Suzanne McGrath Photography

Cool Photo Grouping {Overland Park Children's Photographer}

First, let me start this post by jogging your memory.  Remember when I said I was in the mood to paint?  Well, I painted - a lot!  I painted our entryway and the hall upstairs.  They were originally two very different colors that never blended that well.  Given the entryway is two stories, I hadn't felt the urge to "fix" the colors!  For some reason, the urge struck and I had to listen to it. 

I wanted a more modern color palette so I choose a light gray.  It's light enough that the rooms feel light and airy but dark enough that the white trim really pops.  It's taken me awhile to get used to it, but I think I like it.  Here it the process I went through:

Yes, it took me 5 tries before I found a color I liked.  Gray is really tricky - it can take on a lot of different undertones. 

That all leads me to this...  I received the most awesome box in the mail last Friday.  It contained six stand out prints.  Since I had painted the foyer, I wanted to start fresh.  So I put together this great collection!  And these stand out prints are awesome.  They are so light I actually hung them up with 3M double-sided mounting squares.  They come with holes in them so you can hang them in a traditional manner, too.  (However, I'm all for FAST.)  I just love the outcome.

And ta-da!  Don't you love it?    

Six on Sunday

Man, did last week fly by!  I think it had to do with getting back from vacation and getting back into the swing of things again.  This weekend was spent trying to play catch up.  Oh the laundry...I almost cry thinking about how much laundry we did!

Here are my six on Sunday:

1.  I worked on birthday party invitations.  I'll post them after I get them in the mail.  We are almost ready to celebrate #4's first year!  And #1 wanted a camp-out birthday party which meant we had to wait for warmer weather.  All that just means we are having two birthday parties in the month of April.

2.  Speaking of birthdays, my hubby turns 37 tomorrow!  I asked him what he wanted for his birthday dinner but he didn't have an answer.  That means he'll get what he'll get but we'll throw in some chocolate chip cookies for good measure!

3.  There are signs of spring in the air and I'm loving it:)  We've gone on a couple walks in the last week, which I adore.  I love getting out with the girls after dinner and just enjoying each other.  So nice.

4.  We enjoyed dinner over at one of Caroline's friend's houses last night.  Aside from us getting lost (b/c my phone is dying and I couldn't get to the email with directions), it was great fun.  It's always nice getting together with other parents and hearing you're not the only one with a kid (or two) getting up in the middle of the night! Plus, all the girls play together so well that it's just fun watching and listening to them!  Here they are getting ready to watch a movie.  (Mind you, this lasted maybe 10 minutes - that's stretching it.)

5.  In an effort not to buy Easter dresses that only get worn once or twice, I dug through our bins downstairs.  I came up with awesome outfits for the first three!  I pulled out dresses I had forgotten about that I simply love.  I'm so excited to see them again.  And I talked #2 into wearing her Cinderella heals from last Easter (they were too big a year ago).  We made a trade.  I bought her new nail polish if she'd recycle the shoes.  Good deal.

6.  As I was downstairs digging, I realized I should bring up the Easter baskets.  We've probably got 10 of them.  Since we have so many, we started a new tradition last year.  The girls each get to pick an Easter basket and we put a tag with their name attached to it.  Then we set the baskets outside the front door the night before Easter.  That way we're recycling and helping the Easter bunny - all at the same time. Since the bin was upstairs and sitting out, #4 decided to decorate.  So she put out every, single Easter decoration I have.  Thank goodness I don't have a lot.  Here's a few snaps:

I got a bunch of cool standout mounted prints in the mail this week.  I'll be posting them later in the week.  I just love how they turned out - so fun!

Have a great week, everyone!   

A ski trip in review

We're back.  We made it.  We had a wonderful vacation - better than expected, actually.  I was really dreading the 10 hour drive out and back, but it wasn't that bad!  The kids all did great - even #4.  She fussed every now and then, but nothing we couldn't deal with for a few minutes.

This is going to be a long post, so if you don't want to read about the mundane, feel free to skip it this week:)  Also note - I wasn't going for any photography awards here - just wanted to document our trip.  Most of these were just shot on auto with a levels adjustment and a curves bump here and there.  

Scenes from the car...

