My husband, Dave, happens to have the best job ever and gets to fly all through the Chugach Mountains as a Search and Rescue pilot for the Alaska Air National Guard. The view from his office away from the office is, of course, quite stunning! On rare occasions, every few years, spouse flights are available as a way of keeping the families in touch with their husband’s or wife’s job. This past fall all the stars aligned and I was able to make it on my second spouse flight. Woo-hoo!

There are so many wonderful things about these trips! The first thrill is just the opportunity to fly in a Pavehawk Helicopter. After being shuttled around central Alaska in Dave’s floatplane (with a lawn mower for an engine), climbing into a helicopter that actually has turbine engines and power to spare is the most awesome joyride!

Just being in the heart of the Chugach is another great perk. Hiking and climbing all over these mountains is the best way to experience them but a helicopter has to be a close second. You are in the midst of everything! The wildlife is everywhere and the sheep are especially abundant.

Getting to meet Dave’s co-workers and see them actually having to be serious while they are working is another great perk. Rarely have I seen them when they are not cutting up or harassing each other so it is quite entertaining to see them on the job and on their best behavior for the spouses!

Their real job, however, is the most amazing part of what they do. Although specifically here to rescue the Air Force pilots if the need arises, they primarily spend their time searching for and rescuing Alaskan civilians. Most everyone here knows someone who’s been picked up by these guys after unfortunate mishaps.

Early on in our relationship, I attended a dinner held in honor of my husband and the rest of the crew on a mission in which three people were rescued from the icy waters of Turnagain Arm. Unfortunately some others in their group did not survive. At the end of the evening the father of one of the rescued men waited patiently in the shadows to have his chance to speak to the crew before they made it out the door. When his chance finally came, the words did not. He grabbed onto Dave’s hand but couldn’t say a thing. All he could express was that one of the rescued men was his son.

That was my first glimpse into the impact that this unit has on the people and families of Anchorage. It’s an overwhelming job that at many times can be dangerous. It requires non-stop training and involves many crazy hours, whacked out work schedules and deployments overseas. It also has it’s share of rewards like seeing the overwhelming gratitude of a father when you are able to bring his son home safely. It makes me very proud of my husband and the talented group of people that he works with in the Search and Rescue squadron including all the people at the Alaska Air National Guard who make it possible for them to do their job. Thank you.

This is the first family I met through the Operation Love Reunited program. The kids and their mom adventured down on the turnagain arm with me way back in the fall for a portrait session. It was really such a gorgeous day and I had a lot of fun chasing these kiddos around. The best part is that their mom is from way down south, so I met someone who could actually speak my language!

This reunion day has been eagerly awaited for a long time! The oldest daughter was the first to bolt off the bleachers so she had a few minutes with her dad all to herself. The younger ones made it out next so I have a lot of photos of little tiny hands reaching up. Mom waited patiently in the wings until the kids had gotten their fill.

Congratulations again on being back together!

My anniversary was quickly approaching at the beginning of February and I had to come up with a surprise for Dave– pronto! I had just received some leather wallet samples with photographs bonded to the leather. These were surprisingly elegant and I thought a nice leather tri-fold wallet might make a nice gift. (Okay, I know what you are thinking. The perfect gift for Dave would be a new set of floats or some geeky techie stuff, but I really have limited resources!) Of course, that meant I needed a new photo of the boys- fast! On the last night that Dave was in Fairbanks, I hijacked the kids for a quick session right before bed! I knew I wanted a black and white image to print on the black leather and I knew their faces needed to be close together. The boys complied with about 15 minutes of some sort of cooperation and I ended up with a whole set of images that I just love!

I had so many cute photos that I decided to create a sample of the new accordion books that I’ve started offering, as well. These are really cute but much tinier than I expected! I’ve decided, because of their miniscule size, to include them as gifts for client’s that purchase a certain amount, rather than trying to sell them. They include about 8 to 10 images and they work great as refrigerator magnets or as little accordions to prop on your desk. They come in a group of three, which means they are perfect for sharing with the grandparents!

