Alison & Natalie | Sisters Maternity

Sisters...pregnant...together!!! I always wanted a sister growing up but this just makes me wish I had one even more!  What an amazingly fun time in life for them right now!  Sisters, Alison & Natalie are pregnant together!  These photos were taken on Alison's due date and one week later she is still awaiting the arrival of her first child, Jacoby.  Come on little guy...don't hide away from us any longer we want to meet you!!!!  Natalie is 20 weeks pregnant...just at the halfway mark!  And to make this story even better...they're both having BOYS!!  I can't help with all the exclamation marks in this post!!!!!  This! is! so! awesome!!!!!!  :)  

Alison is originally from California, where her family still lives.  To ensure they were all here for the birth of baby Jacoby they came a couple of days before Alison's due date.  And they had the fabulous idea of doing a maternity shoot...together!!!!!  This was so much fun to do and honestly...two incredibly beautiful and photogenic people.  Thanks for making my job so easy girls:)

I'm so excited to meet Jacoby and for little baby boy (still to be named) in your belly, Natalie!  Thank you for asking me to capture such a special time in both of your lives...and what your parents must be thinking!  Seriously...so much fun!!!  I love you both so much and I hope these pictures get you, Alison so excited that you go into labor:)  

www.michelle-jensen.com

Wedding | Brianna & Eric

The sun was beautiful that day...which is definitely something to write about with the weather we've been having around here!  And it was not only sunny but it was warm!  Brianna and her bridesmaids sat in High Cedars Golf Club where the wedding was to be held wondering what to do next.  You see, Brianna was probably the most organized and relaxed bride I've ever been around.  There was no rushing around, no stress, no tears...here words were put simply..."everything looks beautiful and if anything has been forgotten, I don't care-I'm getting married today!!"  Brianna, I want to put you in a bottle and open you up at every wedding I photograph!

Brianna and Eric go way back...in fact, they met in elementary school.  They've literally seen each other grow up.  Childhood sweethearts.  They graduated highschool and went off to college...together...both attending Washington State University. As they wrapped up college Eric felt it was time to make it official and put a ring on her finger.  They now live back on the western side of Washington State where they just bought their first house that they will live in together...finally.  

I've known Brianna for quite some time now, as her sister, Carrie has been one of my very dear friends for many years.  I also had the privelege of photographing her mom, Patti's wedding a few years ago.  Love this family!!!!

Thank you all so much for the opportunity to capture one of your most intimate times in life.  Your family and friends were so kind and generous and a blast to be around.  Thank you for reaffirming my love for what I do.  Even at the end of the day I walked away from your wedding more refreshed than I can ever remember.  

Also, a HUGE thank you to Kelsey Lynne Photography for second shooting with me.  Great photographer and even a better friend to me!  I had such SO MUCH FUN with you and am so grateful for the way our paths have been crossed.  Keep up with your goals and dreams...they're coming true!  Love you!

To see more of Brianna & Eric's wedding and to sign their guestbook click HERE.

www.michelle-jensen.com

An Italian Themed Baby Shower

What an amazing baby shower this was!!!  Steve & Alison are some of our very best friends and have been for years.  They are finally joining the rest of us in extending their family and we couldn't be more excited for them.  A few years back they took a trip to Italy and, of course, fell in love with it.  They decided to take one last trip before trying for a baby and...surprise...she got pregnant while in Italy!!!  So it was only appropriate that Cara Garland, who planned the shower, went with an authentic Italian theme!

My favorite part was all of the details that were put into making this shower what it was.  Cara...you honestly did a fantastic job and everything looked so beautiful.  

Cara enlisted the help of and creativity of some great companies:

ADN Designs

Lifetime Events & Catering

(206 276-0281)

Thank you to all of the friends & family who made this day so wonderful!

Steve and Alison, I can't wait to meet little Jacoby...you have fought so hard for your family and are now going to see the fruits of your labor be passed down to your children.  You both are going to make amazing parents!!!!  I'm so glad to be in this time of our lives together!  Love you both very much!


www.michelle-jensen.com

Okay, really...who has that great of legs and can pull of that dress when they're 8 months pregnant!?!  You work it girl!

Alison's cousin, Janelle made these tirimisu cupcakes...they were delicious!!

Are you kidding me!?!

A little caprese salad on sticks!!!

Grandma to be.

Other Grandma to be.

Loving these details!!

