Baby Michael

This is handsome baby Michael. He was 13 days old when I got to photograph him on Friday!

He is the latest addition to our Ships Family. He has an awesome mom + Dad and two beautiful big sisters! Welcome sweet baby boy!

Coast Guard 222 Birthday!

Here are a few shots that give props to our Coast Guard. I am certainly proud to be a CG wife and I know all Coastie kids are proud of their dads + moms who serve our country! So Thank you to all who have served and still serve!!

Sweet Emma + Family

I got a chance to do a session with this cutie Pie + her family 2 weeks ago. We had a lot of fun doing different poses and adding the CG into our shoot as well. Here are a few shots from that session.

It has been so wonderful having a dedicated studio space so I can be creative and create memories like these!

Almost ONE!!

She's almost the big ONE!! I had the privilege of photographing her at 6 months. And now at almost 1 year ~ isn't she just adorable?!?  The Savages are an adorable family and I am glad to call them friends!

Sascha + Kyle: Love Shoot

I have made some great friends up here in Alaska and some are like family. My friend Erin is certainly one of them. Sascha is like a niece to her and she's not only beautiful but she is a true sweetheart too. Her boyfriend Kyle asked her to marry him and she said.. YES! While they they were visiting here in Kodiak I got the chance to do an engagement shoot with them. They were a ton of fun to photograph and I think the pics turned out amazing!

July 4th!!

This year was anything but a "normal" July 4th for us. Last year we were stuck on the ferry on our trip over to Kodiak and missed out on all the fun. I love July 4th its always HOT, sunny and a time to get together with family and friends and have pool parties, BBQ out and eat watermelon and ice cream then get together and watch fireworks in the cool dark evening. 

Alaska does it a little differently. It was rainy, 50 degrees and cool, and of course daylight till about 1 am!! So no fireworks!! I know not fair right. One of my friends even admitted to watching them on TV from NY City!!! I was appalled! lol oh well I guess this is the new norm~ Bundling up for the 4th and attempting to do fireworks from a cloudy, soggy beach and ordering pizza! lol 

We still remembered to be thankful for living in a FREE nation and remembered all those who helped to make it free and those that still work everyday to keep it that way. So I hope you had a great 4th. We are all healthy, happy and free! So no matter how you got to celebrate I hope you made the most of it and are thankful too! 

Image of my husbands ship the "Alex Haley" in Full dress for the 4th! 

God Bless America and God Bless our troops!

The Repa Family

My friend Lisa and her family got together to do a photo shoot with me. They had never done one before but they did a great job! The kids kept me laughing esp after brother and sister were being nice to each other and then sister decided brother was too close and she leaned over and pushed him away! they were too cute!

Podoll Family

The best thing about living on a Coast Guard base is getting to know some great CG families! I have had the privilege to be friends with Joellen, her husband Nate and their adorable son! They are leaving the island soon for new CG adventures. I cant believe how fast the year has passed by but we made some great memories along the way. They gave me the chance to do a family shoot with them and here is a preview of the shoot.

I wish you guys the best and I hope we get the chance to see each other again in "America" lol!

GinnieF Photography

It is OFFICIAL!! I am finally restarting my photography business! I love being a stay at home mommy but I have missed being creative and capturing peoples memories for far too long! Recently my husband was a sweetheart and upgraded my camera to a new one that has a ton more features and well, it does really cool stuff!!! So I am trusting in the Lord for His favor and getting things going. I do now have a website again~Yay! It is exciting to see where this new chapter will take me in my business. If you would like to check out my website:

www.ginniefphotography.zenfolio.com

Fathers Day 2012

Fathers Day is a bittersweet day for me! Many people are fortunate to have one great dad in their lives and I was blessed with two! I am always talking about my daddy, Rick, who lives in Florida who my son adores and with whom I very close with. He has been (and continues to be) an incredible father and best friend to me and I love him very much.

I don't get to talk often about my real father, Jerry. He passed away 7 years ago this past March and I miss him dearly. He never got to meet my husband or hold my children but I know he was so very proud of me and I feel his presence often. He was a man of many talents and hobbies. He could fix anything and was a friend to anyone.  (I know you are looking down from Heaven smiling while watching your grandkids play and grow). So even if you are not close to your father, just be thankful for him. I am so glad I made the effort to spend time with my father before he passed away because that is time I can never replace!! Happy Fathers Day to everyone out there who is a father or is a very important father figure to someone!

And here is a picture of the best dad in my house! I love you hun and thank you for all that you do for us! You are an incredible father!

Buffalo!