#1 and #3 watched the most movies.  #1 read a lot, too, but not as much as I anticipated.  And notice the headphones...the best invention for the car.  ever.

Notice the lack of headphones on this one.  She spent the majority of the trip - out and back - on her DS.  The kid is addicted.  Seriously.  Plus, we didn't have wifi in the mountains and it almost killed this one.  We hadn't been home 15 minutes on Sat. and she was already asking to play on the computer!

She looks so peaceful, right?  Well, this didn't last more than an hour on any given drive day.  Thankfully, she loves to watch movies and did great taking turns picking them out!  

This was all I could see of #4.  It actually worked out better this way.  She was far less fussy if she couldn't see me.  #1 sat in the seat next to her and did a fabulous job handing her crackers and her sippy cup and just generally keeping her entertained.  

After a long day in the car the first day of our trip (left at 8am and arrived in Denver at 6pm CST), the girls went swimming and running.  Not necessarily in that order.  #3 actually gets down into a lunge position and then runs as fast as she can down the hallways at the hotels.  She loves it!

You may have noticed #4's absence.  Well, she had an ear infection and just generally didn't feel all that great.  So she went to bed shortly after we arrived at the hotel.  Poor baby.  At least we got the ear infection diagnosed BEFORE the trip.  Last time, #3 came down with one ON the trip - that was far worse.  Ugh.

We finally arrived in Breckenridge on Sat, after a stop for Beau Jo's pizza in Idaho Springs.  Great pizza!  This was the view from our condo - just beautiful.

We were able to ski FOUR days!  We took #1 and #2 to ski school in Breckenridge the first two days.  They learned so much in such a short time.  Each day we were able to pick them up and take them up for one or two more runs.  It was so much fun to see how much they had learned!  I only wish I had learned to ski when I was their age.  It's so much harder the bigger you get - the falls are a lot farther down.

We were so lucky this year.  My in-laws joined us in Breckenridge to give us a hand with the two little girls.  That way we were able to avoid daycare on the mountain.  The little girls had a great time with grandma and grandpa - I only wish I had the pictures to prove it.  

But I don't want to leave them out, so here are some of their favorite activities while in Breckenridge.

(Did I mention the radiant floor heat meant clothing optional?  The little girls fully took advantage!)

We took Tuesday off to give our old bodies a rest.  (My quads were killing me and so were Patrick's.  Man, we're old.)  So we took the girls on a "train" ride.  We also took them, minus #4, to see "Alice in Wonderland".  It was a good movie.  Better than I expected.

Tuesday night we were able to get out and enjoy the town.  Breckenridge is such a great place to stay.  You really never have to get your car out of parking. You can walk everywhere!  These are just a few pictures from our escapades around town during the week.

    

By Wed. we were back at it.  We took #1 to Copper for a change of scenery.  She did a half day of ski school.  We picked her up after lunch and skied the rest of the afternoon together.  Thursday was family ski day back in Breckenridge.  We had a great time with the girls.  Hopefully all six of us will be able to ski together in a few years!

As much as I love to ski, I also love apres ski!  My in-laws were able to bring the two little girls to join us two of the days.  They had a blast.  They just love being with the family - they don't care where they're at as long as everyone is there.  Here is a typical scene at apres ski:

I handed over my little camera to the girls just to get some peace and quiet for 3 minutes.  This is what resulted:

Our last day in Breckenridge brought tons of snow.  Since the weather was so iffy, we decided to take the kids sledding and hit the road.  So we stayed the night in Colby, KS on Friday.  But the older two girls loved sledding.  Patrick had to make them leave!

#4 even went down a few times.  She loved it even more than #3, who was a bit scared.  

So as we left the mountains on Friday, the weather was pretty nasty until we got down into Denver.  Then as we pulled into KC on Sat, we hit nasty weather again!  Can you tell if this picture was taken in CO or KS?

Anyway, it was a fantastic trip this year.  I really think the big different between this trip and our last family ski trip was the addition of the grandparents.  It was a huge help to have four other sets of hands and not to have to drag the little ones to daycare.  We figure this trip will only get easier from here on out.  I just hope we can do this again next year!

Have a great week, everyone!              