Homemade biscotti!!!

You can't tell here but sisters, Alison and Natalie are pregnant together!  Natalie is just a little ways along in her pregnancy but how fun to be pregnant with your sister at the same time!!!!

Cara had water bottle labels made of actual pictures Alison took...little Jacoby's ultrasound and his name written in the sand on their trip to Hawaii.

The family...three of these girls are pregnant at the same time and one had a two week old!  How amazing!!!

So excited for all of you...what a fun time in life!

Alison has craved pickles while being pregnant and Patti, her mother-in-law, makes the best pickles...so we only found it appropriate:)

www.michelle-jensen.com

Back to life...back to reality!

Back to life...back to reality

Does anyone else remember this song!?!

It was 1989, I was seven years old wearing my hot pink stretch pants with florescent green socks rolled at my ankles.  My hair was in a side pony tail and my shirt was tied in a low knot in the front.

That's the memory I have associated with this song!  I just went back to look at the lyrics and wondered how on earth a seven year old got away with listening to words like that!!!!  Although, I'm afraid to admit that this was one of the more clean songs I used to listen to...I can't believe it!

The crazy thing is now we're back to wearing stretch pants but we call them leggings and side pony tails are back in we just wear them low and sweep them over our shoulder.  Tapered jeans are in now but we like to refer to them as "skinny jeans."  Let's just call it like it is:)  Funny how styles come back around and we just rename them so they're cool again.

Back to life and back to reality is right where I'm at.  Jay and I just got back from an incredible vacation...without any kids!!!  That's the reason for my lack of blogging.  We decided back in February it was time to get away and get refreshed when I so kindly told Jay 'someone is going to lose their head and it would probably be you.'  He immediately got on the computer and planned our vacation to Maui, Hawaii.  We stayed at the most beautiful resort, the Honua Kai.  Honestly...the most amazing place I've ever stayed.  Our goal while we were there was not to go to all the tourist attractions...it was to simply lay on the beach, be bored and have uninterrupted conversations.  We accomplished our goal and it was AWESOME!!!  We wish we could have stayed longer and put the kids on a plane to meet us there but such is life.  We missed the kids so much but also had a really great time with just the two of us.  It's now no longer optional...we need to make more time for just him and I together.  Maybe not such a long vacation but even more date nights.  Here are a few pics from our trip.  Makes me want to go back...maybe some day:)

Newborn | Ailey S.

What a doll!  This is my new niece, Ailey!  She is so sweet and did so well for her pictures!  We had a very limited amount of time...less than I would typically spend with a newborn but she stayed on task and gave me what I came there for...great pictures!  Congratulations Della & Travis...she's beautiful!

www.michelle-jensen.com

It's Finally Time!!

It's taken me quite a while but I've been building my new website for a few months now and the day is finally here for the big reveal!  I'm really happy with the way it turned out and hope you enjoy it as much as I am!

There are some really cool features that I've added so if you get a chance try them out!

There's a facebook comment tab in the lower right corner and you can make comments right inside of the website!  You will also find links to my facebook fan page, twitter and blog.

Enjoy!!!  And if you get a chance...let me know what you think:)

~Michelle

www.michelle-jensen.com

Coffee & a Good Read

Growing up I was never much of a reader but over the last 10 years or so I've come to actually love and enjoy reading.  Some of my defining moments in life have come from books filled with truth and wisdom.  So I thought I would share some good reading with you.  

I won't bore you with what the book is about...although, I have to tell you that this is not a boring book at all whatsoever.  I will only share with you the books that are, in my opinion, some of the best books I have ever read and have helped me and are still helping me to become the person I am and want to be.  Here is one:

"A leader has to do it, no matter how many obstacles there might be."

The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership

~John C. Maxwell

I could talk about that one line for a long time.  Obstacles, since childhood, have tried to take me down and make me depressed and keep me a 'victim' my whole life.  But I just heard someone the other day say, "you can slow down, but you can NEVER give up."  It's okay to rest but you can't stop the race.  You might fall a thousand times but you only fail when you refuse to get back up again.  I have fallen at times and couldn't get back up for months and in some instances years, but I was determined to get up and finish the race that I started.  And it is in those moments when I finally make it across the finish line, do I realize those are some of the greatest and most defining races I will have run.

If you're running a race that seems too difficult to finish or you can't see the finish line I say those same words to you, " you can slow down, but you can NEVER give up!"