Right after this picture was taken, a woman walking by asked if we were taking engagement pictures.

Kris and I looked at each other with a look of panic, and we all mumbled, “Oh, no… these are just for fun,” or something equally awkward. Shane turned away and I looked at Kris with a face of shock as I mouthed, “OH MY GOD.”

I thought the jig was up! Luckily, Shane didn’t suspect a thing… so we moved on.

The tulips on the capital lawn were in full bloom and proving to be bright and beautiful. I hoped my giant smile wasn’t giving me away, and blamed my positive mood on the beautiful weather and these pretty flowers. 🙂We set up so I was facing the capital…and then, on my cue, when the lighting was right, Kris got down on one knee, said something (I’d imagine to be) very sweet, and Shane said, “YES!”

It is difficult to be a part of a moment without intruding, but I did my best…Congratulations, guys! I’m so happy for you. Thank you for letting me be a part of this big moment! I still get goosebumps when I look through this gallery. ❤

As were walking back to the parking ramp, I heard someone call my name. I looked up, and saw all my Madison friends from WLCV! They convinced me to stay for a drink (I love edible orchids!) and to catch up. Twist my arm… I made it home late and tired, but charged my camera batteries and swapped out memory cards, getting set up for the weekend’s photo shoots. More on those later!

Thanks for reading, friends. 🙂

Miles this year: 269.1

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Tagged as engagement portraits, fly fishing, friends, haircut, Madison, photography, traveling, Trout Unlimited

January 2, 2015 · 2:52 pm

Happy New Year + trying to catch up

My regular readers will certainly recognize that I’m a little behind. As we all cozy in for our below zero wind chills here in Wisconsin, fall portraits feel like they were taken an eternity ago. Thanks for bearing with me as I try to catch up. Go easy on me for the photo-heavy posts for the next week or so as I bring us up to date 🙂
When I left you last, I was writing about my new tattoo and spending my fall days with families. I also started a very part-time office gig…

…when I was in my walking boot last year, I started physical therapy on my foot at Point Forward. I love that place. They think I ~~have a fun personality and a good work ethic~~ I’m crazy, so they asked me if I’d be available and willing to train in their scheduling/insurance/reception position, so I could fill in when their ~~normal~~ awesome scheduler was going to be gone to Mexico on vacation. I underestimated the things I’d need to learn, including HIPAA and individual insurance company policies. In any event, after the training, they asked if I’d be willing to help them out when things get busy, and that started in October. I only spend four or five hours hours total a week there, on Monday and Wednesday, and it gives me no excuse for skipping my workouts, since the clinic is inside of my health club. 🙂 I’m learning more about the human body than I ever thought I would! I love helping out over there, and it hasn’t been too hard to schedule work around those hours.
I’ve still been running like crazy- Carmel and Lydia and I met up at Iverson since we hadn’t been there in a while.

I went to a special yoga class for breast cancer survivors, and dedicated my practice to my best friend’s mom, Marilyn. ❤

I met my mom and her fiancé, Bill, up at Rib Mountain for their engagement portraits. We had such a wonderful time, and seeing my mom smile with love is just too adorable.

We spent Halloween with our friends in Madison. Brian pondered his list of mustache-y costumes and finally decided on cowboy. I took advantage of my Cheesehead beliefs and went as a mousetrap.

Thanks for hosting us, Amanda and Andy! We had to run off the next day to shoot the Leave a Legacy fundraiser for Trinity Lutheran school. We set up our gear and took photos of couples that look like this…

We donated a portion of the proceeds back to the school, and had a lot of fun being our own light testers. 🙂 yay for a self-timed portrait!
My Stratus and I have reached a big milestone in our adventures…

Oh boy, I hope my car makes it through another year!
Carmel and I ran with pups…

…and I’ll leave you with a very fun photo shoot at Bull Falls.

I really love working with beer and breweries. 🙂 such gorgeous subjects!
Bull Falls recently finished a big expansion. The street sign in the middle of their new facility is where the road used to run through.

It always makes me so happy to see local small businesses growing and expanding! #buylocal

Thanks for reading, friends!

My total 2014 mileage was 597.2. Starting 2015 goals now! 🙂

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November 14, 2014 · 9:10 am

Henry and Christina, and my last taper week

Hi, friends! I spent my last taper work keeping busy with all sorts of things, including a trip to Green Bay to work with Henry and Christina and capture their engagement portraits. We took advantage of a beautiful fall day along Baird Creek.

I love Henry’s bow tie. Too cute! Congratulations, friends. We’re looking forward to working with you again next year!
I stopped at my “local” fly shop, Tight Lines, and had my new fly line put on my birthday present to myself, my new seven weight reel.

