*HOWL!*

I'm a little bit nerdy...ok, a lot nerdy! When my husband came home a while back and told me that we were going on a date I was a little shocked as this doesn't happen as often as it should. "I got some hockey tickets!" he said excitedly. Hmmmm....I didn't know how to react. I'd never been to a hockey game but I LOVE sporting events. The night came quickly. Walking hand in hand up to the arena, I felt like we were dating again. I was so giddy. I simply love hanging out with Scott, my best friend. The game was pretty exciting. I learned two things: (1) the players can catch the puck with their glove anytime, and (2) hockey fights are real and intense. I had no idea how real or intense. We had to leave early because Scott had to go to work but I still had a great time! The Coyotes ended up beating the Sharks 5-4 in overtime! And... guess what?!? We're going back on Tuesday!!! *happy dance*

My date even let me use his jacket since I didn't think about how cold a hockey game might be...what a hottie sweetie!

Mocha Moms

Last Saturday morning was a dream. I went to a beautiful park (The Railroad Park in Scottsdale!) with tons of photo opportunities on a gorgeous spring day with my camera. Then all these beautiful kind families with dreamy children kept coming up and having their picture taken! Thank you, Mocha Moms, for setting this up! What a wonderful group you have going! I could have hung out all day with each family. What a blessing to meet you all! Here's a little preview of the fun!

There are some more of my favorites on my website already! http://www.paulastillerphotography.com/

i love Easter.

hymns. eggs. hunt. dyes. giggles. flowers. sunshine. cool breeze. ham. baby bunny. family. babies. hugs. kisses. bubbles. chocolate. baskets. swing. dress. bows. Christ arose!

I'm just sitting here editing several sessions and wanted to get some Easter pictures up of the kiddos. We couldn't have asked for a more lovely Easter. God is so good!

(btw - yes, my boys have on pink shirts and no, scott was not happy...but they sure looked handsome!)

BID NOW!

There is a charity auction going on at 8523mine.com for two deserving Maricopa families. I have donated a session and it is up for grabs now! Why are you still here? Go get it!

One thing I was sure when I started this business is that it wasn't going to be worth it if I wasn't able to give back to my friends, my family, and the community. In a small way, I hope this helps.
On a different note, my weekend was one of those that you never want to end, that you keep pinching yourself because everything is going perfect, and that Monday you are happy to get up and get going. Yes, it was that good. I'll put some pictures up soon but for now I wanted to have you go and bid.

UPDATE! Congratulations Pretty in Pink! I know who you are and am SOOOOOOO excited for our session! Thanks for bidding and giving to these families!

50 Odd Things About Me

Fill It Out and Return It (stillhere821@msn.com)! I'd love to hear from everybody!

1. Do you like bleu cheese? No
2. Have you ever eaten caviar? No
3. Do you own a gun? maybe...
4. Your favorite song right now? Superchick "Anthem" - I jam out in the van! Here's to the girls that don't give up!
5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? sometimes
6. What do you think about hot dogs? Do you know what they put in them??? I like them. I don't know what is in them. Scott gets upset if they don't say beef.
7. Favorite Christmas song? O Holy Night or that one that starts out - Bells will be ringing...
8. What do you like to drink in the morning? Water or Milk
9. Can you do push ups? I had to try the other night and I think I got five :p
10. How much money is in your bank account? I am rich in so many ways (I stole that answer from my sista)
11. What's your favorite piece of jewelry? My wedding ring and a blue sapphire ring Scott gave me for my first Mother's Day
12. Favorite hobby? photography (of course)
13. Can you drive a stick shift? no...don't ask
14. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? yellow
15. What one trait do you dislike about yourself? makin assumptions about people
16. Middle Name? Suzanne
17. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment: I should go to bed, I should go to bed, I should go to bed
18. name 3 things u bought this week: toilet paper, pictures for my new etsy store...coming soon!, bows that match Trinity's Easter dress
19. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink? water, milk, and lately suntea or crystal light
20. Current worry right now? I hope Scott doesn't catch me...haha!
21. Current hate right now? mouthy kids...of course not mine
22. Favorite place to be? On vacation with people I love (including all those I am sending this to!)(stolen also from my sister)
23. How did you spend New Year's Eve this past year? we were coming back from Kansas and in a motel
24. Where would you like to go? Hawaii or the East Coast
25. Name three people who will complete this: ?
26. Do you own slippers? Yes, a pair that look like puppies that my friend in high school gave me
27. What kind of shirt are you wearing? my Walk for Wishes t-shirt
28. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? no
29. Can you whistle? yes
30. Favorite color? mellow yellow
31. Would you be a pirate? yes
32. What songs do you sing in the shower? I don't usually sing in the shower
33. Favorite girl's name? Tabitha
34. Favorite boy's name? Kobe
35. What's in your pocket right now? No pockets
36. Last thing that made you laugh? probably Scott, he was calling me Puala all night for some reason
37. Best bed sheets as a child? I don't remember
38. Worst injury you've ever had? my broken nose
39. Do you love where you live? yes
40. How many TVs do you have in your house? 3 but we only use 2
41. Who is your loudest friend? I can't think of anyone real loud.
42. How many dogs do you have? 0
43. How many cats do you have? 0
44. Do you own a pet? a fish named Spikey or Shark depending on who you ask
45. What is your favorite TV show? We watch Biggest Loser, Corner Gas, and Pretender on DVD
46. What is your favorite candy? Mini M&Ms
47. What is your favorite Sports Team? Chiefs (in my gruntiest voice)
48. What song do you want played at your funeral? that's too deep for me right now
49. What were you doing 12 AM last night? sleeping
50. What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up? "Who is calling?"...it was my neighbor bringing her boys over

