I think we are going to try for a pumpkin patch next weekend, so hopefully there will be another installment of fall-related family fun very soon

In addition to the general busy-ness of life lately, last week I got my very first sinus infection. And oh my gosh was it a doozy. I have zero frame of reference for what a normal sinus infection is like, so I don’t know if this one was altogether typical or not. Regardless, it was absolutely unbearable!

I had an intense, scary headache for about 4 days before I knew what was going on. It was a throbbing, severe headache unlike any I’d had before, that quite frankly, made me think I was about to have a brain aneurism. I called the doctor on day 3 of my headache, and scheduled an appointment for the next day.

That night (why do all the worst symptoms always hit in the middle of the night???), I began to have a fever, chills, and nausea. The headache migrated into my face – my sinus area – and made me feel like my head was about to explode into a million pieces.

It was this combination of symptoms that made my infection so unbearable. A fever and chills, on their own, are unpleasant. Nausea, by itself, is miserable. A headache of this magnitude is terrible. But put it all together and it resulted in a crying, moaning, gasping for breath Heather. Rich was helpful, but obviously felt helpless. We were up for a while in the middle of the night, making warm compresses for my face, sipping ginger ale for the nausea, using the Netti Pot for my sinuses, getting extra blankets for my chilling, etc.

The next day at the doctor I was diagnosed with a severe sinus infection. And amid my absolute misery, somewhere in the recesses of my brain, I was incredibly thankful that I wasn’t dying of a brain aneurism. As much as I long for heaven, I feel like 30 is too young to go.

For the rest of the day I threw up. Including in the car on the way home from the doctor. You know that cloth shopping cart liner for babies to sit in? Ya, that was the ONLY thing in the car capable of catching my throw up, so that has since gotten a really, really good washing. Once we finally got my antibiotics and Sudafed, I was so hopeful that I was going to get some relief. But I couldn’t keep anything down, so I was getting a bit panicky. And can we please talk for a moment about how extraordinarily painful it is to throw up when you have a sinus headache? Oh my. Eventually, the next day, with the help of gatorade and Saltine crackers, I was able to keep my medicine down. And eventually, I could feel the effects of the antibiotic and the Sudafed. I’ve ben getting gradually better since then, and while the antiobiotic is making me feel nauseous, I’ll be done in a few days, thankfully.

Now to figure out how never to get another sinus infection Any comments on this are more than welcome!

Rich had taken Alana to spend the day with Randy and Susan so that we only had one child to care for, and the following day Rich’s parents took Alana while I was recovering. FAMILY TO THE RESCUE! Thank you so very much to Randy and Susan for allowing Alana to have a blast with her cousins and to my in-laws for taking Alana on a bunch of fun errands! She would have had NO fun here and we SOOOOO appreciate you all!

But I digress. The REAL reason for this blog post is happiness, not misery! It’s to post these awesome photos that Rich took while we were at the apple orchard yesterday! The girls are growing like crazy and some days I can’t even believe how quickly this year has passed. Here are some of our favorites from yesterday!

There were some adorable, tiny apples on the ground, just Sierra’s size  

Happy fall, everyone!

So, after a bit of morning relaxation…

We headed off to see what we could see

At the public beach, I loved the tall reeds, the rickety wooden fences, and the strong wind that blew. We had so much beautiful sunshine throughout the week, but in the mornings and evenings it tended to be overcast…and that happens to be when we did most of our photographing!

So, while all the sunshine was beautiful, I also like the soft, cloudy feel these images have! It started raining around the time we decided to leave, so I’m thankful for the half hour we had here! 

We have a saying in our household. It’s from the movie “Madagascar” which Alana has never seen, but Rich and I love. When she gets all crazy like this and she runs around like a nut and gets really goofy, Rich and I look at each other and say, “The penguins are psychotic.” That pretty much sums up this photo

I’m soaking up the snuggly stage because I know it won’t last long! Before long she’ll be running around with gobs of energy like her sister! 

Um, can this image win an award or something? Rich captured it and I’m pretty jealous that I didn’t take it myself. LOVE it.

I love Rich and Sierra’s interactions…so super crazy sweet. 

We played “red light, green light” on the pier and it made for some fun photos. Why haven’t we thought of this before?!?

“Red light!”