I can’t wait to put that baby to good use!
I also went to dinner with my friend, Aaron. 🙂 it’s hard to get him to come out- combining grad school with someone who works in politics a month before an election, and I was lucky to snag an invite!

I started working on a secret photo project with some beautiful products…

Did some ~~very cliche~~ photo work “out of the office” at Starbucks…

Ate some of my pink applesauce…

And went on my last run before the race with my Abbie pup.

It was all good preparation for my ridiculous weekend ahead… Stevens Point to Milwaukee to Chicago to Stevens Point to Wausau to Chicago to home.
That story is up next! 🙂

Miles this year: 480.5

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November 6, 2014 · 8:21 am

Tiffany and Darrin, and beginning to taper

Tiffany and Darrin wanted to celebrate their one-year anniversary with a photo shoot. What a fun idea!
Judging by these photos, they still have that sweet newlywed connection. I love it!

We did this shoot up on Rib Mountain, and when the shoot was finished, Brian and I parked at the bottom of the mountain, ran the 2 miles up to the ranger station, then flew back down. So fun, and such a challenge for my form. Since I was tapering for Chicago, I tried to make the miles extra fun!
I filled in at Point Forward Physical Therapy (I might make this a regular thing!) for the day on Monday, and took this selfie with my favorite coworker. 🙂

Brian’s 27th birthday was on the 23rd, and I gave him his very own fly rod and reel. It’s a Redington 5wt, and we only had a few days to try it out before trout season closed. We headed out to one of my favorite spots on my home water, the Tomorrow River. I missed a strike, but spent most of my time helping Brian out. I’m so proud of him and how fast he’s learning!

I rounded out my week with a few runs with the girls…

…and lunch with Amy at Emy J’s.

As I was heading out to my car, I ran into this guy…

Welcome home from Germany, Mike! 🙂
As always, thanks for reading, friends.

Miles this year: 470.9

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October 24, 2014 · 10:30 am

Staush and Colleen and my Wisconsin fall weekend

I can’t get over how cute these two are.

Meet Staush and Colleen.
I first met Staush through my work with Wisconsin TU- he’s on our state council as well. He picked a beautiful antique engagement ring, surprised her at a park, and amidst tears, Colleen said yes! They are planning a beautiful August wedding in Green Bay next year, and we’re really excited to work with them! They both work in politics, so an election-year engagement session was hard to schedule, but they came all the way over to Rib Mountain to hang out with us.

Congratulations, guys! 🙂
We had dinner Friday night with my other BFF, Amy, and her handsome fiancé, Chris. They took us out to celebrate our birthdays!

We started our busy Saturday with work in the crawl space under the house, then headed up to Kim’s cancer benefit in Wausau. The beautiful Kim Kuklinski and I went to high school together, and we are all praying for her strong recovery. We donated a photo package to the benefit, so I dropped off my display, bought a lot of tickets for raffles, saw some friends (hi, Alie!)…

…then headed off to the apple orchard to see Amy, Chris, and a few other folks from the wedding party. It was great- Helene’s had live music, several varieties of apples, and rides for the kids.

After a bushel and a peck of apples, we zipped over to the Phares’ super cute house for dinner. Ron and Stacey spoil us! We also got to play with Newton a little bit, too. 🙂

I made a big batch of pink applesauce with the apples from the orchard.

I hope we have enough to last us through the winter! 🙂
As always, thanks for reading, friends.

Miles this year: 467.8

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August 21, 2014 · 10:00 am

My mom is engaged!

In some of the most exciting news of the season, I’m happy to announce that my momma is engaged. 🙂
She’ll be marrying Bill Olson next June, and we couldn’t be more excited! I’ll be hanging out with them soon and taking some pictures, and I can’t wait to share them!
Speaking of engagement portraits, I was pretty excited to hang out with Lindsey and Derek a couple weeks ago. It was storming and the skies looked ominous, but we made the best of it, and the sun even came out at the end of our session! Take a peek at these cuties.

We can’t wait to shoot their wedding. How beautiful are they? 🙂
Next up is the Klesmith family. We were lucky enough to shoot their engagement portraits and their wedding, and now here we are… Shooting their family portraits! Brace yourself, little Owen is too cute to handle.

The Klesmiths won a portrait package that we donated to a cancer benefit locally, so this shoot was extra special, as we were able to help our community. It wasn’t just a family photo shoot, it was also a special announcement…

Congratulations, Hannah and Mike! We’re so excited for you.
I’m blogging from the waiting room at Auto Select (Matt and Josh at the desk are awesome!) while I get new tires, but I’ll be back in my office soon, working on photos!
Thanks for reading, friends.

