{Scenic} An end of the year Adventure

One of the things you probably don't know about me, unless we've been friends for a while, is that most of my friends growing up were guys. Still to this day one of my best friends is a guy, who isn't my husband (and yes he's aware, and okay with that). We've actually been friends since kindergarten, about 23 years now. This past week we went on a little end of the year adventure, I took some shots, he took some shots (both with different equipment).  I came home with a bag of 'goose & duck' to learn how to cook and a few images to add to my collection & expanding portfolio.

Probably my favorite one from the day. 

 

{Real Life} Happy Everything

This greeting is actually coming a little late, but with all that is Christmas, here's our wish for you.

I really LOVE how our card come out this year. Everything about it, from the photos, that we ended up shooting in a place I've been wanting to shoot at forever,  to the shaped Christmas-y text (which just so happened to be inspired by several things I saw floating around on Pinterest, a great source of inspiration, not only for everyday, but especially for the 'creative' side of me).  

I'll be back later this evening, with a look at the rest of our photos and to announce the winner of the Black Friday give-a-way!!! 

{Real Life} Kiddos PJ Party

One of the things we do with our kids for the month of December, well, not even a whole month, but from the 1st until Christmas is a countdown calendar, with a special activity each day.  Some days we make projects, some days we bake cookies, some days we 'relax' & have slumber parties by the lit up Christmas tree.  On this day, we had a couple friends over & had a pajama party!!! 
I blew up the air mattress, stuck it in front of the tree & the kids had a free for all jump fest.  We took a few photos & then they watched a short Christmas movie while eating popcorn, chocolate covered pretzels & an assortment of other things thrown in a bowl.
I'm pretty sure it was one of the funnest things we've done this December and hope that next year we can do it on a little bigger scale, with lots more room!!! 

I love these shots and the best part was the fun for everyone.

  Normally I wouldn't keep the blurrs, but it really sums up the afternoon. Pretty sure that all the kids were beyond ecstatic that they were allowed to jump on the 'bed', especially because they could jump from couch to bed without any trouble at all! ;)

 Thanks to our friends M&E (of course their mommy too) for joining us.
 

{Sneak Peek} Moser Family

It's not everyday that I get to photograph my family. It's also not everyday that I get to be on both sides of the lens in one day (which by the way is a lot more work than it would seem). Thanksgiving weekend was a weekend of family for us. My dad, step-mom, sister & brother in law, & my nephews, and my brother & his girlfriend all joined at our house on Thanksgiving for dinner. My dad & step-mom stayed the night so we could all get together again on Friday for some, 1st ever (aside from weddings) family portraits.  It was a beautiful morning, unseasonably mild, & very sunny. So, without much more jabber from me, here is a peek at a few of my favorites.

 

**SALE** It's BLACK FRIDAY!!!!

Happy 'officially' the countdown to Christmas, or the biggest shopping day of the year!!!  What better way to kick off the craziness than with a sale.  Without further ado, here is the Black Friday special here at Amanda Pratt Photography.

That's right, we're going BOGO, today November 25th, 2011, from 12:01 AM, until 11:59 PM.  You can buy 1, get 1 free!!

Buy 1 gift certificate & receive a 2nd certificate for free!! Second certificate may be a session certificate or print credit, of equal or lesser value. Free sessions valid Jan 1, 2012 through Sept 30, 2012. Certificates may not be combined or redeemed for cash.  Not valid on mini-sessions or sessions that are already booked.

You may purchase your certificates by emailing me: aprattphotog@cot.net .  I will be checking emails every couple of hours & replying with payment details.

Happy Shopping!!

P.S. You may want to leave a comment here (between 10:55pm tonight 11/24 & midnight Friday, 11/25/2011) letting me know you visited the Black Friday Special and tell me your favorite holiday tradition.  I will be giving away 1 regular session to a lucky *local--Northern California/Southern Oregon* guest, who comments on this post & is also a fan of the Amanda Pratt Photography page on Facebook*.  Session will take place within 50 miles of Yreka,CA, before June 1st, 2012. ♥

*this giveaway is in no way sponsored or affiliated with Facebook.  

{Sneak Peek} It's a "Mom" Monday

I met these two lovely ladies at Preschool.  Monday's is now my regular work day, never passing up an opportunity to sharpen my skills, we met up one Monday a couple weeks ago for a morning of "Mom's time out" (aka: kids are at school, hang out with girlfriends, chat & just be free for a few hours). What a fabulous morning we had. I'm very blessed to call these gals my friends, and they're gorgeous, making them perfect to be models for the morning.

See you ladies tomorrow morning.  Looking forward to our next adventure...