“Green light!”
Sierra seemed to love being outside! I loved carrying her around on the beach knowing she was so content.
After a storm blew several rafts and inter tubes into our portion of the beach one night, the kids had fun playing with them the next morning. Alana was too nervous to take her raft into the water with me, so she opted to play in it on the shore.
I think it was her personal goal each day to become as covered in sand as was humanly possible. She succeeded. I’m pretty sure all 3 bathing suits I packed will have sand in them forever.
One day for lunch the four of us visited a local bakery (which has the best cream cheese danishes EVER) and enjoyed some more family time.

Ooooh. I love these photos. Sierra had been to the beach in Fort Lauderdale when we visited my parents in March, but I hadn’t brought her to the water. Because the ocean temperature at Dauphin Island was so moderate, I decided to bring Sierra down to the shore and let her feel the sea for the first time.

So, with her new little rash guard and her chubby baby legs, Sierra met the ocean.

One wave came in pretty strong and caught me off guard so I swept Sierra up and Rich captured it! I love it! 

By the end of the week, Alana, who has always been apprehensive about the water, had become so confident near the waves that we borrowed her cousin’s life jacket for some peace of mind! Even though we were right there with her, she was getting VERY brave in the water and it started to make us nervous! 

Rich and Alana having some more fun…

Uncle Ron (a phenomenal pilot) offered to take the kids up in his plane during the last two mornings of our trip. All 6 of the older kids went up with him and loved it. Rich and Alana went up and I was so glad that Rich took his camera to document their time since I was back at the house with Sierra! 

And this was my view of them flying overhead while I was on the beach!

A few last photos before our vacation came to an end…

I took a couple photos of Alana playing out in front of the house…

And Rich took a few at the sand dunes near the public beach…

Group shot! I love this photo! We were SO SAD not to have gotten a photo with Ron and Kathleen that morning before they flew out…but I’m thankful we got everyone else. The 3 brothers, their wives, and all 8 kids!

We decided to leave the island on a Ferry that took us to Gulf Shores, Alabama and drive back a different way. So, this is both girls’ first time on a boat of any kind, I believe!

Our last vacation photo: a squinty-eyed family self-portrait

Ron and Kathleen had been to Dauphin Island, Alabama, before and it was their idea to introduce all of us to the area. None of us had been there before and it was a wonderful break in the craze that has been our lives lately! It is a very small island, very calm, and not much to do but relax on the white sand beaches. Again, a welcome break from a busy season of life.

This was the water tower that greeted us as we crossed over the bridge onto the island…

And this is the very large home that greeted us for the week! It was situated DIRECTLY on the beach and could not have been more perfect for us for that reason. With little kids, it was SO nice to be right on the beach so that Alana (and her cousins) could go in and out a few times a day without being too long in either place. Rich and I took turns inside while Sierra napped and outside playing in the sand and water with Alana. She was in HEAVEN all week.

I loved this onesie that I’d bought for Sierra a few weeks back and figured our little vacation was the perfect time to put her in it. How cute, right? “Ready for fun!”

For the first few days, we relaxed, roamed the property, snapped a few photos, and tried to get the girls to sleep later than 6am (to no avail)

One of the kids favorite places to play (besides the shore, of course) was under the house! Because it was on stilts, the kids had a blast collecting sea shells and playing in the sand. I took this photo of Alana the morning after we arrived before she’d even had a chance to put on a swim suit! 

This is Alana’s closest-in-age cousin, Addie. She is hilarious and adorable, as you can tell  

Rich and Alana had SO MANY fun moments at the beach, and while I was mostly occupied with Sierra, I tried to grab the camera here & there to capture some memories.

Five month old Sierra:

Across the street from the beach house was a very cool sandbar where Rich had taken Alana the day before. They wanted to go back and bring me and Sierra with them, and they were excited to show me all of their discoveries. We had such great family time around the sand bar, and here are some photos of our time there! 

I love this little drool factory! 

Hermit crabs!!!

The next day at the beach I was determined to get some photos of Alana playing. She’d been having fun on a contagious level and I wanted to remember her running around so happily. She grabbed her straw hat on our way out the door and it made for some fun photos. Truthfully I can’t believe I got a single useful image – Alana did not stand still for a split second all morning. I got dizzy just trying to photograph her activity and I’m thankful for high shutter speeds! 

