hocus outta focus : the hocus focus blog

Birthday Shout Out!

Gotta give a birthday shout out to one of my favorite peeps ever!

Happy Birthday, Dylan!  You da man!!! 

Hugs,

H

Ashley : Senior Portraits

Ashley. Ashley. Ashley. Where do I even start? She was one of my 2008-2009 interns and definitely one of my all-time favorite seniors.

She's a natural in front of the camera and also quite talented behind it. A true original, Ashley is comfortable in her own skin.  She is who she is and that's all there is to it. She's got an incredible sense of humor and such a kind, giving heart. Shortly after our session she cut and donated her gorgeous hair to Locks of Love.

I think we broke the record for the most shots ever taken. Can you blame me, though? I mean, look at her. She's gorgeous!! There were so many favorites I couldn't just blog a few.  Had to share the video.  Enjoy!

Somebody Pass The Twinkies, Please.

The day before Father's Day Chris came home with this.   

Really?  REALLY???  And don't even start with the, "but he's so cute" and the "he looks so sweet".  That's what he said.  But you must know that this dog is a complete pain in the butt.  He's torn through screens...three of them to be exact.  He's thrown up in the house...at least four times - the dummy likes to eat grass.  And he even ran off.  For three days. 

If the girls didn't love him so much I would have played the witchy woman card and sent that dog packing. 

It's not that I don't like dogs, it's just that right now I need a dog like I need to eat another freaking box of twinkies.  And now we need two dog houses.  One for Oz and one for Chris.  He's gonna owe me for this one.  BIG TIME!!!    

Pedicures for Ann

This morning I received an email from my dear friend Kathy Minor.  I've known Kathy for several years and through her I met Ann Schierts.  I don't know Ann well, but I know her well enough to be able to say she is without a doubt one of the strongest, most faithful, beautiful women I've ever met.  You'll be hard pressed to find someone with a heart like hers.

I believe it was in 2002 that Ann was first diagnosed with breast cancer and last year she began to chronicle her journey on her blog.  No matter what life throws at her, Ann remains positive and is absolutely selfless. 

I know I've got fabulous blog readers with kind hearts who also happen to love a good pedicure.  I'm sure you're wondering how all this relates.  To assist the Schierts family with their mounding medical expenses, the lovely people at Nails Mirage in Shawnee are kindly donating a portion of the proceeds from the pedicures given to "friends of Ann" from July 21 through July 24.

Nails Mirage will take walk-ins, but for staffing purposes would love for you to call ahead and make an appointment.  Be sure to mention "Pedicure for Ann" when you're there so they can keep an accurate count.    Mark the calendar, round up your girlfriends and go!  As the email said, fun, fellowship and fabulous feet are just a call away!

Nails Mirage is located near K-7 and Johnson Drive.

5432 Roberts Street, Shawnee, KS 66226  913.422.4471  

Dancing with the....

Interns???  You've seen Ashley on the blog before.  She's one of my 2008-2009 interns and she's just fabulous.  We had a blast shooting her senior portraits.  She holds the record for the most images I've ever shot in one session and it's definitely one of my all-time favorites (hence the new blog header).    
Inside and out, Ashley is a beautiful person and I'm so lucky to have gotten to know her.  Shortly after her senior portrait session Ashley cut and donated her hair to Locks of Love.  We'll have to grab a shot of the new 'do next time we get together.   

I'll have plenty more from Ashley's session to post this week, but for now I just had to share this.  It's how we ended the session.  Her laugh and her smile are so contagious and who doesn't want to start their Monday off with a smile? 

Happy Monday!
H

Beetle Juice! Beetle Juice! Beetle Juice!

Okay, they're not beetles, but it's just not the same when you say, "Cicada juice!  Cicada juice!  Cicada juice!"  I'm re-organizing hard drives and stumbled upon these shots from last fall that I never posted.

So, I'm deeply concentrated, channeling my inner National Geographic photographer when my prankster husband comes up beside me, tickles my arm and yells out, "There's one on you!  There's one on you!"  Wish someone had a camera on me at that moment.  That might have been a record high vertical jump.  I'm a total girl and I'm soooo not a bug person so I totally freaked.  You know, jumping around screaming, arms flailing about.  Not pretty.  At all!  Yeah, maybe I'm glad nobody had a camera on me afterall. 

The girls heard me screaming and wanted to know what we were looking at so Chris picked one up so The Lu could get a closer look.

When he put it back on the rope he found it on we realized his fingers had torn off the tips of the wings and we noticed some kind of fluid seeping out of the ends.  We touched it and it kinda felt like baby oil.  It was crazy.

I'd love to know more about it.  If only there were more hours in the day.  I'd do some googling, but instead I'll take the lazy route.  Blog about it and hope a reader knows or is incredibly bored and decides to google it for me.  *wink*wink*

Have a fantastic day!
H

Happy Father's Day!

When it comes to parenting I'm the disciplinarian and Chris is the fun one, which is probably why this quote struck such a chord with me. 

My father used to play with my brother and me in the yard.  Mother would come out and say, "You're tearing up the grass."  "We're not raising grass," Dad would reply.  "We're raising boys."  -Harmon Killebrew

We're raising girls, but the same theory applies and I can always count on Chris to remind me of this.  He's such an incredible father. He's a provider and a protector.  He's a storyteller and a snuggler.  He's a hide-and-go seeker and a human jungle gym.  He's a boo-boo fixer and a buddy.  If you were to ask, I'm sure our girls would tell you he hung the moon.  Of course he did.  He's their daddy and he's their hero.

I'll probably never get over the amazement I have for the relationship between Chris and our daughters and these next two shots pretty much sum it up.   

They simply adore him.

I grew up without a dad, but I had an amazing grandpa (and a couple of awesome uncles) who stepped up and played that part - and then some.  Papa was always such an inspiration to me, and Chris actually reminds me a lot of him.  You know...the kind of man who will drop anything, anytime for his kids because nothing is more important to him.  I learned a lot about life from Papa and I know our girls will learn so much from Chris.

Whether you're a father or a father figure, you've got a very important job.  The most important one you'll ever have.    

He didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it.  -Clarence Budington Kelland

Happy Father's Day!