Phew. This session made me TIRED. Tanner is a go getter and he pretty much kept me on my feet the whole time. But he made it fun … I had a blast chasing after him and when I was able to catch a smile on his face it made my running after him worthwhile.

Kesler is adorable and sweet. Because he’s not quite as mobile yet it much easier to capture his cute little smile. He was happy cuddling with Mama & Daddy most of the time but he sure looks up to his big brother – and my bet is that the next time we do a session, I’ll be chasing him around the park!

Thank you so much for spending part of your weekend with me! It was so nice to see you and meet your new addition! Next session for this family – Kesler’s July Cake Smash! FUN!

Ben came to us and was a true blessing. He taught us to love dogs – and he showed us what a difference they can make in our lives. As soon as he passed it was decided that eventually, we wanted another one.

We didn’t expect it to happen as fast as it did …. but when things just fall into place it’s a sign. We met Digby and knew he would be the perfect addition, and although we know we can never replace Ben, he brings  peace (and craziness) into our lives again!

Meet Digby.

He’s pretty darn cute. He’s also A LOT of work – I forgot what it was like to have a puppy! Thankfully, we’ve all teamed together and it’s been a fun process so far!

I’m warning you ahead of time, I’ll probably post a lot of pictures of him – it’s really hard to keep my camera put away when I see his cute face. And if you follow me on Instsagram, I apologize for spamming you with Digby pictures there too!

So, for a limited time (May 2012 ONLY) if you book your wedding with me, you’ll save anywhere from $300 – $500 (depending on the package you choose) on your wedding taking place in September, October or November.

To find out more information please email me at hello@melissaknowlesphotography.com.

THANKS!

Here are the top TEN apps I couldn’t live without:

1. Instagram :: Welcome to my world. I am seriously using this thing ALL day long. I take pictures of my kids, my husband, my dog, scenery, and basically anything else I’m doing. Instagram filters make any picture look better (on an iPhone only!) and I love being able to share my day to day activities with my friends and family! Quick Note :: Every picture you take gets published to a feed. If you don’t change your privacy settings anyone can see it and start to follow you.

2. Skype :: I love FaceTime but in order for me to use it I need to have wifi … I don’t always have it so Skype is next favourite application. When I’m working or when family is away, we can Skype and still see each other. That’s pretty darn cool if you ask me!

3. Draw Something :: It’s pictionary, sort of. On your iPhone. AWESOME. Play with your Facebook friends or find new friends ….regardless of who you play with it’s a blast! I never said I could draw either …. that’s what makes it even more fun. Most of my friends can’t really draw either. Quick Note :: It’s ADDICTING. You may find that it takes over your life and you have to delete it right off your phone.

4. PayPal :: I use PayPal for business and personal use. It’s super nice to be able to easily access it and make any transactions that I need to while I’m on the go. (I’ll admit – I might have a slight online shopping problem and this app really only enables it!)

5. Pinterest :: I totally love Pinterest and I love that when I need a little pin-fix on the go, I can just use my phone application.

6. Facebook :: That goes without saying …. I use this for personal and business use too! Besides, who doesn’t LOVE Facebook?

7. MetaBrowser :: When I look back at my images I want to know the dates I took them. Sometimes it’s not important but other times it is …. This app lets be open my galleries and click on any image I want to find out all the information I need!

8. Maps :: Gone are the days of me printing out directions before I leave the house. I couldn’t LIVE without my Maps application – especially since I’m always going to new locations to meet my fabulous clients!

9.HeyTell :: I can’t believe I almost forgot this one! Man oh man … HEYTELL! This application is probably my favorite of all time. It’s like a walkie talkie …. but you use your iPhone. One of my friends lives up north and if we were to have chat on the phone everyday our bills would be crazy – so we HeyTell’ed. Our bills didn’t go up and talked way more than we needed too!

10. PiciBooth :: Who doesn’t love a photobooth? I do, I do. This app lets you take pictures and it puts them into strips for you. Pretty cool if you ask me! (The pictures here are of my son and my cousin – silly kids!)

So that’s it for me. Did I miss one of your favourites? Leave a comment and let me know!

She’s such a happy and content baby. Apparently she doesn’t like being changed but despite us changing her numerous times, she still had a smile on her face for the camera!