Miles this year: 360.75

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August 8, 2014 · 10:00 am

Wisconsin TU’s Youth Fishing Camp, running, and Amy and Chris!

I’m having a hard time adjusting to life in my office after that beautiful week playing in the mountains. Here’s one more image for you…

I am happy to be back- back to my home, and my bed, and my puppy. And back to my garden! Some of my favorite purple raspberries are ripe.

I ran with the fun run group here in Point over at Standing Rocks, but I had so much fun that I didn’t take a picture until the ride home.

I was home for two nights, then I headed out for Wisconsin TU’s very first youth fishing camp.
My friend, Jen, came over to help! We were twins in our matching jackets.

We taught the kids about conservation, knot tying, tying flies, and a whole ton of information about fishing with flies, spinners, and bait. The kids had a great time, caught some fish, and learned a lot!

Many thanks to all our volunteers who came out and shared their time and talents with the next generation. What a crew!

I was SO ready to be home for a week in my own office and my own kitchen… I cooked Heidi food for a week!

I’m sure everyone eats their eggs with kale and sriracha, right?
I returned to running with Lydia as much as possible.

Hurry home, Carmel! We miss you. 🙂
I was lucky enough to be invited up to Wausau to capture one of my best friends, Amy, in some engagement portraits with her handsome fiancé, Chris.
Amy was one of my maid of honors, along with my other bestie, Nikki. Here we are, almost seven years ago. #flashbackfriday

Photo by Lem Fillyaw of Painting With Light.
I will be one of Amy’s matron of honors, so I won’t be able to shoot her wedding, but we sure had a great time up at Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, in their gardens. Take a peek!

It is amazing how time flies. I remember when we were too young to drive… and look at us now.
Congratulations, sweetie… we can’t wait to celebrate with you two next year!
That’s all for now. I have a lot of photo shoots this week, so stay tuned for some super cute stuff!

Miles this year: 355.25

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December 6, 2013 · 11:54 am

Beer, fish, cold water, apple pie, and Megan and Jim :)

Hey, friends.
Last month, B and I headed over to Pigeon River Brewing Co with our friends, Mary and Joe. They were featured in the last Hoopla magazine.

It’s a small brewery in Marion, Wi, run by a couple guys and their families.

I’m always happy to see small, local businesses growing. Farmers turned brewers? Awesome. They’ve still got the bulk tank out back!
We got back from that midweek trip just in time for me to pack to head down to the Trout Unlimited annual meeting. This year, it was held down in Middleton, so I was able to drive there easily! I was asked to present about Stream Girls.
Chris Wood gave the state of TU address, filling us all in on what’s happened in the past year.

My friend, Jon Christiansen, also gave his presentation, as chairman of the board.

The Administrator of the EPA, Gina McCarthy, gave a very interesting presentation. I’d never taken photos at an event with Secret Service before!

As always, there was fly tying, and an awards ceremony. 🙂

As if it’s any surprise, I made a lot of new friends and got to visit with some that I hadn’t seen in a while! Have I mentioned that I love the company of fishermen and fisherwomen? I even got to sneak out early for a little run with Franklin.

I am happy to be a part of this organization!
Fall makes me want to bake and cuddle in with sweaters and soup! I picked up some beautiful apples and made a pie. 🙂 there is just something about homemade crust!

Abbie almost had a taste! 🙂 darn cute dog.
A beautiful Sunday morning arrived, perfect for Megan and Jim’s engagement session.

I’ve known Megan since junior high- we played in band together! 🙂

Love these two! Jim just became a marathoner at the Fox Cities marathon in September. 🙂 They fit together so perfectly, and they just made my job easy… Their love for each other shines through in these photos. We can’t wait until your May wedding, friends!
Sunday night was teaching ballroom dance lessons with Dale. I had a cold, so I was kind of crabby. Dale recommended that I supplement with Vitamin B… Vitamin BEAR!

It worked, and I made it through my group lessons. Don’t worry, I gave hand sanitizer to my students and used it myself! 🙂
More to come. Oh, so much more, but I’m heading out to brave the cold for a beautiful winter photo session!

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Tag Archives: engagement portraits

Coming home: Wisconsin Summer

Killeen and Ernie + Wisconsin Adventures

Hannah’s Haircut + Kris and Shane, engaged!

Happy New Year + trying to catch up

Henry and Christina, and my last taper week

Tiffany and Darrin, and beginning to taper

Staush and Colleen and my Wisconsin fall weekend

My mom is engaged!

Wisconsin TU’s Youth Fishing Camp, running, and Amy and Chris!

Beer, fish, cold water, apple pie, and Megan and Jim :)

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