The Melting Pot's Halloween Hustle 2010

what a great concept--a 5k (or a 1 mile family friendly walk) on halloween to prep for the inevitable candy consumption to follow later in the evening!

hundreds of fun-loving folks turned out for this super fun event decked out in their costumes ready to run and ready for fun! the event is held on halloween each year as a way to celebrate the holiday and to celebrate the closing day of elitch gardens amusement park as well. so--after the run everyone can enjoy one last day at the park.

as a photographer i LOVE people who love life. people who grab the moment and live it to the fullest. this event was saturated life lovers. people ran in masks, wigs, full makeup and some even ran while pushing the kiddos in the stroller!

i walked around snapping shots in the colorado sun and smiled all morning. i love my job. i love halloween. i love elitch gardens and i love the melting pot!

see you all next year. (i put it on my life list to run the 5k next year with my kiddos!)

LIFE is what's happening when you are busy making other plans...

so today was just a regular day. kids off from school. plans to meet friends. snacks packed. sunscreen applied. camera bag in tow.

a regular day of kids playing and moms chatting.
a regular early fall day.

nobody is dressed up. nobody hired me to take their portraits. nobody is feeling pressure. we are just being in the moment.

those are the most powerful moments because those are the moments when we are just living our lives. those are the moments we'll remember most when we look back.

a friend who attended our fun play date asked me if i get tired of taking the camera...tired of always 'working'. my answer was quite simple...the moments like today are where my passion for photography shines. i believe in the power of NOW.

i love the friends in our lives and i love documenting our time together.

'the secret of life is enjoying the passage of time'...james taylor

sunshine, the color pink and an old rustic chair.

i am so behind on blogging...probably 6 sessions behind (which is a lot for me). but no matter how busy i am i HAD to find time to post these images.

i see this little gal every day (and sometimes several times a day) while dropping off my kids to school. over the past year the family and i have developed a friendship and so have our kids. when the summer came and everyone's schedules got busy i was so sad to not see and get to hold lily every day. i missed her smile. i missed her sweet smell. i missed those dimples.

secretly i have been hoping for the chance to photograph her and when her mom asked i was so excited.

this morning we headed out to enjoy this early fall day in colorado. we had two hours to play and capture some moments together with mother and daughter.

but lilly was onto our scheme. she KNEW she was going to be put on the spot. she protested for a bit...but we chatted and played and soon she was smiling away as she always does.

this family has a sweet love and light about them. each of the children are beautiful(three total) and adorable-- as are the mom and dad. i love being around them.

and today i got my fill of lilly's sweet smell and her sweet sweet smile.

i joke about creating a facebook page for her...she has so many fans at school that all want to hold her and hang out with her. so i am far from alone in my admiration of this sweetie pie.

happy belated birthday lilly grace.