elisha@elishasnow.com
801-543-9016
You have to check out the latest book from my sweet friend Wendy!
This girl is seriously so amazing at everything she does and this book is no exception. If you like to scrapbook even a tiny bit, you have to check it out! And you might just find a little contribution from me in there as well! 
Five years ago today I received this:
And suddenly my life was changed forever. Before having a baby I thought, “seriously, how hard can having kids be?” Oh wow. Wake up call Elisha. Everything changed. Everything was different, but all for the good. It’s like before you have kids there’s this whole other set of emotions locked away somewhere, and the second that baby is placed in your arms, those emotions are unlocked and you experience the world in a whole new way. It honestly was like a total real, physical transformation for me, and something I could never adequately put into words.
Today my baby turned five. Wow.
We started the day with hot scones and juice for breakfast. My friend Stephanie brought us over some fresh scone dough yesterday. Isn’t that a cool thing to give a friend? Scone dough? It was awesome.
Later we went with friends to Kangaroo Zoo (an indoor bounce house warehouse). The boys had a blast of course, and I loved being able to sit and chat with my good friends (thanks Chaney and Susie!).
After that we came home and I worked for a loooong time on Ryan’s requested Mario cake. Cake making/decorating is definitely not one of my fortes, so thanks to my mom we were able to come up with this:
I showed it to Ryan and he said, “what is it?” Oh well. I tried. Face it Ryan: you’ll have thousands and thousands of pictures of you throughout your life, but you’ll never have an awesome birthday cake. Sorry buddy.
Later, Daddy brought home pizza for dinner (which we later found out is no longer Ryan’s favorite food), and then opened a few presents.
He scored with a new bike, a Batman Lego game for the Wii, some Mario figurines, Mario pajamas, a new book for his Leapster Tag, and some Trio building blocks.
We then headed out to his first soccer game of the year. My little athlete scored two goals and their team won 8-ish to 0.
Finally we came home, had cupcakes and ice cream, opened a few more presents from grandparents, took a bath and went to bed. Phew.
susie: What a great day! thanks for letting us be a part of it. and I personally think that cake turned out great, way to go!
Heidi: I just LOVE Ryan!! I don't think I told you but the day that we moved I was just fine until I saw Ryan and Kyler out riding their bikes and they called out Hi Heidi. I started to cry, that was hard for me. I miss those little guys riding their bikes around your circle and waving to me when I would get home. Miss them you all! Excited to have Kyler in preschool!
Angie Lucas: Elisha, this was so beautifully said! I can't believe he's five. And I think that cupcake cake ROCKS!
Allie: I love that cupcake cake! On my fridge right now are two of Mylie's latest masterpieces of Mario and Princess Peach. Do all kids love Mario? Lego Batman kept my boys busy together for days. It's great. I can't believe Ryan is already five!
Allie: I just showed this to Zack and he thought the Mario cake was a robot. I just realized it is because our kids haven't spent much time playing the old school pixelated Mario of our youth. The Wii Mario graphic is so different. Oh well, I really loved the cupcake cake and recognized it immediately!
Kellie: I love that Ryan told you pizza WASN'T his favorite, AFTER you got it for the birthday meal, that is so classic kid! The picture of the soccer game is awesome, all kids in one bunch....
I thought I’d share the rest of the photos from my photo shoot with my boys. You seriously wouldn’t believe the huge grin I get on my face when I look at these. I almost hate having so many that I like because it’s so hard to choose what to do with all of them. I already jumped on a canvas deal over at Groupon from a few days ago, so a couple of these will definitely be made into canvases! Now maybe you can help me decide which ones…
christy gilvear: Every single one of those is darling! I don't know how you are going to choose just one to have made into a canvas! They are adorable and look so good! I love the high tops!
clair: oh my! yes, you have your work cut out for you in choosing! darling!
Daynna: oh man I love all of these. I have the cutest nephews in the world!! I really think you should use 2,7, 17, and 18 though :)
megan Nielsen: # 18 is DEFINITELy one of my favs
Shelley: It's rough having such stinking cute kids, isn't it! My favorite of both is the last one. I also really love #1 and 9--especially the antique-y look you gave those two. I wish I lived in Utah so you could photograph my boys!