Another thing we like about Psagashack is finding the buffalo. There are signs posted that say "Caution loose livestock". They mean it!! There are buffalo, cattle and even horses that roam around the area. When you come up on them it really puts new meaning to the term... Road Block!

We even got to see a bunch of young calfs! they are so cute!!! Matt was picking at me and said "Yeah they are cute and they taste good too!" ~ Mean boy!

Kodiak~Surfers Beach

We love exploring Kodiak but we don't get the opportunity very often. Matt is usually underway and I certainly don't feel comfortable walking thru the trails with the kids by my self (Bear territory). One place we have briefly explored was Psagashack. It's about 25 miles outside of the base down a mountainy twisty, windy road! So of course the first tie we went I got car sick! Well this weekend the weather was awesome and I decided to drive! We made it past Psagashack and found the very popular "Surfer's Beach". It was beautiful and well worth getting sick for-on the way back! lol I got to take some great pics!

We even noticed a small group of whales playing just behind the surf! I took some shots but they were too far off. This was the best one I got of two whales surfacing:

It is days like this one where I like living here and getting the opportunity to experience these things!

Mt Mckinley

We took a trek up to Denali National park last week. It is very difficult to see the top of Mt McKinley because the weather in Alaska can be unpredictable and grey. Also the peak has it's own set of clouds that like to hang around. All week I tried to get a decent picture and took about 40 shots. On our trip back down we stopped to pay our respects at the Alaska Veterans memorial. I turned around to head back to the car, looked up and this is what I saw. The sky opened up for about 5 minutes so I could get this shot!! Maybe it was my favorite Marine looking down on me! Thanks Uncle Tom!

Mom's Snow Day

Living in Alaska has definitely been an adventure. Especially dealing with all the snow and ice we had this past winter. Lately the sun has started showing more (literally 4am-1100pm) and it's been more like Spring fever! I personally have been more than happy to see the snow melt away. Well waking up on Mothers Day... I got a very unwanted gift..... more SNOW!! We got about 4 inches!! I decided to pull the snow bots, hats and gloves out and we went on a photo shoot with my REAL present.. a new Nikon camera!! Here are 2 shots I got! Enjoy and Happy Mom's Day to all the moms out there who know life is NEVER how you planned it... it's even better!

"Snow Flower"

Kodiak, Alaska

   
                                                   

GC Tragedy

On Thursday (4/12/12) our base was rocked by a Coast Guard shooting! Two men were shot and killed while working at the "COMSTA" also known as the Communications Station. It is located on CG property but is not situated directly on the base. Living on a military base you almost always seem safe. Families live here that are just like you, most of them with kids, and we go about our everyday lives. We worry mainly about our spouses while they are underway on a boat or flying in a CG helicopter or plane.  We don't ever think about them going to work on base and not coming home. Two dedicated Coast Guard wives lost their husbands in this unexplainable tragedy! Children lost their dads and heroes! How do you even try to offer your condolences while you know your husband will come back home safe and sound? All I know to do is to pray for these families and for our fellow CG family as we all try to heal and make some sense out of this loss. I will be more thankful every time my husband comes home from work or makes it safely to port after being out at sea! May God Bless ALL of our military and every spouse who has to bear the burden of losing their wife or husband. 

Pure Love

Its no secret that my son adores his Grandpa! Here is my new favorite image that shows it! 

Sea World

Normally I don't do theme parks. Mostly because my mom used to drag us every year to Disney, despite the fact we were totally too cool for it! It was always hot, crowded and we never had extra money for toys and things! My husband and I decided after we had our son that we would not subject our kids to the park experience until after the youngest one is at least 4! Well we are sticking to our guns with the exception of "Sea World". I LoVe it and my son loves animals and water, so it is a perfect fit. Plus once a year military families get to go for free!!!

So while in FL we gave it a go and we had a blast! Even my one year old daughter was captivated by "Shamu" the whale! I also got some great shots! Thank you "Anheiser-Busch" for supporting our Military!

Great Trip

Most of my family and friends know that I finally got the chance to leave Kodiak! What a blessing. I totally needed time away to see my family, friends and just regroup. Of course seeing them makes me just miss everyone even more! We had so much fun and did a lot of fun things. I will be posting over the next few weeks about some of those things. I go to take some great pics too, so of course I want to share them too! 

Here is the first one! ENJOY!

My Parker turned 4 yesterday and this picture totally captures him!