Below are some photographs of the design and of the actual books themselves.

I met the following mom-to-be in the most unlikely of circumstances. We were looking for house sitters (really dog and cat sitters!) for a year and she and her husband were looking to check out Anchorage as a permanent residence. She found out about her new position with Alaska Airlines about a day after they started demolition on their fixer upper in California. Great timing! Our neighbor just happened to introduce us right as we were both in need!

First and foremost, these guys took such good care of our animals, so much so that Kemuk fell madly in love with his new master and now lives with them permanently. Then they went over and above the call of duty by installing new baseboard trim and stripping and refinishing our main window trim! I know! How does anyone get so lucky with house sitters? As they say in Chile, these guys have a Buena Onda – or good wave – or good vibrations to steal one from the Beach Boys.

This photo shoot was a lot of fun! Pregnant ladies don’t come much fitter and trimmer than this so we tried out a few new lighting styles and when I found out she was doing Pilates I figured she would be the perfect guinea pig for the last pose! Strong abs!

Only about a week or so after these photos were taken their beautiful baby girl decided to show up a wee bit early! Congratulations you two! Can’t wait to see your little bundle.

Only about a week or so after these photos were taken their beautiful baby girl decided to show up a wee bit early! Congratulations you two! Can’t wait to see your little bundle.

Anchorage will be increasing it’s population over the next few weeks as many, many soldiers continue their return home to Ft. Richardson.  Most of these guys have been gone close on a year and as you can imagine, this return makes for some happy, anxious and excited families!

I had my first “end of deployment” reunion for Operation Love Reunited this past weekend and it was truly an awesome and fun filled adventure.  I told my husband upon my return home that it felt like a quick party with a hundred of the happiest people on earth!

Crystal first contacted me months ago regarding her husband’s return.  She has been ready for this day for a long, long time!  Just days before the reunion, she tweaked her knee and had to wear a brace and was on crutches.  When I saw her in the gym she ditched the crutches because of all the excitement but her plan was still to wait patiently on the bleachers with her sore knee until her husband was able to make it to her. Right!!! Crystal was one of the first ones to hit the floor!  She leapt right off those bleachers and cleared half of the gymnasium before many of the other family members made it off the steps!

Congratulations, Crystal, on having your family reunited and to all the other men and women steadily making their way back to Anchorage — welcome home!

(**Note: The photos and other content of this publication do not imply any endorsement or recommendation by the Department of Defense.**)

New samples for 2010 are slowly but surely starting to roll in and I just received my first sample album of the year! It is beautiful! I tried a new album vendor so I’m always hesitant to see what kind of funky colors the prints end up looking like (you have no idea how many shades of magenta you never want to see!) Anyway, I had nothing to fear with this one! This album is beautiful! Yippee! The color was exactly what I was expecting and the craftmanship looks really well done.

This sample is the Fine Art Album. This style comes standard with Package III or can be an upgrade to the Coffee Table album included in Package II. The cover has three cameo photographs and is a duo-tone leather combination. The pages are thicker and sturdier than the basic coffee table album and for this sample I chose a linen texture. I love it! The album comes with it’s own black storage box and slipcover to keep everything protected and in perfect condition.

Below are a few photos and I also included some shots of it next to a coffee table album to give you a feel for the differences.  These pages are perfect for designing full page spreads across the center line without significant image loss.  The transition is smooth and almost indistinguishable!

The Portrait & Wedding Photographers of Alaska (PWPA) have banded together to put on a fundraiser, this Saturday, February 6th, at the Crosspoint Church next to Burlington Coat Factory on Dimond. All proceeds go directly to the Red Cross in an effort to help out victims of the earthquake and devastation in Haiti.

Please pass this information on to your friends, family and co-workers to let them know of this easy way to donate. In return for your efforts we will be creating quick family portraits as a thank you for your time and donation. You will receive a digital file of your image within about two to three weeks after the event.

Feel free to contact me with any questions or check out the Red Cross website at www.alaska.redcross.org.