Easter Egg Hunt #1

Last Wednesday, I had the pleasure to spend the afternoon with an amazing group of moms. All these moms met through the internet through meetup.com and by having kids around the same age have grown together to become good friends. The kids were irresistably cute and could have each been models for Baby Gap or the like. It was a dream job going around and photographing at will. Thank you, ladies, for your kindness and sharing your friendship for the afternoon. It could not have been more fun for me! Thank you, Conni, for being such a superb hostess! I know we'll be good friends! Each mom is getting a cd with over 200 pictures to print as they desire but I can't put 200 pictures on my blog so this will have to do for now.

*My neighbor and I had a cookie decorating party yesterday. Can you say crazy? We had kids, flour, and frosting everywhere but mainly flour and frosting all over the kids! I'll get some pictures up soon.

*I will be speaking on Friday to a local Mom's Club and Saturday I have another Easter Egg Paparazzi Party! I'm so excited for Easter! The whole season is lifegiving....literally!

To My Customers: Be Creative!

Most of my pictures are not original. I would say all of my pictures but I do have some "bright" ideas during a shoot. That's why I have added a list of some of my favorite photographers to the bottom left of my blog. I always tell my customers to come with some of their own ideas, be relaxed, and have fun! If you see a picture you would like me to try, we'll do it. So...check these out and sketch the picture out for us to play with. I consider each shoot an adventure not knowing where I'm going to end up!

Saint Patrick

I was reading this morning about St.Patrick and what a remarkable man he was. When I was telling Scott what I had learned, he said, "Don't you watch Veggietales?"

Green Pancakes

*My Dad used to make us breakfast every morning. On St. Patrick's Day, green pancakes were the specialty. Yum! Nobody makes pancakes like my Dad!


*It was a busy, yet fun weekend.


*Saturday, I headed out to The Duke golf course here in Maricopa to photograph the teams for Maricopa Stagecoach Days. It was a lot of fun and I got to meet some leaders in the community. Everybody there went out of the way to make sure I had everything I needed for the day. I even got to drive around the amazing course with one of their golf carts! Congratulations to the winning team from H&N Landscape! Some of them are actually my neighbors and they are going to be putting in our backyard! (Thanks Amber and Amy for all your help! It was fun getting to know you! Thank you, Ross, for inviting me to come and photograph.)

It was a gorgeous morning!

*Mid-morning, I went out to MotoX in Casa Grande for a birthday party. I didn't even know there was anything like this so close to Maricopa and these guys were GOOD! I couldn't have asked for better clouds, either!

the birthday boy!

one of the dads showing his stuff!

*The birthday boy's mom is going to make a picture into a poster and put it up in his room. How cool is that !?! I'll be taking my boys out to watch the big boys on the track. I was really impressed in the short amount of time that I was out there.

Walk for Wishes 2008

Jonah, Zack, Simon

at the finish line! ("not another picture, mom!")