CG loss

Anytime you hear of another roadside bomb or another life lost in the Middle East (or anywhere), you instantly cringe and your heart sinks. The Coast Guard does serve over there and its is rare for one of the members to get hurt or killed, but it does happen. Two days ago we lost 4 members of the Coast Guard in a helicopter crash off of Alabama. They were in a training exercise and in the blink of an eye they were gone. I have unfortunately been to a Coast Guard funeral and it is such an emotionally difficult experience. I can't imagine what is is like for the spouses, kids, parents and families. My thoughts and Prayers go out to them. When my husband finally comes home I will remember that anything could happen to him while he is out there serving our country.

Thank you to those of you who serve and sacrifice, including the families of ALL military branch members! God Bless you!

Stay Calm

My family and my friends know that I love selling Thirty-One! Most of them know that I am also obsessed with "Pinterest"! Its a fun website that connects you to some of your favorite websites and blogs via "pinboards" that keep all your favorite ideas together in one place. Lately there have been a collection of "Carry On" signs with different themes. I thought I'd make one dedicated to Thirty-One! Enjoy

Message in a bottle

Im always looking for neat ideas to put into care packages for my husband. I came across a message in a bottle idea using real glass bottles! Sending glass via helicopter to a ship is not really practical so I came up with this idea instead. I had my son make a picture and he added stickers and we then made one from my daughter (too little to color) and I made one reminding him of how proud I am of him.  We then rolled them up and prepared them for the plastic water bottles. 

Be sure that your bottles are dry inside and that the paper will fit into the bottles once the lid is on as well. We added a string to make the paper stay rolled up and to make it easier for him to pull out of the bottles. We think he will be surprised and love opening the bottles as opposed to an envelope! My son also loved making them for daddy and I didnt have to worry about him breaking any glass!

Baby Aubrianna

Sweet baby Aubrianna... I got the pleasure of taking her 6 month pictures and

here is a collage of some of the best shots! Such a cutie pie!

Love 31!

I LOVE selling Thirty-One! It is a wonderful addition to my life and being up here in Alaska makes it kinda difficult to sell sometimes. But God always has a purpose and a season to everything. I will continue to sell and represent my team members in Texas! I found this on FB and had to share!

Our One year Old baby girl!

Our beautiful daughter turned a year old in December. Im a little behind on posting, but here are here One year pics. The blue dress is one I wore when I was a baby!

I cant believe how fast this year flew by! Now trying to soak up this year!

Its Valentines Week and I was fortunate to take pics of an adorable little girl! She's 6 months old and such a doll! Thanks for being adorable little Aubrianna!

I am so blessed that I still get to take pics of babies and families, even though I technically do not currently  have a photography business... but I still have the Passion and love for photography! 

Valentine Time

I am completely obsessed with the "Pinterest" website! they have so many cute and great ideas on there. I saw an idea for some fish valentines, and I made these using what I had on hand. Fortunately I have a friend that has a "crucut" machine, and she "hooked" me up with the fish tags.

I think they turned out pretty cute! Now my son is ready for Valentine's Day!

I hate saying goodbye!

You would think that after 5 years of marriage and 6+ years of watching him leave... it would get easier. Well it is still hard and now it is hard on my son. The only reason I "woman up" and get it together is because I am so very proud of him and what he does!

We were blessed to have him come in to port here for about 26 hours last week. It was so wonderful and a much needed break for him. It was bitter sweet to see him, and then watch him leave again, knowing it will be several months before we get to see him again!

But ever so thankful for the time and unexpected surprise!

My Chief!

Back in November my husband Officially made Chief! I am always proud of him, but seeing him accomplish this in his career makes me even more proud of him. I know how hard he works and how committed he has been to make chief, so I have to show him off!

Flying Eagle

I have this one on my Face book profile page, but I wanted to share anyway! It's become one of my favorites. You really get a glimpse of the beauty up here!

This was taken at Fort Abercrombie, Kodiak~ Jan 2012

Ok one more..

Okay one more eagle shot from the other day!

Eagles, Salmon & bears oh my!

Since I am catching up with whats been going on the next few posts will be about some of the amazing things I was fortunate to get shots of. Enjoy!

One day this summer we were out fishing and on the way back we stumbled upon 

this "little" guy. He was a young bear, but still very large!

Blind eye eagle

One of the many wonderful things about living up here is the chance to see all of the wildlife that thrives around here. In the summer you can drive a mile down the road and see bears frolicking in the water, salmon in streams and sometimes catch a bald eagle fishing. During the winter we see deer all over the place and the Eagles are even more present as they come down from the mountain to flee from the snow. The other day I was blessed to get very close to this eagle which I realized was blind in one eye. I feel so blessed to have been able to get these shots!

A blind Eagle

             
                                                                   A juvenile Eagle