the towles: business.

bravery can take a lot of forms, and if you look carefully you can find it in the lives of some of those closest to you. 

my friend luke is a perfect example of courage and the importance of pursuing a dream, even when you're not sure of the outcome. he recently decided to run for city council in his community. it may seem like a small undertaking, but i think it takes a lot of guts to put yourself out there to achieve a dream. many years ago, luke made it a personal goal to run and serve in public office. and now, he's working toward that reality. 

i'm thankful to play a small part in this process by taking some photos for his new website. i never thought i would get a chance to photograph my own version of the marlboro man (ha!). 

if you live in greenwood village, colorado, vote for luke towle! we could have a presidential candidate on our hands.

the lohses: anniversary.

love and beer. the perfect combination for andrea and gordon's one year anniversary photos.

andrea and i have taught at the same school for the past few years, and not only is she an incredible teacher, a math genius, and completely hilarious, but she and gordon have a special place in their hearts for beer, so when she asked me about taking photos for their one year anniversary, i knew they would make my dream of doing a photo shoot at a brewery a reality.

gordon and andrea were so fun to photograph, and it is clear how much they love each other. we laughed the whole time, and they made my job incredibly easy.

special thanks to mockery brewing for being so welcoming and accommodating! if you live in denver, you must stop in! i recommend the grapefruit pilsner. it's delicious! 

cora tripodi: family.

chrissy has been one of my closest friends since pretty much forever.  we went to the same school and church all growing up, spent a lot of time playing video games and eating ice cream snicker bars in her basement, loved to put on makeup and take photos modeling together as "cover girls" (ha!), studied for just about every test together, worked on just about every project together, were bridesmaids in each other's weddings, married men who have quite a bromance going on, and even now as we live a long way away from each other, always manage to pick back up right where we left off.

chrissy is one of those women who just seems to know how to do it all. she is an amazing wife and mom and can somehow manage the ups and downs of raising three small kids with such grace and joy. whenever we are together, i just watch in utter amazement. 

so when i was back in rockford this last week, i was more than happy to take photos of her youngest, cora, for her first birthday. cora is one of the sweetest babies i've been around (she must get it from her mom). she laughed, dug in to her cake, and didn't seem to mind at all when we gave her a little bath in the middle of the backyard. 

bottom line: tripodi family, i just adore you. you've got a really good thing going on here. 

hattie ray: family.

you may remember this little lady from some photos i took of her last year, and it's incredible to see how much she's grown in such a short time. 

hattie is our landlords' daughter, so i get the privilege of seeing her adorable face all the time. she loves to sit in her baby pool in the front lawn, play with her bucket and rakes, pick rocks for her collection, and just be the cutest little girl you've ever seen.

i can't wait to watch her continue to grow and learn and start talking up a storm because i know it's only a matter of time.

i realize i say this a lot, but you will just die when you look at these photos. the cuteness is just too much.