My official launch...Kansas City metro area children's photographer

I made it!  My website is up and running, I've officially announced my business, and I am breathing a sigh of relief.  I'm so excited for the possibilities.  WooHoo:)

In conjunction with all this, I'm also announcing a promotion.  For anyone who books a session with me by April 15th, I will discount the session fee by 25% and include a free 8x10.  That's an $80 value!  Of course the session doesn't have to take place prior to April 15th, it just needs to be booked by that date.  If you have any questions, feel free to call me (913.706.0613) or shoot me an email (suzanne@4inspirationsphotography.com).  I really look forward to hearing from you!

And because this is a photography blog, and because I only showed off one of her baby's pictures last month, here's baby Ross...simply adorable with all that hair!

That's it!  One quick note...I will be out of town on spring break until Sat, March 20th.  I'll try to check email after a day swooshing down the slopes, but I can't guarantee anything:)         

I'm Back

Wow.  Has it been awhile, or what?!  Wait, don't answer that:)

What have I been up to, you ask?  Well, plenty.  For starters, I finally launched my website!  Yippee!  I'm thrilled.  I love how it turned out.  However, that's what has side-tracked me for the past few weeks. Getting DNS names configured and turned on is harder than it sounds.  Add to the technical stuff, you have to wait for everything to "propogate" via the internet, and it takes awhile.  But here I am.  I'm back.  I'm ready to rock and roll.

A couple weeks ago I decided to capture some images of my older kids.  #4 had been the star lately, and she needed a much deserved rest.  So I focused on the first three.  I can't wait until it's warm enough to go outside.  Of course, the past few days have been great, but I'm not sure if it's going to stay this way.

Here's the first three, rolling around together.  typical.

I love this one...so cute.

#3 doesn't usually give me more than 4 seconds, but I managed a few minutes on this Saturday!

As for #4, she's getting so big!  She loves to eat.  I love that she loves to eat - takes the pressure off me! She's so easy-going, too.  Someone put this mask on her and she could have cared less.  She crawled around like this for probably an hour that day.  Cracks me up!

And just last week my oldest turned 9.  Man, has that time flown by - at warp speed!  But at 9, she is:

• Mature.  She's so grown-up for her age.
• Responsible.  She's a HUGE help with her two youngest sisters.
• Funny.  She has a subtle, sometimes dry, sense of humor.
• Loud.  She is a McGrath.  That's what I tell her - she doesn't have a volume button.
• Kind.  She really thinks about other people's feelings which is why she brought two types of birthday treats to school - brownies and rice krispy bars.
• Messy.  Her room is a complete disaster.  It looks like a tornado whipped through there on a daily basis!
• Smart.  She is a voracious reader.  I love that.  She'll be a reader for the rest of her life.
• a Fashionista.  Truly.  at 9.  She loves to shop and plan her whole outfit.  Every day.

And I just love her to pieces!!  

Lastly, I took #1 and her duet partner to Denver last weekend for a swim meet.  We flew out Friday morning and came back Sunday night.  It was a long weekend.  Thankfully, all the girls had fun.  They actually only swam their team routine which consists of 8 girls.  The competition was fierce.  She, at barely 9 years old, was competing against 13 - 15 year olds!  She was nervous, as was the rest of her team.  However, it was such a great opportunity for them to see the older, better girls.  So by the time they are actually 13 - 15, they'll be at the top of the podium!

I am definitely not a sports photographer - nor do I have any urge to be one!  I simply don't have the fast lenses required nor the desire.  But still.  It was fun to capture some images of our own team.

These are the three youngest on the team.  9 and 10 year olds...

 

This is a lift at the beginning of the routine.  And no, they are not touching the bottom.  The pool is too deep and it's illegal.

 

This is right before they jump in the pool.

If you've read this far...thanks!  Stay tuned for an exciting announcement coming tomorrow.  

   

    

Welcome! {Kansas City metro area babies, kids, family photographer}

Hi there.  Welcome to my blog and thanks for stopping by.  This blog originally started out as a photography blog but has really blossomed from there.  I like to talk about decorating, my family, recipes, photography, and generally just whatever floats my boat!  

I do a little photography here and there - but I no longer order prints.  Rather, I will shoot, edit your photographs, and give you the disc of images.  If you are looking for a photographer, please just shoot me an email:  suzanne.m.mcgrath@gmail.com  

Cheers!

Suzanne