Latharia: WOW! You got some amazing shots!! I have NO Idea how you're going to narrow it down to just a few to put on canvases!!!
susie: elisha, those are so cute, I am jealous you got such awesome ones, but really it is because you are so awesome at what you do! i love them all but my fave is the 2nd to last one, i love k's stance!
AllyW: Darling darling pictures!
Jenn: Gorgeous! I just bought the ebook that you helped author, so if I can learn even a tiny bit, I'll be pleased as punch :)
heidig: Best of luck to you. They are all gorgeous! What cuties they are!
When I read the theme for this week’s challenge over at I Heart Faces, I knew immediately which picture I would use! I love this one of Kyler. He was just playing with my sunglasses one day (gotta love all those smudges!) and I happened to get this shot of him right when he looked up at me. Bonus: I can see myself taking the picture in the reflection! I rarely get to see pictures of myself in action!
Lisa: Love this catch!!!
clair: so great!!!
Rue (Ethos): Lol! This is sooo sweet!
Lisa Ceaser: Love this! So innocent and a precious gift to be in the picture with him! Great job.
Erika B: Such a beautiful picture! I love the crisp look and the colours. Erika B
Casy Schweickart: Too cute!
Niki Martins: Love how you only see his one eye! It gives it a little more creativity! Great job!
sue: That is so cute and he looks like he's enjoying those sunglasses.
I was finally able to get my boys out to get their 3 and 5 year photos taken a couple of nights ago. They ROCKED it. Everything went great and they were so dang cute. I’ve got lots to share, but for now here are just two. You know those photos of your kids where you think to yourself, “Oh my gosh, when did they start looking so old???” Yeah…these are mine:
Oh okay…here’s just one more (this picture is SO them!):
Jessica: Wow! Great pictures!! Your little boys are adorable!
Shanae: Elisha- These are the cutest pictures I have ever seen. I can't get over it. Nice work.
Katrina: oh, way too hard for me! They are all adorable. I did narrow down some of my personal favs. 4,5,10, & 16 Good luck!
We’re back from a wonderful one-night camping trip–the only vacation that we’ll see this year with a new baby, but it was so fun and the kids had a blast. I just had to share this one photo of Kyler. He is my least photogenic kid, so it’s rare that I get a picture of him that I could stare at all day. Could those brown eyes get any cuter??
I really did have good intentions of keeping my blog updated with sessions from forever ago! I still have several more to post, but for now here is one of two adorable kiddos that I shot in the studio a few months ago. We had a rough time then, so we decided to give it another try outdoors where they could run and be free. It went SO much better this time as you can see! And I’m so excited that they’re going to be having a new sister in December!
I’m gearing up now to get some photos taken of my boys. You would think that as a photographer I’d LOVE doing their photos every year, but it is such a stress! My kids do NOT do well with me being the photographer and I forget what a pain it is trying to find the perfect outfit for them. Although I did by them some new shoes today that I’m SO excited about!
sue: Those children have such beautiful eyes! Oh my!
Jessica: I feel your pain. Being the mom and photographer isn't fun at all! Your pictures are beautiful. They have such a polished professionalism that I hope to perfect someday. You always have just the right light. I'm just getting started taking pictures for friends. The sessions have been fun, but I felt they were a little crazy! Both families I’ve done have involved lots of kids. Do you plan what you want to do (posing) beforehand with clients?
Karen Edwards: Love this! Beautiful!
stephanie: she's gorgeous, great shirt and great picture!
Janine: nice composition, and such a lovely subject!
sue: Lovely!
Happy Pioneer Day to all my fellow Utahns! We had a wonderful day, full of running 10Ks (Matt did. Not me. Let me be clear. It was NOT me.), shopping (that was ALL me), barbecue and canoeing with friends, and fireworks to end the night. Hope you all had a wonderful day too!
Wanna take a FREE class over at Big Picture Scrapbooking?? I’m so excited about this!
Sign up HERE to be a part of the Big Idea Festival! Basically it’s a group of scrapbookers (including ME!) who created three different projects from a cute Cocoa Daisy kit. There are instructions for the projects and just tons of amazing eye candy! Again, this class is totally free–no strings attached! Just head on over there and SIGN UP!