If you want to see her newborn portraits, click HERE. And here she is now …

Savannah’s mom mentioned a cake smash for her one year portraits and already, I’m super excited. If anyone can rock a cake smash it’s this little cutie!

XOXO
Melissa

Over the last little while I found myself running through the motions day to day. Each day was the same – and it wasn’t very much fun. I’m seriously blaming this on the rain.

Today the sun was out (for the third day in a row) and I made sure I put life aside and just spent some time with my kids. We did the first mow of the year (YAY!), we played soccer, we played with our pup (Ben!) and we had FUN.

Here are some of my favorite images from today – these are the moments that count.

(I’ve gotta say – I love his pink nose!)

Talk about making my heart MELT!

Remember to take time to capture the best moments in your life too! Life is just too damn short not too!

XOXO

Melissa

Around Valentine’s Day, Harrison Hot Springs Resort & Spa posted a contest on their Facebook page which consisted of the entrants listing five reasons why they love their spouse. I thought hey, this is easy … I can do this. When you’re in love, writing 5 things is easy. It was hard to pick JUST 5 reasons why though. The prize was a “Romance Weekend” which consisted of a two night stay in their lakeview suite, a couples massage, dinner one night and buffet breakfast both mornings we were there – YES PLEASE!

After that, I asked for some support from my friends, family and you guys. I was hoping to get a ton of likes on the picture, and I did … what overwhelmed me was the comments that were left too. I didn’t expect that and it really made the experience even more fabulous for me. So, to everyone who helped us win this weekend away, THANK YOU!

There was another gentleman who had more likes than me and some pretty darn good reasons why he loved his wife and I thought for sure he’d win …. I kind of let the thought of us winning go and moved on. Then Valentine’s Day came along and they tagged us in their status as the winners. I was shocked but SUPER HAPPY. See, the truth is, Lee and I haven’t had a weekend away together in about 3 years …. we let life get in the way and we desperately needed to step back and just enjoy each other’s company. Harrison Resort was the place to do this!

Our experience there was even better than I thought. Now, I’ve been there before, I’ve shot a couple of weddings there (the last one, was last year when Jeremy & Heather spent the weekend there), and a few years ago we stayed for a night for a work Christmas party. All of the times we’ve been there it’s always been super busy (for us) and we’ve never actually had the chance to relax there. What I love is that the resort is actually less than an hour away from home. This is perfect because with our kids at home with a sitter, if something happened, we could get back quickly. The drive there is through the country and it’s beautiful and relaxing. Especially on a sunny weekend!

(WARNING :: All images in this post are from my IPHONE. My poor husband deals with me and my camera every.single.day … so I decided to leave it at home this trip and use my phone instead!)

When we arrived at the hotel parking was super easy and the lady at the front desk was fantastic. She welcomed us with arms wide open and gave us a run down of the gorgeous resort.

We went up to our room and were PLEASANTLY surprised. The first thing we saw was our table with a plate full of chocolate covered strawberries (YUM) and a bottle of wine along with a personalized card. How awesome was that? Pretty darn sweet – it made us feel immediately comfortable!

The room was MASSIVE. It was seriosuly gorgeous and the view was even better …. break taking, actually. Our shower, no lie, could easily fit 20 people in it and we even have a view of the mountains from there!

Shortly after we got there, we headed to the pools. Of course. We lucked out with really decent weather but it was still very cold. The springs were a perfect way for us to relax and get settled in. I especially loved the adult pool …. seeing as we left our own children at home, it was nice to be able to escape those who did bring theirs. The pools are gorgeous and I’m seriously missing them right now!

The rest of the weekend consisted of our massages (truly, truly fabulous …. it was my husband’s first time getting a massage and he was a little nervous – in the end he loved it as much as I did!), going for dinner (in the Copper Room – if you go, try their steak!), breakfasts, hiking, running, more pool time and just relaxation time! Here’s a few more of my favourite images from our weekend away:

And we ended the weekend by coming home early on Sunday to take our kids and dog to the lake …. it was a perfect weekend filled with alone time and then family time.

A MASSSSSSSIVE thank you to the Harrison Hot Springs Resort & Spa for their hospitality and generous prize! Be sure the check them out on Facebook and at their new website.

Harrison Hot Springs Resort & Spa
100 Esplanade Avenue
Harrison Hot Springs, British Columbia, VOM 1KO