In Loving Memory of Gunner Owen

Last night the Lord decided to take Gunner Owen home with him. He just turned 1 about a month ago and this picture was taken at his birthday party, which was the same day he was dedicated to their church here in Hill City. Gunner is the son to my cousin, Morgan, and her husband Jordan, and the brother to my 3 year old cousin, Elizabeth. Morgan is my age and Jordan's a couple years older than us. The causes of death are unknown, but they believe he had a seizure in his sleep and it was just too late by the time they got to him. Instead of having an autopsy done, they chose to have his heart donated to another child in need of a new one. How amazing is that! They are both doing fairly well, but they also know that he's in a much better place now. I arrived in Hill City this afternoon to be with Morgan and help her with anything she needs, and the rest of the family will be here tomorrow. Please keep all of us in your prayers for all of the families involved, as well as safe travels. The weather is getting pretty bad and it's supposed to snow. Thank you to everyone who have already sent their condolences, we truly do appreciate it. We love you and miss you Gunner.

John and Gina -- Engagement

EDSEC 620 was the class that started it all, just 1 year ago. It is where Gina and John met and their love story started. I was fortunate enough to meet both of them in this class as well and become good friends with Gina. As John finishes up his degree in Agriculture Education and Gina in Family and Consumer Science Education, they begin to plan the best day of their life. For their engagement pictures, they chose some great places on campus, including the new Jardine apartment area (if you haven't checked it out yet, you should!) and Bluemont area.

Congrats again to both of you and thank you for choosing me as your photographer!

Anderson Family

Located a few miles outside of Dwight, a small town south of Manhattan, off a dirt road you will find the 3 homes of the Anderson family. Their horses, dogs, red barn, home grown pumpkins and the amazing weather on a fall afternoon made for a great atmosphere! It reminded me of home:) They hadn't taken family pictures for over 10 years, and Bailey (the girl in the turquoise shirt) finally convinced all of them to come together for a few minutes to capture some pictures that will last forever. Thanks Anderson family for choosing me as your photographer!

Check it out!

Every morning while I get around, I turn on a show called Mike and Mike in the Morning on ESPN (shocking I know!) and yesterday, much to my surprise, I heard them discussing a football player from Mesa State, a college located in Grand Junction, CO. I'm originally from Grand Junction so this story caught my attention right away. It just blows my mind what some people will sacrifice for a game. Check out the article below that Rick Reilly wrote about this kid.

Life of Reilly

My creativity has run dry....

These past few months have been absolutely crazy, super busy, and amazing all at the same time! As I blogged about before, the breakthrough of my dream of becoming a photographer and starting my own business has now become a reality more than ever. With that being said, I'm currently taking the next few steps in that process to fulfill that dream. One of those steps include coming up with a name for my photography business, and unfortunately, my creativity has run dry on this task. Sooooo, I'm asking for your help. I'm accepting and asking for any ideas on what to name it. I'm looking for a romantic and professional name that also reflects me as a person and photographer. So while you're sitting at work, class, or the comfort of your own home, bored out-of-your-mind with nothing better to do, I'd appreciate any ideas or suggestions on a name. There will be a prize given to the person who's idea I use! Feel free to leave your suggestions here on my blog, email, phone call, or text message; I answer to all of them:) Here are a couple that Chris and I have come up with:

Essence Photography
Sarah Jeanne Photography
SE Photography
Essi Photography

Let me know what you think!