"Little Hooligans"

a fun hill and great sky!I finally got to meet Sara in person. We've talked on the phone several times and e-mailed and I read her journal every time she updates but I finally got to meet her on Saturday. I knew she was going to be a great person but she surprised me with her sweet disposition and outgoing personality. When we got home, I was telling my neighbor about her and my neighbor simply said, "Of course, God only gives you what you can handle and to go through what she has been through, she has to be a tremendously strong and kind person." She definately was all that. It was a please, Sara. I want my kids about the heroes in everyday. I see Zack as just that.

Perspective.

My laundry is piled up to my knees in my laundry room!

But it is piled high with Scott's work clothes, little boy Star Wars underpants, and pink things (yeah!)!

The kitchen is overflowing with pots and pans and undishwasherable stuff.

We had a great meal last night, made some brownies, and got started on dinner tonight.

My head hurts from all the yelling!

But the yelling was because there was a insanely mean T-Rex chasing the kids around the round-about.

There are fingerprints and smudges on my back door.

Because the weather is amazing gorgeous and the kids go in and out all day.

My eyes are tired from Trinity waking me up too early this morning.

But I got to spend some sweet sleepy time with my angel.

The van needs gas again.

But we had fun on Saturday at Make a Wish 2008 and Scott and Jonah spent Sunday with Papa Stiller at a Spring Training game.

There is snot on my sleeve.

What?...that never happens to me! haha!

My bathroom floor need disinfecting.

Boys will be boys and sometimes Trinity tries to be a boy :)

Sometimes life is hard until put it in perspective.

(Idea stolen from Sarah Jane)

Interior Design for Baby

The Sweet Dreams 2007 Winner has the most adorable nursery! I didn't get pictures because I was there in the evening and it was dark although I wish I wold have snagged some. When I asked who had decorated I was told a girl by the name of Jessica Flack who is starting up her own business. Moms-to-be, if you are having a baby and need help, CALL JESSICA (or call me and I'll give you her info.) I recently went to Jessica's adorable townhouse to get pictures of her daughter's nursery for her website. I thought I had just walked into a Pottery Barn but with so much more flair, style, and detail! Good luck with your business, Jessica! I know you are going to do great! (Click on the pictures to see all the incredible details.)

A-C-T-I-O-N

I am not one for adding a ton of "actions" to my pictures. I prefer the natural look. This is one thing Scott and I can agree on. Sometimes it is fun to fiddle though (Scott rolling his eyes.) The program I use just added some new ones and I tried them out on the beautiful Miss L.

BTW - I LOVE this rock wall and am thinking of painting my tv wall like this - when a I get a spare..haha!

(remember to click a picture to enlargen)

a little bit of edgy sepiaglowing!Tomorrow, we will be walking the mile with Zack's Pack for the Make A Wish Foundation.

I'm going to try to get some pictures to show on Monday :) No guarantees as I'll have the three little munchkins.

Star on Their Crown

My mom always says if you do something for somebody without expecting a return, you will get a star on your crown when you get to Heaven. I wholeheartedly agree. I had one of those moments last night when someone is saying something to you and you are so filled that you just want to break down and cry but don't want to look ridiculous in front of everybody. I owe a humongous (sp?) thanks to two special people (you know who you are!). They helped a ton yesterday and I got all caught up with my sessions! Yeah!!!

Now...I am rebooting for Easter! It's not too late to schedule a session!

Here's a little video of the boys last night at Cubbies. Can you guess which two are mine? Good grief! You would think I fed them jumping beans for supper!

Wickenburg

Last weekend, I headed up to Wickenburg to meet the Nelson family from Alberta with their Grandma & Grandpa. I prayed the whole trip up there because it was raining cats & dogs and I really wanted to take some outdoor pictures. We met up at the elegant new Monte Vista Ranch. MVR: Thank you so much for letting us on your grounds!

It was raining when we got there so we did some fun indoor shots.

Then it let up so I took mom and dad outside (aren't they a great-looking couple?)

Then everyone else joined us for some fun!

the adorable kids!!! (undeniably brother and sister!)

and last but not least, my favorite of the day...

(humming)come away with me...for a while...come away with me

D: Thank you so much for letting me be a part of your vacation! Hopefully we'll get up to see you in Canada someday! Many blessings on your sweet family!