Cousins! Alex, Addie, and Alana! Rich and both of his brothers had a girl for their firstborn and all 3 happen to be “A” names. These girls play SO well together and I love their relationships! Both Addie and Alana look up to Alex so much. She’s their hero  

The cousins playing a jumping game on a little sand hill…it was so cute to witness  

Up on the porch, Sierra relaxed and completely seemed to enjoy the sights and sounds of the ocean. I sat on the back porch with her quite a bit and we loved feeling the ocean breeze on our skin. She was a joy…with a few moments of overtired screaming and not napping well.

I thought this was a funny image with her tongue…

Stay tuned for part two! Coming right up!

Um. Adorableness  

An absolute favorite: 

Rich started off with the camera, taking shots of Alana’s bliss Oh how I love beach pictures. Give me snow pictures and beach pictures and I am a happy girl!

Then my mom took over and with a little instruction from Rich about shooting with the 70-200mm, she did a fabulous job with these images of the four of us! Thank you mom!!!

Then Rich used my mom as an assistant with some external lights and took these photos of me and Sierra. Love!

So these beach portraits conclude our Spring Break 2011! Happy Spring everyone!!!

Alana was super excited about roasting marshmallows for the first time, and had picked out some pink (strawberry) ones from the store to bring along with us. They sounded gross to me, but hey…pink is a girls best friend

This is Alana’s camera shirt that I just found (and slightly freaked out over) at Baby Gap…and I found it wonderfully appropriate for a photographer get together. When she wears it, she says, “I’m a ‘tographer, just like daddy!”

She observed the adults roasting marshmallows for a little while before deciding she was ready to try. But as you can see from her mouth, she wasn’t hesitant to taste a couple of them first.

And even then she wasn’t too sure about it

Thanks so much to my honey for these photos, by the way! It’s so much fun to have “first reactions’ captured on film!

Alana decided that she liked roasted marshmallows, but likes them even better when they are not!  Thanks so much to the Dotson’s for the wonderful evening! We always love hanging out with you guys – photography related or not!

On Sunday, March 7th (in the lobby of the MGM Grand), we met Gabe in person for the first time, grabbed a cab to Fremont Street, and a friendship began.

We already knew we loved his work, we already knew we enjoyed his online personality, but now we were quickly learning that we really, really liked him as a person…in person.

And then there was the photo shoot. Followed by a relaxing dinner together. Gabe has a very serene, calming personality. He’s reserved but also very easy to talk to. We had incredible conversations and thoroughly enjoyed every second.

He is inspired by documenting the connection that two people share.

Thank you for our connection session, Gabe. We love the images, and can’t help but think of you – and our incredible times together in Vegas – when we look at them. Keep wowing people with your self and your giftedness.

Blog readers, if you are ever in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, look Gabe up! Hire him for a session in the canadian landscape and let him work some magic! We want to go sooo badly!

I hope my blog readers are doing wonderfully! I have missed you over the past two weeks since I last blogged.

I wanted to blog a quick blurb to let my readers know that I just posted an update of our WPPI experience in Las Vegas on our professional blog! Head over there to read about our week and to link to a photo shoot by our incredible friend Gabe McClintock with Perspectiveye Photography from Calgary.

Here is a teaser image from Las Vegas but visit us at Rich Smith Photography for more!

Happy Tuesday, everyone!

Rich and Christina had a great workshop together and we just love her! They reviewed camera and composition basics and Christina is on a consistent journey of improving her photography skills. We are so excited for her!

As a conclusion to the workshop, they had planned a mini session to further review the concepts they’d discussed. But sadly, the weather did not cooperate, so a postponed mini session happened this morning. We were hoping for some nice light and maybe even some warmth, but we got neither. It was cold and completely overcast, so Rich talked about making the best of less-than-desirable weather situations!

Alana and I modeled for Rich and Christina while they worked. We had the easy job, for sure, and now we have some awesome new photos to boot!

Here are the photos that Rich captured, and I love them!

Happy week, wonderful blog readers! Be sure to contact us if you are interested in a customized, one-on-one workshop! It’s one of the things that we are passionate about and we love the opportunity to get to know you better through the teaching and learning process!

We’ve worked long and hard to craft a site that is clean, image-driven, informational, and easy to navigate…and we hope you find it to be those things. Please check it out and let us know what you think!

So, to summarize, you can keep up with our personal family photos here on the Smith Family Blog, see our favorite work on our new Portfolio Website, and follow our latest happenings on our Professional Blog.

And because every blog post is better with photos, here are some images that I adore and it’s been almost a year since I blogged them the first time! Thanks again to Nathan Holritz for these incredible images of us from last March!